v* §^' ^sToTpfti^ A COMMENTARY V^ ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES TO THE EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, AND TO PHILEMON. JOSEPH AGAR BEET. HODDER AND STOUGHTON. 27, PATERNOSTER ROW. Printed by HazcU, Watson, & Vincy, Ld., London and Aylahury. PREFACE. IN the present volume I have expounded the third group of St. Paul's Epistles, those written during his first imprison- ment at Rome. It is well that the four Epistles are expounded in one volume. For they are most closely related in thought and expression, and unitedly present a very definite phase of St. Paul's thought ; a marked development of the thought embodied in the great group already annotated. This rich development can be appreciated only by consecutive study of the whole group. The distinctive features of my earlier volumes dominate this new work. As before, my aim has been not merely to repro- duce the sense which the Apostle designed his words to convey, but also to use his letters as a means of reproducing his con- ception of the Gospel and of Christ, in order thus to reach the actual teaching of Christ and those unseen realities which He came to reveal to men. Consequently, as before, my exposition of the Epistles of Paul is a specific contribution to Systematic Theology. And, since these Epistles contain important evidence of the truth of the doctrines so firmly believed by the Apostle, my exposition of them is also a contribution to the Evidences of Christianity. This accounts for my long and full discussion of the authorship of the Epistles now annotated; and for the frequent indication, throughout the exposition, of words and phrases revealing the hand of Paul. For my method of research required me to prove that vi PREFACE. the doctrines set forth in these Epistles were actually taught by St. Paul. And it accounts also for the somewhat polemic- form of the closing Dissertations in which I have embodied the chief results of our study. For two classes of readers I have written expressly, for students of the Greek Testament and for intelligent readers of the English Bible. The former will find a careful gram- matical exposition of the Greek text of the Epistles ; and \\\\\ catch the reason for many English renderings which to others will seem harsh or even ungrammatical. They will notice that at every point, both in my translation and in my frequent paraphrases and summaries of the language of St. Paul, I have endeavoured to reproduce the exact meaning and emphasis of the Greek words written by him. This frequent and careful reproduction of his meaning will also be of use to many who are unable to verify it by comparison with the original, but who wish to grasp, through the medium of their own language, as accurately and fully as possible the thoughts of the great Apostle. My chief helpers have been, as before, Meyer and Hofmann among Germans, and Ellicott and Lightfoot among English commentators. To these I may add the very full and able commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians by Kloepper, and a most accurate and acute exposition of the same Epistle, in The Pulpit Comjiiefitary, by Findlay. So good is this last work that, but for the difference of aim noted above, it would have been needless for me to attempt another exposition. Dr. Maclaren's volume on the same Epistle in The Expositor's Bible is most excellent. But as a popular exposition for general readers, rather than for students, its aim differs widely from that of my own work. Of another kind, but also good, are the contributions to The Caynbridge Bible for Schools by Moule. On the genuineness of the Epistles now annotated, I am glad to refer to the very able and attractive Introduction to the Neiv Testament by Dr. Salmon. PREFACE. vii On the Christian Ministry, about which I have said some- thing in my Dissertation on " Paul's Conception of the Church," I must express my great obhgation to the very able Disserta- tion in Lightfoot's Philippians. Although published twenty- two years ago, it seems to me to be still the best work on this important subject. Also of great value are a recent volume on the same subject by Dean Lefroy, and Dr. Hatch's Bampton Lectures on The Organization of the Early Churches. I have also read with care Gore's Ministry of the Christiari Church ; but, for reasons given in my Dissertation, I am compelled to reject the most conspicuous conclusions of the author. To all Christian readers I commend most earnestly a careful study of these profound Epistles. A commentary is but a guide-post pointing to something far better than itself, or at best a companion leading others along a path the writer has himself trodden. That path each one must tread for himself, if he is to gather the flowers which adorn it and to find the hidden treasures to which it leads. These treasures are be- yond the price of rubies. And they are within reach of every one who, guided by the Spirit of the Truth, walks in the steps of the Great Teacher. "Wesleyan College, Richmond, 27/A September, 1890. CONTENTS. Introduction— Sec. i. Retrospect and Prospect. ,, ii. Are the Epistles genuine? „ iii. To what extent are our Copies and Versions correct? „ iv. Philippi, Ephesus, Colossi., and the Churches there. ,, V. Time and place of writing, and the occasion, of the Epistles. Exposition of the Epistle to the Philippians — Sec. I. Ch. I. I, 2. A Christian Greeting. ,, 2. Ch. I. 3— II. Praise and Prayer for the Christians at Philippi. ,, 3. Ch. I. 12 — 18. Paul's bonds, adversaries, and friends. - ^ ,, 4. Ch. I. 19 — 26. Paul's confident hope, in view of life and death. ,, 5. Ch. I. 27 — II. 18. Sundry exhortations, supported by the example of Christ. ,, 6. Ch. II. 19—24. About Timothy, ,, 7. Ch. II. 25 — 30. About Epaphroditus. ,, 8. Ch. III. I — 16. Warnings against bad men ; and Paul's contrary example. ,, 9. Ch. III. 17 — IV. I. Worldly-minded church-members, with whom is contrasted the Christian's hope. ,, 10. Ch. IV. 2, 3. About Euodia and Syntych^. ,, II. Ch. IV. 4 — 9. Sundry Exhortations. ,, 12. Ch. IV. 10 — 23. Philippian Liberality. Farewell. [Review of the Epistle.] Exposition of the Epistle to the Colossians— Sec. I. Ch. I. I, 2. Apostolic Greeting. X CONTENTS. DIV. I. PRAISE AND PRAYER. CH. I. 3-14. Sec. 2. Ch. I. 3—8. Paul thanks God for his readers' faith. 3.011.1.9—14. Paul's prayer for their further development. DIV, II. THE TRUTH CONCERNING CHRIST. CHS. I. 15— H- Sec. 4. Ch. I. 15—17. Christ's relation to God, and to the Universe. 5. Ch. I. 18—20. His relation to the Church and to the work of salvation. 6. Ch. I. 21— 23. The Colossian Christians in their relation to Christ. 7. Ch. I. 24— II. 3. Paul's relation to the Church, and to the Christians at ColosscTe. DIV. III. WARNING AGAINST ERRORS. CHS. II. 4— III. 4. Sec. 8. Ch. II. 4—7. Do not forsake the teaching already received. 9. Ch. II. 8—15. Warning against error in the guise of Philosophy and Judaism. 10. Ch. II. 16— III. 4. Warning against various dogmasjewish or Gentile, contrary to Christ. DIV. IV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION. CHS. III. 5-IV. 6. Sec. II. Ch. III. 5— II. General Moral Teaching : Negative. 12. Ch. III. 12— 17. General Moral Teaching : Positive. 13. Ch. III. 18— IV. I. Directions to specific classes of persons. 14. Ch. IV, 2— 6. Sundry General Directions. DIV. V. PERSONAL MATTERS. CH. IV, 7—18. Sec. 15. Ch. IV. 7 — 9. Tychicus and Onesimus. ,, 16. Ch. IV. 10—18. Sundry Greetings. [The Errors at Coloss.k,] [The Gnostics.] [Review of the Epistle.] Exposition of the Epistle to Philemon — Sec. I. Vv. 1—3. Paul's greeting to Philemon. 2. Vv. 4 — 7. Paul's joy at Philemon's Christian love. 2- Vv. 8— 21. The Request about Onesimus. ,, 4. Vv. 22 — 25. Conclusion. [Christianity and Slavery.] Exposition of the Epistle to the Ephesians— Sec. I. Ch. I. I, 2. The Greeting, CONTENTS. xi DIV. I. DOCTRINE. CHS. I. 3— III. Sec, 2. Ch. I. 3—14. Praise for God's eternal purpose of mercy to Jews and Gentiles. „ 3. Ch. I. 15—23. Prayer that the readers may recognise in themselves the great power which raised Christ from the dead. ,, 4. Ch. II, I — 3. Paul and his readers were once dead by reason of their sins. " 5. Ch. II. 4 — 10. But God has made them sharers of the resurrection life of Christ. ,, 6. Ch. II. II — 22. Through Christ both Jews and Gentiles have been brought near to God. ,, 7, Ch, III, I — 13, The Gospel of peace between Jews and Gentiles has been committed to Paul, .,, 8. Ch. III. 14 — 21. Paul prays that his readers may know Christ and thus attain the consummation designed by God. DIV. II. MORAL TEACHING. CHS. IV.— VI. Sec. 9. Ch. IV. I — 16. Unity and Growth of the Church. ,, 10. Ch. IV. 17 — 24. A total change of life needed. ^ II. Ch. IV. 25 — V. 21. Sundry Precepts. ,, 12. Ch, V, 22 — 33. Directions to Wives and Husbands ; ,, 13, Ch, VI. 1—4. To Children and Parents ; ,, 14. Ch. VI. 5 — 9. To Servants and Masters. ,, 15. Ch. VI. 10 — 17. The Christian Warfare. , , 16. Ch. VI. 18 — 20. A request for prayer. ,, 17. Ch, VI. 21 — 24, About Tychicus. Farewell, [Review of the Epistle.] Dissertations— Diss. i. These Epistles compared with those to the Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians. ,, ii. Paul's Conception of the Church. ,, iii. Paul's Conception of Christ. ,, iv. The Gospel of Paul. TO THE READER. V. loa, V. lob, denote the former, and latter, parts of verse lo. V. lof, V. loff, ,, verses lo, ii ; and verses lo, ii, 12, etc. O.T. and N.T. ,, the Old and New Testaments. AV. and RV. ,, the Authorized, and Revised, English Versions. Lxx. denotes the Septuagint Greek Translation of the Old Testament. See my Ro?nans page xx. Put-to-shame represents one Greek w^ord. [Square brackets] enclose references to the Greek Text. In the Exposition italic type is used only for my literal translation of the words of the verse under exposition ; and, in the Dissertations, for quotations from the Epistles now annotated. Other quotations from Scripture, and paraphrases, are enclosed in ' single commas.' INTRODUCTION. SECTION I. RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT. In former volumes I have endeavoured to expound the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians. These Epistles we found accepted in the second century throughout the Christian Church with- out a shadow of doubt as written by the Apostle Paul. And the strong presumption of genuineness thus afforded was raised to absolute certainty by our examination of the contents of the Epistles ; especially by comparison, one with another and with the statements of the Book of Acts, of various casual references to matters of fact, and by the harmonious and life-like portrait of the mental and moral character of the writer which we found depicted in clearest lines on the pages of each Epistle. We found that the four Epistles were written within a year, amid the activities and anxieties of Pauls Third Missionary Jou^ne3^ His movements during that year, we were able, in the light of these Epistles and of the Book of Acts, to trace with considerable accuracy. At various points in our course we tried to reproduce, in a frag- mentary way, Paul's conception of the Gospel he preached and of Christ. This reproduced conception we compared here and there with other writings of the New Testament. Our comparison assured us that the doctrines so firmly held by Paul, or doctrines equivalent, were actually taught by Christ, and that Christ actually claimed the supreme dignity reflected so clearly in the entire teaching and thought of Paul. And the confident belief by Paul and others that Christ rose from the dead, taken in connection with its effect upon the entire subsequent history of mankind and with the fitness of the Gospel to supply our own spiritual need, convinced us of the truth of that which I 2 IXTRODUCTIOX. [Sec. i. the Apostles so firmly believed, and assured us that Jesus of Nazareth actually rose from the dead and that He is in very truth the Uncreated Son of God. 2. These results we shall in the present volume assume, and make the basis of further theological research. Four other Epistles, each claiming to have been written by Paul, now demand attention. Un- fortunately, we have not for them the clear historic light which illumined the circumstances, and enabled us to fix approximately the date, of the Epistles already annotated. And the contents of some of them have, rightly or wrongly, given rise in some minds to doubts about their authorship. The evidence of their genuineness, we shall therefore carefully sift. If, as I hope to prove, we have good grounds for accepting with confidence these Epistles as from the pen which wrote those already expounded, our study of them will greatly enlarge our view of Paul's conception of the Gospel and of Christ. Thoughts found only in germ in the earlier Epistles, we shall now find fully developed : and we shall find other thoughts not even suggested before, but when once suggested seen to be logically deduced from, or in harmony with, Paul's earlier teaching. We shall thus be able to trace development in the thought of the Apostle. In the earlier Epistles we felt the earnestness of conflict : we shall now find the serene calm of victory. We shall find also the fulness of mature thought. Captivity of body has set the prisoner's spirit free for loftier flights than were possible amid the activities of apostolic toil. The narrow limits of prison walls opened to him a vision farther reaching and more glorious than any he had seen while hasting over sea and land to proclaim the good news of salvation. This profounder teaching will greatly strengtiien our hold of the fundamental truths already learnt, will quicken and delight our intelligence, and wfll raise us, amid the tumult and anxiety of earth, ourselves to share the calm which filled the breast of the imprisoned Aj)()Stle. SECTION II. ARE THE EPISTLES GENUINE? I. That each of the Epistles before us was accei)tod without a shadow of doubt throughout the Christian Cliurch in the lattt-r part of the second century as a geimine work of the Apostle Paul, is Sec. 2.] INTRODUCTION. 3 proved by frequent quotations in the extant "works of Tertnllian. Clement of Alexandria, and Irenseus. 2. So Tertullian, Prescriptions against Heretics ch. 36: "the apostolic Churches ... in which their authentic letters are read, uttering the voice and representing the face of each one. Is Achaia near to thee ? Thou hast Corinth. If thou art not far from Mace- donia, thou hast PhiHppi, thou hast Thessalonica. If thou art able to go to Asia, thou hast Ephesus. But if thou art near to Italy, thou hast Rome." Here are omitted only Galatia and Colossae, places far inland and therefore less accessible than those mentioned. Similarly On the Resurrection of the Flesh ch. 23: "The Apostle teaches, writing to the Colossians, that we were once dead, aliens, and ene7nies of the mind of the Lord, when we were e?tgaged in the worst works ; then, buried with Christ i?i Baptisfn, and risen together in Him through faith of the energy of God who I'aised Him from the dead. A nd you, when ye were dead in sins and uncircumcision of your flesh, He hath made alive with Him, all sins being forgiven to you. And again, If with Christ ye are dead from the elements of the world, how indeed as if living in the world do ye submit to 3.no\.h.ers judgme^tt ? . . . Then, If ye have risen, says he, with Christ, seek those things which are above where Chjist is, sitting at the right hand of God. Think about the things which are above, not those which are below. . . . He adds also. For ye are dead, i.e. to sins, not to yourselves, and your life is hidde?i with Christ in God. . . , When he writes to the Philippians, If iti any way, he says, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead : not that already I have obtained or dm made perfect. . . . But I follow after if I may lay hold of that in which I a^n laid hold of by Christ. More fully. Brethren, I do not reckon 7nyself to have laid hold. But one thi7ig I do,forgetti?tg things behijid, reach- ing after things before, I follow after the goal for the prize of blame- lessjiessfor which I run. So Against Marcion bk. v. 17 he speaks of "that Epistle sent to the Ephesians, not to the Laodiceans : but Marcion was eager to give it a false title, as though he were a very diligent student of it. But the title is of no importance, since the Apostle wTote as much to all men as to some." He then quotes in chs. 17, 18 a great part of the Epistle, noting here and there Marcion's mutilations. " Remembering that ye formerly were Gentiles in flesh. Ye were called tmcircumcision by that which is called circunicisioji in the flesh made by hand, that ye were at that time without Christ, alienated fro77i i7itercourse with Israel, strangers to their cove7ia7its and promise, having 710 hope a7id without God in the world. . . . But now, says he, in Christ, ye who were far off, have been made 4 INTRODUCTION. [Sec. 2. near in His blood. . . . How does he prove that wouteii ought to be subject to their husbands ? Because man, says he, is head of woman . . . as also Christ is head of the Church. Similarly also when he says : He loves his own flesh who loves his wife, as also Chiist loves the Chu?'ch. . . . No one, says he, hates his own flesh, unless indeed Marcion alone, btft nourishes and cherishes it, as also Christ the Church!' In chs. 19, 20, Tertullian quotes at length the Epistles to the Colossians and Philippians as written by " the Apostle ; ' and says in ch. 21 that through its shortness the E[)istle to Philemon alone escaped mutilation by Marcion. 3. Clement of Alexandria in \\\q Pcedagoguc bk. i. 6 (p. 311, ed. Migne) quotes almost word for word Ph. iii. 12 — 15 as written by Paul: and in Miscellanies bk. iv. 13 (p. 1300) he quotes Ph. i. 29 — ii. 2, i. 7, ii. 20, 21, as written to the Philippians by " tlie Apostle." So in bk. i. i (p. 705) he quotes Col. i. 28 as written by " the Apostle ... in the I^pistle to the Colossians ; " and similarly Col. ii. 4, 6, 7, 8 in cli. II, p. 748f. The Epistle to the Ephesians he quotes very frequently : e.g. Po'dagoguc bk. i. 5, p. 269 : " Most clearly, writing to the Ephesians, he (tlie Apostle) revealed the matter sougiit for, saying in some such way as this ; " quoting almost word for word Eph. iv. 13 — 15. So Iren^US in bk. v. 13. 3: "And again to the Philippians he (the Apostle) says ; " quoting Ph. i. 20, 21. Also in § 4 : " the Apostle in the Epistle to the Phihppians saj^s ; " quoting ch. iii. 10, 11. As contained " in the Epistle to the Colossians " he quotes in bk. iii. 14. I, Col. iv. 14, and in bk. v. 14. 2, Col. i. 21, 22. In bk. v. 2. 3, of which fortunately we possess the original, Irenaeus says, "as the blessed Paul says in the Epistle to the Ephesians, Because members we are of the body, of His flesh and of His bones, word for word from Eph. V. 30. Also in ch. xiv. 3 : "as the Apostle says to the Ephesians, hi whom we have redemptiofi through His blood, even remission of sins. And again to the same persons. Ye, says he, who once were far off, have been made near in the blood of Christ. And again, Making of no effect e?imities, in His flesh, the lazv of precepts with decrees. (Eph. i. 7, ii. 13, 15.) But also in < very Epistle the Apostle testifies," etc. The short Epistle to Philemon is not quoted by Clement of Alex- andria or by Irenajus. But it is three- times quoted word for word by Origen as written by Paul to Phih-mou : On Jcreminli, Homily 19, p. 263 ; Sej'ies of conivioils on Matthew, § 66, j). 8S4, § 72, p. 889. Jerome in the Introduction to his commentary upon it (h-fends th«» genuineness of the E|)istle to IMiiNinon against (.bjections basi-d on the tmimportance of its matter. Sec. 2.] INTRODUCTION. 5 4. In the letter sent in a.d. 177 from the Churches c^f Vienna and Lyons in Gaul and given at length by Eusebius, {Church Hist. bk. v. 2,) Phil. ii. 6 is quoted word for w ord. In the Fragment of Muratori are enumerated among " the Epistles of Paul " those to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Justin Martyr, in ch. 85 of his Dialogue with Trypho and again in ch. 138, calls (Z\s.us>\. first- born of every creature ; referring evidently in each case to Col. i. 15. There is an apparent reference to the same in chs. 04, 100. In ch. 3 of the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, a work probably genuine, \vc read of " the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul, who when he came among you . . . also when absent wrote to you letters ; " or probably " a letter." In the same Epistle, ch. i, we read by grace ye are saved, not of works, word for word from Eph. ii. 8. 5. The above quotations, with multitudes similar, are complete proof that each of the three longer Epistles was well known by Chris- tians throughout the Roman Empire before the end of the second century, and was accepted without a shadow^ of doubt as a genuine work of Paul. The quotations from TertuUian prove that they were accepted as in the main genuine before the middle of the century by Marcion, an avowed enemy of the Gospel. Throughout the literature of the early Church, there is no trace of doubt about their authorship. It is right to say that the so-called Epistle of Barnabas is several times quoted confidently by Clement of Alexandria (e.g. Misc. bk. ii. 6, p. 965 Migne, and cli. 20, p. 1060, and bk. v. 10, p. 95) as written by the companion of Paul ; and is quoted by Origen {Against Celsus bk. i. 63, On First Principles iii. 2. 4) as the Epistle of Barnabas. But it is not referred to by Irenasus : and, though apparently known to TertuUian, nothing is said by him about its authorship. It is reckoned as spurious by Eusebius {Church History bk. iii. 25) and by later wTiters. This case warns us not to accept, as decisive proof of authorship, the testimony of any one writer. The force of the above quotations lies in the unbroken and confident unanimity thus revealed in Churches widely separated. This unanimous consent is at once a strong presumption of tlie genuineness of the Epistles before us. We ask whether it is con- firmed or contradicted by their contents. 6. We consider first the Epistle to the Philippians. In Acts xxviii. 31 we leave Paul in prison at Rome, after an appeal to Caesar ; and in Ph. i. 13 we find him in bonds, weighing the possi- bilities {vv. 20 — 23) of life and death, and sending (ch. iv. 22) greetings from xwiivah&xs of Cccsar s household. In Ph. i. i, as in 2 Cor. i. i, Iiuiothy, who was present with Paul (Acts xvii. 14, xviii. 5) at the 6 INTRODUC2ION. [Sec. 2. founding of the Churches of Phihppi and Corinth, is associated with him as joint author of the Epistle. The description of Timothy in Ph. ii. 19 — 22, and his hoped-for mission to Philippi, are in close agreement with i Cor. iv. 17. The gift of money from Philippi to Paul at Rome accords completely with the statement in 2 Cor, xi. 8, 9 that when he was in want at Corinth his needs were supplied by money sent from Macedonia, in which province was Philippi ; and with the great liberality of another kind of w^hich Paul boasts in 2 Cor. viii. 2. His deep anxiety about the Church at Corinth ex- pressed in 2 Cor. ii. 13 and vii. 5 has its counterpart in the loving care for the Christians at Philippi which breathes in Ph. i. 7, 8, 27, ii. 19, iv. I. Paul's reference in Ph. iii. 6 to his past life recalls Gal. i. 13. Amid a somewhat changed tone, easily explained by changed surroundings and prospects, the careful student will find innumerable coincidences in theological thought and expression re- vealing the mind and hand of Paul. Many of these will be noted in our exposition. As examples I may here quote the word righteous- ness as used in Ph. iii. 9 compared with Rom. x. 3, iii. 21, 22 ; emptied hiinself \rv Ph. ii. 7 compared with 2 Cor. viii. 9; the cross of Christ in Ph. iii. 18 and Gal. vi. 14; the ieim children of God \n Ph. ii. 15 compared with Rom. viii. 16, 17, Gal. iii. 26, iv. 6, 7. In Ph. iii. 14 we have a metaphor from the Greek athletic contests, as in I Cor. ix. 24 — 27. In Ph. iii. 17 Paul points to himself as an example: a close coincidence with i Cor. xi. i. Similarly, the boasting in Ph. iii. 5, 6 is in close agreement with 2 Cor. xi. 22 — 33. This far-reaching coincidence of thought and expression will be the more significant if the Epistle before us be compared with those which do not bear the name of Paul, It is complete confirmation of the belief of the early Church. So convincing is this combined proof that almost all modern scholars, including many who like Renan and Pfleiderer reject the faith so firmly held by Paul, accept the Epistle to the Philippians as written by the great Apostle. 7. We turn now to the Epistle to the Colossians. And every- where in it we meet with words, phrases, thought, and arrangement already familiar, and in great part peculiar to Paul. The greeting recalls at once Ph. i. i, 2, 2 Cor. i. 1,2. As in Romans and Galatians, we have first doctrine and argument, then moral teaching. As in Ph. i. 3 — II, the letter before us begins with thanks to God for the readers' spiritual life, and passes on to prayer for their further progress. Notice the word redemption in Col. i. 14, Rom. iii. 24, l Cor. i 30; reconciled io God in Col. i. 20, 22, slightly modified from the word in" Rom. V. ID, 2 Cor. v. 18 — 20; Chv'xsiih^ Image of God cxwd Firstborn Sec. 2.] INTRODUCTION. 7 in Col. i. 1 5 and in 2 Cor. iv. 4, Rom. viii. 29 ; tlie mystery once hidden but now manifested, in Col. i. 26, ii. 2, iv. 3 as in Rom. xvi. 25, 26, I Cor. ii. 7 ; wealth in a metaphorical sense in Col. i. 27, ii. 2, as in Rom. ii. 4, ix. 23, xi. 12, 33 ; the riidijnents of the world in Col. ii. 8, Gal. iv. 3 ; buried in Baptism and risen-with Christ in Col. ii. II, 12, Rom. vi. 4, 5 ; puffed up in Col. ii. 18, i Cor, iv. 6, 18, 19, V. 2, viii. I, xiii. 4; death with Christ a reason for no longer living the old life, Col. ii. 20, Rom. vi. 2 ; hsts of sins in Col. iii. 5, 8, as in Rom, i. 29 — 31, I Cor. vi. 9, 10, Gal. v. 19 — 21 ; the old ma7i in Col. iii. 9 as in Rom. vi. 6 ; and everywhere the intensely Pauline phrases in Christ and in the Lord. Paul's earnest care and prayer i in Col. ii. i for Christians he has never seen is in close agreement^ with Rom. i. 9 — 11 ; as is his request in Col. iv. 3 for his readers' prayers, with Rom. xv. 30, 31, 2 Cor. i. 11, Ph. i. 19. The metaphor, peculiar to Paul, of the Church as the body of Christ, found already in I Cor. xii. 12 — 27, Rom. xii. 4, 5, meets us in Col. i. 18, 24, ii. 19, with a new development viz. Christ the Head. The admonition to women in Col. iii. 18 is in close harmony with i Cor. xi. 3; as is Col. iii. 15 with Ph. iv. 7. In Col. iv, 7 Tychicus is said to have been sent to Colossae : in Acts xx. 4 he is a companion of Paul in travel, and is called a native of the province of Asia in which Colossae was situated. That Mark was (Col. iv. 10) cousin of Barnabas, helps to explain Acts xv. 37 : an important coincidence. That Luke, the re- puted author (see my Corinthians p. 493) of the Third Gospel, is said in Col. iv. 14 to be a beloved friend of Paul, suggests a reason for occasional points of contact between that Gospel and the theology of Paul. The autograph in Col. iv. 18 recalls Gal. vi, II. The real significance of the above coincidences can be fairly esti- mated only by careful and consecutive study of the Epistle itself and by comparison of it with the earlier Epistles of Paul and with other documents not from his pen. For some of these words and phrases are used by other writers. Their value as proofs of common author- ship lies in their accumulation in this one short Epistle, and in their relation to the surrounding train of thought. It is right to say that some good scholars, of whom Pfleiderer is perhaps the best representative, deny that the Epistle to the Colossians is from Paul, on the ground that the errors therein combated were not prevalent till long after his death ; that it contains teaching not found in his acknowledged Epistles and in part contradicting them ; and that it contains words and phrases not used in his earlier letters. The issue thus raised must be decided by judging whether it is more 8 IXTRODVCTIOX. [Sec. 2. easy, accepting the Epistle as genuine, to explain these three grounds of objection, or, rejecting it as spurious, to account for the coincidences noted above and the universal and confident reception of the Epistle in the latter part, and probably in the middle, of the second century. This alternative we will now consider. The words and phrases peculiar to this Epistle, when carefully examined, need cause little surprise. Surely a writer so versatile as Paul's acknowledged Epistles prove him to have been would not exhaust his vocabulary in four epistles. Indeed the new topics now dealt witli suggest and require words not used before. And, in spite of differences, the style is closely akin to that of the Epistle to the Philippians, and not far removed from that of the earlier Epistles. It is true that we have in this Epistle elements of teaching not found in the Epistles already annotated. But, as I shall endeavour to show in Diss, i., these new elements are legitimate and most valuable developments of the principles underlying the acknowledged Epistles. Is it not more likely that such developments would take place in the mind and thought of Paul than among disciples removed from him by more than a generation ? Indeed the change from active evange- listic labour to the solitude of a prison would naturally suggest, in a man like Paul, profound investigation of the foundations of his faith. The wonder would be if such investigation were barren of results. On the other hand the entire extant literature of the second century presents notliing comparable for a moment to the solid advance in Christian thmight embodied in this Epistle. To place it fifty years after the death of Paul, is an utter anachronism. Lastly, any argument based on the supposed later date of the errors here combated is most uncertain. For thi y were, as we shall see in a special note, an outgrowth of inlluences at work before the birth of Christ. And, so far as they can be traced in this Epistle, the errors at Colosste were very rudimentary. Much more developed is the Gnosticism of Cerintluis who is said to have been a contemporary of the Apostle John. We see then that the objections noticed above have little weight as proofs that the Epistle is not from its professed writer. Take now tin- other side of the alternative. \\'r shall src that the developments of Paul's teaching containi'il in this Epistle are of tlie utmost value. They are embodied in language which either is from his pen or is a servile imitation of iiis style. In this last point the Epistle before us presents a great contrast to that to the Hebrews. Ojuld such ijrofound thought and such servile imitation jtroceecl from any «>ne man? Or. again, can we conceive that such a teacher, a Sec. 2.] INTRODUCTION. 9 worthy successor to the Great Apostle and an ilhistrioiis exception to the intellectual barrenness of his age, would hide himself and bury his fame under the mask, and in the grave, of a forgery ? Or, lastly, can we conceive a forged letter making its way to distant Carthage and to Gaul, and gaining acceptance everywhere, without a shadow of doubt, as a genuine work of Paul ? Certainly, these accumulated improbabilities are infinitely greater than any difficulty in supposing that the Gnosticism of the second century existed in germ in the days of Paul and that the teaching of this Epistle is from the pen of the great thinker who expounded so grandly in the Epistle to the Romans the principles of which it is a logical development. We may there- fore accept with confidence the Epistle to the Colossians as a genuine work of Paul. 8. The beautiful Epistle to Philemon contains nothing inconsistent with its genuineness, and bears everywhere marks of the hand and character of Paul. Among these last must be reckoned the absence of any request for the manumission of Onesimus. Tact so delicate belongs not to a forger. The names sending greeting to Philemon are a valuable coincidence with the same names in the Epistle to the Colossians. 9. The Epistle to the Ephesians bears nearly all the marks of genuineness adduced for that to the Colossians, and some others. We have a similar greeting, arrangement, and general style. Notice again the words redeitiptioii in ch. i. 7 ; zvealth in ch. i. 18, ii. 7, iii. 8, 16; mystery \\\ ch. i. 9, iii. 3, 4, 9 ; Christ the Head of the Church, His body in ch. i. 22, iv. 12, 16 ; the old ?nau in ch. iv. 22; desire for his readers' prayers in ch. vi. 19 ; and the phrases in Christ and ijt the Lord. As marked coincidences with the earlier Epistles, we notice also in ch. i. 4, 5, 11 the \\jords purpose, chosen, predestined, embodying teaching in complete harmony with Rom. viii. 28, 29, ix. II ; adoption in Eph. i. 5, as in Rom. viii. 15, 23, ix. 4, Gal. iv. 5 ; sealed with the Spii'it, the earnest of our inheritance in Eph. i. 13, 14, iv. 30, as in 2 Cor. i. 22 ; surpassing in Eph. i. 19, ii. 7, iii. 19 as in 2 Cor. iii. 10, ix. 14 and its cognates in 2 Cor. i. 8, iv. 7, 17, xii. 7, etc. ; faith occupying in Eph. i. 13, 19, ii. 8, iii. 17, iv. 5 its familiar place in the theology of Paul ; the covenants in Eph. ii. 12, a close parallel with Rom. ix. 4 ; Jews and Gentiles in common ruin and common salvation in Eph. ii. 3, 11 — 22, iii. 6, as in Rom. i. 16, iii. 9, x. 12, XV. 8, 9 ; the Church as 2itef?iple in Eph. ii. 20 — 22 as in i Cor. iii. 16, vi. 19, 2 Cor. vi. 16 ; the grace of God given to Paul in Eph. iii. 2, 7, 8 as in Rom. xii. 3, xv. 15, i Cor. iii. 10 ; the less than least of all saints in Eph. iii. 8, compared with i Cor. xv. 9 ; edification in lo INTRODUCTION. [Sec. 2. Eph. iv. 12, 16, 29 as in Rom. xiv. 19, xv. 2, i Cor. xiv. 3, 5, 12, 26, 2 Cor. X. 8, xii. 19, xiii. 10 ; and many others revealing throughout the Epistle the familiar hand of Paul. [Even the anaculothon in Eph. ii. I has a close parallel in Rom. v. 12.] A genuine mark of autiiorship, and a conspicuous feature of the Epistle to the Ephesians as compared with the others of the same group, is the reappearance and careful treatment of the distinction of Jew and Gentile so conspicuous in the earlier Epistles of Paul as compared with the works of all other N. T. writers. This distinction meets us in the outburst of praise (ch. i. 12, 13) at the beginning of the Epistle. It is silently suggested by the change of pronoun between ch. ii. 1,2 and v. 3. The inferior position of the Gentiles before their conversion, and tlicir union witli Jews as now reconciled to God, are fully expounded in ch. ii. 11 — 22. And this union is said in ch. iii. 6 to have been a part of the eternal purpose of salvation. This language reveals a mind long and deeply occui)ied with the different relations of Jew and Gentile to the Kingdom of God. How \ large a j)lace this distinction had in the mind of Paul, we learn from \ Rom. i. 16, ii. 9, 10, 25 — 29, iii. i, 9, i Cor. i. 22 — 24, x. 32, Gal. iii. 27, Col. iii. II. And indisputably it is a mark of early date. For it is impossible to conceive that, after Jerusalem had been taken and the race scattered and after Gentile Christianity had gained a secure and independent position, any writer would lay so much stress on the equality in spiritual privilege of the Gentiles to the Jews. Jewish Christians who still clung to their ancient prerogatives would not place the Gentiles on their own level. A Gentile writer who had witnessed the final dispersion of the Jewish race would consider it but small honour that God has placed the Gentiles on a level with the nation which had murdered the Son of God. Now early date is a strong presumption of genuineness. For it is in \\\v last degree unlikely, while men were living who had known Paul, that the work of some unknown author would have becMi wideh' and confidently accepted as his. Another mark of early date is the en\uneration, in Ej)!!. iv. Ii, of Church officers as Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Pastors and Teachers. For, as we learn from the tone of the letters attributed with much probability to Ignatius and as we infer from later writers, monarchical episcopacy was lirmly established early in the second century. Had there been in the Church an order of bishops distinct from the elders, whom we may here identify with the pastors and teachers, these ( Duld not have lu'i'n passed over here in silence. On the (jtlier hand, this enumeration is in complete accord with i Cor. Sec. 2.] INTRODUCTION. II xii. 28. This last passage explains also the phrase apostles and prophets in Eph. ii. 20, iii. 5. Against the unanimous and confident acceptance of the Epistle in the latter part of the second centur}^, supported as it is by these internal marks of genuineness or of early date, the words and phrases and grammatical constructions more or less peculiar to this Epistle have no weight. For they are easily explained. Li\nng thought ever clothes itself in new forms. Taken as a whole, the Epistle is incom- parably nearer in diction and modes of thought to the acknowledged Epistles of Paul than is any document other than those which bear his name. As in the Epistle to the Colossians, so in that to the Ephesians, we shall in Diss i. find new and legitimate and most valuable develop- ments of the principles unfolded in the earlier Epistles. These developments give to each Epistle great and independent worth. In each case they have been put forward as marks of a later hand. But, as we have already seen in the companion Epistle, they reveal the thought and hand of Paul. On the other hand, the argument against the genuineness of the Colossian Epistle based upon the late date of the errors therein combated has no force against the Epistle now before us. For it contains no definite refutation of specific error- Nor can any one say that the style of this latter Epistle is in any way more unlike that of Paul than is the Epistle to the Colossians. One special argument, however, is brought against the Epistle to the Ephesians by not a few who accept its companion as genuine. The many close coincidences in thought and expression are appealed to in proof that it is a later imitation of the Epistle to the Colossians. These coincidences are indisputable. As important elements common to the two Epistles and peculiar to them, I note Christ the Head of the Church in Col. ii. 18 and Eph. i. 23, in Col. ii. 19 and Eph. iv. 16; dead thi'ough trespasses but now 77iade alive with Christ in Col. ii. 13 and Eph. ii. 5 ; the inward change described in Col. iii. 9, 10 and Eph. iv. 22 — 24. Compare also Eph. iv. 32 — v. 2 with Col. iii. 12, 13 ; Eph. V. 3 — 6 with Col. iii. 5 — 8 ; Eph. v. 19 with Col. iii. 16 ; Eph. V. 22 — vi. 9 with Col. iii. 18 — iv. i, a long and close parallel. Since the Epistle to the Colossians has a specific occasion in the definite errors therein refuted, nearly all who reject one of the Epistles as not genuine reject that to the Ephesians. Certainly, the close and sustained similarity proves either that one Epistle is a servile imitation of the other or that they are the twin offsprijig of one mind. Our choice between these suppositions depends upon our estimate 12 IXTRODUCTIOX. [Sec. 2. of the Epistle to the Ephesians as comparetl with that to the Colos- sians. That it has a distinctive and dominating and all-important mark of its own, Diss. i. will, 1 hope, make clear to us. The cha- racteristic feature of the Epistle to the Colossians is its exposition of the Person of Christ : the chief matter of that to the Ephesians is the Church. This is very conspicuous in Eph. v. 22 — 33 as compared with Col. iii. 18, 19. The ([uestion before us turns on our estimate of the Epistle itself and «tf this independent eUnuiit in it. It can therefore be answered only by careful study of it. I hope that the exposition before us will convince the reader that in grandeur and worth the Epistle to the Ephesians is unsurpassed by any human composition. Its great and independent value is admitted even by Pfleiderer who denies its genuineness. And its worth proves its genuineness. For we cannot conceive a man capable of the profound thought which breathes throughout this Epistle becoming so servile an imitator even of an Apostle. Independent thought always clothes itself in fitting language of its own. On the other hand if our judgment be that the Epistle is a worth- less imitation, we are at once met by an inexplicable difficulty, viz, the early and unanimous and confident acceptance of it as written by Paul. If the work were from a later iiand, is it conceivable that every trace of its origin shoidd have vanisiied utterly I'rom the memory of the early Church ? Certainly tliis is an historic difficulty which needs to be reckoned with. It is increased by the widespread and uncon- tradicted tradition which connects with Ephesus the last years of the Apostle John. For he would know whether the Church in which he lived iiad an Epistle from the hand of his departed colleague. Con- sequently, if not written by Paul, the Epistle must be a work of the second century. Yet in the middle of the century it was accepted as genuine, even by Marcion an enemy of the Gospel ! Some have suggested that the name of Paul was prefixed by some good man to a work of his own, not to deceive, but in order to call attention to sentiments similar to those of the great Apostle. This suggestion is comjjletely overturned by comparison of evidently spurious documents bearing the names of Apostles. All these are worthless in themselves, never gained general reception, and nearly all were exj^ressly rejected by Church writers. A more marked contrast than that between these wretched parodies and the Epistles before us cannot be conceived. The comparison attests the genuine- ness of the document so familiar and so precious to all Christians. .\noth 5- . „ 23 6. , , ,, ,, 7- , ii. 4 14 IXTRODUCTIOX. [Sec. 3. 10. Ch. iii. 3: by the spirit of God iox (rod in the Spirit. 11. ,, ,, II: fro7n t/ic dead for of the dead. 12. ,, ,, 16 : omit ?-Hle, let its viind the same thin<(. 13. ,, iv. 3: Yes, ior and. 14. „ „ 13: Hi?n for Christ. 15. ,, ,, 22)-. your spirit {or you all. All these are accepted without doubt by all recent critical editors, i.e. by Laclwnann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, and Westcott and Hort ; except that about No. 6 Tregelles expresses in his margin a slight doubt. I think that all may be accepted with perfect confidence. On the other hand, no important reading which the editors agree to accept is overlooked by the Revisers. The few readings open to doubt and of any importance whatever are noted in the Revisers' Margin. They are as follows : — I. Ch. ii. 2 : of the same mind or of one mind. 2, M ,, 12: omit or insert as. 3- ,, „ 26: add or omit to sec you. 4- ,, M 30 •• the Lord or Christ. 5- M iii. 13: omit or insert yet. All these are uncertain and unimportant. No variations worthy of attention are overlooked by the Revisers. 2. The Epistle to the Colossians presents more important variations. The following list includes all changes adopted without note by the Revisers and worthy of attention here : — 1. Ch. i. 2: om'xi and \.\\c Lord Jesus Ch?-ist. 2. ,, ,, 3 : omit and before Father. 3. ,, ,, 6: ahcT fruit insert afid inereasin^-. 4- M M 10 : by the I' now ledge of God for /;/ or for the knowledge, ete. 5. ,, ,, 14: om\t through J lis blood. 6 ,, „ 16: twine om\\. that are. 7. ,, ii. 2: OTcat and of the Father a7id. 8. ,, ,, 1 1 : omit ^///^ j-Zw.? of the flesh. 9. ,, ,, 13 : through for in the trespasses. 10. ,, ,, ,, : forgiven us instead (^{ you. 11. ,, ,, 20: ()m\{ wherefore. 12. ,, iii. 5: ///r members for jvy//;- members. 13. ,, ,, 15: (Lirist U)v God. 14. ,, ,, 16: Ut God U)r Xn the f.ord. Sec. 3.] INTRODUCTION. 15 15- Ch. iii. 20 /;/ the Lord for to the Lord. 16. „ 22 : the Lord for 6^/(? serve. 18. ^, 25: read /or instead of diit. 19. iv. 8: read that ye jftay know our estate. 20. 18: omit amen. Of these variations, there is among recent editors some difference about Nos. 2 and 6 : about five more of them, the critical editors since Lachmann have been agreed : all the others are accepted by all editors, from Lachmann to Westcott and Hort. The entire list may, I believe, be accepted with perfect confidence. The readings noted in the Reviser's margin as open to doubt are : — Ch. i. 7 : our or your. ,, ,, 12 : 1CS or you. ,, i. 21 : has He reconciled or ye have been reconciled. ,, u. 2 : general disorder. „ ,, 7 : omit or insert in it before in or with thanks- giving. ,, ,, 18 : seen or not seen. ,, iii. 4: > our or your li^e. ,, ,, 6 : omit or insert tipo?i the so?is of disobedience. „ ,, 13: the Lord or Christ. ,, ,, 16: Christ or Lord or God. „ iv. 15 : their or her. In each of these cases the balance of probability seems to me to incline somewhat to the Revisers' preference ; decidedly so in No. i , a reading of some importance. In No. 4, a most important passage, the complete confusion of the oldest documents renders impossible a reliable decision : but the balance of probability inclines very decidedly to the Revisers' preference. See note in Lightfoot's Colossians. In No. 6, the word removed by the Revisers to their margin has been confidently rejected by all critical editors since Lachmann marked it as doubtful. Evidence external and internal seems to me decisive against it. In No. 8, the words noted in the margin as doubtful are supported by a preponderance of ancient documents so great as at first sight to exclude doubt. But they are omitted by the very excellent Vatican MS., and have the appearance of being copied from Eph. v. 6 ; and are for this reason confidently rejected by all critical editors since Lachmann marked them as doubtful. Internal reasons seem to me to favour the genuineness of the words. See note. In No. 11, where the variations have i6 TXTRODUCTIOX. [Sec. 3. considerable interest, the Revisers' pn^ference seems to me well grounded. The other readings noted in the margin are of little practical importance. In ch. i. 20, the words through Hijn are omitted in some of the best MSS. and versions, and by Lachmann and Tregelles without note and in the margin of Westcott. This omission might fairly claim a place in the Revisers' margin. No other variation worthy of attention is omitted by them. On the whole, in the Greek text of the Ei)istle to the Colossians, the only problems of im{)ortance not yet solved for us by Textual Criticism are the various readings in chs. i. 7, ii. 2, iv. 15. 3. In the Epistle to Philemon, the only changes worthy of men- tion accepted without note by the Revisers are those in vv. 2, 12, which are also adopted by all recent editors, without note except on V. 12 in the margin of Tregelles. It may be received with confidence. The only reading of any importance open to doubt is that noted in the margin of t. 6, where perhaps a slight probability inclines to- wards the RevistTs' preference : but certain decision is nnpossible. 4. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, the changes adopted without note by the Revisers and worthy of attention are : — 1. Ch. i. \Z: heart {ox understanding. 2. ,, ii. I: xw^^QxX. yonr\)it'iox^ trespasses. 3. ,, ,,17: '\w<,^\\. peace \i^iQx& to those 7iear. 4. ,, ,, 19: xw^QxX. ye are h^iox^ fellow-citizens. 5. ^, ,, 21 : every building : \nstfi?i(\ oi all the building. 6. ,, iii. 3 : was-made-known for He made knoivn. 7 6 : the for His. 8. „ ,, 8 : to the Gentiles for among the Gentiles. 9. ,, ,, (): stewardship ox dispensation kn fellozi'ship. JO. , : ownX. through Jesus Christ. 11. ,, ,, 14: iww'xt of our Lord Jesus Christ. 12. ,, ., 21: \ni>cxt and hcfoxr in Chri.. ,, „ 9: light U^x Spirit. 17 21 : (hristU^x God. iS „ ,, 2^ lliniself .Saviour \i^x and I le is .'u) . 19. ,, ,, 27 : <»niit //before to lli>nsrlf. 20. ,, ,. 30: t)xx\\i of /lis flesh U^ v\n\. 21. ,, vi. 9: U)xy(iurxr^i\offhrniandofyou. 3- „ ii. 5 4- M iii. 9 5- M iv. 9 6. ,. ,. 32 7- M V. 2 For Nos . I and I No. 3, the o] Sec. 3.] INTRODUCriOA. 17 22. Ch. vi. 10 : omit f?iy brethren. 23. ,, ,, 12 : read this darkness. 24. ,, ,, 16: rca-d anio/ig all {or upon all. All these are accepted without note by all recent editors, except No. 15, a reading of no importance, adopted by all but Lachmann ; and No. 20, about which Tregelles, while omitting the words in question, expresses doubt. All may, I think, be accepted with confidence. The readings noted in the Revisers" margin as open to doubt are : — 1. Ch. i. I: mscYt or omit at Ephes us. 2. ,, ,,15: omit or insert /6'?y6'. luith Christ or in Christ. nisert or omit all before 7nen. omit or insert //rj/ before into the lower parts, you or us. for us or for you. 2, important and difficult variations, see notes. In No. 3, the oldest and best uncial, viz. the Vatican ms., the accurate Coptic version, and one of the best cursives, support the reading in the margin against all other authorities. But the practical difference is slight. The other marginal readings are unimportant. No variations worthy of note and of any claim to genuineness are overlooked by the Revisers. In short, the Greek text underlying the four Epistles here annotated may be accepted throughout with full confidence as, within narrow limits, representing correctly the original text of these Epistles. 5. In the renderings of the Revised Version of the Epistle to the Philippians, among many improvements I note the following. In ch. i. 13, the whole pnptorian guard is much more accurate than all the palace. The rendering in ch. ii. 6, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God is, in my view, not correct : but in v. 7 the rendering emptied himself instead of made himself of no reputa- tion is an unspeakable gain, not merely as a more correct reproduc- tion of Paul's thought but as shedding light on the profound mystery of the Incarnation. In ch. iii. 9 a righteousness of my own is a most happy rendering, instead of the less accurate my own righteous?iess. Our citizenship, in v. 20, is much better than the misleading or almost meanmgless word conversation : and the body of our hiimilia- tion, of his glory, in z^. 21, corrects a serious misrepresentation. In 2 i8 IXTRODUCTION. [Sec. 3. ch. iv. 3, the rendering help these W07nen, for they laboured with ine ill the Gospel, makes clear Paul's reference to the two women just mentioned by name. In nothing be anxious (v. 6) is a good repro- duction of Paul's meaning and emphasis, and replaces a rendering very liable to be misunderstood, be careful for nothing. Even the change in v. 7 from through Christ Jesus to in Christ Jesus is not without significance. The rendering I have learnt the secret in v. 12 does something to reproduce the sense completely buried under the A. V. / am iiistructed. To these might be added many smaller improvements. And I do not know of anything to set against them. In the Epistle to the Colossians, the marked improvements are not so many. But the change at the beginning and end of ch. i. 16 from by Hi77i were all thi7igs created \.o i7i Hi77i, tlwough Hi77i is very important as stating more accurately the relation of the Son to the work of creation. The Revisers' rendering of ch. ii. 15, having put ojffro77i Hi77iself the principalities, reproduces fairly the meaning of Paul's words, and thus calls attention to a difficulty quite concealed by the A. V. havi7ig spoiled etc. Similarly, in v. 18 dwelli7ig 07i the thi7igs which he hath seen is much nearer to Paul's intention than i7itrudi7tg into etc. Seve7'ity to the body in v. 23 is better than neglecting of the body : and 7iot i7i a7iy value agai7ist i7idulgC7icc of the flesh is intelligible and fairly correct, whereas the A. V. is unintelligible. On the other hand, an aggravated form of the blemish mentioned on p. 541 of my Co7-i7ithia7is is found in ch. i. 16, where the Revisers have displaced a very correct and idiomatic rendering for Hi77i in favour of the meaningless words unto Him. Tiiey have also failed to make clear the evident reference of ch. iv. 11, viz. that the three men mentioned were the only Jews who had been a comfort to Paul. In Philemon 12, 77iy very hea/'t is better tlian 77ii7ic ow7i bowels. Similarly, in ?/. 20. In ?'. 13, on thy behalf is more accurate than in thy stead. The absence of any special errors of rendering in the A. V. of the Epistle to the Ephksians has left no occasion for improvements worthy of special mention here. But throughout these four E[)istles are a multitude of minor ciianges (e.g. Eph. iv. 2() speech instead of co77i77iU7iicatio7i) which, though not individually of great moment, givi rollertively a much better conrcjition of Paul's meaning than docs the earlier Version. Sec. 4.] INTRODUCTION. I9 SECTION IV. PHILIPPI, EPHESUS, COLOSSI, AND THE CHURCHES THERE. I. Philippi was situated some eight miles from Neapolis, now Kavala, on the northern shore of the iEgean Sea, in a level and well- watered and luxuriant plain surrounded by mountains and separated from the sea by a ridge of hills from 1,000 to 1,600 feet high. Over this range of hills and through Philippi passed the Egnatian Way, the great road from Asia Minor to the Adriatic and to Rome. The city was rebuilt by Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, on the site of an older town called, from the many streams flowing through the plain, Crenides, or ' Springs of Water.' On the plain of Philippi was fought after the death of Julius Caesar the famous battle, renewed after twenty days on the same field, in which his murderers, Brutus and Cassius, were crushed by Octavius, who afterwards became the Emperor Augustus, and Mark Antony. To commemorate the battle Augustus afterwards made Pliilippi a Roman colony, and gave to it the further privileges known as ' the Italic right.' On the Roman colonies, see my Corinthians p. 16. By an interesting coincidence, coins of Philippi have been found bearing, as was usual with colonies, Latin inscriptions, in marked contrast to other Macedonian coins with Greek inscriptions. Philippi was the first European town in which Paul laboured. On his second missionary journey, probably in a.d. 52, (see my Galatians p. 193,) he arrived at Troas on the eastern shore of the iEgean Sea. From Troas, Mount Athos on the opposite coast of Macedonia, thooigh distant more than eighty miles, is sometimes seen in the rays of the setting sun. And we can well believe that at Troas Paul's thoughts went out after the mighty continent of Europe, now nearer to him than ever before. No wonder that in a dream a man of Macedonia besought his help. A rapid voyage of two days brought the httle band to Neapolis. Thence, at once apparently, they passed on over the ridge to Philippi. That no synagogue is mentioned, suggests that not many Jews lived there. But Paul found some women, Jewesses or proselytes who were accustomed to meet together for prayer by the river-side. He was soon gladdened by the conversion of Lydia, apparently a woman of position, and later by that of the gaoler, and of their households. From this beginning sprang the Church at Philippi. 20 INTROlJUCTlOX. [Sec. 4. The reality of the good \\(jrk thus begun was soon proved. The passing stranger was remembered alter his departure by those to whom he had spoken words of life. Not only once but twice, even when he was at Thessalonica, the next city in which he preached, they sent a ccMitribution of money for his support : Ph. iv. 16. Nor was this all. During his eighteen months' sojourn at Corinth, money was sent (2 (or. xi. 9) to him from Macedonia, doubtless either altogether (cp. V\\. iv. 15) from Philippi or stimulated by the liberality of the Philippians. Paul's second visit to Philip[)i was some six years later and along the same route. A fugitive from deadly peril at Ephesus he came to Troas, thinking not of his peril but of Titus whom he hoped to meet there with news about the unfaithful Church at Corinth: 2 Cor. ii. 12, 13. But Titus was not at Troas: and Paul hurried across the iEgean to seek him in Macedonia. Landing at Neapolis he doubtless again pushed on to Pliiitffpi. And there or at least in Macedonia the wished-for messenger came, antl witii good news. In Macedonia Paul laboured for some time, and then went on to Corinth : Acts XX. 2. On the return journey, accompanied by Luke who had been with him on his first visit to Philippi, (as we infer from ' we were ' and ' we sailed' in Acts xvi. 12, xx. 6,) Paul spent Easter there, and went on his way, prtjbably Jor the last time and with dark forebodings, to Jerusalem. The curtain now falls on this most interesting Church vuitil in some measure it is lifted by the Epistle before us. And with the close of this Epistle it falls again. The letter from Polycarp to the Church at Philippi, quoted on p. 5, says nothing about the state of the Church there except that Valens, a presbyter of it, and his wife, had been guilty f)f avarice. In subsequent history we hear nothing more. And to-day, amid cjuiet meadows, a few ruins are all that remain to mark the site of what once was PhiHppi. 2. Ear more important than Philippi was ErHKSUS, the splendid capital ol the Roman j)rovince of Asia. On tli<' wcstirn cfjast of Asia Minor, some 300 miles due east of ("orinth, into a bay partly closed by the island of Samos, the river ("ayster flows thrf)iigli a plain about five miles across bounded to the north by low hills and to the south by the somewhat loftier range of mount Prion.* To the south of the river, upon and around a double hill called mount Coressus * and uj)on the northern slopes of mount Prion stood Ei)hesus, a city built, togetlu-r with others on the .same As these mountain.s arc named by Mr. Wood, who was led l)y his discoveries to transpose the names pn vioiisly given to theni. Sec. 4.] INTRODUCTION. 21 coast, in the early dawn of the history of their nation, by Greeks from across the iEgean Sea. Close outside the city, as we now know, from its earliest days stood a temple to the goddess Artemis. Even Herodotus in the fifth cen- tury B.C. speaks of the temple of Ephesus as worthy of note : bk. ii. 148. On or near the same site were successively erected and burnt several temples, of which all were famous but each surpassed in splendour its predecessor. One of these is said to have been burnt, apparently soon after its completion, in B.C. 356, on the day of the birth of Alexander the Great. This was followed, on the same site and a few years afterwards, by the temple standing in all its glory in the days of Paul. Of this temple Pausanias speaks as surpassing all buildings raised by men: bk. iv. 31. 8. And everywhere Ephesus was known as the 'sacristan of the great Artemis: ' Acts xix. 35. From the time of the Persian wars to that of Paul, Ephesus enjoyed great and increasing commercial prosperity. The rich country around supplied to the city abundant produce. And ships from every port filled its market with merchandise, to be exchanged for that borne along the great roa^s leading from Ephesus to the interior of Asia Minor. So Strabo says, "Owing to its good situation, the city increases day by day, being the greatest emporium on this side the Taurus mountains : " bk. xiv. p. 641. In the bloom of Greek art, Ephesus was famous for its painters and sculptors. And when art had faded, it was widely known as the chosen home of magic. So Clement of Alexandria speaks of "the so-called Ephesian letters," a kind of charm, as being "far famed:" Misc. bk. v. 8, p. 72. The wealth of Ephesus and the luxuriant climate of the Asiatic coast produced also an unbridled self-indulgence for which the city was long notorious. When the Roman province of Asia was formed, the commercial and religious importance of Ephesus, and the easy access to it from the west, made it the residence of the Roman Governor and the centre of Roman authoritj'. Such then was flphesus when visited by Paul. Its temple, ancient and yet in full glory, was a wonder of the world and the veneration of all heathendom. Its quays and markets were crowded by men of every nation, enriching a city already rich. The soft climate invited to every kind of luxury. And over all the majesty of Rome shed the lustre of its mighty presence. About A.D. 260, Ephesus was plundered and its temple set on fire by barbarian invaders. And from .this time the temple passes from our view. It probably shared the fate of others in a.d. 399, when a 22 INTRODUCTION. [Sec. 4. decree was issued l)y the Kmperors Arcadius and 1 Idiiorius ior the destruction of all temples except such as c(Mild be used lor churches. So complete was its destruction that until a few years ago no trace remained, n(jr was the site known, of the building which had been the glory of Ephesus and of Asia. A careful search for it was under- taken in the year 1863, under the auspices of the Trustees of the British Museum, by an English Architect, Mr. J. T. Wood, whose patient and well directed efforts were rewarded in 1869 by discovery of the long lost temple. During the next five years sufficient remains were found not only to place the site beyond doubt but to give a good and reliable idea of the building itself. These discoveries agree in the main with the scanty notices of Vitruvius, On Architecture bks. i. 2, iii. I, iv. I, and of Pliny, Natural History bk. xxxvi. 21. The temple was rectangular, 343 ft by 164 ft, not including the steps which sur- rounded it on all sides. It consisted of a central chamber, or Cella, containing the famous image of the goddess, with a vestibule in front and a large chamber behind. Around this building were two rows of Ionic fluted columns, about seven feet in diameter at the bottom of the shaft and about fifty-six feet high, supporting the roof of the temple. Pliny says that 36 columns were sculptured. And five drums or parts of drums of columns elaborately sculptured with life size human figures in high relief were found by Mr. Wood and may now be seen at the British Museum. Broken fluted drums in great abundance were brought to light. Portions of the marble pavement of the temple were found ; as also parts of the pavements of two earlier temples on the same site. Also, with other inscriptions in the Theatre and other parts of the city, twenty-six inscriptions were found among the ruins of the temple conferring citizenship upon various foreigners who had rendered service to the Ephesians. A careful reprint and translation of these most interesting records of early Ephesian life, and a full account of the excavations, abundantly illustrated, are given in first-rate style in Wood's Disccrocries at Ephesus. Also interesting, and not superseded by Mr. Wood's volume, is Falkener's Ephesus. We must now trace Pauls connection with Ephesus. From Acts xvi. 6 we learn that, on his second missionary journey, he was 'hindered by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia.' This suggests that his purpose was, after passing through Phrygia and Galatia, to carry the Gospel to that important province. And, if so, his eye must have rested on its great metropolis. But God had more pressing work for him to do, viz. to carry the Gospel at once to its future home, the great continent of Europe. On his retm-n journey, Sec. 4.] INTRODUCTION. 23 as re^corded in Acts xviii. 19, Paul paid a flying visit to Ephesus in company with his faithful helpers Aquila and Prisca who remained there, apparently for several years. That no Cliristians are men- tioned, suggests that there was then no Church there. But as usual Paul went to the synagogue of the Jews, by whom he was well received and invited to remain. This he could not do, but promised soon to return. Some time after Paul's departure, there arrived at Ephesus an eloquent and earnest Alexandrian Jew, Apollos, who eagerly advo- cated, as he imperfectly understood them, the claims of Jesus. And, while doing so, he learnt from Aquila and Prisca the real significance of the Gospel he endeavoured to proclaim. Shortly afterwards he crossed the vEgean Sea to Achaia, and continued there his earnest work for Christ. In the spring of A.D. 55, according to the reckoning on p. 193 of my Galatiaiis^ Paul, fulfilling his promise, again arrived at Ephesus. Since Aquila and Prisca are referred to in i Cor. xvi. 19 as with him at Ephesus, we may suppose that they were there to welcome his arrival. He found in the city some twelve disciples of Christ who had received neither Christian Baptism nor the distinctively Christian gift of the Holy Spirit. From his teaching they received the inspira- tion of a new life. Their Baptism was doubtless an important era in the history of the young Church. As at Corinth, Paul began his work at Ephesus in the synagogue of the Jews. After three months, opposition arose. But already he had gathered round him a band of faithful men. These he now separated from the synagogue ; and found for them a home in the school of Tyrannus, possibly a Greek teacher of philosophy or rhetoric. Here Paul laboured for two years, a longer time than he had before spent in one place ; and with great success. From Ephesus as a centre the Gospel became known throughout the whole province. Asiatic superstition was confronted by the most wonder- ful miracles recorded of Paul. Certain Jews who attempted to use as a charm the name of Jesus were utterly confounded by the evil spirits they tried to exorcise. And many Christians, convicted by the manifested power of God, confessed that they had been secretly practising the magical arts of their former days ; and proved their sincerity by bringing out and burning publicly their secret books to the value of some ^2000 of our money. From Ephesus, about Easter of a.d. 58 probably, (see Galatians p. 193,) Paul wrote his first extant Epistle to the Corinthians. He was then purposing to start soon for Macedonia and Achaia. 24 IXTRDDUCTTON. [Sec. 4. His departure was hastened by the tiiinult described in Acts xix. 23 — 41 : see p. 51 1 of my CorijitJiiaiis. 1 may now add that in the inscriptions reprinted in Woods Ephcsiis the birth-day of Artemis is several times said to be a reUgious festival, and said to be in the month of May. We have also frequent mention of silver images, which would tind work for Demetrius and his companions. The word rendered ' town-rlerk ' is also frequent as an official title at Epiiesus. And the phrase ' temple-keeper of Artemis ' anil others similar an^ frequently found (cp. Acts xix. 35) as titles of the city. On his return journey, Paul summoned to Miletus the eld(Ts of the Church at lOphesus, and gave them the address recorded in Acts xx. 18 — 35. All this reveals the importance of that Church. Then followed a Jerusalem Paul's arrest and imprisonment, his voyage to Rome, and his imprisonmejit there. During that imjirison- ment, as we shall see, tiie letter before us was written. From I Tim. i. 3 we learn that Paul had requested Timothy to remain at Ephesus to deal with church-matters there whicli needed special attention. And liis words seem to imply tliat this request was made when Paul was himself at Ephesus, but starting for Mace- donia. A multitude of reasons combine to assure us that this, and the similar request in Tit. i. 5, were not earlier than Paul's arrest at Jerusalem. If so, these Epistles, which 1 cannot but accept as genuine, prove that after his imprisonment at Kouie Pan) was set free and again visited Ephesus. The circumstances of his visit are altogether unknown. But from the letter to Timothy we learn that the fears expressed at Miletus were only too well grounded and that the Church at Ephesus was then beset by many ])erils. The charges to Timothy and Titus by n*. means imply that they were per- manently settled at Ephesus anil in ( rete as chief pastors, or bishops. And of any such office we have no hint in the New Testament. See Diss. ii. 10. Nor do we know whether the .Seciind Epistle f(Mmd Timothy still at Ephesus. f^nr laiini rfr. § 42. It was afterwards the scat oi an ;n< hl)isho|). Mere was held in A.I). 431 ann'd nnw h mnrnsion the Third ("lemral Conncil ; anil, in Sec. 4.] INTRODUCTION. 25 A.D. 449, amid still greater confusion, a gathering sunnnoned as a general council but afterwards not acknr)\vledged as such and known ever since as the Robber Synod. With this tumultuous assembly closes practically the history of Ephesus and of the Church at Ephesus. For long centuries the site of the city has been an utter solitude without inliabitant. But, strange to say, the railway from Smyrna to Aidin has a station little more than a mile from its ruins. Between the city and the railway station is the site of the temple. The candlestick (Rev. ii. 5) has been removed from its place. And even the splendid metropolis it once illumined has ceased to be counted among the cities of the world. But its name will never die. Throughout the world it is known, chiefly through the labours and letters of a Jewish tentmaker. But that tentmaker was an Apostle of Jesus Christ. 3. We now leave the beautiful coast of the ^Egean and tlie splendid metropolis of the Roman province of Asia, through a gate of which there are still remains, and go inland over the hills to Magnesia and then eastward, some 120 miles in all, almost to the boundary of the province and into what was popularly and inde- finitely known as Phrygia. On the banks of the Lycus, a stream flowing into the Mseander and now called the Tc horuk S u, are ruins which have been, with reasonable certainty, identified as those of Colossi, some three miles north of Chonos, a modern straggling village on the site of a mediaeval town known as Chonai. See Hamilton's Researches in Asia Minor \o\. i. pages 509 — 523. Some ten miles lower down the stream, which here flows somewhat north of east, to the south of the stream and on the slopes of the Cadmus range, are important ruins of a racecourse, gymnasium, theatres, and other buildings, which have been identified as those of Laodicea ; and six miles away, north by east, with the stream flowing about midway between the two sites, are the still nobler ruins of Hierapolis on the slope of lower hills bounding the valley of the Lycus on the north. The site of Hierapolis is described by Hamilton as one of special beauty. A weird strangeness is cast over the scene by thick incrustations in all grotesque forms deposited by a small stream strongly impregnated with lime w-hich falls into the Lycus near this point. There is also a hot spring of some ichd degrees Fahrenheit. So near are the ruins of. the three cities that all may be visited in one day. Colossi is mentioned by Herodotus (bk. vii. 30) as a great city through which the army of Xerxes passed on its way to invade 26 IXTRODUCTION. [Sec. 4. Greece, Xenophon {Anahasis bk. i. 2. 6) speaks of it as being, some 80 years later, " populous, prosperous, and great." But the notices of later writers seem to imply t'^at long before Paul's time it had sunk into comparative decay. Lightfoot says, " Without doubt Colossae was the least important church to which any Epistle of St. Paul was addressed." Laodicea, till then an obscure town, had risen into great import- ance shortly before Paul's day. So Strabo, bk. xii. p. 578. Under the Romans it became the political capital of the surrounding dis- trict. HiERAPOLis seems to have been, owing to the beauty of its position and the medicinal properties of its springs, a favourite health resort. The rich pastures around were famous for their large flocks of sheep. All three towns were enriched by their trade in dyed wool. For the rich colours of their dyes, Strabo tells us (bk. xii. p. 578) that Laodicea and Colossae were specially famous; and that (bk. xiii. p. 630) for this they owed much to the mineral waters of Hiera- polis. He says also that the country was specially liable to earth- quakes. Of one such, which happened apparently shortly before this Epistle was written and which desolated Laodicea, we read in Tacitus, Annals bk. xiv. 27. From this, he tells us, Laodicea re- covered without help from Rome. From Josephus {Aiitiq. bk. xii. 3. 4) wc learn tliat Antiochus the Great (b.c. 223 — 187) transplanted 2,000 Jewisli families to Lydia and Phrygia. Doubtless some of these settled in the valley of the Lycus. Cicero says {For Flacais § 28) that large sums of money were sent from Laodicea to the temple at Jerusalem. This reveals the presence of a large Jewish population. It is not unlikely that among the Phrygians (Acts ii. 10) at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost were some from these three cities. About the founding of the Churches in these cities, we know nothing except from this epistle. We learn from Col. ii. I that Paul had never visited Colossae or Laodicea. To tiiese we may add by sure inference the neighbouring city of Hierapolis. He twice passed through Phrygia : Acts xvi. 6, xviii. 23. But his route, so far as we can trace it, would not lead him near the valley of the Lycus. Indirectly, liowever, the Churches of the Lycus were probably results of Paul's labour. The Colossians received the Gospel from tlieir fellow-citizen, Epaphras : (!ol. i. 7, iv. 12. The nearness of the three cities assures us that it would at once spread from one to the others. And the earnest interest of f^jxiphras embraced them all: Col. iv. 13. It is therefore |)rol)'able that directly or indirectly Sec. 4.] INTRODUCTION. 27 he was foauder of the three Churches. Now Paul laboured lor three years at Ephesus : Acts xx. 31. Through his continued preachnig there ' all those inhabiting Asia heard the word of the. Lord, both Jews and Greeks:' ch. xix. 10. It is not unlikely that from the lips of Paul, on a visit to the metropolis of the province, Epaphras heard and accepted the Gospel which he afterwards preached in his own city and those around it. Possibly Paul charged him to do this. If so, we can the more easily understand his description of Epaphras in Col. i. 7 as « faithful ijimister of Christ on our behalf. Whether Paul paid his hoped-for (Philemon 22) visit to Colossae, we do not know. But if the Pastoral Epistles be genuine, he was set free, and visited Ephesus and Miletus : i Tim. i. 3, 2 Tim, iv. 20. And if so, he may have extended his journey to the Churches of the Lycus. The only later reference in the New Testament to these Churches is the letter preserved in Rev. iii. 14 — 22. Naturally it was addressed to the rfiost important of the three cities. In v. 14, 'the beginning 1 of the creation of God,' we have a thought in close harmony with Col. i. 15, 16. ' The subsequent history of these cities and Churches contains little worthy of note. With this Epistle the Churcli at Colossae disappears altogether from view, except as here and there the name of its bishop is appended to the decrees of a council. The bishops of the more important sees of Laodicea and Hierapolis were present at the General Councils at Nicgea, Ephesus, and Chalcedon ; and, two years before this last, at the Robber Synod at Ephesus. About A.D. 363 was held at Laodicea a provincial council which has left us, in its sixtieth Canon, a list of the books of the New Testament agreeing exactly with our Enghsh Bible except that it omits the Book of Revelation, the earliest list so nearly complete. And for some centuries the two sees retained their importance. A thin and scattered population, Turkish with a mixture of Greeks and Armenians, lives around the ruins of these once important cities, and cultivates the soil which still retains its ancient fertility. And, as of old, the country is still occasionally visited by earthquakes. 28 INTRODUCTION. [Sec. 5. SECTION V. TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING, AND THE OCCASION, OF THE EPISTLES. T. For tlie first time Paul now writes as a prisoner: Eph. iii. i, iv. I, vi. 20, Pii. i. 7, 13, Col. iv. 3, 18, Philemon 10, 13, 22, 23. These frequent references to his Ijondage reveal the deep mark it had made in his thought and heart, and thus prove that iiis imprisonment lasted for some time. Now in the Book of Acts no long imprisonment of Paul is recorded earlier than his arrest at Jerusalem. This is a very strong presiunption that these Epistles were later than his arrest. And this is the confident judgment of all scholars. 2. After his arrest, Paul remained for more than two years a prisoner at Csesarea, was then taken to Rome, the journey occupying many months, and remained there in prison for not less than two years : Acts xxiv. 27, xxviii. 30. Whether he was then set free, we have no sure information. This long imprisonment affording abundant leisure for writing letters suggests itself at once as the time whiMi these Epistles of captivity were written. We therefore ask, were they written during the qarlicr or the later part of it, i.e. from Caesarea or from Rome ? That they were written from Rome, an early and unanimous tradition attests. With such scanty indications as we have, we will now test tliis tradition. CcEsafs household in Ph. iv. 22 points ver}' clearly to tlie imperial palace at Rome. And ch. i. 13, manifest in the whole py(T.tori ion or ;f>r(Etorian ^i/ard sw^gt^sii^ much more forcibly the pretorian guard at Rome tlian the narrow limits of the governor's palace at Cnesarca. Against these indications there is nothing to set. It is therefore generally admitted that probably the Epistle to the Piiilipi)ians was written from Rome during Paul's imprisonment there. That the Flpistle to the Colossians was written at the same time as that to the Ephesians, is made almost certain by the reference in Eph. vi. 21 and C,"ol. iv. 7 to Tychints, a beloved brother and faithful ?nimster in the Lord, as evidently the bearer of each Epistle, taken in connection with the very close similarity of the Epistles in thought, order, and jihrasrology, a simil:nit\' withiuit parallel in tin- Ni'w Tes- tament, and with tin- j)ro(if given in Inlrotl. ii. that both Epistles are from the Jieii nf j'aill. The Epistle tu Philemon was ajvparentiy (r'. I2)taken by Onesimus, who is s.'u'd in (dl. w. <) to be aceomiianying 'ryeliicns to Colossre. Moreover, of six men with ran! who send greetini; to the Church at Sec. 5.] INTRODUCTION. 29 Colossae, we notice that five send greeting to Philemon. These re- markable coincidences prove conclusively that the short letter to Philemon was written and sent at the same time as those to Ephesus and Colossae. We now ask, were the three Epistles written from Caesarea or from Rome ? That they were written from Rome, an early and wide- spread tradition asserts. Meyer and others argue that they were written from Caesarea, on the ground that it is more likely that a runaway slave would go to Caesarea than to Rome which was much further and involved a long sea voyage, that from Rome to Colossae Tychicus and Onesimus would pass through Ephesus and that if so Paul would have commended Onesimus to the Church there as he does to that at Colossae, and that Paul's request (Philem. 22) for a lodging implying hope of an early journey to Colossae suggests Caesarea, from which place, had Paul been set free, he might have travelled through Colossae to Ephesus and to Rome. These arguments have no great weight. In all ages longer routes to the metropolis have been more easy than shorter routes from one provincial town to another, and fugitives have ever preferred to hide themselves among the multitudes of a great city. Possibly Onesimus' plan was to leave Tychicus at Ephesus and to pass on without delay to the master he had wronged at Colossae. Reasons unknown to us may have given Paul hopes of early liberation. And his deep interest in the young Churches on the Lycus, acknowledged in Col. ii. i,may have prompted him to plan an early visit to them. On the other side I can adduce only one argument, viz. indications that the three Epistles were written later than that to the Philippians. Although in its tone of triumphant calm and in the absence of serious discussion about Jew and Gentile this last Epistle is closely related to those to Ephesus and Colossae, it is in teaching and phraseology much more closely related than they are to the earlier Epistles and especially to that to the Romans. Compare Ph. iii. 9, not having a righteousness of my own, even that which is from law, hut that which is th?-oiigh faith of Christ, the righteousness which x^from God on the condition of faith : a very close coincidence with Rom. i. 17, iii. 21, 22, X, 3. Also cop are Ph. iii. 4 — 6 with 2 Cor. xi. 21 — 30 ; and note other phrases found only in the earlier Epistles. These coincidences seem to me far to outweigh the arguments adduced by Meyer. Against this earlier date of the Epistle to the Philippians, but not necessarily against the other Epistles being written at Rome, it has been objected that Ph. iv. ro implies a long interval between Paul's 30 INTRODUCTION. [Sec. 5. arrival at Rome and the letter to Philippi, an interval long enough Tor news of his imprisonment to reach Philippi, for delay there, for the journey and illness of Epaphroditus, for news of his illness to reach Philippi, and for Epaphroditus to know this. But probably, even for all this, a year would suffice. For the journey from Rome to Philippi along splendid Roman roads and across the narrow straits would occupy probably not more than a month and could be made at almost any time of the year. And the illness of Epaphroditus may have been on the eastern side of the straits where it might soon become known at Philippi. Another objection is based on Ph. i. 20 — 26, which suggests that a crisis of Pauls trial was near. From this, some have inferred that the letter was written near to the close of his imprisonment. But it is quite possible that in the mismanagement of Nero's rule Paul's trial was delayed after its decision had seemed to be near. Reviewing the whole case, the balance of evidence seems to me to incHne somewhat to the earlier date of the Epistle to the Philippians. And this implies that the other letters were written, not from Csesarea, but from Rome. We may suppose that the letter to Philippi was written within the first year of Paul's imprisonment at Rome and at a time when the decision of his case seemed to be near ; that a further delay arose of more than a year ; and that towards the close of it, when Paul was again hoping for liberty, Epaphras arrived with news about the Colossians and the Christians of Asia. This is to me much easier than to suppose that, after the remarkable development of thought embodied in the Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians, Paul could write the Epistle to the Philippians in which we find no trace of this development. Between tiie Epistles an interval must be allowed which if not very long was sufficient for a marked growth in the thought of the Apostle. Pro- bably this growth was stimulated by the news brought by Epaphras. In Diss. iii. of my Cot'inihians we have seen that Paul arrived in Rome probably early in a.d. 62. If so, he may have written to the Philippians early in a.d. 63, and the other three letters a year later. The occasion of the Epistles is involved in what has just been said, Paul is a prisoner in charge of the Pretorian guard at Rome, <',\j)ecting an early derision of his case, but utterly uncertain \yhether it will bring him liberty and further work for Christ or sudden death. A messenger arrives with a contributif)n in money from the Church at Philij)i)i which has already given .several proofs of its care for him. l":pai)hroditus even apologizes for the lateness of the .i;ift. by Sec. 5.] INTRODUCTION. 31 saying that circumstances had delayed it. On his way to Rome, he had been dangerously ill : and news of this had reached Phihppi. The traveller is eager to return, in order to remove, by his own presence among them again, the anxiety thus caused to his fellow- Christians at home. And Paul sends with him, as an abundant recompense for their kindness to him, this beautiful letter in which he pours out his joy and gratitude for this remarkable proof of the Christian character of his beloved children in the faith. The expected decision is deferred : and Paul lingers in prolonged bondage. But within the narrow^ walls of his prison he ponders the grandeur of the Eternal Son and the eternal purpose of salvation. During this long delay, probably near to its close, the Apostle is cheered by the arrival of Epaphras, an earnest Christian worker from the far off valley of the Lycus, who has himself planted the Gospel in its three cities and now narrates all this to Paul. The news fills him with joy. But the joy is mixed with anxiety caused by indications that at least in Colossae serious error is taking root, error w^iich threatens to undo the good work already begun. That the letter was addressed to Colossae, suggests that there the danger was greatest. That Paul directs the letter to be read also at Laodicea, implies that this neighbouring city was infected. The one slight reference (Col. iv. 13) to Hierapolis suggests that it was the smallest of the three Churches. Either for other reasons or at Paul's request, Tychicus is going to Asia, his native province, and to Colossae. Paul writes and sends with him a letter setting forth, in view of the errors there prevalent, the greatness and sufficiency of the Son of God in His relation to the Church and to the Universe. And since on his way Tychicus must pass through Ephesus and must cross the province of Asia, Paul writes, and sends with him, another letter to the Ephesians and to the various Churches of the province. Before this time, a runaway slave of a Christian at Colossae called Philemon, who apparently had robbed his master, had come to Rome and come within Paul's influence and by him had been led to Christ. Already the young convert had been helpful to the imprisoned Apostle. But Paul now sends him back to his defrauded master, in company with Tychicus who was going to the same place, and sends with him a third letter begging his friend to receive back as a Christian brother the returning fugitive. Bearing these documents, familiar now in every land and almost in every home and more precious than diamonds, the strange com- panions in travel started on their long journey over land and sea. 32 INTRODUCTION. [Sec. 5. leaving the great Apostle, whose loving and anxious heart and earnest prayers I'olhjwed their steps, still in bonds at Rome. In the lollowing exposition, the Epistle to the Philippians is placed tirst, as being nearest in its teaeliiiig and phraseology to the Epistles already annotated. And this seems to me, as I have en- deavoured to show, the most likely order of time. The Epistle to the Colossians comes next, as dealing with a specific matter, namely the news brought by Epaphras about the error spreading at Colossae. Then follows the letter to Philemon, deahng with another specific, but less important, matter. Last of all I have placed the profound Ei)istle to the Ephesians which treats of no specific matter but sets forth, from its own jjoint of view, the Eternal Purpose of Salvation and its realisation in the One Church of Christ. EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. SECTION I. A CHRISTIAN GREETING. CJI. I. I, 2. Paul and Timothy , serz'a7its of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons : -grace to you and peace fro?n God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. The absence of any assertion of authority here and in i Th. i. i, 2 Th. i. I is explained by the evident and unanimous loyalty to the Apostle of these two Macedonian Churches. This permitted him to place his belov^ed disciple and himself on the same level as alike doing the work of the one Master : Paul and Ti7nothy, servants of Christ Jesus. Cp. Rom. xvi. 2i, i Cor. xvi. lo, and note under R(»m. i. I. This reminds us that Paul and Timothy were together when the Gospel was first preached at Philippi. For the same reason the name of Silas is added in i Th. i. i, 2 Th. i. i. The association r)f Timothy with Paul in other l'4)istles recalls also tlif close spiritual relationship recorded in Ph. ii. 19 — 22, i Cor. iv. 17. Saints: see under Rom. i. 7. This common designation of all Christians, read in the light of the Old Testament, implies that God had claimed for Himself all the professed servants of Christ, thus placing them, in privilege and solemn obligation, on a level with, or rather infinitely above, the holy objects of the Old Covenant. In Christ Jesus : as in i Cor. i. 2. In distinction from the Old Covenant, our consecration to God is brought about through the historic facts of Christ and is consummated by spiritual union with Hun. Who 3 34 EXPOSITIOX OF [Sec. 2. are etc. : emphatic assertion that at Philippi there are saints in Christ Jesus. AH the saints : so Rom. i. 7, i Cor. i. 2, 2 Cor. i. 2; but not Eph. i. i, Col. i. 2. Totality is very conspicuous in vv. 3, 4, 7, 8. Writing to tlie Philippian Christians as individual saints, Paul thinks of them all without exception. Bishops and deacofis : evidently two orders of Church officers. So I Tim. iii. 2, 8 : cp. Ep. of Clement, ch. 42, in my Corinthians App. I. In Acts XX. 28 Paul speaks of the elders of the Church at Ephesus as bishops; thus implying, as here, a plurality of bishops in one Cliurch. Tliat the two titles describe one office, is implied in Tit. i. 5, 7. Our word bishop is an English form of the Greek word here used, which denotes an overseer. ' Elder ' was a Jewish title : cp. Mt. xvi. 21, Num. xi. 16, Ex. iii. 16, 18. Deacons: see under Rom. xii. 7. Why Church officers are mentioned in this greeting and in no other from the pen of Paul, is matter of mere conjecture. Something unknown to us brought them to his mind while writing ; possibly the part they had taken in the contribution of which this letter is an acknowledgment. [This is not forbidden, though not favoured, by the absence of the article.] Doubtless Paul's reference would be understood by those to whom it was written. 2. Word for word as in Rom. i. 7, i Cor. i. 3, 2 Cor. i. 2, Philem, 3. The suitability of these well-chosen words had printed them on the mind of Paul. He desires for his readers grace or favour, and, resulting from it, peace, i.e. inward rest arising from consciousness of safety, fro??i our Fatlier, God, and from Jesus Christ, the one Lord or Master. SECTION If. PRAISE A XI) PRAYER FOR THE CHRISTIANS AT PHILIPPI. Ch. I. 3— II. / thank fny God for all my remembrance of you, ^always in erery pjetition of mine on behalf of you all making the petition with joy, ■'for your felloivsliip in furtherance of the Gospel frotn the first day until now ; *' being confident of this Tcry thing, that lie who has begun in you a good work will complete it until the Day of Jesus Christ; 'according as it is right for me to be of this mind on behalf of you all^ because I have you in my heart, both in my bonds and in Sec. 2.] PHILIPPIANS \. -:,~ii. 35 the defence and confirmation of the Gospel, all ofyoii being partakers with nie of gr'ace. ^For God is my witiiess, how I long for yoic all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. ^ And this I pray, that your love yet 7?iore and ?nore may aboitnd in knozvledge and all disce^^mnent, ^^so that ye may app?vve the excellent things, that ye may be sincere and without stumbling to the Day of Christ, ^^ beijig made full of \.\\& fricit of righteousness, that which is through Jesus Christ, for glory and pi-aise of God. 3. The first person singular shows us that Paul thinks of himself alone as writer of this letter. Accordingly, in ch. ii. 19, Timothy is spoken of merely in the third person. He is associated with Paul only in the superscription. Contrast i and 2 Thess., where by the first person plural maintained throughout Paul joins with himself Silvanus and Timothy as sharing his sentiments, thus reminding us that they had recently shared his labours and perils at Thessalonica. On the other hand, this Epistle was evoked by special liberality towards Paul alone. Paul's entire remembrance of the Philippian Christians, i.e. all that he remembers about them, this looked upon as one pleasant memory, is a ground of thanks to God. My God : as in Rom. i. 8. The ' good work ' wrought in his readers, Paul feels to be a personal gift to himself from God, before whom in the solitude of his own spirit he stands : for this work was an answer to his prayers and in part a result of his own labours. 4. A collateral statement showing with what good reason Paul thanks God for his entire remembrance of his readers. So good was this remembrance that every prayer for every one of them was to him always a matter of joy. This joy explains his thanks. And it becomes, even in his prison at Rome, the key-note of the Epistle. So chs. i. 18, 25, ii. 2, 17, 18, 28, 29, iii. i, iv. i, 4, 10. Always . . . every . . . all justify and expound ' all my remembrance of you.' With this acknowledgment of universal excellence compare the more guarded, yet strong, language of i Cor. i. 4 — 8. Petition, ov supplica- tion : a definite prayer prompted by felt need: so v. 19, ch. iv. 6, Rom. X. I, Lk. i. 13. It suggests urgency. This unmixed delight aroused in the breast of Paul by his every thought about the Christians at Philippi gives to them a unique place of honour among the Churches of the New Testament. We shall, therefore, eagerly gather together as we pass along all indica- tions of their character and conduct, and shall regret that these are so scanty. 36 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 2. 5. This verse is parallel uitii, and exiioiinds, 'for all my remem- brance of you," stating the special feature in the Philippian Christians which evoked Paul's joy and gratitude. FcHon'sJiip : a disposition to share with others effort, toil, peril, enjoyment, or material good, either by receiving from them a share of their good or ill, or by giving to them a share of ours. It is a word very common and important with Paul: e.g. Rom. xii. 13, xv. 26, 27, 1 Cor, i. 9, x. 16, 18, 20, 2 Cor. i. 7, vi. 14, viii. 4, 23, ix. 13, xiii. 13. I Ji furtherance of (or for) the Gospel : aim of this co-operation, viz. to spread the good news of salvation. For this end the Philippian Christians worked together, either one with another, or the whole body with Paul and others. For an example of such co-operation, see ch. iv. 3. And their brotherhood was not only universal but had been constant throughout their entire Christian course : from the first day until now. Constancy is the great test of personal worth. A frllow- worker always ready to co-operate is beyond price. That this one excellence is here given as itself a sufficient reason for Paul's unmixed joy and gratitude, reveals its unique importance. And this we can understand. For, that God has committed the spread of the Gospel to the vohuitary co-operation of a multitude of workers, gives special value to a virtue which leads a man to work easily with others. And, since all sin and selfishness tend to set man again.st man, the spirit of brotherhood implies all Christian excellence. It is therefore a sure test of character. For 'its only source is that 'love' (see v. 9) which is a 'fnlHlmeiit of the Law.' This spirit of brotherhood prompted tin- ( (tntribution of which this letter is an acknowledgment: cp. ch. iv. 14. And in tliis matter also the Philippian Christians sliowed ecpial constancy: 7'. 15. But whether Paul refers here to this special form of brotherhood, \vt> do not know. Certainly it was not his sole reference. 6. A iirm jx-rsuasion underlying Paul's gratitude for his readers co-operation for the spread of the Gospel. Complete : bring to per f(>ction, to the goal towards which it tends: Poui. w. 2S. 2 Cor. \ii. 1. Begun, eomplete: same contrast in 2 Cor. viii. (\ Cal. iii. 3. The co-operation was a <^ood -worl:, but so manifestly incomplete that Paul can speak of it only as a gooil work begun. He traces it, liow« v. 8 is a climax. Such are Paul's first thoughts about his readers. As he turns in thought to them, one feature of their character absorbs his attention, viz. their harmonious co-operation for the spread of the Gospel. This co-operation is universal, and has been constant throughout their course. So sure a mark is it of Christian excellence that it makes every prayer for them a delight, and every remembrance of them thnnks to God. The secret of this joy is J^aul's firm confidence that what he sees in his readers is but the beginning of a development which will not cease till consummated in the Day of Christ's Return. And this confidence is made obligatory to him by his loving recogni- tion, amid his various hardships and labours, of the evident grace of God shining upon them as well as upon himself. And, while pro- testing his yearning for them, lie remembers that its source and the element in which it moves are not human but divine, that his love is but an outflow of the tender love which fills the breast of Christ. 9. After mentioning for a moment in v. 4 his petitions to God for his readers, I^aul now adds to his thanks for the good work already begun in them and his hopes for its completion a definite prayer for its progress : antl this I pray. The matter of this prayer, he de- Sec. 2.] PHILIPPTANS I. 39 scribes as its purpose : he prays in order that their loi'c etc. Love : the principle which prompts us to do good to our lellovys ; as always when not further defined. So Rom. xii. 9, xiii. 10, i Cor. xiii. It is the distinctive feature of the Christian character. By asking for its increase, Paul assumes its existence. And rightly so. For it is implied {v. 5) in ' fellowship,' of which mutual love is always the animating principle. Knowledge : more fully 'scientific knowledge,' an orderly and comprehensive acquaintance with something ; as in Rom. i. 28, iii. 20, x. 2 : a favourite word of Paul, especially in his later Epistles. Its frequency there is a mark of his mature thought, and perhaps of his deepening conviction of the need, in order to escape prev^alent dangers, of a fuller knowledge of the Gospel. Dis- cern?ne?it: perception of qualities. Frequent in classical Greek for perception by the bodily senses. Paul desires for his readers a comprehensive acquaintance with things divine and a faculty of dis- tinguishing right from wrong in the various details of life. The word (^//recalls the number and variety of these details. Abound: either itself abundant in quantity or results, as in 2 Cor. i. 5,, Rom. iii. 7 ; or possessing abundance of knowledge and discern?nejit, as in I Cor. viii. 8, 2 Cor. viii. 7. According to the one interpretation, Paul prays that his readers' love may increase and their increasing love be associated with knowledge : or, that the knowledge which already enriches their love may increase, and thus enrich it still more. The difference here is slight. Perhaps the latter sense is nearer to Paul's thought. For he passes at once in v. 10 to the desired result of k?towledge a?id discernment, showing that of them he thinks chiefly. Yet 7?iore and more : further and further in the same direction. This is a courteous acknowledgment that his readers' love is already rich in, and enriched by, knowledge. 10. Further purpose, and then a final purpose, of the enrichment in knowledge. App?'ove, or prove : put to the test with good pur- pose, i.e. to detect the good. The excelle?tt things : literally, the thifigs that differ. But the good aim already implied in the word rendered appi^ove, and the result which Paul expects (in v. 10b) to follow this proving, imply that the difference referred to is that of superiority. Same words in same sense in Rom. ii. 18. Same purpose in Rom. xii. 2. Only a divinely given comprehension of the great realities and discernment of moral details will enable us to distinguish the comparative excellence of various modes of action. And no gift is of greater practical worth. That ye ?nay be etc. : i.e. ' seek Christian intelligence in order that it may mould your character.' Sijtcere : unmixed with any foreign 40 EXPOSITIOX OF [Sec. 2. matter. So i Cor. v. 8, 2 Cor , i. 12, ii. 17. 2 Pet. iii. i, \Visdom vii. 25. [The meaning is well illustrated in Plato's Phirdo pp. 66^, 67^.] \Mtl10ut-causc-of-stumbli71g : iiaving nothing against which either themselves or others may strike their foot and fall. Same word in the latter sense in i Cor. x. 32, in the former sense in Acts xxiv. 16. Here perhaps in the former sense, causing themselves to stumble. For Paul is referring to the development of his readers' own spiritual life. Ever^'thing foreign to the Christian life tends to trip up in the Christian course him who tolerates it. Paul desires for his readers spiritual intelligence in order that they may accurately distinguish moral qualities, in order that thus there may be in them no mixture of impure elements and that they may escape the peril of falling which such foreign elements involve. The Day of Christ : as in V. 6. The recurrence of this thought reveals its firm hold of the mind of Paul. To the Day etc : ultimate goal of Paul's thoughts about his readers. He desires them to be pure and to be preserved from falling in order that they may be so found in that day. Same words and thought in ch. ii. 16, Eph. iv. 30, 2 Tim. i. 12. The slightly different words in v. 6 note a slightly different thought, viz. the time to whicii ho desires his readers' spiritual development to continue. 11. A collateral element in Paul's prayer, placing beside the foregoing negatives, ' without mixture and without stumbling,' a positive blessing. He desires them not only to stand erect in the Day of Christ but to be then /«// of fruit. Ri^rJiteousncss : right doing, conformity with the moral standard, as in Rom. vi. 13, 18, 20. Fruit of rigJiteousiiess : the good results growing naturally, in the moral order of the universe, out of right doing. Same words and similar thoughts in Jas. iii. 18, Prov. xi. 30. This harvest of blessing, only to be had by right doing, Paul desires his readers to have to the /////. [The difficult accusative Kapiriiv specifies the remoter object of the desired filling. The Philippian Christians are its immediate object. The fruit of rini/se of Cod, i.e. His splendour evoking admiration (see under Koiu. i. 21) and verbal ackiiowledj'meiu. .\iui this ultimate result <•! the blessings Sec. 3.] PHILIPPIANS I. 12—18. 41 which Paul asks for liis readers is also the final aim of his prayer for them. He prays for them the more earnestly and confidently because he knows that the answer to his prayer will reveal the greatness of God and evoke in earth and heaven a louder note of praise to Him. Cp. Rom. xv, 7. As usual, Paul's first thought about his readers is praise to God for them. But the incompleteness of the good work for which he gives thanks moves him at once to pray that the work begun in them may make progress. So good is the work that Paul needs only to pray that it may advance in the same direction. For in their spirit of brotherhood he recognises that love which is the essence of the Christian character. Especially he prays that, as hitherto so in greater measure, their love may be rich in general Christian in- telligence and in the faculty of discerning moral excellence, such excellence being a condition of spiritual purity and safety and of that right doing which will produce a harvest of blessing and thus make the Philippian Christians rich indeed. This harvest of blessing can come only through Christ, and will reveal the splendour of God and thus redoimd to His praise. SECTION III. PAULS BONDS, ADVPJRSARIES, AND FRIENDS. Ch. I. 12—18. Moj'eover, I zvish you to k7iow, brethren, that the matters touching me have fallen out rather for progj^ess of the Gospel ; '-^ so that my bonds have become maiiifest in Christ in the whole Pra;to?iaji and to all the rest, '^ and the more part of the brethren having beco7ne co7ifident in the Lord through niy bonds aix mo7'e abu7idantly bold to speak fearlessly the word of God. '■' So?7ie i7ideed eve7t because of e7ivy a7id strife, but othei's also because of good will, proclaim Christ. ^^ These, out of love, kiiowi7ig that for defe7ice of the Gospel I am set. ^'' But the others 01U of z. spirit oi factio7i a7i7iou7tcc Christ, 7iot pu7'ely, thi7iki7ig to raise up afflictio7i for 77iy bo7ids. '^ What the7i ? 07ily that in eve7y way, whether p}-ete7ice or truth, Cluist is a7i7iou7iced. A7id i7i this I rejoice ; yes, a7id I will 7'ejoice. After praise and prayer for his readers, Paul now speaks about himself; i.e. aboui {vv. 12-14) the results of his imprisonment, 42 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 3. about {vv. 15-17) Ins encinit's aiul frieiuls, and al)c)ut (7/. 18) the joy indirectly caused to him both ])y friends and enemies 12. To know: literally, to coine. to knoiv, to learn. Paul now begins to give information. / wisJi you to know : similar words in 1 Cor. xi. 3 ; cp. Rom. i. 13, i Cor. x. i, xii. i, 2 Cor. i. 8, i Th. iv. 13. The jnattcrs touching mc : the entire circumstances, doings, and experiences, of Paul. Same words in same sense in Eph. vi. 21, Col. iv. 7. Progress : same word in v. 25, i Tim. iv. 15 ; Gal. i. 14, Lk. ii. 52, 2 Tim. ii. 16. The Gospel makes progress (same idea in 2 Th. iii. 1) geographically, when the good news is carried from place to place ; numerically, when one after another believes it and confesses Christ ; spiritually, when as a ' power of God ' it more and more moulds the inner and outer life of men. The word rather suggests a comparison or contrast between the expected and actual results of the events or circumstances about which Paul here writes, and thus implies that these events were likely to hinder the Gospel. Notice that the hardships involved in them are, throughout the Epistle, left entirely out of sight. The only point present to Paul's thought is their effect upon the spread of the good news of salvation. 13. A result of 'the things wliich happened to' Paul, stated as a proof and measure of the [progress of the Gospel caused thereby. [cooTf with tlie infinitive throws the emphasis on the foregoing state- ment, and indicates that the words which follow are a result affording proof and measure of this statement. Verses 13 and 14 tell to how great an extent the events and circumstances which threatened to hinder the Gospel have actually helped it forward.] My bo7ids ; indicates the nature of the events referred to in -<>. 12 as likely to hinder the Gospel, viz. Paul's imprisonment, and confirms the suggestion in 7A 7 that this letter was written in prison. Paul will now tell us how liis arrest, which for so long time put an end to his active and successful labours, actually helped forward the cause for which he laboured. Manifest in Christ : set visibly before the eyes of men in their relation to Christ. Similar thought in 2 Cor. iii. 3 : 'ye being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ ministered by us.' The real nature of Paul's imprisonment was made public, as occasioned not by crime but by the prisoner's relation to Chri.st. The PrcEtoriu7n : a Latin word denoting something belonging to the Praetor, a title given to the leader of the Roman armies. It denotes sometimes the general's tent. The same word denotes in Mt. xxvii. 27, Mk. xv. 16, Jno. xviii. 28, 33, xix. 9 the residence of a j)n)viiicial governor. Similarly Ads xxiii. 35, 'Herod's jjrnetorium.' Sec. 3.] PHILIPPTANS I. 12—18. 43 In a few clear eases, e.g. Tacitus, Histories l)k. i. 20, it (U-notes the imperial body-guard, the Proitorian regiments, a corps of som<* 10,000 picked troops instituted by Augustus, and stationed, under Augustus in part, under Tiberius entirely, at Rome. This reference would give good sense here. We can conceive Paul, a prisoner who had appealed to Caesar, committed to the charge of Praetorian soldiers, one of them always with hitn ; and that thus the Gospel which Paul preached became known throughout the whole Praetorian guard. It has been suggested that the word refers to a great camp of the Praetorians established by Tiberius just outside Rome. But we have no proof that the word is ever so used. It is therefore better to accept liere the indisputable reference noted above. See a very good note by Lightfoot. Inasmuch as the residence of a Roman governor was also called PratortJtm, the use of this word here is not in itself absolute proof that this Epistle was written from Rome. But it somewhat confirms other indications (especially ch. iv. 22) to this effect. And to all the others^ Not only within the limits of the imperial body-guard, but to every one around, the nature of Paul's imprison- ment became known. 14. A second result, showing further how much the events which happened to Paul have aided the progress of the Gospel. The moi'e part of the brethren; reveals a minority, even among Christians, whose confidence in Christ was not increased by Paul's bonds. Tins minority must have included the opponents mentioned in ?•. 15. Possibly it may have included also some timid friends in whom Pauls imprisonment evoked, not faith, but fear. In the Lord ; must be joined, not to brethren, to which it would add no meaning, but to being-confident specifying in very emphatic manner the Personal Ground of their increasing confidence. Through Paul's imprison- ment most of the Christians around reposed new trust in Christ : tor they saw in Paul, as they had never seen before, the presence and power and sufficient grace of Christ. Thus was ' Christ magnified ' in Paul's body : v. 20. [This use of the Greek dative to denote an instrument is not uncommon: see Rom, xi. 20, xv. 18. To take my bo7ids as the ground of confidence, though grammatically admissible, (see Philem. 21,) gives no intelligible sense. Paul's imprisonment was the occasion, and in this sense the instrument, of trust in Christ, but could not be its ground. Moreover, the groimd of this confidence is clearly stated : it is in Christ^ More-abimdantly bold; recognises previous abundant boldness, which is now surpassed. Fearlessly ; adds definiteness, and thus emphasis, to more-almndantly hold. No 44 FXPOSITION OF [Sec. 3. mixture of fear wcikcnrd the roiiraf];c with which they proclaimed i/ie word of God. Thus in a twofold way iHd J^iul's inii)risonineiit aid the spread of the Gospel it threatened so seriously to hinder. By means of his long confinement, C'hrist became known throughout the most in- fluential part of the Roman army, and to all the men around the j)risoner. And such was his conduct in prison that he became to most of the Christians at Rome a revelation of the universal grace of Christ, and thus led them to pnt in llim new confidence and, trusting in Him, to give to the winds all fear and with greater courage than before proclaim the message of God. 15. The last words of 7/. 14 remind Paul that not all who ' speak the word of God ' are prompted by confidence in Christ evoked by his imprisonment. Among them he distinguishes two classes in- spired by different motives. Because of envy : moved by vexation at Pauls success: same words in Mt. xxvii. 18, Mk. xv. 10. Strife : active opposition, a natural result of eiriiy. Same words together in I Tim. vi. 4. * Even ill-will prompted by my success and a resolu- tion to oppose me are motives to some men for preaching Christ. (iood-ivill : either something which seems good tons, as in Lk. x. ?.\ ; or a wish for the good of others, as here. These senses oi'ten coalesce, as in Rom. x. i. The meaning liere is determined and expounded by the word 'love" in v. 16. Proclaim: as heralds announce the coming of a king. Proclaim Christ : as in i Cor. i. 23, XV. 12, 2 Cor. i. 19, iv. 5, xi. 4. The hostility to Paul, revealed in v. 15, on the part of some who preached Christ, indicates a conception of the Gospel radically dif- ferent from his. This suggests that these were Jndaizing teachers like those referred to in Gal. i. 7, vi. 12 and like the apjiarently similar teachers mentioned in 2 (dr. xi.4, 13, 22. And the suggestion is strongly confinni-d by thr plain reference to such teachers in Ph. iii. 2, 3. 16, 17. I''nrther tlescription of the two classes who ' preach Christ,' justilyiiig the foregf)ing account of them ; and arranged, like 2 C^tr. ii. 15, 16, in invi-rse order. Out of love : the inward source of their preaching. Grammatiensi- already con- veyed by the word 'good-will ' in i<. [5, noting that this good-will is the central Christian virtue of l,nu\ 1 prefer, with \.\. and R.\'., the latter interpretation j .Sn lleb. \ii. 21, .vii. lo. The other in Sec. 3. J PHIIJPPIANS I. 12-18. 45 Rom. ii. 7, 8, Gal. iv. 22.] The preaching prompted by ' good-will ' springs out oi love. This can only be love towards Paul, in contrast to the hostility described in v. 17. Knozving that etc. : ground of this special manifestation of Christian love. Notice here genuine phraseology of Paul: so Rom. v. 3, vi. 9, xiii. 11, i Cor. xv. 58, 2 Cor. i. 7, iv. 14, V. 6, 11. Defence of the Gospel : same words in V. 7. For this purpose Paul has been set by God in his present position in the Church. These men ktiow this. And their Christian love inspires sympathy with the Apostle in his great work, and moves them to preach the Gospel committed to his charge. Consequently, in addition to men of baser motives there are those who ' also because of good-will proclaim Christ' 17. Another class who ' preach Christ.' They must have been included in, and therefore not more nnmerous than, the minority (7'. 14) wliose confidence in Christ was not increased by Paul's imprisonment. Whether they constituted the whole minority, or whether there were in it others of different spirit, we do not know. Out of ■A spirit oi faction: same words in Rom. ii. 8, where see note. They denote a low and mercenary spirit, ready to do base work for hire or in order to gain selfish and contemptible ends. One such motive is mentioned in Gal. vi. 12. Paul thus traces to their source 'the envy and strife' spoken of in v. 15. He intimates that his opponents were annoyed at his success, because it interfered with their own selfish aims, and that on this account they stirred up conflict against him. Afinoimce Christ : bring the news that Christ has come. It is practically equivalent to ' preach Christ,' but leaves out of sight the official position of the herald. These words, which are in part a repetition, are added here to expose the incongruity of annoimciiig Christ out of party spirit. Not purely : a comment. With this announcement of Christ was mixed a base element. Think- ing to raise up etc. : exposition of the foregoing. It justifies Paul's charge that the preaching referred to was an outflow of mercenary spirit. For my bonds: i.e. for Paul in prison. So Rom. viii. 26, * helps our weakness.' They thought that what they were doing was making or would make Paul's imprisonment more bitter to him. How this was to be, Paul does not say. But we can easily suppose that these were Jewish Christians who, like the Judaizers in Galatia, insisted on the continued and universal observance of the Jewish law as a condition of the salvation brought by Christ. They knew that the Apostle strongly denounced their teaching as subversive of the Gospel. And they supposed that by earnestly preaching Christ and winning converts, and thus gaining influence in the Church, they 46 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 3. would annoy Paul and make him feel more keenly the confinement which limited his effective opposition to them. Affliction : usually, external hardship. Here and in 2 Cor. ii. 4 it denotes severe inward sorrow caused by the unworthy conduct of Christians. This implies that to Paul such conduct was hardship as real as actual persecution. Notice the contrast between the friends who know, their action being based on truth and reality, and the opponents who suppose but who labour, as z/. 18 will show, under delusion. 18. What then ? literally, for why ? same words in Rom. iii. 3. They support, under the form of a startled question, or seek support for, something foregoing. Paul has just said that even his opponents, speaking with mercenary motives, nevertheless ' announce Christ.' This assertion he will now strengthen, hi every way : expounded in* detail by the following words. Pretence : as a cloak concealing tiie real motive. /;/ truth : the apparent corresponding with the real. Paul supports the assertion in v. ly by saying that it ojily amounts to this, that in every variety of mode, some being actually what it seems to be, and some a mask covering most unworthy aims, Christ is nevertheless an7iounced. The second repetition of this last thought reveals its large place in Paul's thoughts about the various motives of the preachers at Rome. In this great fact Paul has present /(^j'.- and future joy awaits him, for reasons which he pro- ceeds to give. Thus did his opponents fail. They thought, by pro- pagating a Gospel which he condemned, to make his fetters more painful. Their efforts caused him joy, and gave him a hope of still further joy to come. We have seen that v. 15 impHcs teaching about Christ and tlie Gospel by Paul's opponents (piite different from iiis own. We naturally ask. How could Paul expect from such teaching good results ? In very different language does he speak of opponents in Gal. V. 12, 2 Cor. xi. 15. An answer is not far to seek. Efforts to lead astray Paul's converts could do nothing but harm, and were therefore denounced in strong terms. But the words * preach Christ ' suggest that the activity of the adversaries at Rome was directed chiefly to those outside the Church. Such activity would at least spread the name of Christ, and might open a way for purer teaching. Possibly also, in accordance with the calmer tone which breathes throughout the letters written in ]mson, land's maturer thought may hav(; detected a better side even in teaching which aroused his in- dignation while engaged in active labour in the face of many enemies. His joy reminds us that very imperfect teaching may be better than no teaching, and warns us not to despise imperfect forms of Chris- Sec. 4.] PHILIPPIANS I. 19—26. 47 tianit3^ Probably the worst form of it is better than the best non- Christian teaching. Such are the tidings about himself which Paul sends to his readers. His imprisonment has brought the name of Christ into influential circles which otherwise it could hardly have reached ; and the bondage of one preacher has opened the lips of many. It is true that some of these are moved by ill-will. They think by their activity to make the prisoner's chain more galling. But by preaching Christ they are doing good. So completely have they missed their aim that their efforts to trouble Paul have caused him abiding joy. SECTION IV. PAUL'S CONFIDENT HOPE, IN VIEW OF LIFE AND DEATH. Ch. I. 19—26. For I know that to jne this will I'cstdt in salvation thi'OiigJi your sitpplicatio7i aitd the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, '^according to my eager expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be pttt to shame, but that with all boldness, as always so now also, Chi-ist will be magnified in my body whether through life or th7'0ugh death. ■-' For to me to live is Christ : and to die, gaifi. -- Biti if to live in \hQ flesh be my lot, this to 7ne \'~> fruit of work. -^ And what I shall choose for myself I do not know. Moreover, I am held fast from the two sides, having my desire for dissolution and to be with Christ : for it is very far better. ^"^ But to abide in the flesh is more necessaiy, because of you. 25 And, being confident of this, I know that I shall abide, and abide with you all for your pj'0g7-ess a7id joy of faith, -^ that your g7-ou7id of exultatio7i 77iay aboiC7id i7i Ch7'ist Jesus i7i 77ie through 7ny p7'ese7ice with you again. After describing his outer surroundings of bonds, friends, and enemies, Paul closed § 3 by describing their inward effect upon him, viz. joy now and further joy in the future. This joy marks the transition to § 4 which describes his inner life in its relation to his outward surroundings. In vv. 19, 20 Paul justifies the joy expressed in V. 18, by a confident hope: and in vv. 21- — 26 he looks at this confidence in its relation to the alternative of life and death which is now before him. 48 EXPOSITWiX OF [Sec. 4. 19. A reason, viz. knowledge of the result, justifying Paul's joy that, even by his enemies and as a mask concealing a wish to annoy him, ' Christ is proclaimed.' Not his only reason, but one suiting his course of thought, which now passes from the life around him to the life within. This: as in v. 18, that ' ('hrist is proclaimed' even by enemies and in pretence. Salvation : in its usual sense of tinal deliverance from the spiritual perils of earth into eternal safety ; as in V. 28, ch. ii. 12, Rom. i. 16, x. i, 10, xi. 11, xiii. 11. Paul's joy that Christ is preached is not dimmed by the ill-will which occasioned it : for he knows that this effort to add bitterness to his imprisonment will work out for him spiritual safety and final deliverance. How this is to be, he does not say. But we know that, to the faithful, hardship develops spiritual strength, and thus fits for the battle of life and leads to final victory. In this way tribulation works en- durance and hope : Rom. v. 3. Similarly, Paid's thorn in the flesh was designed by God to preserve him from spiritual peril : 2 Cor. xii. 7. Just so, the ill-will of his enemies was a safeguard preserving him for final salTution. Consequently, it could in no degree dim his joy that Christ was preached. Indeed his joy was increased by the manifest victory over all evil involved in the spiritual benefit resulting from his enemies' attempt to vex him. The word salvation cannot mean release from imprisonment. For Paul is quite doubtful, as we shall see, whether life or death awaits him : there is no visible connection between his enemies' hostility and his own escape from prison, and no indication that the word is used here in any other than its ordinary sense. Supplication or petition : as in v. 4. His readers' urgent request to God was a means through which Paul expected these good results. He knows that they pray for him, and is sure that God will answer their prayers in the development of his own spiritual life in spite of, and by means of, the hostility of his enemies. Another note of genuineness: cp. Rom. xv. 30, 2 Cor. i. 11, 2 Th. iii. 2. It reveals Paul's high estimate of the value of prayer for others. Supply, or buuntiful-suf)ply : see under 2 Cor. ix. 10. Grammatically, the Spirit of Jesus (^Jirist may be either Himself the matter supplied (cp. Gal. iii. 5) or the Author of the sui)ply. The practical difterence is very slight. For the Holy Spirit given is Himself the active source of all spiritual good : and He supplies our need by Himself becoming the animating principle of our life. He is therefore both Giver and Gift. But since the Holy Spirit is usually thought of as definitely oiKi lor all given to all who believe, it is better to think of Him here as actively supplying Paul's various spiritual needs. Notice Sec. 4.] PHILIPPIANS I. 19—26. 49 two channels through which Paul expects blessings. He knows that his readers at Philippi will pray for him ; and that in answer to their prayer the Spirit of Jesus will by His own presence supply the spiritual needs occasioned by Paul's peculiar circumstances. 20. A personal and appropriate condition on which depends tlie realisation of the assured expectation just expressed : according to etc. Eager-expectation : see under Rom. viii. 19. To this, the word hope adds the idea of expected benefit. That in nothing etc. : nega- tive side of the expectation, as usual placed first. Pnt-to-shame : deserted by God in the hour of trial and thus covered with ridicule by the failure of his hopes. Paul is sure that in nothing that awaits him will this happen. Same word in same sense m Rom. v. 5. This objective sense involves also here the subjective sense of fear 01 ridicule, as in Rom. i. 16. But the trust in God which pervades this page suggests that Paul thinks, not of wliat he will feel, but of what will happen to him. fn all boldness : positive side of Paul's expecta- tion. Chi-ist zvill be magnified : in the subjective view of men, to whom Christ will occupy a larger place through that which they see in Paul ; cp. Lk. i. 46, Acts x. 46, v. 13 ; also Lev. x. 3. ■ Notice that in this enlargement Paul is represented not as himself magnifying Christ, but only as His body the locality in which Christ will be magnified. Boldness^ or nnreserDcd speech : see under 2 Cor. iii. 12. Paul has an assured hope that God will give him grace to speak the whole truth without fear of consequences, and that in his unreserved speech will be rev^ealed the greatness of Christ. An example of this in Acts iv. 13. Thus the realisation of Paul's hope depends upon himself. But even for courage he trusts to God and to the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Already Christ is ahvays magnified in Paul. And he has a firm hope that what has been hitherto will be now also, even amid his peculiarly trN^ing circumstances. This modest recognition of his own moral excellence is in close harmony with 2 Cor. i. 12. In my body : special locality of the revelation in Paul of the great- ness of Christ. The weakness and suffering and peril of Paul's fettered body will show forth the greatness of Him who is able to fill His servants, even in prison, with confidence and peace and joy. The body is specially mentioned as that side of Paul which comes in immediate contact with his hard surroundings and in which is seen manifested the greatness of Christ. The importance here given to the body is a note of genuineness. Cp. Rom. vi. 12, viii. 13, xii. i. A tremendous alternative overhanging Paul's bodily life cannot be overlooked in this eager glance into the future. In any case, Christ will be magnified. But Paul knows not whether it will be through 4 I 50 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 4. tlic continued j)rcs( rvatinn of liis body in life, o?- iluoui^Ji his death. Such is the failure of the attempt to make Paul's imprisonment more galling. His opponents think to annoy him by preaching a Gospel he does not approve. Their attempt to vex him fills the prisoner with joy. For their preaching, though containing serious error, makes known the name of Christ to some who perhaps other- wise would not hear it. And Paul knows that their hostility is one of the many things working together for his good, giving occasion for Christian patience, and thus strengtliening him for the remaining battle of life. That he is unmoved by such annoyance, evokes a sure confidence of final salvation. And this confidence is supported by knowledge that the beloved ones at Philippi pray for him and that the Spirit of Christ will supply his every need. This assurance of final victory rests upon an assurance that in every trial God will give to Paul a courage which will show forth the greatness of Christ, and is not shaken by his uncertainty whetlier life or death awaits him. 21 — 26. The just mentioned alternative, 'whether by lifeor by death,' as it presents itself to tiie wavering thought and feelings of Paul. To 7nc ; introduces conspicuously the personal experience of Paul. To li7>e is Chnst ; proves that ' Christ will be magnified ... by life.' Cp. Col. iii. 4, ' Christ your life ; ' Gal. ii. 20, ' Christ lives in me.' Christ animates and permeates Paul's entire activity, so that all his words and acts are really said and done by Christ and are therefore an outflow of Christ living in him. Consequently, the personality of Christ is tlie centre and circumference of the entire life of Paul. If so, in his body the character and greatness of Christ will ever appear. And the various events of life, ])leasant and unpleasant, will but show how great Christ is. To die is gai7i.'\ Whatever earthly wealth the Christian loses by death, he gains in the wealth of heaven infinitely more. For all material good is but a scanty and dim outline of the eternal reality. And none except the servants of Christ can speak of death as gain. Others may bravely give up life in a noble cause. They thus endure with worthy aim, so far as they can see, the loss of all things. The Christian martyr suffers no loss, for he knows that death is inunediate enrichment. These last words were not needed to prove that Christ will be magnified in Paul's death. For the martyr's dying courage is part of the life which Christ lives in him. But they strengthen the proof already given. For the greatness of Christ is revealed in every one who calmly looks death in the face for Christ's sake, and declares it Sec. 4.] PHIIJFPIANS I. 19—26. 51 to be gain. Such victory reveals the presence of one greater tliaii (h'ath. These words are also a contrast suggested by tlu* alternative now before Paul. 22. To livcin flesh; takes up 'to live ' in 7/. 21. The added words are needed, after tlie implied reference to a life beyond the grave, to show that Paul refers now, not to his real life which is exposed to no uncertainty, but only to life iit m.ox\2\ flesh. Work : immediate result and embodiment of sustained effort. Fruit of work : further result developed from work done, according to its own organic laws. If Paul continue to live on earth, his continued life will be work done ; and from this work he will gather good/;-?/;//. Close coincidence in Rom. i. 13. [Two renderings of this verse, as in R.V. text and margin, are possible, (a) The words If to live in the flesh may be a complete conditional clause ; and this is to vie fricit of work a direct assertion limited by the foregoing condition. In this case we must supply from the general train of thought some such words as de my lot. The following words, and what I shall choose, will then come naturally as an additional thought. The word if will suitably introduce one side of the alternative of life and death which now fills the thought of Paul. And this alternative suggests easily the inserted words be 7ny lot. For Paul is now uncertain what his lot will be. Or we may take (b) If to live in flesh . . . fruit of work as one conditional clause, and the words what I shall choose for myself I know 7wt as the main assertion. That which in (a) is expressly stated, viz. that Paul's life in flesh brings with it fruit of labour, is in (b) only casually implied, the main assertion being that Paul knows not what to choose. The question is whether this is to me fruit of labour is an independent and direct assertion, or is merely subordinate to the assertion following. The importance of the thought contained in these words favours the former supposition. Moreover, to (b) the word if {d) presents a difficulty. For, although it may be used, as Ellicott follows Meyer in saying, in a syllogistic sense as in Col. iii. i, we have no case in the N.T. of this use where the idea of uncertainty is altogether absent. And here there is no doubt whatever that for Paul to live is to work and to have fruit of his work. Nor have we in the N.T. a case of Kal used as (b) would require. On the other hand, the supplied words required by (a) are easily suggested by the terrible alternative before the prisoner awaiting his trial. Paul is sure that in his body Christ will be magnified, but knows not whether this will be by preserved life or by a martyr's death. If he live, his life will be a continued incarnation of Christ. If he die. 52 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 4. death will enrich him. These last words seem to give a preference to death. But this, Paul repudiates. To him both death and life are gain. He therefore takes up the alternative of life, and tells its real significance and worth. Instead of saying simply to live in flesh, this is to me p'uit of work, Paul expresses the uncertainty of his present position by prefixing the word if, conveying easily the sense if it be my lot to live in the flesh etc. This exposition gives the chief prominence to the most important words of the sentence, this is to mc fruit of work, which the other exposition hides in a con- ditional clause. In spite therefore of the preponderant judgment of both ancient and modern expositors, I venture to give a slight preference to (a). But the practical difference is not great.] / do not know or / do not say. The latter is the meaning every- where else in the N.T. of the word so renden^d. The former is its more common use in classical Greek. And as a reader was accustomed to the one or the other, he would probably interpret Paul's words. The difi'erence is slight. The latter interpretation makes Paul simply silent : the former makes him silent because he has nothing to say. 23. Additional detail about Paul's state of mind in view of the great alternative. Held fast from the two sides : whichever way he looks, from that side comes an irresistible influence. 'To live in the flesh ' is for Paul a prolonged incarnation of Christ, and brings with it work producing a harvest of blessing. And ' to die is gain.' Yet, in spite of this double and contrary compulsion, Paul has a desire in the matter. It x-s, for dissolution : literally, taking-to-pieccs. A cognate word, in the same sense of death, in 2 Tim. iv. 6. Often used in classical Greek in the sense of release or departure. And to be with Christ : inseparably connected in Paul's thought with dis- solution. While saying that a double compulsion from two directions holds him fast, he yet acknowledges that his desire goes in the direction of dissolution and the immediate companionship of Christ which it gives. Over this preference Paul lingers, and supports it by a direct assertion : for it is very far better. That he looked upon the state entered at death as a companionship of Christ very much better than his present state of fruitful work, implies that in his x-iew the departed servants of Christ are, while waiting for the greater glory of the resurrection, already in intelligent intercoiuse with Him infinitely closer than the fellowship enjoyed on earth. Notice that Paul's thought about death is not, as with many, mere rest from the hardships of life, but actual intercourse with Christ. A close coin- cidence with 2 Cor. v. S, where see note; and thus another mark of r(tmmon authorship. m. Sec. 4.] PHILIPPIANS I. 19—26. 53 24. PauVs wavering thought, drawn in different directions, turns again to the advantage of continuing on earth. To abide in the flesh : similar phrase in Rom. vi. i, xi. 22, 23, Col. i. 23. Although his wearied heart yearns for the fuller fellowship with Christ which death will bring, he recognises the more pressing need that he remain a time longer in the weakness of bodily life. Notice the contrasted comparatives : * very far better ' and more itecessary. Becaitse of you : the beloved Christians at Philippi as representing all those whom Paul's continued life will benefit. 25. Two renderings possible: and, being confident of this, I knozv that, or and this I confidently kjiozv that etc. The former refers the word this to the foregoing, making the necessity of Paul's continuance in the flesh a ground of his assurance that he shall so continue : the latter merely makes a very strong assertion without giving any reason, Paul's habit of giving reasons favours the former rendering. He is quite sure that there is more need for him to remain than to depart ; and this assurance convinces him that that which is more needful will be his actual lot. Abide : absolutely, continue in his present state. Abide with you all: relative continuance, prolonged association with the Christians at Philippi. Progress and joy of faith : probably p7'ogress in the Christian life and the joy which always accompanies growth, both progress and joy being derived ivom faith, the unique condition of Christian life. 26. Further aim of Paul's continuance with his readers. It is evidently a purpose of God, who will preserve him. Ground of exultation: as in Rom. iv. 2. May-abound : that you may have more and more to glory in and boast about. This increase of matter of exultation will be in C/uist : for He is the element, as well as the ground, of all Christian boasting. So i Cor, i, 31. In ??ie : Paul liberated from prison would be to the Philippians an occasion of increased exultation, Christ being its element and ground. Similarly in V. 20, ' Christ will be magnified in my body,' and v. 14, ' confident in the Lord through my bonds.' Through 7ny presettce with you again; expands in detail in me, Paul's presence once more at Philippi after his imprisonment will give to the Christians there in liis person an increased confidence and exultation in Christ, Thus will his continued life increase his readers' faith in God, and consequently their joy and their spiritual growth. The ground and worth of the confidence in v. 25 we cannot now determine. If, as we have good reason to believe, the pastoral Epistles are genuine, this confidence was justified by the event. And possibly the Holy Spirit may have revealed to Paul, by spiritual 54 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 4. insight into the needs of the case, God's purpose to deliver him from the terrible peril of his trial before Nero and to restore him to active work. (Cp. Acts xxvii. 22 — 26, a close parallel.) But the assured expectation of evil recorded in Acts xx. 25 was, as we learn from i Tim. i. 3, not actually realised. And the matter is un- important. The truth of the Gospel preached by Paul rests upon a broad historical basis, of which his testimony is only one factor, and not upon his personal infallibility. Section 4 gives us invaluable insight into the inner life of one of the greatest of the early followers of Christ, at a crisis which tests most severely the character of any man, viz. amid health and strength the alternative of life and death. Tiie uncertainty which breathes in every line accords with the statement in Acts xxv. 11, xxvii. I, that Paul went to Rome to be tried before Nero, a judge whose verdict and sentence no one could foresee. Yet, in this uncertainty, there is in the mind of Paul perfect certainty touching all that is really dear to him. He knows that even the hostility of false brethren is leading him to eternal safety, and as a ground of this confidence knows also that the hope he cherishes cannot be put to shame and that whatever awaits him will serve only to show forth the greatness of Christ. On the other hand, the uncertainty which has left its record even in the trembling phraseology of these verses pertains only to matters about which Paul was indifferent ; in view, not of possibilities equally worthless, but of alternative prospects of equal and infinite value. Each side of the alternative has irresistible allurement. Continued life is continued manifesta- tion of Christ in Paul, and work fruitful in a harvest of blessing. His presence on earth is needful for his converts, whose confidence in Christ will be increased by his return to them. But death is immediate enrichment : for it takes him at once to the presence of Christ. Yet the wearied eye and heart of the prisoner turn from the fascinating vision. For the sake of his children in the faith he cheerfully accjuiesces in what seems to him to accord both with their need and with God's purpose, and looks forward confidently to restoraticjii to activr work for them. Sec. 5.] PHILIPPIANS I. 27— II. 18. 55 SECTION V. SUNDRY EXHORTATIONS, SUPPORTED BY THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST. Ch. I. 27—11. 18. Only act as citizeiis worthy of the Gospel of Christy that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand in one spirit, with one soul together co7itending by your belief of the Gospel, '^^ and not affrighted in a?iy thing by the adversaries, zvhich is for them proof of destruction, bid of your salvation, a?td this from God: ^^ because to you it has been graciously given o?t behalf of Chi'ist, not only to believe i7i Hi?7t, but also to suffer on His behalf ; '^"^ having the same contest, such as ye sazu in me and now hear to be in 7?ie. ' If there be then any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any felloivship of the Spirit, if any tender feelings and compassions, ^ 77iake full 77iy joy, that ye may mi7id the sa7ne tJmig, havi7ig the sa77ie love, with it7iited souls mi7tdi7tg the 07te thi7ig ; ^ doing 7wthi7ig by way of factio7i nor by way of vainglory, but with lowli7iess of nii7id each cou7iti7ig others better tha7i themselves ; ^7iot each of you looki7ig to his ow7t things, but each of you also to the thi7igs of others. ''Have this 7ni7id in you which was also i7i Ch7'ist Jesus, ^ who existi7ig i7i thefor77i of God, did 7iot coimt His equality with God a means of high-ha7ided self-e7trich77ie7it, '' but e77iptied Hi77iself taki/ig i\\efo7'77i of a serva7it, bei7ig 7nade i7i the like7iess of 77ie7i : ^ a7id, fou7id i7i fashio7i as a ?na7t, He humbled Himself, be- co77ii7ig obedie7it eve7i imto death, death 07i a ci'oss. '-' For which cause also God exalted Hi77i beyo7td 7neasu7'e, a7id graciously gave to Hi77i the 7iat7ie which is beyo7id every 7ia7ne ; ^" that at the name of Jesus eve7y k7iee 7nay bow of heave7ily 07ies a7id earthly ones and those U7tder the earth, ^^ a7id every to7tgue co7ifess that Jesus Christ is Lo7^d, to the glory of God the Father. '^ So the7i, 77iy beloved 07ies, accordi7tg as always ye have obeyed, 7iot as i7i my p7'ese7ice 07ily, but 7iozv 77iuch 77iore i7i 77iy abse7ice, with fear a7id t7X77ibli7ig wo7'k out your ow7i salvatio7i. "^ For it is God who wo7-ks i7i you both to will a7id to wo7-k, for His good pleasiire. " Do all thi7igs withoict 77iU7-77mri/igs a7id disputi7igs, '•'' that ye 7nay bcco77ie bkmieless a7id pU7'e, child7-e7i of God zvithoui blemish, iji the 77iidst of a ge7te7'atio7t crooked and perveried, amo?ig who77t ye a7-e see7i as Iu7ni7iaries i7i the world, ^'^ holding forth the word of life, that 1 7nay have whereof to exult in the Day of Christ that not i7i 56 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 5. -ruiin I hiwc run, ntitlier /laiu- lahoiircd in I'a/fi. '^ 1 cs, if cvoi I am beiiis; poured out as a libation upon the sacrijice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you. all : ^'^and, the same thin^, rejoice ye all, anil rejoice ivitli me. After speaking in §§ 3, 4 abont the tliinirs concerning himself, Paul comes now to those immediately concerning his readers. He bids them stand Hi ni in face of their enemies, vv. 27 — 30 ; exhorts to unity, ch. ii. i, 2; and to unsellishness, supporting this exhortation by the example of Christ, vv. 3 — 1 1 ; points out that on this depends their salvation, vv. 12, 13; exhorts them to a spotless life, vv. 14 — 16 ; and concludes witii an expression of joy on their account, vv. 17, 18. 27—30. Only: as in Gal. ii. 10, iii. 2, v. 13. All that Paul lias to say is summed up in this one txhoitaiioii. Actyour-part-as- citisens : same word in Acts xxiii. i, from thi- lips of Paul: a remarkable coincidence. Also 2 Maccabees vi. 1, xi. 25. It repre- sents the Church as a free city, like those of ancient Greece, of which all Christians are citizens. Possibly this word here, and the cognate word in ch. iii. 20, were suggested by the municipal rights whicii distinguished the citizens of the Roman colony of Philippi from the provincials around : cp. Acts xvi. 20. Citizenship involves privileges and duties. Paul therefore bids his readers act worthily of the Gospel, which is both their charter of privileges and their law. This general exhortation the rest of § 5 expounds in di^tail. hi order that . . . I may hear that etc.: the lirst detail in Pauls exhortation, in the form of a purpose w Inch he bills his readers have in view in their behaviour as citizens of the Kingdom of God. He urges them to act worthily in order that he may have the joy of hearing about their worthy conduct. He thus adds to his exhortation a motive, viz. his own attentive interest in them. Cp. ch. ii. I. Whether . . . or: two ways in which, as circumstances may determine, Paul hopes to hear about his readers, viz. either by visiting and seeing tli« in and tluis hearing fnnii their own lips, or if absent by the report of others. Kveii in their midst, In- would hear about their .steadfastness. In this case, hearing would he associated with coming and seeing , in the other case, with absence. The form of the aIt(Tnative suggests that Paul thinks chiefly of hearing . about iiis readers from a distance. He assumes that his life will be spared. Otherwise, he would neither visit nor hear about tlu-m. ////// yc stand etc.: the matter Paul wishes to hear about his Sec. 5.] PHILIPPIANS I. 27— II. 18. 57 readers; and consequently the real object of liis Hrst exhortation. Stand : maintain your position in the Christian life. A word and thought familiar to Paul: ch. iv. i, Eph. vi. 11 — 14, Rom. v. 2, xi. 20, etc. It suggests the presence of enemies or dangers threatening to drive them back or cause them to fall. In o?te spirit : one animating principle moving the many members of the Church, this principle looked upon as the element i7t which they maintain their position : cither the One Holy Spirit, who is (i Cor. xii. g, 11) the one personal inward source of life and harmony to the many servants of Christ ; or the inward harmony which He imparts to those in whom He dwells, as suggested by one soul. Since this Person and this harmony are cause and effect, the distinction is unimportant, and was perhaps not clearly marked in the writer's mind. Notice that, as in an army, so in the Church, harmony is a condition of steadfastness. The disunited fall. Now follow two collateral clauses, each noting a condition of the desired steadfastness, viz. mutual help in the conflict, and fearless- ness. Contend : the Greek original of our word athlete. It represents the Christian life as a struggle for a prize, Hke the athletic contests of Greece. See note under i Cor. ix. 27. Together-contending : athletes represented as comrades in one struggle, each helping the others. Similar word in Rom. xv. 30, where Paul begs his readers to join with him, by praying for him, in the struggle of his apostohc work. But here he does not expressly mention his own conflict ; and on the other hand the words one spirit, one soul, place conspicu- ously before us the desired union of the Philippian Christians one with another. Paul remembers that his readers are engaged in one great struggle, and desires that in it all may act together, as though the many were impelled by the soul of one man, this harmony being a condition of the steadfastness of which he hopes to hear. Soul : see under i Cor. xv. 53. It is that side of man's immaterial nature which is nearest to the body and directly influenced by it, and through the body by the outer world ; and is thus distinguished from the spirit, which is that in man nearest to God and directly influenced by the Spirit of God. The soul is therefore the emotional side of man, that which is roused by his surroundings. Paul desires that his readers be moved by one impulse. The faith (or belief) of the Gospel: belief that the good news is true. The Gospel is the object-matter believed. So 2 Th. ii. 13, Col. ii. 12; cp. 'faith of Christ ' in Ph. iii. 9. 28 — 30. A second collateral clause, noting a second condition of steadfastness, with comments upon it. Affrighted: as a horse 58 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 5. takes fright at a sudden alarm. In a7iythtng : any adverse cir- cumstances, be they what they may. Advasarics : same word in I Cor. xvi. 9 ; and, of one tremendous opponent, in 2 Th. ii. 4. The definite term the advcrscwies shows that the conflict implied in the foregoing words was in part caused by abiding personal enemies, Jews or Gentiles. Samples .may be found in i Th. ii. 14, Acts xvii. 5, xvi. 19, these last being at Philippi. Paul bids his readers not to be frightened out of their compact rank by any attack of their enemies. Which is etc. : an encouraging comment on the fearlessness which Paul desires in his readers. Destncciio7t : see under ch. iii. 19 and note luider Rom. ii. 24. Pi'oof : same word in Rom. iii. 25, 2 Cor. viii. 24. The fearlessness of the persecuted will be to their enemies a jjroof that eternal ruin awaits them. For it will reveal supernatural help given to the persecuted, and thus prove that God is with them, and that consequently their opponents are fighting against God. An example of this in Acts iv. 1 3, v. 39. To them or for them : this proof being an objective reality before their eyes, whether they see it or not Salvation: as in -'. 19. Their own courage, being evidently divinely given, is to them a proof that God is with them and that therefore they are on the way to eternal safety. So is every manifest work of God in us an earnest of final deliverance. And this from God: not only actually a proof, but designed by God to be such. Both the courage and the proof therein implied are from God. Taken in itself, this last statement might cover dcstruc- tio7t as well as salvation, stating that both elements of the proof are fro7n God. But, since the explanation which follows in v. 29 refers only to the persecuted, probably to thenj only refer the last words of V. 28. 29. A i)roof that the courage of the persecuted was designed by God to be to them a proof of their ultimate salvation. G/'aciously- give7i: ox ^i^ivc7i-as-a-77ia7-k-of-favour ox j^/'ace : frecjuent with Paul, found only with him and Luke. A cognate word, fretjuciit with Paul, is found elsewhere only in i Pet. iv. 10: see under Rom. i. 11. 07i-behalf-of Ch/ist : in order to advance His pJeasure or interests. To bclic7>e in him : a phrase very common witli John, with I^aul only Rom. x. 14, Gal. ii. 16. The repeated words cv// ///.v behalf \i\y great stri.-ss on the fact that the sufTerings endured by the Philij)pian C!hristians wen; endured in order to help forward the Kingdom of Chrisl. (i()(l liad ordained, in llis faNour towarils them, that they .••ihoMld not only accept as true tin- i^roniises of C-hrist but also undergo suffering in order to advance a work ilear to Him. Their Sec. 5.] PHILIPPIANS I. 27— II. 18. 59 sufferings were, therefore, part of a divine purpose ; and consequently the proof involved in them was part of that purpose. Since the mention here of faith is only casual and is designed chiefly to throw into prominence the sufferings for Christ which follow faith in Him, it is unsafe to base upon these words a definite proof that faith is a gift of God. But, since we should never have believed in Christ had He not first spoken to us, and had not God exerted upon us influences leading us to accept the words of Christ, we may in this guarded sense speak of faith as a gift of God. Similarly, sufferings are gifts of God's favour : for they come upon us by His design and for our good. This seems to me all that can fairly be inferred from this verse. Tlic scantiness in the N.T. of proofs that faith is a gift of God was perhaps occasioned by the danger lest, if it were taught more definitely, we might wait for faith as for some gift not yet bestowed, instead of at once accepting the promises of Christ. 30. A statement collateral and subordinate to that of v. 29, giving to the persecuted still further encouragement. Conflict: the ordinary word for the athletic contests referred to in v. 27. The sa?ne conflict or the same sort of conflict as ye saw in 77ie : close coincidence with Acts xvi. 19 — 24. The persecutions of Paul's readers arose from the same cause, and therefore belonged to the same category, as his own scourging and imprisonment at PhiHppi. They might therefore look for similar divine help. And this letter tells them that similar hardships and perils surround him now at Rome. When Paul was before their eyes at Philippi, they saw in him a conflict like their own present troubles. And now from a distance they /z^^r tidings which reveal in his person a similar conflict. Yet at Philippi they saw him unmoved by his enemies. And from this letter they hear that he is unmoved now. Thus Paul brings the example of his own courage to inspire his readers. Turning to the Christians at Philippi, Paul's one thought is that they may act in a manner worthy of the spiritual commonwealth to which they belong and of the good news they have heard. His own deadly peril reminds him that they also are*exposed to hardship and peril. He therefore bids them maintain their position in face of their foes ; and to this end exhorts them to contend bravely shoulder to shoulder, armed with their belief of the good news ; and to be undismayed by their enemies. Their fearlessness will be a proof of the destruction awaiting their foes and of the deliverance awaiting them, and this by God's design. For their persecutions are no mere accident, but are a part of God's great purpose of mere}-. He having 6o EXPOSrnON of [Sec. 5. ordained that they shall not only believe the j^romises of Christ, but also suffer to advance His kindgom. Their hardships have the same source and the same gracious aid as the hardships at Philippi from which God so wonderfully delivered Paul, and as the hardships now at Rome, in which, while he writes, Christ is daily magnified. II. 1, 2. Another exhortation arising out of, and in part repeating and developing, the exhortation in ch. i. 27 — 30. If there be then : an appeal based on the conflict just mentioned. Encouragement : speech calculated to prompt to action or endurance : same word as 'exhort' in Rom. xii. i, where see note. In Christ: 'if in the spiritual life, of which Christ is Himself the surrounding and life- giving element, there is anything to move you." Cp. i Cor. i. 10, 2 Cor. X. I. Consolation : kind words to one in sadness, thus dis- tinguished from the word rendered cncouragcmcjit. Such kind words Christian love ever prompts. ' If love prompts words of comfort to those in sorrow, remember me in prison at Rome and yield to my request.' Felloivship of the Spirit : either a sharing with others the gift of the Holy Spirit, or brotherliness prompted by the Spirit. The latter would give to the word fellowship the same sense as in ch. i. 5, and is suggested by the Christian harmony so earnestly desired in the words following. It is therefore the more likely interpretation. A close parallel in Rom. xv. 30, where an appeal is supported by reference both to Christ and to the ' love of the Spirit,' i.e. the love with which the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of those in whom He dwells. Tender-mercies : as in ch. i. 8. To this word, the word coinpassions adds the idea of pity towards one in dis- tress, viz. Paul at Rome. Thus the 4th plea is related to the 2nd, which recalls the idea of distress : the 3rd is related to the ist, giving the divine source of the disposition Paul desires. ' If there is anything in Christ moving you to yield to my request, if my sufferings claim the consolation which love is ever ready to give, if the Holy Spirit whom ye have received as the animating i>rinciple of a new life is a spirit of brotherhooil, if in your hearts sufferings can evoke tender- ness and pity,' etc. The earnestness of this fourfold appeal prepares us for a request of the highest importance. To the word any hciorc tcfider-fnercies all uncials and many cursive MSS. agree to give a form utterly migrammatical and unintelligible, a manifest error. The error extends only to one or two letters, and makes no appreciable difference in the meaning of the passage. That an error so evid<'nt has j)asscd uncorrected in all the older and many of the later Greek Mss. is certainly remarkable, and proves that even the agreement of the bi'st copies is no absolute guarantee Sec. 5.] PHILIPPIANS I. 27— II. 18. 61 against error. But one trifling slip does nothing whatever to shake our confidence in the general accuracy of our copies. Moreover it reveals the accuracy of the transcribers, an accuracy not less valuable because it is sometimes unthinking. 2. An earnest request, for which the foregoing pleas have prepared the way. Fill tip my joy : implying that if the readers will yield to Paul's request nothing will be wanting to make him full oi joy. Cp. I Th. iii. 8, 9. We have here again (cp. ch. i. 4) the golden thread o{ joy which runs tlirough and illumines this Epistle. Notice that, although grammatically fuljil my joy is the matter of Paul's request, it is really another plea, the actual request being added, in the form of a purpose, in the words following. This first request is an appeal to fill with gladness the heart of the prisoner awaiting his trial at Rome. That ye may etc. : the real request, put in rather furtively as the aim the readers are to have in view. They must resolve to mind the same thing. By so doing they will fill Paul with joy. Mind : as in Rom. viii. 5. The same thing : actuated by a like aim; as in ch. iv. 2, Rom. xii. 5, 2 Cor. xiii. 11. This purpose is expounded and developed in two participial clauses. The same thing, which Paul desires in his readers, is love one to another, the same love in each breast. The one thing : stronger than the same thing, stating that the readers are not only to agree in thought and aim but to agree in one definite aim. That this aim is to be Christ and His Kingdom, Paul leaves them to infer. With-united-souls : similar words in ch. i. 27. It is best to connect this word closely with those following, as describing the manner in which they are to mind the one thing, thus giving to this clause the chief weight. The harmony is to pervade not only the intelligence but the emotions. Cp. * from the soul ' in Eph. vi. 6, Col. iii. 23. The earnestness of these repeated pleas reveals the infinite importance of Christian unity : and this is confirmed by similar language in Rom. xv. 5, i Cor. i. 10, Eph. iv. 3 — 6, and by the Saviour's prayer in Jno. xvii. 21 — 23. 3, 4. Two other participial clauses, each warning against a dispo- sition fatal to Christian unity and commending the opposite virtue. Faction: as in ch. i. 17. Vainglory, or e??ipty glory : an appearance without reality. By way of faction andvainglojy : two distinct paths, along neither of which would Paul have his readers go. He warns them both against a mercenary spirit and against a desire for empty show. In this clause we have no verb. Since the repeated word by-way-of suggests actions along a mental line marked out, it is better to supply the word doing. It was needless to insert it : for action was clearly implied. Lowlincss-of-mind : see under Col. iii. 12. 62 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 5. It is suggested by tlie word ' mind ' in ?'. 2. [The Greek article indicates the well-known virtne of hnmility.] This virtue must be in active exercise wlien Christians compare thcj?isclvcs with others. Looking-at : not making his own interest the goal of his fore- thought. See under 2 Cor. iv. 18. But also ; rather softens the foregoing absolute prohibition. Paul now requires, not that the interest of others be the only object of our thought, but that it have a place along with our own interest. Similar teaching in i Cor. x. 24, 33, xiii. 5. It is therefore another note of common authorship. Whether the above warning against selfishness was prompted by something special at Philippi, we have no means of knowing. The universality of selfishness, imperilling everywhere Christian unity, forbids us to infer from these words such special occasion. 5 — 11. A new sentence bringing suddenly before us the supreme example of Christ. A close coincidence with Rom. xv, 3, 2 Cor. viii. 9. Since the example of Christ does not bear directly on Christian unity, but is the absolute opposite of every kind of selfishness, which is a universal hindrance to unity, it is best to understand the example of Christ as adduced simply to give the strongest possible support to the words immediately preceding. Have this ?nind etc. : ' cherish in yourselves as an object of your thought the thought and disposition which was in Christ." Also in Christ Jesus : the mind which was actually in Christ atid that which Paul desires in his readers being placed side by side. Notice that although the words which follow refer to the not yet Incarnate Son, (see under v. 7,) He is here called Christ Jesus. So 2 Cor. viii. 9, i Jno. iv. 2. This reveals Paul's intense conviction of the continuous and undivided personality of the Eternal Son and the God-Man. This made it easy to give to the Pre-incarnate Son the name He bore as Man among men ; the more so because only through His appearance in human form is the Eternal Son known to men. It is specially easy here because Paul is really adducing the example of the Incarnate Son, tracing however the example of Christ on earth to the purpose of the n«t yet Incarnate Son contemplating His approaching life on earth. See below. 6 -11. The thought of Christ which Paul desires in his readers he exjjounds in vv. 6 — 8, in its successive stages of self-emi)tying and self-humiliation lUitil He hangs dead on the cross, this l)eing the lowest point in His descent. Then follows in in>. 9 — li His exalta- tion by the Eather, until to the Name of Jesns is paid universal homage, all this being a divine recompense for His self-humiliation Sec. 5.] PHILIPPTANS I. 27— II. 18. 63 and an inducement to men to follow His example. We have thus a unique and infinite example of unselfishness, crowned Ijy unicpie honour. 6 — 8. The voluntary descent of Christ, in its two successive stages. Verses 6, 7 describe His original condition, and His surrender of it at His Incarnation : 7/. 8 describes the condition then assumed, and His action to the moment of death. We thu s find.the^ JSiQuJiL three positions, in His original^j^^lory, as man_on, earth, and dead upon the cross. Form: that in which essence manifests itself; the sum total of that by which an object is distinguished from other objects and thus made known. Whatever we can see, hear, or touch is the form of a material object : whatever we can grasp with the mind is the form of a mental object. It is to the essence what the outside is to the inside, what the manifestation is to the underlying and unseen reality. It is " the utterance of the inner life " (Trench) of whatever exists. Same word in the N.T. only Mk. xvi. 12 ; also Dan, v. 6, 9, 10, vii. 28, iv. 33, Isa. xliv. 13, Job iv. 16, Cognate words in Rom. ii. 20, 2 Tim. iii. 5 ; also Gal. iv. 19, Mt. xvii. 2, Mk. ix. 2, Rom. xii. 2, 2 Cor. iii. 18, Rom. viii. 29, Ph. iii. 10, 21. It is closely related in sense to ' image,' which however suggests the idea of comparison and similarity. Existing : a more emphatic word than ' being,' yet common. It recalls the condition and surroundings of existence. These words refer evidently to the not yet incarnate Son. For they describe His state when He ' emptied Himself ' by ' becoming in the likeness of men,' i.e. by His birth as a human child. To this, as we have seen, the words ' Christ Jesus ' are no objection. Nor is it an objection that this is an example for men on earth. For the action even of the Father is made in Mt. v. 45 — 48 an example for men. Moreover the entire action of Christ on earth is an outflow in human form ol" His divine nature. See under v. 11. These words therefore describe the Eternal Son before, and Rpart from. His incar- nation. He was then iji the form of God. And since, without an intelligent mind to grasp it, for7n would lose its real significance, we must conceive the Son contemplated by the Father and by the bright ones of heaven. They saw in Him an expression corre- sponding to the essence of God. This implies that the Son was, before His Incarnation, a Person distinct from the Father. And, if so, a divine Person. Otherwise His self-manifestation would be (cp. 2 Tim. iii. 5) a deception, which is inconceivable. Consequently, these words imply equality with God. And this is explicitly assumed in the words following. See Dissertation iii. 64 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 5. , The phrase in the form of God was chosen doubtless for contrast , to ' form ol" a servant.' This contrast reveals the supreme unselfishness of Christ. On the Mount the Incarnate Son assumed, in the presence of the chosen Apostles, as He did after His resurrection to the disciples going to Emmaus, 2iform, or mode of self-manifestation, different from that in whicli the}^ were accustomed to see Him: Mk. ix. 2, xvi. 12. And our bodies, having laid aside tlieir present transitory ' shape,' will share, as their mode of self-presentation, the glorious form in which Christ Himself will appear: Ph. iii. 21. His equality with God : literally the existing in a manner equal to God. The Greek article points to a definite thought already before us. And this is found, and found only, in the words existi?tg in the form of God. For He who tlius existed must have also existed in a manner equal to God. These last words tell us the inner reahty underlying the form of God. And, as we have seen, He whose existence can be thus described must be divine. In these words Pauls teaching about the nature of the Son finds its culmination. Throughout his Epistles tiie Son occupies a place infinitely above that of the loftiest creatures. He is here explicitly assumed to be equal to God. This equality Christ did ?wt count a means of high-handed self- enrichment : or, more literally, no high-handed self-etir idling did He dee?fi the bei?ig equal to God. [The verb imderlyiiig the sub- stantive I have rendered high-hajided self-e?irichment means to snatch, to take hold of quickly with a strong hand. With such strong-handed taking, very frequently injustice is associated, yet not alwa3^s : for the w(jrd is used f)f .1 man grasping his own sword ; and in Jno. vi. 15, Acts viii. 39, 2 (or. xii. 2 the same word is used without any thought of injustice. Hut it Alwa ys denotes -taking hold of, or snatching, something not yet in'our hands. This is made quite certain by an arg)im«nt in Chrysostom s lloniilv (vi. 2) on this passage. The precise word here used is found in non-Christian Greek only, I believe, in Plutarch's Morals p. xia for a violent act of seizure, according to the usual active sense of the termination. For the booty seized, the |)assive form «/j7ray/aa is common in later Greek. Lightfoot (juotes three passages from early Christian writers in which apparently this nuaning is given to the word rip7ray/xds which is used in tlie passage Ik lurt- iis. It is so uiKh-rstood here by him and Eliicott and several early Grenfluenccs ever prompt, and are designed to evoke, human effort. Consequently man's earnest effort is a condition of salvation. But both this effort and its good results are the out- working of the purpose and power of God. A knowledge that our own purposes are from God, and that our efforts are armed with His power, and that our victory will gratify Him, are strong encourage- ment to put forth all our powers. The exhortation in v. 12 is to Christian perseverance; and thus takes up and completes that in ch« i. 27 — 30. In v. zj Cliristian 76 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 5. harmony was mentioned casually as a condition of victory, and in ch. ii. 1,2 it was made matter of direct exhortation. In vv. 3, 4 we were warned against selfishness, the great enemy of Christian har- mony. And in vv. 5 — 11 this warning and its implied exhortation were supported by the unique example of Christ's self-humihation for the good of others and His exaltation by God. This supreme example Paul brings, in vi). 12, 13, to bear upon his readers. But instead of bidding them to imitate Christ, or rather to cherish a disposition like His, which would be merely a repetition of v. 5, he bids them, by obedience, work out their own salvation. He thus implies that the only way of safety is the path of self-humiliation and obedience trodden by Christ : a lesson we all need to learn. Underneath an apparently abrupt transition we find, as so often with Paul, an important lesson. A similar train of thought occurs in I Cor. ix. 22 — 27, where Paul says that his own salvation depends upon his efforts to save others. ' Since the Eternal Son, instead of using His divine powers to obtain for Himself the good things of earth for which so many strive, allowed them to remain latent, and trod the path of sclf-luuniliation and obedience, a path which led Him to infinite glory, thus marking it out as the way of safety, walk ye along the same path, remembering the spiritual perils wliich surround you, and therefore walk as carefully in my absence as in my presence. Do tliis remembering that in our own moral efforts God is working out His own good pleasure,' 14 — 16. Alter exhortations to courage, unity, unselfishness like that of Christ, and the implied warning that upon obedience depends personal salvation, Paul adds an exhortation touching the manner in which he would have these exhortations obeyed. All tilings; covers and goes beyond the matters already mentioned. Miinimrings : I Cor. X. 10: talk expressing dissatisfaction, especially clandestine talk as grumbling often is. It is most easily understood here of dis- satisfaction with the rough lot referred to above, such dissatisfaction being feally murmuring against Him who has allotted our earthly position and surroundings. Doubtings or reasonings : ideas closely allied, that about which we reason being naturally open to doubt while the reasoning continues. Same word in Rom. i. 21, xiv. I, I Cor. iii. 20, i Tim. ii. 8, Jas. ii. 4, Lk. ix. 46, 47. Dissatisfaction with our lot arises necessarily from want of faith in Him wlu) with infinite wisdom and love has chosen for us our path and who will soon cover us with the sj)liMulour of heaven and lill us with eternal joy. Hence all murniurings are an outward expression of inward doublings. And both these are utterly unworthy of children of God. Sec. 5.] PHILIPPIANS I. 27— II. 18. ^-j Therefore, whatever duties and burdens Hfe lays upon them, Paul bids his readers do all things without 77iurrnurings and dotibtings. 15, 16. Aim of the foregoing exhortation : then a statement about the readers' relation to the world : and lastly a further aim touching Paul and his work. That ye may-beco?7ie etc. : a designed result of laying aside ' mur- murings and doubtings.' Blameless: men with whose outward aspect none can find fault. Piire^ or mixtureless : men in whose inward disposition there is no foreign element. Thus blameless and ;pure correspond respectively to ' without murmurings ' and ' without doubtings.' Children of God: Rom. viii. 16, 21, ix. 8: a point of connection between Paul and John, Jno. i. 12, xi. 52, i Jno. iii. i, 2, 10, V. 2. A similar phrase in Rom. viii. 14, 19, ix. 26, 2 Cor. vi. 18, Gal. iii. 26, iv. 6, Heb. ii. 10, xii. 5, Lk. xx. 36, vi. 35, Mt. v. 45. These words here, without any special occasion, reveal the deep root of this thought in the writer's mind, and are thus a mark of authorship. They note a close relation to God. Spotless : Eph. i. 4, v. 27, Col. i. 22, Heb. ix. 14, I Pet. i. 19, Jude 24, Rev. xiv. 5 : without blemish, or anything to cause reproach. Notice three negatives, blameless, 7?iixtureless, spotless, emphasising absence of all evil inward or out- ward. That this absence of evil is represented as a result to be attained by avoiding murmurings and doubtings, suggests that these defects are the last to cling to the Christian ; that he who avoids them will escape all evil. And rightly so. For absence of doubt is perfect faith : and absence of murmuring reveals profound inward peace. These words reveal also Paul's high appreciation of the present moral character of his readers. Ge7ieratio7i : see under Eph. iii. 5. Crooked: opposite to 'straight,' as in Luke iii. 5. Crooked ge7ie7'atio7i : Acts ii. 40. Perve7'se : twisted in different directions, especially of misshapen or mutilated limbs. So Mt. xvii. 17, Lk. ix. 41 : 'generation unbelieving and perverted.' Instead of being upright, they were crooked in character and conduct : instead of being a normal growth, they were deformed cripples. Among such men and in conspicuous contrast to them, Paul desired his readers to be without blemish, thus revealing their divine lineage : children of God, spotless i7t the 7nidst etc. Since the stress evidently rests on the words spotless i7i the 77iidst etc., describing what sort of child7-e7i of God the Philippians were to be, we cannot infer from these last words that Paul looked upon them as not yet children of God. Consequently, this verse in no way contradicts Gal. iii. 26, iv. 6. A77i07ig who77i etc.; keeps up the contrast between Christians and those around them. Are-see7i : same word in Mt. vi. 5, 16, 18; also 78 EXPOSITIOX OF [Sec. 5. rendered appear in Mt. i. 20, ii. 7, 13, 19. It is akin to the Greek word for light, and denotes in its simplest form ' to give light : ' e.g. Jno. i. 5, V. 35. Similarly, the form here used is found in Mt. xxiv. 27, Rev. xviii. 23. But in a wider sense it is constantly- used for the visible manifestation of an object, whether by its own light or by light cast upon it. The participle is the Greek original of our word ' phenomenon.' Amid a perverse generation the spotless children of God are conspicuously seen : and, since ( Eph. v. 8) their nature is light, they shine. Luminaries : iight-givers : same word in Gen. i. 14, 16, Wisdom xiii. 2, Sirach xliii. 7, for the sun and moon. In Rev. xxi. 11 it denotes the brilliance of a precious stone. Ltiiniiiaries in the zvorld ; keeps up the contrast noted above. Like stars at night, so shine the children of God in a dark world. The foregoing words described what Paul would have his readers be : those now before us say what they actually are. Whatever be their degree of brightness, they are seen. That they are said to be seen as Imninaries in the world, is a recognition of their lofty position, and an implied exhortation of the most persuasive kind to walk worthy of it. Wo7-d of life : the Gospel, as a channel through which God bestows eternal life, i Cor. i. 21, xv. i : so * words of eternal life ' in Jno. vi. 68 ; * words of this life,' Acts v. 20. The singular number here, tuord of life, looks upon the Gospel as one whole, Ilolding-forth : as if with outstretched arm : a word not uncommon for one holding to another's lips food and drink. By proclaiming the Gospel we hold out to the lips of famishing ones the bread of eternal life, and reach out a light revealing perils which otherwise would be certain destruction, and revealing also a way of safety. Thus the Gospel is the light of lite. The slight change of metaphor from the heavenly bodies shining by their own brightness to men holding out a light to guide others is easily understood. The former conception represents Christians as shining with superhuman bright- ness and as raised immeasurably above the world: the latter repre- sents them as actively endeavouring to save others. These two clauses explain how tlie children of God are see?i as luminaries in the world. Forag?-07ind-of-c.vi(lfa(ionf(>r-?nc: further purpose f)f the exhor- tation in 7>. 14, viz. joy to Paul himself at his readers' Cliristian con- duct. Similar thouglit in 7/. 2 : cp. Rom. i. 13. For the day of Christ: as in ch. i. 6, 10. Tliis third mention so c:n\y in the Epistle shows liow definite in Paul's thought was that day, and how steadily his thoughts about the future went forth to it as their Sec. 5.] PHILIPPIANS I. 27— II. 18. 79 goal. Thai not in vai?t, etc: contents of this grou7id-of -exultation. Ru7i : I Cor. ix. 24, 26, Gal. v, 7. 7i??<:w z>^ -t/dim / Gal. ii. 2, a close coincidence. I-have-7'7{n suggests the runner's intense effort : I-have-laboii7xd suggests the weariness of effort ; same word in Jno. iv. 6, same root in 2 Cor. vi. 5, xi. 27, Gal. vi. 17. Paul desires proof, in the light given by his readers to the dark world, that his own strenuous efforts and frequent weariness for them have not been in vain. Such proof will be to him a ground of exultation, i.e. of triumphant confidence in God ; just as to his readers will be (ch. i. 26) Paul's own deliverance from prison. And this exultation will reach forward to that Day ever present to Paul's thought when the inward spiritual life began on earth and manifested imperfectly here will receive its full and visible consummation in the light of eternity, and earthly toil receive its abundant recompense, 17, 18. Sudden break in Paul's line of thought, followed by a comment upon the words foregoing. He has just spoken of his strenuous efforts for his readers : he will now speak of his possible death on their behalf. Poured-out-as-a-libatio7i : technical term for wine poured out upon or beside sacrifices or holy objects : same word in Num. xxviii. 7, iv. 7, Gen. xxxv. 14. If I a77i eve7t bei7ig poiu^ed out: an extreme possibility. Even if Paul's hopes of release be fallacious, if his present imprisonment be a beginning of the end, if the legal process now going on be God's way of removing him from earth, he never- theless rejoices. Same word and tense in 2 Tim. iv. 6, a very close parallel, referring to Paul's last imprisonment previous to his execu- tion. Se7vice : public and especially sacred ministration. Same word in v. 30, 2 Cor. ix. 12 : cognate word in Rom. xiii. 6, where see note; and in Phil. ii. 25. Yotir faith : object of this ministration. By leading his readers to faith in Christ, Paul was performing a public and sacred work. And, since this service was rendered to God, their faith was a sacrifice presented by Paul. Similar thought in Rom. xv, 16, where in similar language the believing Gentiles are represented as an offering to God. Another note of common authorship. * The Gentiles ' and their faith may be conceived as the ' offering ' and sacrifice laid upon the altar. Similar sacrificial language in Ph. iv. 18. Whether the words 7cpo7i the sacrifice were suggested by the heathen practice (so apparently in Iliad bk. xi. 775) of pouring wine up07t the slain victim, or are merely used in the frequent and looser sense of something done in connection with or in addition to the sacrifice as in Acts iv. 17, 2 Cor. ix. 6, we cannot now determine, Either thought would explain Paul's language. 8o EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 5. The practical meaning is clear. Paul has long been labouring in discharge of a public and sacred duty laid upon him by God, to lead the Gentiles to faith in Christ. He now contemplates the l)ossibility of the sacrifice thus presented to God being consum- mated by the pouring out of his own life. / rejoice : not necessarily that Paul's life is being sacrificed, but that he has been permitted, even at so great a cost, to lead his readers to faitli. I rejoice with you all : ' I share your joy, rejoice that ye arc joyful,' i.e. with a joy resulting from faith in Christ. This is the most common use of the compound word so rendered, and gives a good sense. It is therefore needless to render it co7igratulate, as if it meant a verbal expression of sympathy with another's joy. Paul rejoices to see the result of his own self sacrifice ; and his joy is increased by the joy of those for whom he has laboured and sufiered. You all; recalls the universality so conspicuous in ch. i. 3,4. The saDie thing, rejoice : cherish the same joy that I have. Even if Paul's imprisonment be the way to death, he still rejoices at his own success and at his readers' joy. He now bids them to rejoice in Christ, and to rejoice that he is joyful. Thus this important section, like §§ 3 and 4, closes on the key-note of joy sounded in ch. i. 4. Similar exhortations in chs. iii. i, iv. i. Review. Paul's hope of release from imprisonment is based in part on the needs of his readers. To them, after speaking about himself, he now turns. All he has to say to them is comprised in one exhortation, viz. to act in the City of God in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ. This worthy action Paul then expounds in detail. His own conflict reminds him that they also have ene- mies. Against these he bids them stand firmly. To this end he urges harmony and fearlessness, saying that this last will be to them a proof of their own salvation present and future, and that sufferings are a part of G(5d's good purpose, both for himself and for them. Paul then returns with greater earnestness to the need for unity. The prisoner at Rome pleads for the gratification to himself which his readers' harmony will bring, and begs them to cherish the one great purpose. He warns them against selfishness and vanity, commending humility and care for the good of others. In this he quotes the supreme example of Christ, who contemplating His approaching life on earth did not look upon His divine preroga- tives as a means of obtaining for Himself material good, but on entering the world laid aside the full exercrse of His divine powers in order to assume human limitations and thus save men, and who Sec. 6.] PHILIPPIANS II. 19—24. 81 on earth trod the humble path of obedience till it led Him to the grave. The force of this example Paul increases by pointing to the honour conferred by God on the Risen Christ and to the universal homage designed for Him. Armed with this example, Paul reminds his readers that upon their earnest effort to imitate Christ depends their final salvation, and encourages them to such effort by saying that their conflict is no trial of human strength, but that in them God is working out His own good purpose. These exhortations he concludes by urging them to lay aside murmuring and doubt, to aim at a spotless character, and, by holding forth to others the word of life, to become lights in a dark world. He closes the section by looking forward to the Day of Christ and the joy He hopes then to have in the result of His present labours. So great is the joy thus in prospect that Paul's present joy of anticipation is not dimmed even by the possibility that his present imprisonment may end in death. Nor does this possibility prevent him from rejoicing in his readers' joy in Christ. He bids them share his joy. SECTION VI. ABOUT TIMOTHY. Ch. II. 19 — 24. But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to yoic sJiortl\\ i?i order that I also may be of o^ood c/ieer, kuowing your affairs. -" For I have no one of equal soul who in a genuine way will be ajixious about your affairs. -^ For they all seek their ow7t things, not the things of Jesus Christ. -- But the proof of him ye kiiow, that, as a S071 serves a father, with me he has done service in furtherance of the Gospel. -^ Him then I hope to send, whenei'er I see the issue of my affairs, forthwith. -^ But I tncst in the Lord that I myself also will shortly come. After general exhortations to the Christians at Philippi, Paul comes now to speak about two of his fellow-workers, each closely related to them ; about Timothy in § 6, and in § 7 about Epaphroditus. 19. But I hope : Paul's actual and cheerful expectation, in contrast to the possibilit}' (v. 17) that his death is near. For the words, that I also may know, suggest a hope that he will live till Timothy's return. Probably also the fuller hope expressed in v. 24 was already present to Paul's thought and moulding his words. And apparently the mission of Timothy was dependent (see v. 23) on Paul's 6 82 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 6. liberation. Hope in the Lord Jcsiis : who is able to rescue him from impending death, and whose purpose, as Paul thinks, is so to do. Also : in addition to the benefit to the Philippians from Timothy's visit. This purpose reveals Paul's deep interest in his readers. News about them will be encouragement to him. Close coincidence in I Th. iii. 6, 2 Th. i. 3. 20 — 22. Reason for Paul's zvish to send Timothy, and him specially. Of-equal-soul : see under the word soid in ch. i. 27. Paul has no one in whom care for the Philippians kindles the same emotions as in Timothy. If he had wished to say that Timothys care was equal to his own, he would need to have indicated this by writing 'no one else.' The comparison is between others and Timothy, not between Timothy and Paul. In-a-geiudne-way : as a real, born son naturally cares for his father's interests : a cognate word in ch. iv. 3, 2 Cor. viii. 8, i Tim. i. 2, Tit. i. 4. Be-anxious-about : forethought so intense as to become painful. Same word in ch. iv. 6, i Cor. vii. 32, 33, 34. xii. 25, Mt. vi. 25, 27, 28, 31, 34, x. 19, Lk. x. 41. The contradiction with Ph. iv. 6 is only apparent. There is a care for the future which implies doubt, and is therefore utterly unworthy of the Christian : and there is a forethought which may be, and often is, painful, and yet a genuine outflow of intelligent Christian love. A cognate word, and a close coincidence, are found in 2 Cor. xi. 28. The sad statement in v. 20, v. 21 justifies by a universal description of the men around Paul whom he might conceivably send to Philippi. Their own things : same words in same sense as in -z/. 4 : a marked contrast \o your affairs. TJie tilings of Jesus CJuist: the interests of His kingdom, which include the highest well-being of the Philip- pian Christians. The reason here given implies that self-seeking unfits a man to be a reliable witness of the spiritual life of others. And correctly so. For all selfishness dims spiritual vision, and thus veils to us spiritual things good or bad. Tlierefore selfish men cannot bring to Paul a trustworthy report. To this description of the men surrounding Paul, there is no excep- tion : tliey all seelc etc. A remarkable parallel to i Cor. i. 12, iii. i — 3, V. 2, vi. 5. As at Corinth, so at Rome, the men referred to were doubtless real though very imperfect Christians. The different lan- guage of Col. iv. 10 — 14 suggests that the men there mentioned were not with Paul when he wrote this Epistle: and this would account for the absence of any greetings to the Philippians from Christians at Rome: an important coincidence. Of men sucli as those here described, Paul would not wish to speak. Sec. 6.] PHILIP PIANS II. 19—24. 83 22. Description of Timothy, in contrast to the men just referred to. The pi'oof of hi77i : the attestation of his real worth : close parallel in 2 Cor. ii. 9. \'e know : a coincidence with Acts xvi. 3, xvii. 14 where we learn that Timothy \vas with Paul at the founding of the Church at Philippi ; and with ch. xx. 4 which says that Timothy accompanied Paul on a journey through Macedonia, in which province Philippi was. A child: close coincidence with I Cor. iv. 17, where Paul when sending Timothy to Corinth speaks of him as his 'beloved and trustworthy child.' Father: coincidence with I Cor. iv. 15, where Paul claims to be the /rt;//^^r of the Corin- thian Christians. With me he has done service, or has served: a slight change of metaphor. While saying that Timothy has served Paul as a son serves his father, Paul remembers that, from another point of view, Timothy and himself are alike children and servants of another Master. He therefore now speaks of Timothy as joining with himself in serving One whom it is needless to name. In furtherance of the Gospel: for its spread and triumph: same words in same sense in ch. i. 5 ; more fully in v. 12, 'for the progress of the Gospel.' This was the aim of the service in which, as the Philippians knew, Timothy joined with Paul. 23, 24. Resumption, from v. 19, of Paul's purpose to send Timothy, after a digression about his fitness, unique among others unfit, for this mission ; followed {v. 24) by a hope of himself coming. Hitn then etc. : more fully, this man then on the one hand I hope to send . . . 071 the other ha7id I trust in the Lo7'd that myself etc. : a double hope cherished by Paul. Hope to send: resuming v. 19. My affairs : same phrase as 'your affairs' in v. 19; and practically identical with 'the matters touching me' in ch. i. 12. It must refer to some great crisis which would determine Paul's conduct. And this is most easily explained as the issue of the trial before Nero, for which Paul was waiting during his imprisonment at Re me. These words are thus a coincidence with Acts xxviii. 30. Forthwith : as soon as Paul's case is decided, he will send Timothy. That he was unwilling to send away his beloved son in the Gospel before the decision, we can well understand. Trust i7i the Loj^d : as in ch. i. 14. Paul's hope of coming to Philippi has its root in the Master whom he serves. A fuller exposition of this hope and of its ground is given in ch. i. 25, 26. Review. After expressing his joy about his readers, a joy which even the possibility of death does not dim, Paul now turns, in hope of prolonged life, to practical matters. He has something to say about two of his helpers. Ti nothy he hopes soon to send in order 84 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 7. tliat he may brincr back news about the Church at Phihppi. On such an errand Timothy is the only one he can send : for Paul's other associates arc incapacitated, by their selfishness, for correct spiritual vision and a correct estimate of the spiritual state of others. But Timothy, as a genuine son, shares even Paul's anxieties for the Churches ; and has proved this, as the Philippians know, by service rendered to Paul, and to God in fellowship witli Paul. The sending of Timothy is however for the present hindered by Paul's uncertainty about the issue of his trial. When this is dispelled, he u^ill at once send Timothy. But he cherishes a purpose resting on his Master's power and purpo.'^e that he will himself shortly come. In this section we again meet Timothy, whom Paul has associated with himself as joint author of the Epistle, and whom we have already met in i Cor. iv. 17, xvi. 10, 2 Cor. i. 1,19. And the features of the man are the same. As before he is Paul's child in the faith ; and is in sympathy witli him so complete that he is both the eye and the lips of the Apostle, his trusted delegate to a distant Church. Again he is joint author of an apostolic letter. Yet the notice of him here is no repetition. For Timothy's fitness to bring Paul spiritual intelligence affords valuable insight into his character and into all Christian character. The casual description of Paul's as- sociates is no small proof of the historic truthfulness of his Epistles. SECTION VII. AnoUT EPAPHRODITUS. Cii. II, 25—30 A necessary thing, however, I counted it, to send to you Epaphro- ditus, my bivther and fcllow-zvorker and felloiv-soldicr, but your apostle and minister of my need: -^iiiasmuch as he luas longing for you all, and distressed because ye had heard that he had been sick. -^ For indeed he was sick, near to death. Yet God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also ojt me, lest I should co?ne to have so7TOW upon sorrozv. =''* The ??iore eagerly therefore I have sent him, that seeing him ye may again rejoice, and I be less sorroivful. -•' Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold in honour such meii. •■" liecause by j-eason of the work of Christ he drew near even to death, having hazarded his life in order to supply the lack of your service for me. Sec. 7.] PHILIPPIAXS II. 25—30. 85 From the hoped-for mission of Timothy in the near future, Paul now passes to that of Epaphroditus, wlio was evidently the bearer of this letter, 25. Necessary, howevet : although Paul hopes himself soon to come. The ground of this necessity is stated in v. 26. EPAPHRO- DITUS : only here and ch. iv. 18, yet evidently a tried and valued associate of Paul. We have here five details about him ; three giving his relation to Paul, a fourth his relation to the readers, and the fifth a relation both to the readers and to Paul. Brother: so 2 Cor. ii. 13, 'Titus my brother.' Fellow-worker : as in Rom. xvi. 3, 9, Ph. iv. 3. Fellow-soldier : for Paul's work is also conflict. It suggests peril in which Epaphroditus bravely stood by Paul. But this does not necessarily imply an earlier association with Paul : for they might have been associated at Rome. If so, this title is a courteous recognition of his courage in discharging his commission. Similarly, the word fellow-worker may have been prompted by work done recently at Rome. Paul remembers that Epaphroditus is united to himself as a child of the same divine Father, as a com- panion in the same great work and in conflict against the same enemies. My, yojir : in Greek, consecutive words, placing in con- spicuous contrast the relation of Epaphroditus to the Philippians and his relation to Paul. Apostle : as in 2 Cor. viii. 23 ; see under Rom. i. I : one sent on special business. What Paul's need was, we learn from ch. iv. 14 — 18, viz. his poverty in prison at Rome and the resulting hardship, a need removed by the contribution brought by Epaphroditus. Minister: a cognate word in vv. 17, 30; the same word in Rom. xiii. 6, xv. 16. Both Paul in fostering the faith of the Philippian Christians and Epaphroditus in bringing to Paul their contribution were performing a sacred and public service, as sacred as the high-priest's ministrations at the altar. Same thought in ch. iv. 18. Epaphroditus was thus a minister of the PhiHppian Christians : for he was carrying out their instructions and conveying to Paul their gift. He was also a minister of Paul's need : for, by discharging the mission entrusted to him by the Church, he removed that need. See under ch. iv. 18. 26. Ground of the necessity to send Epaphroditus. Longi7ig-for you all; keeps before us, as do the same words in ch. i. 8, the universal excellence of the Christians at Philippi. Distressed: literally hoj?ieless ; a vivid description of a mind in trouble. Epaph- roditus earnestly wished to return to the brethren at Philippi in order that their anxiety might be dispelled by seeing him in good health. How they heard of his sickness, and how he knew that 86 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 7. they had heard, we do not know. But communication between Rome and the Roman colony of PhiHppi along the splendid Egnatian road, would be, il" not regular, yet frec|nent. Notice a genuine trait of excellence. Many are glad for others to know of their sickness or trouble, especially if caused by service done for them. But this good man was sorry that, through their hearing of it, his own trouble had caused trouble to others. 27. Paul's comment on the sickness and recovery of Epaphroditus. Indeed he zvas sick ; adds conspicuously to the report heard by the Philippians an attestation that the report was true. Near to death : literally, ' as neiglibour side by side of death,' God had mercy on him ; suggests man's helplessness in sickness and God's complete control of sickness and recovery. Sorrozv upon sorroiv : a note of sadness, evoked by memory of the illness of Epaphroditus and of the sorrow and apprehension thus caused to Paul, amid the prevailing joy of this Epistle. Cp. 2 Cor. vi. 10. It implies other sorrow besides that occasioned by the illness of Epaphroditus. Mercy also 7ip07i me ; reveals Paul's felt helplessness under the new sorrow then looming before him. In this helplessness he recognises the restoration of his friend as God's compassion towards himself. Thus one act was, in different ways, kindness to two men equally helpless. Paul's gratitude also teaches that they who share the sorrows of others have in others' joy a special joy of their own. 28. Restatement of the bearing of Epaphroditus' sickness upon his mission by Paul to Philippi. More-eagerly therefore : parallel to 'I counted it necessary' in v. 25. The comparative suggests tha the illness and recovery of Epaphroditus did but increase Paul's eagerness to send him. That in v. 29 Paul bids his readers welcome Epaphroditus, suggests that he was the bearer of this epistle. Same use of the word I-have-se7it in Col. iv. 8, Eph. vi. 22, Acts xxiii. 30. The above reasons for sending him to Philippi suggest that his going there was not matter of course, as one goes back home after discharging a mission, that he may have had other reasons for his journey to Rome, and that possibly he was not a resident at Philippi. But we learn from v. 30 how eagerly he entered into the Philippians' purpose to help Paul. Again rejoice: their usual joy being over- shadowed by hearing of Eipaphroditus' illness, a shadow only to be removed by knowing that lie is well. Less-sonvw/iil : another note of sadness : cp. v. 27. Even thc^ rcMuoval of Paul's sorrow about Epaphroditus would leave him only less sad. This indicates other and abiding sources (^f sorrow. 89) 30, Recommendation of Epaphroditus. Rcrcive in V\v. J.ord ; Sec. 7-] PHILIPPIANS II. 25—30. 87 same words in Rom. xvi. 2. Their reception of him must be an outflow of their union with the One Master of him and them. Every joy : as in Rom. xv. 13, Jas. i. 2. No sort of jo}- was to be lacking in their reception of Epaphroditus. Such vien : this not being a solitary case but one of a class of which all deserve like honour. The work of Cluist : cp. i Cor. xv. 58. What the work was, we learn from the latter part of the verse. Epaphroditus' discharge of his mission was both a sacrifice (ch. iv. 18) to God and work done for Christ. Even to death : same words as in v. 8. Epaphroditus trod in the steps of Christ, even to the edge of the grave. Hazarded his life : literally ga??ibled with his life, (Ellicott,) making very prominent the apparent recklessness of his conduct and the great risk he ran. The lack of yotcr service for vie. The public and sacred service (v. 25) rendered to Paul fell short in one point, viz. the personal presence of the Philippian Christians who would gladly have themselves ministered to his comfort. This one de- ficiency Epaphroditus endeavoured, even at the risk of life, to supply. Same thought and words in i Cor. xvi. 17. He thus did the work of Christ. [Notice two genitives dependent on the word lack. The service was deficient : hence lack oj^ service. It lacked the personal presence of the Christians at Philippi : the lack of you.'] The word death links together vv. 27 and 30 as referring to the same deadly peril. We infer therefore that the sickness which brought Epaphroditus near to death was occasioned by his mission to Rome. He deliberately exposed his life in order to discharge this mission, and thus actually fell into serious illness. This may have been through exposure on the journey or through contagion at Rome. All details are unknown. We have here a beautiful episode in the story of Paul. The Phihppian Christians heard of his imprisonment at Rome, and wished to send him help. But for a time they had no means of doing so. At last Epaphroditus, a Christian whom they well loved, happens to be going to Rome. A contribution is made, and is sent by Epaphroditus. Either on the journey or at Rome, in consequence of exposure needful to bring the money to Paul, and cheerfully endured, the messenger became dangerously ill. And Paul felt deeply that courageous care for him had brought a brother to the gates of death. Epaphroditus recovered. He joined Paul, appar- ently, not only in peril but in Christian work. But tidings of his illness reached Philippi. This, Epaphroditus knew ; and knew that the tidings would fill his brethren with sorrow. He was therefore eager to return, to allay their fears by showing himself well in their 88 EXPOS/T/OX OF [Sec. 8 midst. This eagerness to return J^aul api)reciated, and resolved to use his return as an opportunity of sending to his beloved friends at Philippi the letter before us. The joyful reception of Epaphro- ditus at Philippi, with this precious letter from the imprisoned Apostle, is veiled from our view in the unwritten past. SECTION VIII. WARXIXGS AGAIXSr BAD MEX; AXD PAULS COXTRARY EXAMPLE. Ch. III. I— 16. As to the rest, my hi'ctJiren, 7'ejoice in the I^ord. To write the same things to yon, to me indeed is not irlcs07?ie, and for yoic is safe. -Keep eyes o?t the dogs : keep eyes on the bad zvorkers : keep eyes on the concision. '^For we are the circH??icisio?i, w/io worship by the Spirit of God, a7id exult in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in flesh; ^although I might have confidence eve7i i7i flesh. If a7iy other thi7iks to have co7ifide7ice i7t flesh, I yet more : -' ci7'cu7ncised the eighth day, ^/the race ofIs7'ael, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew fro7n Hebrews ; touchi7ig the Law a Pharisee; ^touchi7ig zeal, pe7-secuti7ig the Church, touchi7tg righteous7tess, viz. that in the Law, become bla77ieless. ''But thi7igs zvhich we7'e gai7t to 7ne, these for the sake of Christ I have cotmted loss. ^ Yes i7ideed, a7id I coimt all to be loss for the sake of the superio7-ity of the k7iozvledge of Christ fes7(.s my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered loss of all thi7igs : a7id I cou7it them refuse that I may gai7i Ch7'ist, ^a7id be foimd in Hi7n, 7iot havi7tg a righteous7tess of 7ny ow7i, that which comes f 7-0771 law, but that which comes through faith of Christ, the 7-ighteojcs7iess /;-e circumcision. And, if so, nothing but the contemptuous term used by Paul remains to those who trust for the favour of God to the outward rite. 4 — 6. A boast whicli Paul has, but refuses to use. By showing us a confidence he might cherish, Paul adds force to ' no confidence in the flesh.' As himself the chief object of Jewish hostility to Christianity, Paul passes easily from the general statement in v. 3, ' we are etc.,' to the details in vv. 4 — 6 which refer to himself only. The emphatic word / recalls Paul's unique position as com- pared both with enemies and friends. Although etc. : literally although myself having confidence even iti flesh : contrasted state- ment subordinate to the foregoing. Paul has a confidence : for his condition is one in which he might trust. And the confidence in which he might indulge reaches down even to the flesh. If any one etc. : an independent statement of the foregoing. Thinks or ihinks- luell ; denotes approval of a course of action or thought, as in Mt. iii. 9, Lk. 1.3: 'if to any one it seems good to trust in the flesh.' / more : ' I have more to trust in than he.' Similar language in 2 Cor. xi. 21. Paul thinks fit to play for a moment the part of his opponents that he may show how much better he can play it than they. Then follow in detail the grounds on which he might rest a confidence in the flesh. 5, 6. Circumcised the eighth day : and therefore not a proselyte. Notice the accurate observance of the letter of the Law. From the race of Is?'ael : and therefore not a son of a proselyte, or an Edomite. Tribe of Benjamin : nearer specification of his relation to the sacred race. Paul knows his own tribe. Moreover Benjamin not only gave to Israel its hrst king, whose name Paul bore, but was faithful to the House of David when the ten tribes revolted. Hebrew: 2 Cor. xi. 22. In Acts vi. i it denotes a Hebrew-speaking Jew in con- trast to the Hellenists who spoke Greek, thus marking a distinction within the Jewish nation. And elsewhere in the N. T. it has refer- ence to language. Probably so here. Although born at Tarsus, Paul clung to the ancient language and customs of his nation. He did so by parental training : for his parents also were Hebrews. A close coincidence with Acts xxiii. 6, where Paul calls himself a son of Pharisees. For, more than other Jews, Pharisees clung to every- thing whirl) distinguished Israel from tlie rest of niankincl, Sec. 8.] PHILIPPIANS III. i — 16. 93 After noting, in ascending scale, four points of honour in his pedigree, as Jews boasted, Paul now gives three points bearing upon his personal character and conduct. The similar phrases touching law, touching zeal, touching righteousness, mark the tran- sition. Pharisee : important coincidence with Acts, xxiii. 6, xxvi. 5. Touchi?tg law: looked at from the point of view of the general principle embodied in the law given at Sinai, and in the Books of Moses. This principle, viz. that the favour of God is to be obtained by obedience to authoritative prescriptions of conduct, found in the Pharisees its strictest exponents and adherents. And Paul was a Phai^isce. If, again, we take zeal as our standard of measurement, we find proof of his earnest advocacy of Judaism in that he was persecuting the Church. Important coincidence with Gal. i. 13, 14: cp. I Tim. i. 13. Righteotcsness : the condition of a man who enjoys the judge's approval : see under Rom. i. 17. In order to distinguish his meaning here from ' Righteousness through Faith,' Paul adds the specifying words, that i?t law. He is speaking of such righteousness as may be found in obedience to prescriptions of conduct. From this point of view, Paul had become blanieless, i.e. he had reached a position in which no fault could be found with him. He had done all that could be done to obtain the favour of God by obedience to law. Of the seven points of boasting, the first four pertain evidently to bodily descent ; and thus abundantly justify Paul's declaration that he has a confidence even in the flesh. These points are supple- mented by three others not bearing so directly on the same. But the continued series suggests a continued train of thought. And doubtless Paul felt that the obedience to law by which he sought formerly the favour of God was only outward and bodily, and that ev^en the zeal which prompted his persecution of the Church had its ultimate source in motives pertaining to the present bodily life. Notice that each point in the series was one which Paul's opponents would admit to be a valid ground of boasting. An interesting coincidence v\ith v~o. 4 — 6 is found in 2 Cor. xi. 21 — 27. But there Paul is speaking to Jews who were also (z/. 22) professed ' ministers of Christ.' Here, without any reference to Christianity, he speaks simply of Jews. This suggests that the men against whom Paul here warns his readers were, at least for the more part, not Christians even in name. 7. Paul's solemn renunciation of his own Jewish boasting, in emphatic contrast to the foregoing, and followed in v. 8 by a still wider renunciation. It is an exposition of * no confidence in flesh * 94 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 8. in V. 3, after tlic contrast in v. 4 and its exposition in detail in vv. 5, 6. Tht?tgs-ivhich : literally what sort of thmgs, noting a whole class, to which belong the above details. Gains to me : each item being, from Paul's then point of view, an enrichment to him. I-have- coimted : a calculation made and completed in the past, and the abiding estimate now remaining. For the sake of Christ, or because of Christ: expounded in v. 8. Loss: either the gains themselves written off as lost ; or the things formerly looked upon as making him richer now looked upon as making him poorer, i.e. as doing him harm. The former exposition is all that the words demand, and all that is implied in the word ' suffered-loss ' in v. 8. We therefore cannot give to the word loss the second and fuller sense. The whole class of various things which Paul once looked upon as gains, he has now written of as one loss. 8. Yes^ indeed : an abrupt breaking off, making the reasscrticn more forceful. I count : the reckoning represented in v. 7 as already made, now represented as going on day by day. All-things : wider than 'what sort of things' in v. 7. My Lord: in harmony with 'my God' in ch. i. 3 and Rom. i. 8. Paul has come to know Christ Jesus as his own Master ; and has found this knowledge to surpass all other good. Indeed it has revealed to him the worthlessness of all merely earthly gains. And, influenced by this superior know- ledge, he now reckons to be loss all things he once prized. For whose sake etc. : an emphatic and categorical statement of the loss involved in Paul's reckoning. The things mentioned above were once wealth to him : they are now worthless. Consequently, where before he was rich, he is now poor. Moreover, the things thus lost were those he most prized. Therefore, in losing them he suffered the loss of all things. This loss was occasioned by the person and work of Christ, /orthy of the name. This fuller knowledge of Christ is yearned for also in Eph. i. 17, iii. 19, iv. 13. It is obtained only by {zj. 9) gaining Him for our own and by abiding in Him. These words expound ' for the sake of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ ' in 7/. 8 ; as ' that I may gain Christ ' in v. 8 expounds ' for the sake of Christ ' in v. 7. And the pozveretc.; expounds what is involved in to knozv Christ. The power of His resurrection: the power of God which raised Christ from the dead. For His resurrection is emphatically a manifestation of divine power : and in this manifested power lay its practical worth : cp. 2 Cor. xiii. 4, Rom. i. 4. From v. 11 we learn that the ultimate goal of Paul's desire is to ' attain to tlie resurrection from the dead.' To experience that resurrection is to knozv the pozver which raised Christ. For the one resurrection is a result of the other. Had not Christ risen, there had been no faith in Him, no Gospel, no Chris- tianity, and therefore no resurrection to eternal life. Moreover, our present spiritual life is a victory over sin gained for us and in us by the power of God which raised Christ. It will be consummated in a bodily resurrection like His. That power in its full manifesta- tion, Paul desires to know. A very close and importa)it parallel is found in Eiph. i. 19, 20. The intimate connection between the resurrection of Christ, tlie behevers present victory over sin and moral elevation, and. His final victory over the grave, a connection ever present to Paul's thought, at once suggests ihc above exposition, and makes needless :Iny other. Fellowship of His sufferings : j)artiu'rshij) with Cluist in His sufferings : cp. I Cor. i. 9, x. 16. They who for Christ's sake, and in order to save men, endure hardship, are sharing His sufferings for Sec 8.] PHILIPPIANS III. i — 16. 97 the world's salvation. For their sufferings, like His, are caused by man's sin, are endured in loyalty to God and love to mankind, and are working out Gods purpose of mercy. Close coincidence in Col. i. 24, 2 Cor. i. 5. This companionship of suffering, Paul desires to know. And wisely. For we know Christ only so far as we share His loyalty to God and love to men. And if we share these, the circumstances of life will often lead us to endure hardship in order to save those whom Christ has taught us to love. Of such partner- ship with Christ, the annals of the Church are full. Happy they on whom rests most heavily this yoke of Christ. The resiirrectioii is placed before the sufferings of Christ because Paul's thought went out first to the glory which should follow. He then remembered that to this goal there is only one path ; and in view of the goal desires to tread that path. Bcing-coiiforined etc. : way in which this knowledge of the fellow- ship of Christ's sufferings is to be obtained, a path Paul is already treading. Every step towards a martyr's grave was making him more like Christ who died on the cross. This clause gives definite- ness to the foregoing one, and shows that Paul has in view both the death of Christ and the deadly peril which overshadows him while he writes. 11. The ultimate goal of Paul's desire. The resurrection or resurrection-otit-of : a strong term, used in the N.T. only here. From the dead: more definite than 'resurrection of the dead,' and found only in Lk. xx. 35, Acts iv. 2, i Pet. i. 3. It suggests removal from among the dead, and is used only of Christ and His servants. Although the lost (Jno. v. 29) will rise, resurrection will not separate them from the dead. Paul desired to attain to the uprising forth from the midst of the dead, the 'resurrection of life.' This will be the Christian's final triumph over his last foe : i Cor. xv. 26. And it implies victory over all enemies who now bar his path. For whatever tends to overturn his faith tends to rob him of his glorious consummation. A close parallel in Lk. xx. 35. This phrase, peculiar to the blessed dead, by no means asserts or implies that they will rise before the unsaved. And Christ asserts that the two resurrections, 'of life' and 'of judgment,' will take place in the same 'hour.' If in aiiy way: as in Rom. i. 10, xi. 14, Acts xxvii. 12; noting a purpose which Paul desires to achieve in any way, and therefore at any cost. It suggests difficulty," and earnest desire prepared to encounter any difficulty. Review of 7 — 11. Paul has declared that, in contrast to the Jews, he has no confidence in the flesh ; and has shown the 7 98 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 8. significance of this assertion by specifying several matters pertain- ing to bodily life in which conceivably he might have confidence. He now tells us that he has renounced, and continues to renounce, all these matters of boasting ; and describes the greater gain which has allured him to this renunciation. Things once prized as gains, he has written off as loss ; and this because of Christ and because of the greater gain of knowing Him. This renunciation has been to him the loss of all things ; so valuable to him once were the gains he has renounced. They are to him now only the refuse which we haste to cast away. Paul desires to make Christ his own, thus gaining real enrichment ; and to have Him for his home and refuge. To this end he needs the approval of the great Judge, which he can obtain not by anything in himself but only by the divinely-given righteousness promised to those who believe. He desires to win Christ and to be found in Him, in order thus to know Him, and especially to know by experience the mighty power which raised Christ from the dead. The only way to this experience of the power which wrought in Christ is by partnership in the sufferings which reached their culmination in the cross. And these Paul is eager to share. His ultimate aim is to attain the glory of those who in the Great Day will rise from and cast off the dust of death and thus enter into immortal life. In these verses Paul contemplates the great cliange which had turned the entire current of his life. It was no new and loftier view of morality or even a more enthusiastic love for his fellows ; but a new aim in life, and l^his aim a new relation to Christ and a deeper knowledge of Him, the ultimate aim being a share in the resurrec- tion of the just. 12 — 14. The cliief feature of the spiritual life described in vv. 7 — 1 1 is the aim, manifold and yet one, therein so emphatically and re- peatedly set forth. In vv. i2 — 14 this aim is placed in still clearer light, thus receiving even greater prominence as an all-controlling element of Paul's inner life. 12. Not that : as in 2 Cor. i. 24. It guards from misinterpretation the foregoing assertion, by saying that this lofty aim does not imply actual attainment. Obtained : literally received or taken. The object received is not mentioned, attention being for tlie moment limited to the act of reception. But the \\ox6. press-07i suggests that l^aul has already in view the prize mentioned in v. 14. This prize can be no other than the full blessedness of the Kingdom of Christ. And, for this, Paul must wait till the 'resurrection from the dead.' Notice the accurate use of the Greek tenses. The aorist, I-have- Sec. 8.] PHILIPPIANS III. i— 16. 99 obtained, denotes the mere act of reception : the perfect, am-viade- perfect denotes its abiding result. The denial not al?'eady attained covers Paul's past life to the moment of writing. He has not yet received the prize he has in view. Lightfoots exposition, ' not as though by my conversion I did at once attain,' puts into the Greek aorist a meaning quite foreign to it and belonging only to the English preterite: see The Expositor, 1st series, vol. xi. p. 375.] Already . . . already: emphatic denial of present attainment. A close parallel in i Cor. iv. 8. Made-perfect : same word from the lips of Paul in Acts xx. 24 ; Heb. ii. 10, ix. 9, xi. 40, xii. 23, etc. A cognate adjective, rendered 'perfect,' in Ph. iii. 15, and i Cor. ii. 6 where see note. These words denote a development which has reached its goal. Consequently, the exact sense in each case will vary according to the goal the writer has for the moment in view. They suggest here that the prize Paul seeks is to be obtained by personal maturity. Since it is given in the Great Day (cp. 2 Tim. iv. 8) Paul probably means here that it is not j'et so secure to him as to be no longer an object of earnest effort. I-press-on : literally 'pursue, i.e. follow quickly with a view to take hold of. Same word in Rom. ix. 30, 31, xii. 13, 14. Lay -hold : stronger form of the word rendered obtain. The words may be compared as take and take-hold. Of that for which : or with equal grammatical correctness inas7nnch as. The former rendering would assert that Christ has taken hold of Paul jvith a definite aim, and that Paul presses forward in order to achieve that aim, i.e. to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of him. The second exposition would leave unmentioned, as in v. 12a, the object Paul desires to grasp, stating only that Christ has laid hold of him and giving this as a reason for his own earnest effort. Between these renderings (RV. text and RV. margin) we cannot decide. And the practical difference is slight. Paul knows that Christ has laid His hand on him. This must be with a definite purpose, a purpose to be attained by Paul's own effort. To accomplish this purpose is the object of his strenuous endeavour. 13, 14. An affectionate repetition and development of ?'. 12. Reckon: a favourite word of Paul: close parallel in 2 Cor. xi. 5. I . . . myself: each word emphatic, a vivid description of self- estimation. Cp. Jno. V. 30, 31. Not-yet : connected grammatically with recko7i. But in Paul's thought reckon to have laid hold forms one idea. He has not yet reached the point at which he can soberly ■ calculate that he has achieved the aim of life. One thing, however, I do : the last two words being supplied loo EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 8. from the sentence lollowing which describes what Paul is doing. Forgetting etc. : as a racer thinks not of the ground already passed, but only of that still before him. The things behind: the earlier stages of his Christian course. For the Jewish delusions in vv. 5, 6 were no part of his marked-out path. Stretching forward to etc. : like a racer with hands reaching out eagerly towards the goal : a graphic delineation. The thijigs behind . . . the things before: a. conspicuous contrast which cannot be reproduced in English. /- press-on; takes up the same word in 7/. 12. The goal: the end of the course already in view and directing and quickening the racer's rapid steps. The prize : in N.T. only here and in i Cor. ix. 24 : same word in Ep. of Clement ch. v.; see my CorinthiaJis p. 521. The context shows that Paul refers to the garland given to successful athletes at the Greek festivals. See my Corinthians p. 157. While forgetting the ground already trodden and pressing eagerly towards the goal, the racer was really pressing on towards the garland he hoped to win. The . . . calling of God: as in Rom. xi. 29; see under Rom. viii. 28. It is the Gospel looked upon as a voice of God summoning men to Himself. High calling : belonging to a realm infinitely above everything on earth: cp. Heb. iii. i. The Gospel has its source in heaven, and calls men up to the place whence it comes. Of this divine and heavenly summons, given to all who hear the Gospel, the voice on the way to Damascus was a particular case. It bids us contend for a prize. Hence the prize of the high calli?ig. Paul remembers that God has called him to contend for a glorious prize, and that to enable him to win it Christ has laid His hand upon him. He therefore presses forward with the goal in view, to grasp the prize. J7t Christ Jesus ; asserts either that the high calling was given in connection with Christ, or that Paul's eager effort tor the prize had Christ for its en- compassing and pervading and animating element. The latter exposition, giving as it does to these concluding words a much richer significance, is j^robably correct. A similar ambiguity in 2 Cor. xii. 10. Paul's chief thought in vv. 7 — 11 about his spiritual life was a purpose to win and to know Christ, that thus he may obtain a place in the resurrection of the just. In in>. 12 — 14, this purpose is made more definite by a repeated and emphatic assertion that Paul has not yet attained the object he so earnestly desires; and is then developed into actual and intense effort. This effort is clotlied in Paul's favourite metapiior of the Athletic Festivals of Greece. He is a racer pressing forward along the course, forgetting the ground Sec. 8.] PHILIPPTANS III. i— 16. loi already trodden and eagerly straining every nerve to reach the goal and thns obtain the prize. This metaphor presents an invaluable picture, and an essential condition, of healthy Christian life; viz. incessant and strenuous effort and sustained progress. The goal is the resurrection of the just. We can reach it only by pursuing now the path marked out for us by God. Consequently, every^ moral victory is a step towards the prize which will be given in that Da}-. 15, 16. Practical application of the foregoing. That Paul here implicitly claims perfection, after disclaiming it in v. I2, proves that the word was not to him a technical term for one definite stage of the Christian life. The context shows that the perfection denied in V. 12 was such as would make needless further effort and progress. That assumed here is doubtless the Christian maturity mentioned in I Cor. ii. 6, xiv. 20, Heb. v, 14, and there contrasted with spiritual infancy. It implies a firm grasp of the Gospel and a full surrender of our heart and life to its transforming power. Possibly Paul has here in view some who claimed to be perfect ox fidl-grozun. Instead of denying their claim, he shows the obligation it involves. They who call themselves men in Christ are bound to contend as athletes for the great prize. Similar thought and expression in i Cor. viii. i. Of this mind : viz. pressiilg on towards the prize. Since Paul, whom all would admit to be a mature Christian, disclaimed absolute perfection and was striving with all his might for something he had not yet attained, he bids his readers, so many as suppose themselves to be mature Christians, to make the same self-estimate and the same resolute effort. In anyt/mig othej-wise 77iinded : some detail not in harmony with the 7nind of Paul. That it is only a mere detail, is implied in the absence of censure and in the hope immediately expressed. ' If in any matter you do not share my self-estimate and earnest effort, even this error God will dissipate by heavenly light.' Reveal: as in I Cor. ii. 10, Gal. i. 16; see under Rom. i. 17. It denotes always the Hand of God lifting a veil and thus imparting to men by light from heaven actual knowledge, ordinary or extraordinary. Paul bids his readers imitate his own self-estimate and earnest effort, and expresses an assured hope that if they do so, and if in any detail they fall below the example just set before them, even this error will be removed by God, 16. Concluding exhortation, in the form of a limitation to the foregoing. ' Let us count as nothing our present attainments and press forward : 07ily in so doing let us pursue the direction in which I02 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 8. "due have attained our present position.' A similar thought underlies the argument in Gal. iii. 3, where Paul exposes the folly of turning aside from the path in which his readers have obtained spiritual life. That argument and this exhortation assume, not that the readers are infallible, but that they have made indisputable progress. Of this, their own moral sense was to them an infallible witness. They know that they have come out of darkness into light. Paul expresses his own determination, and encourages his readers, to go forvcard ; and warns that their progress be in the direction which their past experience has proved to be right. So will all real progress mental and spiritual be along the lines of whatever progress we have already made. But we must be sure that our progress is real. Of this, neither Paul nor his readers had any doubt. Walk: same word in Rom. iv. 12, Gal. v. 25, vi. 16, Acts xxi. 24; describing, as here, a spiritual path. Such are Pauls safe words to his readers. Around them are enemies, unworthy of the name of men, yet busy, and boasting in the Covenant of God. Their professed loyalty to that Covenant is unreal. Its true sons are Paul and his readers, Jews and Gentiles. For the worship of the true Israelites is prompted by the Spirit of God : and their boast is in Christ and not in anything pertaining to mere bodily life. Yet in whatever the Jews boast, Paul might boast still more. For, whatever they claim, he has. But to him all such trust, and indeed all reliance upon earthly good, liave vanished at the magic name of Christ. Paul's one aim now is to win Christ as his spiritual home and refuge, that thus he may know Him ; and by knowing Him obtain a place in the resurrection of the just. Yet this lofty aim does not imply attainment. Paul has not reached the goal on which his eye is fixed. But day by day he is pressing forward. And his strenuous effort after spiritual progress he holds before his readers as a pattern for all who claim to be men in Christ. If in any detail, of thought or action, tiiey cannot as yet embrace this all-controlling purpose, Paul confidently hopes that new light from heaven will enable them to do so. But whatever else they do, their effort and progress must be along the path which already has led them from sin to God. Sec. 9.1 PHILIP PI ANS III. 17— IV. i. SECTION IX. 103 WORLDLY-MINDED CHURCH-MEMBERS, WITH WHOM IS CONTRASTED THE CHRISTIANS HOPE. Ch. III. 17— IV. I. Be joint-imitators of me, brethren, and mark those who thus walk, according as ye have us for att exa?tiple. ^^ For ma7iy walk ofwho77i I often said to you, and now say even weeping, that they are the enejiiies of the cross of Christ: ^^ whose end is destruction, whose God is the belly, aitd their glory is i7i their sha?ne, who mind the earthly things. 20 Por our citizenship is in heaven, whe?ice also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, ^i who will ?^efashion the body of our humiliation conformed to the body of His gloiy, accordiiig to the zvorkiiig whereby He is able even to subject to Himself all things. ^ So then, niy brethren, beloved and longed for, my joy and crozvn, in this way stafid in the Lord, beloved o?tes. Exhortation to imitate Paul, v. ij : opposite conduct of some church-members, vv. 18, 19: with which is contrasted the Christian's hope, vv. 20, 21 : concluding exhortation to steadfastness, v. i. 17. Joint-imitators of 7?ie, beco7ne ye : join with others in imitating Paul. The chief word here differs only one syllable from that in I Cor. iv. 16, xi. i, where Paul speaks of himself as an example. [So always when a genitive follows the word i77iitato}'s : cp. i Th. i. 6, ii. 14.] This is simpler than the exposition 'join with me in imitating Christ : ' for there is no reference in the context to the example of Christ; whereas in v. \jb Paul speaks expressly of himself and others as patterns to the Phihppians. Mark : to look with a purpose, especially with a view to avoid, imitate, or obtain. Compare and contrast the same word in Rom. xvi. 17. Same word as look-at in ch. ii. 4, and 2 Cor. iv. 18. The word walk takes up the similar, though not the same word in v. 16. Who walk thus : viz. imitating Paul. Acco7'di7ig as ye have etc. : a fact with which the above exhortations are in agreement. [This exposition gives to Kadas its full force as introducing a harmony. Had it introduced merely an exposition of ovtoos, cos would probably have been used, as in Eph. v. 28, 33.] Us: in contrast to me, including Paul and those who walk as he does. Such persons are an enrichment to the Philippian Christians : ye have a pattern. 104 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 9. Same word and sense in i Th. i. 7, 2 Tli. iii. 9, where as here many men are one pattern ; and in i Tim. iv. 12, Tit. ii. 7 : same word in slightly different sense in Rom. v. 14, vi. 17, i Cor. x. 6. While exhorting his readers in vv. 15, 16 Paul placed himself among their number : ' let us be of this mind . . . we have attained.' Conscious that he is himself doing w^hat he exhorts, he now bids them to imitate him ; and in so saying remembers that others are setting the same example. Upon these disciples who follow the steps of their teacher, Paul advises his readers to fix their attention, making use of the pattern they possess. He thus teaches the value of study of Christian character. Notice that the example of Paul did not supersede the need and value of the example of others who imitate him. For a less example under our immediate observation is sometimes more effective than a greater one at a distance. And various good men present varieties of excellence suitable for imitation in various positions of life. 18. Reason for the foregoing exhortation; viz. that 7?ia?iy pursue an opposite path. These were apparently church-members. For the hostility and sensuality and worldliness of pagans was so familiar to Paul that it ^would hardly move him to tears. The neutral word walk (see under i Cor. iii. 3) simply places beside the walk of those who imitate Paul the outward life of these unworthy men. The path in which they walk is left to be inferred from what follows. Ma7iy and ofte7i : notes of importance. / have often said : probably when present at Philippi, where Paul must have been twice and possibly oftener, during his third missionary journey. It may •also have included written warnings. The singular number, I said, suggests special warnings from Paul himself. Eve7i weepi/ig; reveals the terrible position of the men referred to and the damage they were doing. The e7ie77iies of the cross ; implies that the death of Christ holds a unique place as a chief means of the advancement of His Kingdom. And this can be explained only by Paul's teaching in Rom. iii. 24 — 26 that our salvation comes, by the grace of God, through the death of Christ making the justification of believers consistent with the justice of God. To resist the cross of Christ, is to resist the tremendous earnestness of God meeting a tremendous need of man, and the infinite love, there manifested. We wait to know more about the men guilty of sin so great. 19. Further description of 'the enemies of the cross.' Whose end: as in 2 Cor. xi. 15, where sec note. Destruction : utter ruin : see note under Rom. ii. 24, and especially The Exposito7\ 4th series, vol. i. p. 24. Tlicit ruin is here said to be the e7id of these men, Sec. 9.] PHILIPPIANS III. 17— IV. i. 105 implies clearly that Paul believed in the possibility of final ruin. For if all men will at last be saved, destruction caiuiot be their end. In that case the end of all men would be eternal life. The plain words before us prove that such universal salvation was altogether alien to the thought of Paul. For the uiiiversal purpose of salvation, see under ch. ii. 11. Whose . . . wJwse : stately repetition. The belly: not 'their belly.' The seat of appetite for food is looked upon in the abstract as one definite idea ; and is thus in some sense personified; so i Cor. vi. 13. This gives great force to the terrible charge whose God is the belly. A similar, though slightly different thought in Rom. xvi. 18. The appetite for food and the desire for pleasant food, with all the self-indulgence of which this appetite is a representative, are the supreme power which these men obey. The lower element of their nature controls the whole of it. The absence of the word whose before glory in their shame joins these words to the foregoing as together forming a second item in the description. Gloiy : that which evokes admiration: see under Rom. i. 21. That which evokes from their fellows admiration of them, and to which they look for admiration, is found in that which is their disgrace and ought to cover them with shame. To them, their degradation is their ornament. The earthly things : good or ill, these looked upon as a complex yet definite idea: hence the plural, and the definite article. Who mind: as in v. 15, ii. 2, 5, Rom. viii. 5, etc.: a word frequent in this Epistle. The things of earth, i.e. material good and ill, are the objects of their mental activity. Exact contrast in Col. iii. I ; ' mind the things above.' About these enemies of the cross, Paul's first thought is the ruin which awaits them. He then mentions the most conspicuous feature of their character, viz. that desires common to animals are the supreme object of their worship, the lower thus ruling the higher. Closely connected with this terrible inversion, we find that that which gains for them admiration with their fellows is really their disgrace. All this Paul traces to its ultimate source, viz. concentra- tion of their thought on things pertaining to the material world. This preference of the lower for the higher is inevitably degrading. Hence comes the supremacy of bodily appetites, and the distorted vision which mistakes a disgrace for an ornament. The result is ruin. Since Christ died in order to raise us above the dominion of the perishing world in which our bodies live, they who surrender their mental powers to contemplation of earthly things and their nature to the control of its lowest elements, by so doing decl?ire w^r tigainst 'the cross of Christ,' io6 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 9. This fearful description of men who must have been church- members is in sad agreement with 2 Cor. xii. 21. It is thus a note of genuineness. But we have no hint that these were members ol the Church at Philippi. And this is contradicted by ch. i. 4 and the general tone of the Epistle. Nor do we know whether or not they were at Rome, where Paul was writing. 20. This verse supports the condemnation implied in the last words of 7/. 19 by pointing to the city in heaven wdiose rights of citizenship are despised by those who fix their thoughts on ' earthly things.' City or commonwealth : the city looked upon as the home of municipal life and rights. Same word in 2 Mace. xii. 7 : * root up the whole city of the men of Joppa, so that the mnnicipality of Joppa shall cease to be.' Practically the sense would be the same if we gave to the word the meaning citizenship or rights-of-citizens, which it sometimes has. For where the city is there are the citizen rights. Otir city : viz. of Paul and those who imitate Iiim ; as in V. 17, 'us a pattern.' Cp. Clement of Alex. Miscellanies bk. iv. 26: "For the Stoics say that heaven is properly a city, but the things on earth no longer cities ; said to be such, but not so actually . . . the Elysian plains are the municipalities of just men." Is, or better exists, in heaven, in complete contrast to ' the earthly things ' of V. 19. Our commonwealth is in heaven : same thought in 2 Cor. v. i, Gal. iv. 26, where see notes. It is in heaven because there Christ is, in whom dwells the power which in the new earth and heaven will create the glorified home of His servants now on earth. Whence : out of heaven, from within the veil which now hides from our view the unseen world, We-wait-for : a strong word used in the same connection in Rom. viii. 19, 23, 25, i Cor. i. 7, Gal. v. 5, Heb. ix. 28: cp. I Th. i. 10. Also we wait etc. : in addition to already having a city in heaven. Saviour : Eph. v. 23. Also 2 Tim. i. 10, Tit. i. 4, ii. 13, iii. 6, Acts xiii. 23 in a sermon by Paul, referring to Christ; I Tim. i. I, ii. 3, iv. 10, Tit. i. 3, ii. 10, iii. 4, referring to God. Our liome in which we have municipal rights exists in heaven : and we are eagerly waiting for One from heaven who will rescue us from the perils and hardships around. 21. The deliverance which the expected Saviour will work, and the standard with which it will correspond. Fashion-anew : give to it an altered shape and guise. Same word in i Cor; iv. 6, 2 Cor. xi. 13, 14, 15. This use of a word denoting only a change of shape suggests the continuity of the present and future bodies. Cp. Rom. viii. 12, 'raise your mortal bodies.' And this continuity must be, in a way inconceivable to us, real. But it does not imply, any more Sec. 9.] PHILIPPIANS III. 17— IV. i. 107 than does the continuity of our bodies on earth, identity of material atoms. Niagara remains the same while every drop of water is ever changing. It is rather a continued relation to the human spirit of its material clothing. A description of the change is given in I Cor. XV. 35 — 53. Our body, not bodies: as in Rom. vi. 12; see note under Rom. i. 21. The body of, i.e. standing in relation to, oicr humiliation. On earth the servants of Christ are exposed to weakness, sickness, reproach, hardship, and peril. This their lowly estate, so inconsistent with their real rank, is determined by the constitution of their material clothing, which is therefore the body of their hiiniiliatio7t. But when Christ comes out of the unseen world He will refashion it. The body of Christ is the visible, material, human manifestation of His divine splendour: the body of His glory. Conformed : sharing the form of: akin to the word form in ch. ii. 6. It is stronger than the word rendered fashion-anew, denoting such change of the mode of self-presentation as implies a share of the inward constitution of the body of Christ. When Christ appears, the changed bodies of His servants will become so like His body, which belongs to His essential splendour, as to share its mode o presenting itself to those who behold it. According to the working etc.: a measure with which will cor- respond the coming change. This phrase is a marked feature of this group of Epistles: Col. i. 29, Eph. i. 19, iii. 7, iv^ 16, cp. Col. ii. 12, Ph. ii. 13. Working: literally inworking or activity, an inward putting forth of power. It is the Greek original of our word energy. Literally rendered, Paul's words are according to the cjtergy, or the inworking, of His being able, i.e. of His ability, to subject to Himself etc. All things : all the various objects in the universe, persons and things, these looked upon as a definite object of thought. To subject to Himself all things : i Cor. xv. 27, 28. It suggests that not yet do all things bow to Christ. But Christ has the abiding power to bend to His will all the component parts of the universe. The conformation of our bodies to His body will correspond with the activity of this abiding power. And this power confirms greatly our faith that He will remove from our bodies those mortal elements hostile to us and insubordinate to Him. These words also suggest that the victory to be gained in our bodies is part of a greater victory which will embrace and rescue all things. Thus, as ever, Paul rises from the particular to the general, from the partial to the universal, Christ's abihty to subject all things to Himself does not contradict the sad indication in v. 19 that some will be finally lost. For the io8 EXPOSITIOA' OF [Sec. 9. putting forth of His power is determined by His infinite wisdom, which passes our thought. Notice here a clear proof of the div^inity of Christ. The resur- rection will be His work, a work in harmony with His infinite power. IV. 1. So-thc7i : as in ch. ii. 12. It introduces a desired practical result of § 9, and completes the exhortation begun in ch. iii. 19. My brethre7i: recalling ch. iii. 17. Longed-for: natural result of being loved. Notice the warm affection of this double description, an affection prompted both by the unique excellence of the Philippians and by their love for Paul. My joy : understood only by those who have cliildren in the faith. Paul's converts at Philippi were its living embodiment. And crozun : as in I Cor. ix. 25: the garland given to successful athletes. Close parallel in a letter to another Mace- donian Church: i Th. ii. 19. These converts of Paul were them- selves to be his joyous reward. For they were a divinely-given result, and therefore a reward, of his labours. Moreover, since only in the light of the Great Day shall we see the full result of our labours on earth and be able to estimate the worth of a soul saved or lost, Paul speaks in i Th. ii. 19 of the crown as given at the coming of Christ, hi-this-iuay stand : as do Paul and those whom in ch. ii. 17 he held up as a pattern. Stand : as in Rom. v. 2, etc. ; maintain your spiritual position in spite of burdens which would press you down and of enemies who would put you to flight. In the Lord: i Th. iii. 8: the personaUty of the Master whom they serve being the only firm standing ground of the Christian life. Beloved : intensifying this loving appeal. In § 8, after a warning against Jewish opponents, Paul pointed to his own religious life, and especially to his eagerness for progress, as a pattern for his readers. In § 9, he bids them observe and follow the men who imitate this pattern. This exhortation he justifies by pointing to sensual men who while bearing the name of Christ yet live for the present world. In contrast to these he describes the hope of a glorious resurrection cherished by himself and others, a hope prompted and measured by the omnipotence of Christ. In this hope and this example Paul bids his much-loved readers stand. This appeal to the expectation of a bodily resurrection, in an exhortaticju to walk worthy of Christ, reveals the moral and spiritual power of the Christian's hope of future glory. This hope takes hold of eternity, and thus saves us from drifting wiih th«; current around. Sec. io.] PHILIPPIANS IV. 2, 3. 109 SECTION X. ABOUT EUODIA AXD SYNTYCHE. Ch. IV. 2, 3. Euodia I exhort, a7id Sy7ityche I exhort, to be of the same mind in the Lord. ^ Yes, I request thee also, true yoke-fellow, assist thefu ; women who in the Gospel joined with me in my struggle, with Clement also and the rest of niy fellow-workers whose names are in the Book of Life. A new matter abruptly introduced. Euodia, Syntyche : names of women, both found on inscriptions. Grammatically they might also perhaps be names of men. But no such men's names are found elsewhere : and women are expressly referred to in v. 3, where the reference must be to these two persons. This mention by name suggests that they held a prominent place in the Church, and that the conduct which evoked this appeal was serious and notorious. Whether, like Phoebe (Rom. xvi. i) they were deaconesses, we do not know. They recall to us Lydia and the women who used to meet for prayer at Philippi when Paul first went there : Acts xvi. 13, 14. The exact repetition of the appeal suggests that it was needed by both women, and equally. The same 77iind : as in ch. ii. 2. It imphes that they were conspicuously of different mind, i.e. that they had openly quarrelled. In the Lord : the encompassing element of the hoped-for reconciliation. It is to be no mere human agreement, but a concord flowing from contact with the one Master. 3. Yoke-fellow : e.g. oxen under one yoke ; often used in Greek for a wife and for persons in any way joined together. True, or gejiuine : as in I Tim. i. 2, Tit. i. 4; cognate word in Ph. ii. 20: one who is actually what his name describes. Either the man referred to here was indicated orally by Paul to Epaphroditus, or there was some one at Philippi who would be at once recognised as intended by this term. In other words, this phrase needs a key which has not come down to us. The yoke-fellow may be Epaphroditus himself, whom in ch. ii. 25 Paul calls his fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and who occupied a unique position as messenger from Philippi and bearer of this letter. If so, these words pay honour to him as one worthy to be called a sharer of the Apostle's toil. But this reference, not being itself evident, would need to be explained to Epaphroditus. It has also been suggested as early as the time of iio EXPOSITION OF [Sec. io. Chrysostom \\\?X yoke-felloiv is a proper name, and that Paul added the word true to assert that the man was worthy of his name. [Notice its emphatic position before the substantive quahfied.] This suggestion is supported by the proper names around, Euodia, Syntyche, Clement. If such a name existed in the Philippian Church, the reference would be caught at once : and the epithet true would be understood. The name, which we may write Syiizygus^ is not found elsewhere. But many Greek proper names occur only once: and we cannot suppose that all are preserved. A suggestion of Ellicott, that Paul refers to the chief of the bishops at Philippi, is most unlikely. For w^e have no hint, except possibly at Jerusalem, of any one raised so completely above his fellow-presbyters as to be accosted by Paul with this title. The only explanations, there- fore, are the two noted above, the one implying a private indication of Paul's meaning, the other implying the existence at Philippi of a man bearing a name not found elsewhere. Neither of these explanations is unlikely. But, between them, our data do not enable us to decide. Assist them: 'join with them in grappling with the difficulty caused by tlieir quarrel : ' same word in Lk. v. 7. The pronoun thevi is feminine, referring evidently to the two ladies mentioned above. Paul wishes this true partner in his own toil to render help towards their reconciliation. Wovie7i who etc. : a description of the past services of these ladies, in support of this request for help, [ami/e? introduces a class of persons to which these women belong, this involving a reason for helping them.] Joi7ied-with me in viy struggle: literally, 'joined with me in an athletic contest:' same word in ch. i. 27. Paul's gratitude remembers the severity of the struggle in which they came to his aid. This gave them a claim to help from his friends. In the Gospel: i Th. iii. 2, Rom. i. 9: cp. 'fellowship for the Gospel' \\\ ch. i. 5. They joined with Paul in his efforts to spread the Gospel, efforts severe like those of athletes. The hardship involved in evangelical effort at Philippi. we learn from I Th. ii. 2. And not only with Paul but also with another whom he mentions by name, Clement, did these ladies co-operate. Nay more. So eagerly did they join in every good work that they associated themselves with V?iv\'so\\\^r felIow-7vorkcrs : cp. ch. ii. 25. Tliis proves that their co-operation was not, as is often the case, j)romi)ted by personal friendship. They were ready to assist all sorts of Christian workers. Yet tliese excellent ladies had quar- relled. Possibly, as .^o often in all ages, their eagerness in Christian work led them in different and opposite directions, and thus caused Sec. II.] PHILIPPIANS IV. 4—9. Hi collision. And now, along with the record of their excellence, this blemish stands against them on the imperishable page of Holy Scripture. That Clement is mentioned by name, implies that in some special way these ladies were associated with him. Probably his name recalled some incident giving them a further claim to help. That Paul speaks here of help in the Gospel, suggests that Clement was a preacher of the Gospel. All else is unknown. Origen in his Comm. on John vol. vi. 36 identifies this Clement with the author of the extant Epistle of Cleme?tt : see my Corinthia7is App. i. But the commonness of the name and the total absence of Connecting links forbids the inference. The Book of Life : as in Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8, xvii. 8, xx. 12, 15, xxi. 27; cp. Lk. X. 20. In Ex. xxxii. 32, 33 we have a 'book' of God, a register of His servants: similarly Ps. Ixix. 28 'Book of Life' or 'living ones . . . written with the righteous.' Possibly the N.T. use of the word may have been immediately derived from Dan. xii. i, where we have a register of those who will rise to eternal life. While mentioning only one of his fellow-workers, Paul remembers that other names unmentioned by him are securely recorded among the heirs of salvation. These verses give an interesting glimpse into early church life. We have the struggle involved in preaching the Gospel, Paul's various helpers in this work, and the two ladies who rendered assistance to him and to his brave comrades. Then steps in human imperfection. The ladies quarrel : and their quarrel comes to the ears of the prisoner at Rome. It is so serious as to demand mention in his letter to the Church. But the mention is only a recognition of their excellence, an exhortation to unity, and a request for help in the work of reconciliation. SECTION XL SUNDRY EXHORTATIONS. Ch. IV. 4—9. Rejoice in the Lo7'd ahvays : agai^t, L will say, rejoice. ^ Let yonr equity be k?wwn to all nieii. The Lord is neai\ ^ In nothing be anxious ; but in everything, by prayer and by supplication, with thanks giviiig, let your requests be 7nade known to God. "^ And the 112 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. II. peace of God, which surpasses all thought, will guard your liearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus. ^ As to the 7-est, bj'ethren, whatever things are true, whatever things honourable, whatever things righteous, whatever tlmigs pure, what- ever things lovely, whatever things of good rcpoi't, if there be any excellejice and if any praise, take account of these things ; ^zvhat things also ye have leaiiit and accepted, and heard and secjt in me, these tilings do. And the God of f>cace will be with you. A series of exhortations, without grammatical links : cp. Rom. xii. 9 — 1 8. 4. Rejoice in the Lord: as in ch. iii. i. It takes up, after the interposed matters of §§ 8 — lo, the thread then suddenly dropped. Always : the new feature in this verse. Constancy is a distinguishing mark, and a measure, of Christian joy. To rejoice i7i the Lord always, is to rejoice when all earthly joy is withdrawn ; and when the light of earth shines most brightly, even then to find our highest joy in the Master's smile. A noble example in Hab. iii. 17, 18. All other joy is subject to change. But they whose joy is an outflow of union with a Master in heaven walk in the light of a sun which never sets. And their joy is a safeguard against the perils both of earthly joy and earthly sorrow. Again I will say : emphatic repetition, reveal- ing the importance, in Paul's view, of Christian joy. Of such joy, he is himself, as every page of this Epistle testihes, an illustrious example. 6. Equity: a disposition which does not press to the full the claims of absolute justice ; but, tempering these claims by a generous reasonableness, is satisfied sometimes with less than is due. It is discussed at length in bk v. 10 of the Nic. Ethics of Aristotle, who explains it as being akin to justice but better than justice. It is eminently a Christian virtue : and the disposition which presses our claims to the full extent allowed by justice is eminently non-Christian Paul bids us so to act that all men may see and know our generous reasonableness. Therefore we must treat all men with equity. The Lord is near: at His second coming. For the 'Day of Christ' was ever in Paul's thought: ch. i. 6, 10, ii. 16. And he has just referred to His expected return. Probably had Paul known that long ages would elapse before the return of Christ, he would not have used these words. But it is unsafe to infer from them that he coiifidently expected to survive His coming. The greatness and the certainty of that event, for which we to-day like Paul centuries ago wait eagerly as the consummation of all our hopes, Sec. II.] PHILIPPIANS IV. 4—9. 113 occupied his entire field of view; and obscured completely the secondary question of time. If Christ be coming, to bring in by His presence the eternal day, then to our thought in all ages the Lord is 7iear. The nearness of the coming of Christ is a strong dissuasive from the grasping spirit which made needful the foregoing exhortation. They who look for His appearing will not demand, from dying men around them, the last farthing they owe. Cp. i Cor. vii. 29, J as. v. 7. 6. Anxious: not the forethought which enables us to guard • against coming troubles, but the useless and painful care which merely brings the sorrows of to-morrow to spoil the pleasures of to-day. See under ch. ii. 20. /;/ 7wthing : absolute prohibition of all anxiety of every kind. Same prohibition from the lips of Christ in Mt. vi. 25 — 34. See under i Cor. vii. 32. This anxiety arises from the common delusion that our happiness and w,ell-being depend upon the possession of material good. It injures our body ; and, by fining the mind with earthly care, blocks out the elevating influence of heavenly things; and exposes us to the terrible temptation of seeking in forbidden paths relief from present distress. This peremptory command, so difficult to obey, assures us that all anxiety is needless. But in everything : exact positive counterpart of the foregoing negative exhortation. It is virtually Paul's remedy for anxiety. Prayer a?id supplication: same words together in Eph. vi. 18, I Tim. ii. i, v. 5, Ps. vi. 10, Dan. ix. 21, 23. The word prayer is used only in reference to God, and denotes every kind of verbal approach to God. Supplication, or petition : earnest request for some special good, whether from God or from man. See ch. i. 4. Paul bids us go in every difficulty to God in prayer and beg from Him the help we need. With thanksgiving : same connection in Col. iv. 2, I Th. V. 18, I Tim. ii. i. Thanks should be an element in our every approach to God, and be associated with every petition. Thus will memory of benefits and answers to prayer already re- ceived aid our prayers by stimulating a confident hope of good things to come. Requests : things asked for. Same word, and the cognate verb twice, in i Jno. v. 15. Made-know7t to God: i.e. we must put our wants into words, as though He needed to have them made known to Him. Thus God puts Himself by our side as our friend that we may have the relief of pouring into His ears our tale of sorrow. By so doing, we grasp the consolatory truth that God knows our need. Notice Paul's remedy for anxiety. In every difficulty we must 114 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. ii. tell our case to God. We must put it in the form of request for help. This request must be mingled with thanks for the innumerable mercies already received. In the light of these mercies, of Gods promise to answer prayer, and of His loving sympath}', anxiety cannot live. 7. And the peace of God will guard etc. : blessed result which will follow the use of this remedy. It is not a prayer but a prophecy. Peace : inward rest arising from absence of disturbing causes within or around us, a happy consciousness of absolute safety. So Rom. i 7 ; where see note. Peace of God : not ' with God ' as in Rom. v. i. Rather compare Jno. xiv. 27, ' My peace I give to you.' The words as circiunstances determine, their liberality might prompt ; this looked upon as a definite object of thought. / seeh for the gift: an abiding state of mind which Paul disavows. But I seek for : stately repetition. Fruit: as in Rom. i. 13: the reward of the Philippians' liberality ; this looked upon as its organic outworking 124 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 12. according to the laws of the Christian life. Day by day, as one act of liberality follow^s another, this reward is increasing. For your accoimt ; recalls the same words in 7/. 15, ' for account of giving and receiving.' While the Philippian Christians entered into partner- ship with Paul in order to have dealings with him in a matter of giving and receiving, a harvest of reward was growing which was reckoned to their credit. These last words, and Paul's constant reference of reward and punishment to the Great Day, indicate that to this he refers here : so ch. i. 6, 10. 18. An added statement containing another reason why Paul does not desire a gift ; viz. that his wants are completely supplied. / have all : or better, / have to the full all things. And abound: not only supply but overflow, I-am-filled-full : of all material good. Notice the climax.- I have all, I abou7id, I am filled full. Having received etc. : -means by which his needs have been fully supplied. This clear assertion that Epaphroditus had brought to Paul a gift from Philippi explains ch. ii. 25, 30. An\odouretc. : a comment on the gift from Philippi, revealing its real significance. Odour of p erf mne : Eph. v. 2 ; Gen. viii. 21, Ex. xxix. 18, Lev. i. 9, 13, 17, etc. : a frequent O. T. phrase picturing the accept- ableness of sacrifice to God. Sacrifice : as in Rom. xii. i. Accept- able, well-pleasing: a climax. Same words in Acts x. 35 ; Rom. xii. I, 2, xiv. 18, 2 Cor. V. 9. Since all these phrases are frequently followed by the word to-God, it probably refers to all of them. To God a fragrant perfume goes up and a sacrifice is offered which is acceptable and well-pleasing to Him. Apparently the gift from Philippi was only kindness to a prisoner in poverty at Rome. But whatever is done to the servant is done for the Master : and what- ever is done for Christ brings abundant recompense. This gift is therefore a seed producing already a harvest of blessing for its generous donors ; and a sacrifice laid on the altar of God. The sacrifice is fragrant to the mind of God : it is a gift He will receive and be pleased with. 19. Verse 18 has brought the gift from Philippi into the presence of God. This reminds Paul of the recompense which will follow it. My God: as in ch. i. 3. The recompense will follow because the prisoner at Rome stands in a personal relation to God. Supply, or Jill : sami- words as 'filled-fnll ' in 7/. 18, which it recalls. Will- supply : a definite promise, as \\\7>v. 7.9. Every need: of body and spirit ; every necessit}'- and every yearning of their whole nature. Xccd of yours : corresponding to 'my need 'in v. 16. His riches: a favourite concei)tion of I'aul ; Rom. ii. 4, ix. 23, xi. 33, Eph. i. 7. Sec 12.] PHILIPPIANS IV. 10—23. 125 18, ii. 7, iii. 8, 16. It is here a picture of God's ability to supply our need, as a rich man can remove the present want of the poor man : cp. Eph. iii. 20. According to His riches : measure of the promised supply. This will not only come out of the wealth of God but will correspond with its infinite abundance. Consequently, every need will be supplied. In glory : locality or surrounding element of this supply. Same words in similar sense in 2 Cor. iii. 7, 8, (9,) 11. It is the splendour which will surround the final reward and triumph ; as in Col. iii. 4, i. 27, Rom. v. 2, ii. 7, 10. Amid the brightness of the great day, every need and every yearning will be gratified. In Christ: in virtue of our inward union with Him. The abundant supply will be in glory ^ as its visible clothing evoking admiration ; and in Christ, as its encompassing, all-pervading source and element. Cp. same u^ords at end of v. 7. This great promise makes even the half-conscious yearnings of our nature to be themselves a prophecy of future blessing. For their com- plete satisfaction in the glory of heaven is pledged by the wealth of God. 20. Outburst of praise evoked by the promise in v. 19; and mark- ing the close of the topic introduced in v. 10. To God, our Father : literally God and our Father ; i.e. God who is also our Father. See note under Gal. i. 5. As ever, Paul's song of praise is directed to the Father. In these words he acquiesces in the eternal recognition of the grandeur of God manifested in His mercy to men. This recognition he seals by a final Ajnen. Verses 10 — 20 preserve for us one of the most beautiful inci- dents in the story of Paul or of the early Church. From them we learn that his imprisonment at Rome was aggravated by poverty, that he was not only in prison but in want. All this reached the ears and moved the hearts of the Christians at Philippi. But either from straitened circumstances or more probably from lack of a messenger they were for a time unable to render the help they were eager to give. At length an opportunity occurred. Epaphroditus offered to take their contribution to Rome. On the way he fell dangerously ill. Indeed he risked his life in order to discharge his mission of mercy. But the gift from Philippi arrived safely at Rome, and sup- plied at once and fully the prisoner's need. Paul was filled with joy. But his was not the joy ot a starving man suddenly relieved. His happiness was not dependent on the kindness of far-off friends. For he had learnt the secret of the Christian's poverty and suffering. To him the presence and smile of God were an all-sufficient supply of every need and a source of infinite strength. The prisoner's joy is distinctively Christian. He knows that this gift is seed from which 126 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 12. already an abundant harvest is growing up for the donor's enrich- ment. Being prompted by loyalty to Christ, it is a sacrifice laid upon the altar of God, an acceptable sacrifice filling ?Iis courts with pleasant perfume. And it will be repaid, as will everything done for God, by a full supply of every need in the splendour of heaven. Paul remembers that this was not the first gift from Philippi. Very soon after he founded the Church there the brethren sent him money while preaching the Gospel in the city of Thessalonica ; and that not once but twice. And apparently shortly afterwards they again sent him money to Corinth. Consequently, their action now is but continuance in a path entered at the commencement of their Christian course. It is only another outflow of that spirit of brother- hood which, as Paul said in ch. i. 5, they had manifested from the beginning. In monetary help they set the first example ; an example which others were somewhat slow to follow. Nay more. We learn from 2 Cor. viii. i that in the great collection for the poor Christians at Jerusalem the Churches of Macedonia were very conspicuous. Our thoughts go at once to the acknowledged liberality of the Church at Philippi, the earliest of the Macedonian Churches founded by Paul. And we cannot doubt that they who set the first example in Macedonia of Christian giving were equally prominent in the con- tribution for Jerusalem. Indeed the liberality of Macedonia must have been ift great part an imitation of the example set by the Church at Philippi. If so, then as so often since, men who were eager to contribute money for the need of a beloved teacher were also ready to do so for unknown, but suffering, Christians in a 'far- off land. Thus 2 Cor. viii. i is an important coincidence with Ph. iv. 16. It is worthy of note that the Church marked by this constancy of liberality, not only presented nothing needing from Paul even a word of rebuke, but affords the noblest of the many pictures of early Christian Churches reflected in his Epistles. In the apostolic age the Church at Philippi stands supreme in its spotless beauty. And to the generosity of that Church we owe this letter, written to acknowledge it, and all the untold blessings it has conveyed to thousands of the servants of Christ. Little thought the faithful ones at Philippi that the gift they so readily sent to relieve the Apostle's distress would enrich the Church of Christ in all ages with a price- less treasure. Never was there a more wonderful proof that they who do good do better than they think. 21, 22. Salutation. To the Church collectively is committed a greeting for every member o[ it : gtrct yc every saint. We may Sec. 12.] PHILIPPIANS IV. 10—23. 127 expound either every saint in Christ Jesiis, noting their relation to Christ as in ch. i. i ; or greet iii Christ Jesus every saijit, noting a definitely Christian greeting. Since the word sai7it is-already suffi- ciently definite, this latter exposition which would give spiritual emphasis to the greeting is somewhat the more likely. So I Cor. xvi. 19, and probably Rom. xvi. 22. Why, writing to a Church so much beloved, in which there must have been so many persons well known to him, Paul does not add greetings to individuals, we do not know. Possibly, where all (ch. i. 4; but compare Rom. i. 8 and contrast Rom. xvi. 3 — 15) were so good, Paul was unwilling to give special prominence to any ; or preferred to give them less prominence by sending personal greeting orally by Epaphroditus. The bi'ethren zuith 7ne : those more closely associated with Paul in prison, and thus distinguished from all the saints^ i.e. the church- members at Rome. Same words in similar, though perhaps slightly different, sense in Gal. i. 2. These companions are called brethren^ although (ch. ii. 20) they do not fully share the Apostle's spirit. CcEsafs household^ or house : either the emperor's palace, or its in- mates of all kinds from his relatives and state officials down to the humblest slaves. Between these meanings the difference is very slight. So Diogenes Laertius {Lives of Philosophers bk. v. 5. 3) says that Demetrius was <9/"Conon's house. Paul's words assert that even in the home of Nero, perhaps the most corrupt spot on earth, were Christians. The servants of the palace were very numerous and various ; and even the lov/est of them would naturally, among others of the same class, be proud of his position. Possibly this special salutation was occasioned by the closer contact of the members of the imperial household with the prisoner of the Praetorian Guard. 23. Paul's farewell, almost word for word as in Gal. vi. 18. Review of the Epistle. The prisoner at Rome, over whose head hangs the sword of a capricious tyrant and whose imprison- ment had been aggravated by poverty, writes to the Christians at Philippi to acknowledge a gift which has completely supplied his need. To beloved brethren, Paul has no need to assert his official posi- tion, and simply places himself beside Timothy as a servant of Christ. But the officers of the Church have, for reasons unknown to us but probably creditable to them, the unique honour of definite mention in the opening salutation. After the salutation, Paul's first 128 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 12. thought is thanks to God for the universal excellence of the Chris> tians at Philippi, which makes prayer for them a delight and encourages a just and loving confidence of their final salvation. These thanks are followed by prayer for their growth in knowledge and in usefulness. The anxiety of the Philippian Christians calls for news about the imprisoned Apostle, about his circumstances and his feelings. His apparent misfortunes have, by inspiring confidence in the Christians at Rome helped forward the preaching of the Gospel. This gives Paul abiding joy. And this joy is not destroyed by the fact that some preach Christ out of ill-will to the Apostle. Their hostility pains him the less because he knows that it is working for liim spiritual good, and is therefore helping his eternal salvation. This reference to Paul's inner thought becomes a reflection on the page on which he writes of his utter uncertainty of life and death, and of the profound and equal calm with whicli he views each side of this tremendous alternative. From himself Paul now turns again to his readers. One thing only he begs from them, that they play their part as citizens of the Kingdom of God in a way worthy of Christ. This will require from them persevering courage and united effort in face of their enemies. On unity the Apostle lays special emphasis ; and warns against the subtle forms of selfishness so fatal to it. As a supreme example of unselfishness, he points to the incarnation and death, and subse- quent exaltation, of the Son of God. He also warns his readers that upon their conduct depends their salvation, and begs them so to act as to be lights in a dark world and an eternal joy to himseli. To him, every sacrifice for them is an abiding joy. Paul then commends Timothy, his proved and faithful son in the Gospel, whom he hopes soon to send ; and Epapliroditus who at the risk of his life had discharged the mission entrusted to him and had thus rendered to the Apostle eminent service. He bids the Philippian Christians receive back with due honour their faithful messenger. With this commendation Paul was closing his letter But, for his readers' safety, he adds a warning, viz. against Jewish opponents and Jewish self-confidence. In such confidence Paul might himself indulge : but his knowledge of Christ has made it impossible. He has no present attainments in which to rest ; but is eagerly pressing forward to a goal still beyond him. He bids all who claim to be men in Clirist to imitate liis example. A sadder warning follows. Sonic cliurch-mcnibcrs, by tlieir worldly and sensual spirit, prove Sec. 12.] PHILIPPIANS IV. 10—23. 129 themselves to be enemies of Christ. This unworthy spirit Paul rebukes by pointing to the expected Saviour and the complete change which His coming will bring. Next follows a word of kindly expostulation with two excellent ladies whose quarrel was the more serious because of their Christian activity. Then come charming words of spiritual exhortation and of wise counsel. Lastly, Paul speaks at some length about the gift which prompted this letter. The gift filled him with joy ; not because of the poverty it relieved — for Paul has learnt a secret which makes him superior to the burdens of life — but because of the harvest of blessing which already it is producing for his readers, and because it is an accept- able sacrifice to God, who will supply in the glory of heaven the givers' every need. A few words of general greeting close the Epistle. In the pages of the Epistle to the Philippians we see reflected the most attractive picture in the New Testament of Christian life and a Christian Church. Scarcely a word of reproof disturbs the joyous outflow of Paul's warm affection. And this affection finds equal response in the abiding and loving care of the Philippian Christians for Paul. Among the Apostolic Churches they hold indisputably the place of honour. And to thousands of men and women tossed about by the uncertainties and anxieties of life, this letter, written in a dungeon at Rome under the shadow of the gallows yet every- where vocal with exuberant joy, has been the light of life. As our gladdened eyes turn from that far-shining light to rest for a moment on the broad and silent pastures where once was the busy Roman colony of Philippi, we see fulfilled an ancient prophecy : The grass WITHERETH, THE FLOWER FADETH ; BUT THE WORD OF OUR GOD SHALL STAND FOR EVER. EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. SECTION I. APOSTOLIC GREETING. Ch. I. I, 2. Paul, ail apostle of Christ Jesus through tlie will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethreii in Ch?'ist at ColosscB. ' Grace to you and peace froiti God, our Father. Verse i is the same as 2 Cor. i. i. Whether Timothy, who is not mentioned in the twin letter to Ephesus, is mentioned here because of some special relation to Colossae, we do not know. But the scantiness of our information leaves this quite possible. He may or may not have been Paul's penman. The same word denotes faithful or trustworthy in 2 Cor. i. i8, etc., and believing in ch. vi. 15; senses quite distinct but closely allied. Between them here, it is most difficult to decide. Since faith is implied in the word brethren, and again in the phrase in Christ, and since this Epistle is a warning against serious error, we may perhaps find in this word a recognition that the bi'ethren at Colossce are tnistwoiihy. It is not certain whether in Christ refers to the word saints as well as to faithful brethreii. Perhaps only to this latter phrase. For it needs further definition as noting a distinctively Christian brotherhood, more than does the word saints which outside the Aaronic priest- hood belongs only to Christians, 2. The benediction is on\y from God our Father. For this no special reason can be given. Paul thinks only, when wishing his readers gi'ace and peace, of the divine Father from whom such blessing comes ; not, as usual, of the Son also, the joint source with the Father of all good. Writing to the Colossian Christians whom he has never seen, 132 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. Paul remembers that by the will of God he has the position and responsibility of an Apostle. He joins with himself, as approving the letter he is writing, his brother Timothy; and addresses his readers as men claimed by God to be specially His own and as brethren in Christ worthy of confidence. He desires for them the smile of God and the peace which only that smile can give. DIVISION I. PRAISE AND PRAYER. CHAPTER I. 3—14. SECTION II. PAUL THANKS GOD FOR HIS READERS] FAITH. Ch. I. 3—8. We give iha?iks to God, the Father of oicr Lord Jesus Christ, always about you, zvhen prayifig ; ^having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which ye have tozvards all the saints, ^because of the Jiope laid up for you in the heave7is, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel, ^ which is present a7no7ig you, accord i?tg as also in all the world it is, bearing fruit and in- creasing, according as also a?nong you,fro?n the day when ye heard and tmderstood the grace of God in truth; ''according as ye leai-nt from Epaphras oicr beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ^ who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. 3. As to the Philippians, so here Paul begins with praise for God's work in his readers and with prayer for its further develop- ment. IVe-give-thanhs : so i Thess. i. 2, 2 Th. i. 3; where how- ever the plural is explained by the close relation of Silvanus and Timothy to tlie Thcssalonican Christians. Here, possibly, tlie plural is used, in contrast to Ph. i. 3, because Paul's more distant connection with the Church at Colossjc permits him to fall back on somewhat official phraseology. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: same words as in Rom. xv, 6, 2 Cor. i. 3, except that here Sec. 2.] COLOSSIANS I. 3—8. 133 Paul omits the copula 'and' which there formally joins together the titles God and Father of etc. He to whom Paul gives thanks is God, the divine Person whom Christ used to address, and to speak of, as His Fathe?: Give thanks . . . always about you : better than always whefi praying about you : for it is more likely that Paul would say that his thanks were ceaseless, than that his prayers were ceaseless, for his readers. When praying : i.e. in his regular devotions. He is always thanking God about the Christians at Colossae : and the specific time and manner of this perpetual thanksgiving is his approach to God in prayer. 4. Special occasion and matter of these thanks. When Paul heard of his readers' faith and love he began, and continues, to thank God on their behalf. Faith in Christ: Eph. i. 15, i Tim. iii. 13, 2 Tim. i. 13, iii. 15 ; not elsewhere in the N. T. It must not be separated from Paul's frequent phrase in Christ; and notes that the personal object of our faith is also its encompassing element. Faith saves because Christ is the element in which it dwells and rests. Love which ye have : for love is an enrichment to those who possess it. Faith takes inward hold of Christ: love reaches out towards all the saints. The universal scope of Christian love is a mark of its genuineness. 5a. Real significance of this faith and love ; and therefore the ultimate reason of Paul's thanks : because of the hope etc. All Christian hope is a germ developing into the glory of heaven : it is the dawn of the eternal day. And this is its real worth. In his readers' faith and love Paul saw a foretaste of eternal blessedness : and this prompted his thanks on their behalf. Similarly, in Phil. i. 6 he looks forward to the completion of the work already begun. The simplicity of this exposition renders needless all attempts, necessarily forced, to represent this hope as in any way the cause or reason of the faith and love. Verse 3 is Paul's thanksgiving: V. 4, its immediate occasion: and v. 5, its ultimate cause or ground. See a good paper by Findlay in The Expositor, 1st series, vol. x., p. 74. ^ The infinite objective reality underlying the Christian hope gives even to the subjective hope itself an objective reality ; and prompts us to think and speak of it as such. Now this objective reality is in heaven, far away from us and above reach of the uncertainties of earth. It is therefore a hope laid up iii hea-uen. For, where our treasure is, there is our heart and our hope. Thus a hope cherished in the breast of men on earth is guarded from disappointment by the security of heaven. Similar thought in Ph iii. 21. Notice here 134 EXPOSITIOX OF [Div. i. in close relation faith, love, hope : so in the same order, i Th. i. 3 ; a close parallel: also I Cor. xiii. 13, Gal. v. 5, 6. 5b, 6. Objective source of this hope, viz. the Gospel preached at Colossae and throughout the world. Hea7-d-beforc ; makes con- spicuous the fact that the subjective hope in the heart was preceded by an objective proclamation. The truth of the Gospel: Gal. ii. 5: the reality underlying the good news brought by Christ. See under Rom. i. 18. The word of the truth etc. : the announcemer»t of this reality. The announcement preceded and caused the Christian hope at Colossae. Which Gospel is preseiit aiiioiig you : or, more fully, 'which has reached j'ou and is now present with you.' This suggests the good fortune of the Colossians in that the Gospel had reached them ; and the reality of the Gospel which like an overshadowing presence is now among them. Accordi7ig as also ifi all the world it is: a larger fact in harmony with that just stated. Paul carries out his readers' thought from the valley of the Lycus where they had heard the Gospel to the wide world throughout which also the same Gospel is, or exists, i.e. is heard and believed and gains victories. All the world : an hyperbole similar to that in Rom. i. 8. Within Paul's mental horizon, which was very large, the Gospel was every- where preached. Bearing-fruit a7id increasing : further information about the universal Gospel. Fruit : results produced by the organic outworking of its own vitality, viz. the many and various benefits of the Christian life. Same word in Rom. vii. 4, 5, Mk. iv. 20, 28 : cp. Ph. i. II, 22, iv. 17. Increasiiig : as the good news is carried from place to place and its converts multiply, the Gospel itself becomes a larger thing. So Acts vi. 7, xii. 24, xix. 20. Thus it bears fruit in the blessings it conveys, and increases in the increase of its adherents. According as also among you : another fact added to, and in harmony with, the foregoing. That the Gospel is preached at Colossae, is part of a larger fact, viz. that it is preached throughout the world. Paul now adds that its good effects throughout the world are reproduced also at Colossae. He reduplicates the comparison because the second member of it, viz. the general statement, goes beyond the foregoing particular statement, and therefore needs to be supplemented by the second comparison. Tht-se last words are a courteous recognition of the genuineness and extent of the work at Coloss?e. The Gospel produced there the good effects it produced elsewhere. This Paul strengthens by saying that the fruitbearing and increase began at once and continue to the i)resent : from the Sec. 2.] COLOSSI ANS I. 3—8. 135 day whe7i etc. In the Gospel the Colossians heard the grace of God, i.e. the favour to our race which prompted the gift of Christ. And the word needed to be, and was, tmderstood, i.e. apprehended by- careful thought, hi tfiith : so Jno. iv. 23, 24. Correspondence with reality was the surrounding element of their hearing and mental comprehension. While hearing the Gospel and grasping its contents they were dealing not with delusion but with reality. 7, 8. Ve learnt froni Epaphras : an historical detail in harmony with, and expounding, the general statement in v. 5. Like Paul, (Ph. iv. 1 1,) the Colossian Christians had acquired gradually and with effort their understanding of the grace of God : ye learnt. Their teacher's name is given : Epaphras. Fellow-servant : with Paul in the service of Christ : same Avord in ch. iv. 7, Rev. xix. 10, Mt. xviii. 28. The plural number assumed in v. 3 is retained : 07ir . . . us . . . our. Paul recognises Epaphras as, along with himself, Timothy, and others, doing the work of the one Master. Who is etc. : a commendation of Epaphras. Minister : see under Rom. xii. 7. The added words of Christ (cp. 2 Cor. xi. 23) make us certain that the word minister is used, not in an official sense as in Ph. i. I, but in the more general sense of one who does free and honourable work for another. In this work he \\a.s faithful or trust- worthy : Eph. vi. 21, I Cor. iv. 2. On our behalf : emphatic. The difficulty of this reading confirms its genuineness as attested by the best copies. Paul probably means that his interest in the Colossian Christians was so great that the service rendered to Christ by Epaphras in caring for them was rendered also to himself, and that this interest was shared by his companions. Possibly Epaphras may have been urged by Paul to care for the Christians at Colossae : but this is not necessarily implied in his words. Who also declared etc. : another fact. It implies that Epaphras had come to Rome and there told Paul the story of the Colossian Church. Consequently, from Epaphras the Colossians heard the good news of the grace of God and Paul heard the good news of the work of God at Colossae. Your love ; implies faith, which therefore is not here mentioned. In the Y\.o\y Spirit : the animating principle of all Christian life. Cp. Rom. xiv. 17, 'joy in the Holy Spirit.' We are here introduced to another of the noble band of Christian workers who surrounded the great Apostle ; of whom we have already met Timothy, Titus, and Epaphroditus. Since EPAPHRAS was apparently (ch. iv. 12) a Colossian and yet founded the Church at Colossae, we may suppose that on a journey perhaps to Ephesus, the capital of the province, he heard the Gospel preached by Paul ; that 136 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. he carried back to his own city the good news he had himself em- braced and thus became founder of the Church there. Evidently, he had come to Rome ; and was remaining there when Tychicus started with this lettef. Even in Rome his deep interest in the spiritual welfare and progress of the Christians at Colossse moved him to ceaseless and very earnest prayer on their behalf. The intelligence of his prayer (see ch. iv. 12) proves him to have been a man of highest worth. Well might Paul call him a beloved fellow-servatit and ?i faithful Diinister of Christ. In Philem. 23, for reasons unknown to us he is called a ' fellow-prisoner ' of Paul. Paul's letter to the Colossians begins with an expression of his constant thanks to God on their behalf, prompted by tidings he has heard about their faith and love. This evokes his thanks because it is a sure indication of better things to come. It therefore inspires a hope not dependent for its realisation upon the uncertainties of earth but resting on the security of heaven. These hopes the Colossians owe to the Gospel which has reached their city. Paul reminds them that the same Gospel is preached thnjughout the world ; and that ever}^vhere it is bearing fruit and extending its influence. He is glad to recognise that the same good results have followed the preaching of it at Colossae from its first proclamation to the present day. This Gospel they had heard from the lips of Epaphras, a fellow-worker of Paul and a minister of Christ : and also from Epaphras Paul had heard the good news about the Church at Colosspe. The distinctive feature of this thanksgiving is Paul's mention of the universal proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, and of its universal fruit-bearing and growth. He thus raises his readers' thoughts above their own Church and city to tiie great world and the Church Universal : a transition of thought always beneficial in the highest degree. Possibly this reference to the proclamation and success of the Gospel throughout the world was suggested by the strange doctrines which it is the chief business of this letter to cor- rect and which were a local perversion of the one Gospel. This local perversion Paul wishes to discuss in the light of the luiiversal Gospel ever>'where preached and everywhere successful. Sec. 3.] COLOSSIANS I. 9-14. 137 SECTION III. PAULS PRAYER FOR HIS READERS' FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. Ch. I. 9 — 14. Fo7' this cause also we, from the day we heard it, cease not praying on your behalf , and asking that ye may be filed with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and U7idersta7tding, ^^ so as to walk worthily of the Lord for all pleasing, in every good work bearing fi'uit and inc7'easi7ig by the 7i7ide7'sta7idi7ig of God, ^^with all power bei7ig 77iade powe7ful accordi7ig to the 77iight of His glo7y for all e7tdu7'a7ice a7id lo7ig-S7tffe7i7ig with joy, ^'^ givi7ig tha7tks to the Father who has made you 77ieet for your sha7'e of the lot of the saijits i7i the light, ^^ who has 7-cscued its f7'07}i the 7'ule of the dark- 7iess a7id t7-a7islated us i7ito the ki7igdo77i of the So7i of His love. ^^ l7i who77i we have 7-edeniptio7i, the fo7give7iess of si7is. 9. Result on the writer's side of the fact stated in v. 8 : because of this also we etc. These words place Paul and Timothy, as a third party, in contrast to Epaphras and especially to the Colossian Christians. F7-07n the day we heard : same phrase in v. 6. As soon as the Colossians heard the word of grace, it began to bear continual fruit in them : as soon as Paul heard of their Christian love, he began and continued to pray unceasing^ for their further development. Do 7iot cease p7'ayi7ig 07i your behalf : cp. Eph. i. 16, ' 1 do not cease giving thanks on your behalf.' P7'ayi7ig : general term for approach to God, as in v. 3, where the specific form of prayer is thanksgiving. Here the specific form is immediately added : a7td aski7ig that ye 77iay be filled. Same words together, p7'ayi7ig a7id aski7ig, in Mk. xi. 24. Aski7ig : more fully aski7ig as a favour to 7nyself That ye may be filled : immediate matter and- purpose of Paul's request : further purpose in v. loa, with collateral details in 7W. lob, 11, 12. Filled : so that every part of their being be permeated, and thus controlled and elevated, by an intelligent comprehension of the will of God. lOiozvledge : full and complete knowledge, as in Ph. i. 9. His will : embracing Gods purpose of mercy towards us and the path in which He would have us walk. [The accusative case after filled, as in Ph. i. 11, where see note. I specifies the kind and extent of the fulness which Paul has in view.] lVisdo77i and U7ide7'sta7idi/ig : found together in i Cor. i. 19, from 138 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. the Lxx. where the words are often associated ; and their cognate adjectives in Mt. xi. 25. Wisdo?n : acquaintance with first principles, these being looked upon by the Jews as a guide in action : see note under i Cor. ii. 5. Undeistaiiding : the faculty of putting together, and reading the significance of, facts and phenomena around. Spiritual : wrought by the Holy Spirit: for to Him most frequently does the word spirit refer. But the distinction is not important. For the spirit in man is that highest element of his nature on which the Holy Spirit directly operates. Same word in i Cor. ii. 13, where see note; ch. iii. i, xv. 44. It distinguishes the wisdom and under- standing wrought in us by the Holy Spirit from tliat mentioned in I Cor. i. 119, 20, ii. 5, 6, 13, iii. 19, 2 Cor. i. 12, Jas. iii. 15. All •wisdom and uiidei'standiiig : embracing every element given to man of acquaintance with the great realities behind and beneath and above the visible world around, and a faculty of interpreting pheno- mena of every kind. All this is looked upon here as the surrounding element in which was to be realised the fulness of knowledge which Paul desired for his readers. He prays that amid such wisdom and understanding they may be made full with a fulness embracing in- telligent acquaintance with the will of God. A similar prayer, in- cluding the word here rendered knowledge^ is found in each of the letters written by Paul during his first imprisonment at Rome : Ph. i. 9, Eph. i. 17, Philem. 6. It may almost be called the key-note of this group of epistles. 10a. Further purpose to be attained by this fulness of knowledge : viz. to take such steps in life as are worthy of the Lord, i.e. of the great Master. Walk ivofihily of: so Eph. iv. i, i Th. ii. 12; cp. Ph. i. 27, Rom. xvi. 2. The grandeur of the Master claims corre- sponding conduct in His servants. How wide is this claim, we shall learn from vv. \ob, 11, 12, wliich expound in detail v. loa. For all pleasing: i.e. in order to please Him in all things, making His pleasure our constant aim. So i Cor. vii. 32. This aim is the only Tjne worthy of the Master whom we serve. And it will mark out for us a worthy path. Thus Paul desires for his readers knowledge not merely for its own sake but that it may produce in them a worthy Christian life. So Ph. i. 9-1 1 ; an important parallel. 10b. The first of tliree participial clauses describing further the worthy walk which Paul desires for his readers. Bearing-fruit and increasing ; recalls the same words in v. 6. To those who receive it the Gospel communicates its own vitality, and fruitfulncss, and growth. As it bears Iruit in them so they bear fruit in every good work, i.e. in beneficence of every kind. These last two words occur Sec. 3.] COLOSSIANS I. 9—14. 139 together in i Tim. v. 10, 2 Tim. ii. 21, iii. 17, Tit. i. 16, iii. i ; i Tim. ii. 10, Rom. ii. 7, 2 Cor. ix. 8, Eph. ii. 10, Ph. i. 6, 2 Th. ii. 17. The visible outgrowth of the Christian's inner life is fomid m good deeds. As before, fruitbearing and spiritual growth go together. Just as the Gospel by producing good results itself comes to occupy a larger place on the world's great stage, so all good we do to others increases our own spiritual stature. Knowledge of God : as in v. 9, which it recalls. Just as there Paul desired for his readers full and complete knowledge of God in order that they may walk worthy of Christ their Master, so now, while speaking of the growth he desires to accom- pany this worthy walk, he mentions the full knowledge of God as the means by which this growth is to be wrought. This quick repe- tition of the same thought, viz. knowledge as a means of something beyond itself, gives to this thought great emphasis. This emphasis, and the close connection between fruitbearing and growth suggested by the repetition of these words together, with the indisputable fact that fruitbearing as much as growth is a result of knowledge of God, suggests that the instrumental clause by the full knowledge of God embraces both frnitbea7'iiig and gi'owth. (Cp. Jno. xv. 7.) If so, the balance of the sentence suggests that the early clause in evety good work has in some measure the same compass. In other words, Paul desires his readers to be filled with knowledge of the will of God, producing in them a walk worthy of their Master, and along with this a fruitbearing and growth showing itself in every good work and produced by knowledge of God. Just as in v. 6 we have a comparison of the work at Colossae with that throughout the world, and this turned back upon itself by a further comparison of the work throughout the world with that at Colossae, so here after tracing Christian knowledge to its practical result in Christian conduct Paul traces back Christian beneficence and growth to the instrumentality of specific Christian knowledge. 11. Second detail which Paul desires may accompany his readers' worthy walk, viz. spiritual power producing eiidw'otice. Power: ability to overcome obstacles and to do work. Being made power- ful: day by day receiving power, like the same tense of a cognate word in Eph. vi. 10, a very close parallel, and Ph. iv. 13. With all power : every kind of ability, this looked upon as an objective orna- ment for the Christian work and fight. Similarly, Eph. iii. 16. His glory : the manifested grandeur of God, evoking His creature's admiration. See under Rom. i. 21. With this divine grandeur is associated infinite 77iight, i.e. the power of a ruler. And this might is the measure of the power with which Paul desires his readers to I40 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. be made strong : accoi'diiig to the viight etc. For whatever there is in God He communicates, according to their need and tlieir faith, to His servants. All eiidurance : maintenance of our position under all burdens which would press us down and in face of all foes who would drive us back ; as in Rom. ii. 7, etc. Longsiiffcri7ig : a holding back of emotion, whether anger as in Rom. ii. 4, Eph. iv. 2, or fear as is im- plied here by the connection with endurance. Paul desires that in spite of all (obstacles his readers hold on their way and preserve a serene Christian spirit. With joy : a desired accompaniment of this endurance and longsuffering. So completely are the Colossian Christians to maintain their position and their serenity in spite of hardships that these are not even to dim \\\q.\x joy. This last word adds immense force to those foregoing as a note of absolute victory. The note is clearly sounded in i Th. i. 6. But this complete victory is possible only by the inbreathing of power in divine measure. Grammatically, the words with joy might be joined to v. 12. And this would preserve in some measure the symmetry of the three participial clauses, giving to each participle a foregoing preposi- tional specification : in evety good wo?!:, inallpowe?', with joy. The practical difference is very slight. For in any case the endurance and longs?fffe?ijig are associated with joy. But these last words would add very little to ' giving thanks : ' (for all thanksgiving is joyful :) whereas joined to endiwance they are a note of triumph. [This is somewhat confirmed by the word /xera which joins together dissimilar or at least distinct objects ; and therefore more naturally connects yVvy with enduj-ance than with * thanksgiving.'] 12. Third participial detail collateral with, and expounding, the * worthy walk ' aiv. loa. This must be accompanied not only by fruitbearing and growth, and by divinely-given strength producing joyful endurance, but also by thanks givi7ig. This last is very con- spicuous with Paul: ch. ii. 7, iii. 17, iv. 2, Eph. v. 4, 20, Ph. iv. 6. It is cognate to, and was perhaps suggested by the word rendered joy in V. II. The ' endurance and longsuffering' are to be accompanied ])y 'joy:' and this is to assume the form of exi)ressed gratitude to God. Whether lie is here spoken of as Father of the Firstborn Son or of us His human brethren, the close rt-lation between Christ and us leaves us unable to dctcnninc ; and makes the distiiHtion uniin- l)ortant. The word lot or allot?fie?it, and the word saints which never throws off its C). T. reference and wliirh lias here its usual N. T. sense of church-members, these looked upon as chinned ])y God lo be specially Sec. 3.] COLOSSTANS I. 9—14. 141 His own, recall the division of Canaan among the sacred people. Similarly Acts xxvi. 18, ' a lot among the sanctified : ' a close coinci- dence, from the lips of Paul. Cp. Num. xxxiii. 54, where the lot is the instrument of allotment : and ch. xxxii. 19, Josh. xvii. 6, where it is an allotted portion of the land. And Dt. x. 9, ' For this cause the Levites have no share and loi among their brethren : the Lord Himself is his lot' The loi of the saints seems to include the whole portion of spiritual blessing allotted to the human family of God. The share of the lot : that part of this general allotment of blessing which falls to each of the saitits. The word share reminds us that in this allotment many joined, and that the Colossians were now sharers with the ancient people of God. Made-meet : same word in 2 Cor. iii. 6, ' meet or sufficient to be ministers of the New Covenant.' It implies that for this participation some fitness is needed and that this fitness God has given to the Colossian Christians. This can be no other than the righteousness of faith : for righteousness is ever the condition of spiritual blessing, and it can be obtained only by faith. This divinely-given fitness is abundant and constant reason for thanksgiving. The O. T. colouring of these words recalls Eph. ii. 12, 13. It somewhat favours the reading j<9// found in the two best Greek copies, as against us which is read by most other authorities. For the wQxdi yott would contrast the Colossians who were Gentiles with Paul and others who were Jews. Cp. Eph. ii. i and 3 ; 12 and 14. This internal confirmation of our two best witnesses perhaps slightly outweighs abundant documentary evidence on the other side. In the light : locality or environment, probably, of the lot of the saints. Similarly xn v. 13 'the darkness' has a semi-local sense. Light is a characteristic of everything pertaining to the inheritance of the saints. Their eternal home will be a world of light, as God is light and dwells in light: Rev. xxi. 24, I Jno. i. 5, i Tim. vi. 16. And the glory of that splendour will illumine their path on earth : 2 Cor. iv. 6, Eph. v. 8. Since the lot of the saints is both a future enjoyment (a ' laid-up hope') and a present possession, the words in the light must have the same double reference. The sons of Gcd are already heirs (a word cognate with lot) and therefore iti the light: and the light in which they walk is an earnest of their share of the allotment of blessing which belongs to the consecrated people of God. [/;; the light can hardly be the instrument by which (cp. 2 Cor. iv. 4 * the light of the Gospel ') God jjiade them meet for the inheritance. For its distance from the verb would require this to be very definitely indicated. But the Greek preposition here only notes the light as a surrounding element. Moreover, the contrast with ' out of darkness ' 142 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. in 7>. 13 suggests very strongly that tlie light is an environment of that for which God has made His people meet.] 13. Further statement of what God has done, expounding v. 12 and giving further reason for thanks to God. The darkiiess : the objective realm of evil, looked upon as causing ignorance and gloom and as possessing power and thus exercising authoi'ity or rule over its victims : so Lk. xxii. 53 ; and Eph. vi. 12, ' this darkness.' It is practically ' the authority of the air ' in Eph. ii. 2 ; the rule of moral and spiritual night. These words imply that under this rule all men once lay bound. Out ^/this ride of dark7iess God had rescued the Colossian Christians: i.e. by His kindness and power He had brought them out into the light. Translated: removed from one place to another : same word in Lk. xvi. 4, Acts xiii. 22, i Cor. xiii. 2. The Son of His love : who belongs to the love of God as its eternal per- sonal object. The phrase fixes our attention on the relation of the Son to this unique attribute of the Father. The kmgdo?n of etc. : the realm over which Christ will reign for ever : Eph. v. 5, Jno. xviii. 36. This kingdom will have its full realisation in the final glory. But already its citizens are being enrolled. And enrolment brings at once a foretaste of the blessings of the rule of Christ. Notice the complete change which God has wrought. Once these Colossians were in bondage under the rule of darkness, a rule shutting out the many blessings of the light. From that realm of darkness God has rescued tliem and brought them into another realm over which reigns the eternal Son, the divine Object of divine love. By this rescue and this transfer God made these Gentiles meet to share the lot of His holy people. For such benefit, well might Paul wish his readers to give thanks to God. 14. Our relation, in this kingdom, to the King. This verse is a transition from the foregoing thanksgiving to the great matter of this Papistic, viz. the dignity and work of Christ. Iji whom . . . redemp- tion : as in Rom. iii. 24. This last word suggests or asserts that our rescue was costly. In the parallel passage, Eph. i. 7, the cost is stated : ' through His blood.' Since surrender to the rule of sin is the due penalty of sin, rescue from the power of sin implies//?;;"^/?/^'- 7iess of sins : same words in Eph. i. 7, Acts xiii. 38, xxvi. 18, Lk. i. 'j'j, iii. 3, Mk. i. 4, Mt. xxvi. 28, Lk. xxiv. 47, Acts ii. 38, v. 31, x. 43. It is practically the same as justification : for the justified arc guilty. And we are (Rom. iii. 24) 'justified through the redemption whicli is in Christ.' In whofn ivc have etc. : objectively through His death and subjectively by inward union with Christ, a union which makes us sharers of all He has and is. Sec. 4.] COLOSSIANS I. 15—17. 143 Notice the assurance of personal salvation implied in we have • ' forgiveiiess of sms. For our sms and the forgiveness of them are essentially personal matters. This assurance, Paul assumes that his readers share. The introduction to the Epistle is now complete. Paul has thanked God for the Christian life at Colossae as he has heard of it from the founder of the Church there, Epaphras. To praise he has added prayer for his readers, full development in knowledge of the will of God, this leading to a life worthy of the Master whom they serve, viz. to fruitbearing and to growth, to joyful endurance and gratitude to God. This prayer has been on the lips of Paul from the time he first heard about the work at Colossae. Abundant reason for gratitude, he finds in the fact that God has made these Gentiles sharers in the inheritance promised to tlie sons of Abraham, an inheritance in the realm of eternal light ; or, to state the same benefit in other words, He has rescued them from the realm of darkness and made them citizens of the kingdom of the beloved Son of God. To tliis royal Son they already stand in closest rela- tion. For in Him is their liberation : because in Him they have for- giveness of sins. This gratitude for mercies already received brings us into the presence of the Son of God. To expound His essential grandeur and His work, as a corrective to prevalent error, is the chief aim of this Epistle. DIVISION II. THE TRUTH CONCERNING CHRIST. CHAPTER I. 15— II. 3. SECTION IV. CHRIST S RELATION TO GOD, AND TO THE UNIVERSE. Ch. I. 15—17. Who is the hnage of the Divisible God, firstbo?'ii befo7'e every creature. ^^ Because in Him were all thi7igs created, in the heavens and upon the earthy the thitigs visible and the things invisible. 144 EXPOSITlOiX OF [Div. ii. whether thrones, or lordships, or prbiclpalities, or authorities : all things have been created through Him and for Hi?n. ^^ A7td Him- self is before all things : and in Hitn all thijtgs stand together. With stately words Paul now begins his exposition of the nature and work of the Son of God ; and pursues this august topic, in its various relations, to ch. ii. 3, where it finds a suitable conclusion. The purpose of this exposition, as stated in ch. ii. 4, is to guard the Colossian Christians against persuasive errors. Naturally these errors must have moulded the exposition designed to combat them. We shall therefore seek for indications of their nature in the features peculiar, among the Epistles of Paul, to the important teaching now before us. Fortunately for us and for the Church in all ages, Paul meets these errors, not by direct attack which would have been intelligible only to those acquainted with the errors attacked, but by positive truth instructive to all men in all ages. This method gives to the epistle before us abiding and universal value. It is, more- over, an example to us. Error can be effectively met only by statement and proof of corresponding and opposite truth. Paul states first the Son's relation to God, v. i$a; then His relation to the created universe, z/t/. i^b — 17; then His relation to the Church, vv. 18 — 20; and especially to the Colossian Christians, vv. 21 — 23 ; lastly Paul's relation to these last in Christ. 15a. IVho is : solemn assertion touching the abiding nature, rela- tions, and state, of the God-Man. hnage : a similitude derived from an original, and presenting it more or less accurately and full}' to those who behold the similitude. So Mt. xxii. 20, a stamp on a coin ; Rev. xiii. 14, a statue. Who is image of God : word for word as in 2 Cor..iv. 4, where see note. Cp. i Cor. xi. 7, Col. iii. 10, Gen. i. 26. Here, however, we have the added word i?tvisible God, shed- ding light upon the significance of the phrase iynage of God as a manifestation of an unseen person. These words assert that the glorified Son sets forth, to those who behold Him, the nature and grandeur of the Eternal Father. The image includes the glorified manhood in which the Eternal Son presents in created and visible form the mental and moral nature of God. Men knew the Father because they had seen the Incarnate Son : Jno. xiv. 9. The possi- bility and fitness of this mode of presenting the divine nature flow from man's original creation (Gen. i. 26) according to the image and likeness of God. And the emphatic word is, which asserts an abid- ing reality, and the iollowing assertion about the creation of the universe, suggest that the words image of God describe also an Sec. 4.] COLOSS/ANSl.is—17. 145 eternal relation of the Son to the Father. The same is suggested in Heb. i. 3, ' outshining of His glory and expression of His substance : ' a close and important parallel. Probably, whatever the Son became by His incarnation was but a manifestation in human form of His essential nature and His eternal relation to the Father; these being an eternal archetype of His human nature. They are also the archetype of man as originally created, and in some sense (i Cor. xi. 7, Jas. iii. 9) of man as he now is ; and of the future glorified humanity of the servants of Christ, If so, the revelation of God to man in time has its root in eternity and in God, i.e. in the existence within the Godhead of a person other than the Father, derived from Him, and sharing His divine nature. God is invisible, as being beyond reach of human sight : i Tim. vi. 16. And the context of the word invisible in i Tim. i. 17 suggests v^ery strongly that He is essentially invisible to all His creatures. (Jno. i. 18, I Jno. iv. 12, 'God, no one has ever seen,' may or may not deny that others besides men have seen God.) If the words image of God desc^^ibe an eternal relation of the Son to the Father, the word invisible must refer, as apparently does i Tim. i. 17, to the eternal essence of God. Just as only through the Son came the creatures into being, even the earliest and the highest of them, so probably only through the Son is the Father known even to the highest of His creatures. Thus the word image is correlative to visible. The essentiall}^ invisible Father has in the Son an eternal organ of self-manifestation, an eternal counterpart and supplement to His own invisible nature. His manifestation began when time began, by the earliest act of creation. And each later act of the Son, before His Incarnation, His Incarnation itself, the acts of the incarnate Son, and of the glorified Son, is a further manifestation of the Father. If so, touching the entire nature and relations of the God-Man, Paul's words are in their fullest extent true : He is the Image of God. The word image suggests the existence of others outside the Godhead. For there can be no manifestation without persons capable of apprehending it. In this sense the Son became the image of God when the earliest intelligent being contemplated Him But what then became actual fact existed in Him potentially in eternity. This first indication of the existence of creatures prepares a way for further reference to them in v. I5<5, and for the explicit mention of them in v. 16. 15b. Further description of the Son's relation to the Father, and to the entire created universe, which here finds definite mention ; 10 146 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. and a further step in Paul's transition from the invisible Creator, through tlie Son, to His creatures. Firstborn: same word in v. i8, Rom. viii. 29, Heb. i. 6, Rev. i. 5, Lk. ii. 7, referring to Christ; also Heb. xi. 28, xii. 23, Ex. xiii. 2, 15, Num. xviii. 15, etc. It denotes enrliest-borti^ in contrast to others 'later-born,' or not born but created. The earliest creatures are spoken of by Clement of Alex, and others as ' first-created.' The syllable -born describes evidently, without further limitation, the Son's relation to the Father ; in close harmony with the word similar in meaning, though different in form, rendered only-begotten in Jno. i. 14, 18, iii. 16, 1 Jno. iv. 9. The syllable 7^>.y/ needs further specification ; and finds it in the following words every creature. Creature or creation: same word in Rom. viii. 19, where see note ; i. 25, viii. 39. [The practical difference between the render- ings all creation (Lightfoot and R.V.) and every creatu?-e (Meyer and Ellicott) is very slight. The former looks upon the created universe "as one whole ; the latter as consisting of various created objects. The latter rendering is preferable. For in v. 16 Paul distributes created objects into categories, thus suggesting that he thinks of them singly. And this is the more usual significance of the phrase here used: e.g. i Pet. ii. 13, Col. i. 28, Ph. i. 4, ii. 10, 11, iv. 19, 21, Eph. i. 21, ii. 21, iii. 15, iv. 14, etc. A genitive after Trpcoroy, specify- ing the later objects with which the Jirst is compared, is found also in Jno. i. 15, 30, xv. 18. This use of the genitive after a superlative to denote comparison forbids us to infer that thajirstborn is Himself a creature. So Thucydides (bk. i. i) speaks of the Peloponnesian War as the ' most worthy of mention of those which had happened before it.'] Paul says simply that in relation to every created object the Son is firstborn. Moreover, that in 7/. 16 even the blessed (jnes of heaven are included in every creature, whereas the Son is 'ViXs\.-born, suggests that His mode of derivation from the Father is essentially different from theirs. Otherwise the transition cannot be explained. (This transition is a close harmony with Jno. i. 14, 18.) And this suggestion is confirmed by the state- ment in vv. 16, 17 that through the Son were all things created and that He is before all things. 16a. A great fact, ju.stifying the foregoing title of the Son. He is rightly called ' firstborn before ever}' creature ' because in Hiin were created all tilings. Created : akin, in Greek as in English, to 'creature' in v. 15, which it recalls and expounds. The Hebrew word rendered create (e.g. Gen. i. i, 21, ii. 3, 4, v. i, 2) is predicated only uf God ; except that in Jos. xvii. 15, iS, Ezck. xxiii. 47 another Sec. 4-] COLOSSIANS I. 15—17. 147 grammatical form of the same word has its apparently original sense of 'cut,' and in Ezek. xxi. 24 (AV. v. 19) the same form denotes human workmanship. This restriction of its use to the work of God suggests that to create is to make as only God can make ; not necessarily to make out of nothing, (cp. Wisdom xi, 18, 'created the world out of a shapeless mass,') but at least to bring into existence new forms. In Gen. i. i, 21, 27, v. i, 2, vi. 7 this Hebrew word is poorly represented in the Lxx. by a Greek word meaning only * to make.' But in Dt. iv. 32, Ps. li. 12, Ixxxix. 13, 48, Isa. xxii. 11, xlv. 8, etc. we find the word used here. In classic Greek the same word denotes frequently the origin of a town or colony or institution ; the idea of origin always being present. In the N. T. the verb is found only in Col. i. 16, iii. 10, Eph. ii. 10, 15, iii. 9, iv. 24, Rom. i. 25, I Cor. xi. 9, I Tim. iv. 3, Rev. iv. 11, x. 6; in each case describing the work of God. So in the Lxx. and the Apocrypha. This constant use of the word, the exposition immediately following, and the cognate word ' creature ' 'm.v. 15 to which this word evidently refers, fix beyond doubt its meaning here. Paul asserts of the Son that i7t Hitn all things originally sprang into being. All things: the entire universe rational and irrational, animated and inanimate, consisting of various parts but looked upon here as one definite whole. Certain of its component parts are at once enumerated. The words in Hini, so frequent with Paul and especially in this group of epistles to describe the relation of the incarnate Son to His servants on earth and to their salvation, assert here that the Eternal Son bears to the creation of the universe the same relation. (Verse 17 asserts this touching the abiding state of the universe.) The personality of the Eternal Son is the encompassing, pervading, life-giving element in which sprang into being and assumed its various natural forms whatever exists. In His bosom the world began to be. In Him was from eternity its possibility : and in Him the possible became actual. A close coincidence in Rev. iii. 14, * the beginning of the creation of God.' In the heavens and tipon the earth : further specification in detail of the all things created in Him^ dividing created objects according to their locality and thus revealing the wide compass of Paul's assertion. A more accurate specification in Rev. x. 6 : ' the heaven and the things in it,' etc. Here the heavens etc. are looked upon not as themselves created objects but as mere notes of locality. Perhaps this mode of speech was prompted by Paul's thought being directed, as we learn from the words following, not so much to the material universe as to its inhabitants. He does not find it needful to 148 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. mention here and in Eph. i. lo the * things under the earth,' Ph. ii. lo. For the dead were once ahve and are therefore covered by the fore- going assertion. The thhigs visible and the things invisible : another very conspicuous division of all things; suggested by, but not exactly coincident with, the foregoing division. The visible includes all persons and things within reach of the human eye : the ifivisible includes, most simply understood, all objects beyond its reach. Whether thrones or lordships etc. : further details included in all things. It is not an exhaustive division as was the last, visible and invisible, but a mere enumeration of possible examples belonging apparently or chiefly to the invisible things. The list recalls Eph. i. 21, 'principality and authority and power and lordship;' i Pet. iii. 22, 'angels and authorities and powers.' The words, piincipality and authority are found, in singular or plural, and in the same order, inch. ii. lo, 15, Eph. i. 21, iii. 10, vi. 12, i Cor. xv. 24, Tit. iii. i, Lk. xii. II, XX. 20; the last three places referring expressly to earthly rulers. These cannot be excluded from the universal assertion of this verse. And in Rom. xiii. i Paul teaches that even political power has its ultimate origin in God. But the other quotations refer evidently to superhuman persons in the unseen world. And this evident reference of the other passages quoted above, together with the word invisible immediately foregoing, leaves no doubt that to these chiefly Paul refers here. And, if so, these various titles designate various successive ranks of angels. That there are bad angels bearing these titles, and therefore presumably of different rank, Eph. vi. 12 asserts. And, if there are superhuman enemies, there must be also successive ranks of superhuman servants of God. In this verse, however, the existence of angelic powers is not abso- lutely assumed. Paul merely says that if there be such, be they what they may, they were created in the Son of God. The distinction between these various titles, and their order in rank, cannot be. determined with any approach to certainty. From the titles themselves very little can be inferred. The word thrones suggests a position of conspicuous and secure dignit}', like that of the twenty-four elders (Rev. iv. 4) sitting on thrones around the throne of God. This is better than the suggestion that they com- bine to form by their own persons the throne of God, as themselves the bearers of the divine Majesty. Lordships : last word in the list of Ejih. i. 21 ; found also in 2 Pet. ii. 10, Jude 8. It is akin to th.c word 'lord," and to the word 'rule ' in Rom. vi. 9, 14, vii. i, xiv. 9 ; and suggests an authority to which others bow as servants. The word rendered principality denotes sometimes beginning as in Sec. 4.] COLOSSIANS I. 15—17. 149 Jno. i. I, Ph. iv. 15 ; and sometimes the position of a ruler or officer. A cognate word is rendered 'ruler' in i Cor. ii. 6, 8, Eph. ii. 2, Rom. xiii. 3, and frequently in the Gospels and the Book of Acts. This last word designates in Dan. x. 13, 20, 21, xii. i certain angel- princes, or angels of superior rank, standing severally in special relation to the kingdoms of Persia, Greece, Israel. The word used in Col. i. 16 is the first syllable of 'archangel.' And Michael, 'one of the chief princes' in Dan. x. 13, is in Jude 9 (cp. i Th. iv. 16) called an archangel. The Avord authority (cp. ' authority of darkness' in V. 13, 'authority of the air' in Eph. ii. 2; Mk. vi. 7, Jno. xvii. 2) suggests angelic powers exercising sw^ay over certain portions of the material or immaterial universe. The frequent connection of prin- cipality and authority in this order (i Cor. xv. 24, Eph. i. 21, iii. 10, vi. 12, Col. ii. 10, 15, Tit. iii. i, Lk, xii. 11, xx. 20) suggests that this was their order of rank. But it is impossible to define the relation of this pair to the thrones and lordships. All these titles are twice mentioned together by Origen in his work On First Pri?iciples (bk. i. 5. 3, 6. 2) as of angelic powers. But he refers evidently to the passage before us, and contributes nothing to its elucidation. Nor is reliable evidence beyond the above scanty inferences from the words themselves to be derived from Jewish literature. All we know is that Paul believed that there are successive ranks of angelic powers, and declares here that all these, whatever they may be, were created in the Son. 16b. An emphatic repetition, and development, and summing up after exposition in detail, of the opening words of v. 16. All things: word for word as in v. i6a. Thj'ough Him : by His instrumentality or agency; see under Rom. i. 5. It describes constantly Christ's relation to man's salvation: Rom. v. i, 2, ii, 2 Cor. v. 18. The same relation, Paul here asserts, the Eternal Son bears to the creation of the universe. Similarly, both to redemption and creation He bears the relation described by the phrase ' in Christ : ' v. 16a. That these two phrases alike describe His relation both to the Church and to the universe, makes very conspicuous the identity of His relation to these two distinct and different objects. A close coincidence in i Cor. viii. 6 : ' through whom are all things, and we through Him.' A still closer coincidence in Heb. i, 2, Jno. i. 3. [Aia with the genitive is used even where the agent is also the first cause : so Gal. i. r, Rom. xi. 36, where God is said to be the Agent of the resurrection of Christ, and of all things. But the use of the same preposition constantly to describe the Son's relation to the work of creation and also to man's redemption, of both which the I50 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. Father is expressly and frequentl}^ (e.g. v. 20) said to be the First Cause, suggests very strongly that the preposition was deliberately chosen because the Son is only the Agent, and the Father is the First Cause, of the created universe. This different relation of the Father and the Son is asserted, or clearly implied, in i Cor. viii. 6. Thus the preposition before us describes the Son's relation to the entire activity of God.] And for Him : to please and exalt the Son, and to work out His purposes. The Agent of creation is also its aim. Close. coincidence in Heb. ii. 10. That Christ is only its mediate aim, we infer with certainty from the entire New Testament. The Father's eternal purpose is the ultimate source, and His approbation is the ultimate aim, of whatever good exists and takes place. And, just as the Son is the divine channel through which the Father's purpose passes into actuality, so only through the Son and through His exaltation does creation attain its goal in God. So i Cor. viii. 6, xv. 28, Eph. i. 14. In this real sense all things dct^for Him. The word created marks the close of Paul's discussion of the creation of all things by the Son. [The Greek perfect, have-been- created, calls attention to the abiding result of the act of creation, thus differing from the aorist in v. 16a which simply notes an event. ' By His agency and to work out His pleasure all things were created in the past and exist now in the abiding present.'] 17. A statement reasserting and supplementing the truth em- bodied in 'first-begotten' in 7/. 15; just as v. 16 expounds and supplements ' every creature.' The Son is the Firstborn because He is earlier than all. He is : or Himself exists. It calls attention to an unchanging existence earlier than every other existing object. Similar words in Jno. viii. 58, Ex. iii. 14. Before: in time rather than in rank. For this is the sense of the word ' Firstborn : ' and the clear reference of ^'. 16 to 7^. 15 prepares us for another refer- ence here to the same verse. Coiisist : literally stand together as united parts of one whole. It is cognate to the Greek original of our word syste?n, hi Him: as in 7/. 16 'in Him were created.' Just as in the bosom of the Eternal Son all things sprang into being, so in Him as their encompassing element all things find their bond of union and their orderly arrangement into one whole. Similar thought in Heb. i. 3 : ' bearing all things by the word of His power.' The word here rendered ^6';/^/j'/ is frecjuent in Plato and Aristotle to denote the orderly arrangement of the various parts of the material universe. That the universe was created through the agency of the Son of God, is stated ])y Paul expressly and indisputably only here. The Sec. 4] COLOSSIANS I. 15—17. 151 plain and emphatic assertions oivv. 16, 17, are therefore an invalu- able addition to his other teaching. A close coincidence is found in the broad statement in i Cor. viii. 6. But the absence there of reference to the universe forbids us to build upon this passage a sure inference. The full statement in Col. i. 16, 17, given without proof evidently because proof was needless, implies, however, that this teaching had an assured place in Paul's thought. We have similar teaching in Heb. i. 2, a document allied to, though in many points different from, the Epistles of Paul ; and very conspicuously in Jno. i. 3. All this proves that the early followers of Christ believed that their Master was Creator of the world. This belief is an important and almost inevitable corollary frorii the whole teaching of Paul. The Son is ever said to be the channel through which flows forth from the Father into actuality His purpose of salvation. This salvation will rescue man from a corruption which has infected his entire surroundings. Frequently the forces of nature seem to be hostile to us. In reality they work together for our good. And the coming glorification of the sons of God will one day rescue from the corruption which now enslaves it (Rom. viii. 21) the entire created universe. This present and coming victory is pledged to us in the great truth that He who became Man to save man is also the Creator of man and of whatever exists. It is worthy of note that all the great religions give an account of- the beginning of the world. And naturally so : for man's highest spiritual interests are involved in the question of his origin. Hence Gen. i. is a necessary prologue to the story of the Old Covenant. And its real worth is derived from the historic fact that He who made heaven and earth became the God of Abraham. That their God was the Creator of the world, was a great bulwark of Israel's faith. Similarly, the teaching of Col. i. 16, 17 derives its whole value from that of vzf. 18-20 ; as does Jno. i. 3 from the subsequent story of the incarnate Son. For knowledge of the God who made us would be useless had He not come near to save us. It is now the firm ground of our faith. He who made us and the universe, and He only, is able to save us from forces around which seem ready to overwhelm us. From ch. ii. 4 we learn that the earlier part of this Epistle was written to guard its readers against seductive error prevalent at Colossae. This suggests at once that the verses before us, whicli are the most distinguishing feature of the Epistle, refer to the same error. We notice also in ch. ii. 18 a warning against 'worship of angels,' a practice implying undue estimate of their place and import- 152 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. ance. This suggests a reason why the successive ranks of angels are selected in v. 16 as examples of 'the invisible things' created through the Son ; viz. that they had been placed in undue rivalry to the unique honour belonging to Him. All this confirms our infer- ence that Paul has here in view the errors at Coloss?e. What these errors were, we shall, at the close of our exposition, endeavour to gather from the notices scattered throughout the Epistle. That for the more part Paul meets these errors not directly but by stating contrary truth, makes it difficult for us to determine exactly what they were. But it increases immensely tlie value of the Epistle by making it an assertion of great principles which bear with equal force upon the ever-varying errors of each successive age. Had Paul merely overturned the errors he had in view, his letter would have had practical value only for those among whom these errors were prevalent. But the great principles here asserted can be understood and appreciated by all men in all ages. In Prov. viii. 22-31 the wisdom of God is associated with the work of creation. And certainly the wisdom of God is divine and eternal. But altliougli in Prov. viii. it is personified, we have there no language which implies that it is an actual Person distinct from the Father, But here the Son, in whom all things were created and through whom {v. 20) God reconciles men to Himself, is indisputably a Person and one distinct from the Father. For v. 16 is much more than an assertion that all things were made by God. And He by whose agency all things were made is identified by Paul with Him who was afterwards known as Jesus Christ. This teaching implies that with the Father from eternity and personally distinct from Him is anotlier Person. The eternity of the Son implies His divinity. And this is confirmed by the word * created ' which is restricted in O. T. and N. T. to God and is here predicated of the Son. Thus the passage before us is an important contribution to our proof that Christ is divine. See further in Diss. iii. SECTION V. CHRIST'S RELATION TO THE CHURCH AND TO THE WORK OF SALVATION. Ch. I. 18—20. And Himself Is the Head of the Body, i.e. of the Church; who is the Bc^innini;;, the Eirsthorii from the dead ones, in order that He may bccoinc in all things Himself Jirst. '•' Inrause in /lim He was Sec. 5-] COLOSSIANS I. 18—20. 153 well-pleased that all the fulness should dwell ; -" and through Hiju to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace thi'ough the blood of His cross, through Hi7n, whether the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens. 18. And Himself is : exact and stately repetition of the opening words oiv, 17. He through whom all things were created and in whom all find their bond of union is also the Head of the Body, i.e. of the Chuixh. That this last short explanation is sufficient, shows how familiar to Paul was the thought that the Church is the Body of Christ. This important metaphor we have already found in i Cor. xii. 12-27, Rom. xii. 4, 5. The new point here is that of this body Christ is the Head: so ch. ii. 19, Eph. i. 22, iv. 15. Accordingly, in the earlier epistles this metaphor sets forth chiefly the relation of Christians one to another : here it sets forth, ' in harmony with the scope of the epistle which is to expound the dignity of Christ, their relation to Him. The Son of God is not only a Spirit animating,' ' and directing from within, each member and uniting them into one body, but also Himself the Head of the Body, i.e. a part of it, yet , occupying a unique and supreme position and from that position directing the whole Body. And this relation is vital. Some other members may be removed and the body live still : separation from the head involves instant death. Perhaps we may say that as divine Christ is the animating and invisible spirit of the Body : as human and yet superhuman and possessing a visible and glorified body He is its Head. Notice here and in v. 24 the word Chu7'ch in a sense more august than we have hitherto met, viz. as denoting definitely and unmis- takably the entire family of God : so Eph. i. 22, in. 10, 21, v. 23 — 32. Inasmuch as Christ designs His people on earth to be joined in out- ward and visible fellowship, the word Church here denotes probably, not the simple totality of those who are inwardly joined to Christ, but the company of His professed followers with the implied excep- tion of those whose profession is an empty pretence and therefore valueless. For the common local use of the word links with it in- dissolubly the ideas of outward confession and visible unity. And, in spite of the many ecclesiastical divisions of Christians, there is between all the professed and real servants of Christ a bond of union, recognised in some small degree even by the world around. The true significance of membership in a sectional Church is that by entering it we become members of the universal company of the professed followers of Christ, 154 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. Who is etc. : solemn assertions, expounding further Christ's rela- tion to His body. The Beginning : earliest in time, as in Gen. xlix. 3, Dt. xxi. 17 where the same word is linked with firstboim. Very frequently the earliest is the cause of all that follow. So is Christ. Similarl}', Rev. iii. 14, 'the beginning of the creation of God : ■ for Christ is the Agent and in a real sense the Archetype of the whole creation. Here the reference of the word beginiiing is not stated : but it is suggested by the new topic introduced by this verse, viz. Christ's relation to the Church, and is placed beyond doubt by the words following. He is the beginning of the New Creation because He is Firstborti fro7n the dead. For resurrection is the gate through which we shall enter the fully-developed kingdom of God: and His resurrection made ours possible. By Himself rising He opened a path along which we shall enter the glory in which He already is. And by rising /;w;z among the dead through (2 Cor. xiii. 4) the power of the Father, the God-Man entered a new mode of life and in some sense a new world ; and may therefore be said to have been bo7-n from the dead. Since He was the first to pass through death, He is the firstborn f7V?n the dead. The word firstborn, recalling v. 15, emphasises the similar relation of Christ to the Universe and to the Church. But in v. 15 it was followed by mention of the later-created, ' every creature : ' here it is followed by mention of those from whose midst the Resurrection-Birth brought Christ, /;'<9W the dead. That He 7nay (or 7night) bcco77ie : purpose of Christ's rising first. I71 all thi7igs Himself first or hold i7ig-thefi7-st-pl ace. Already the Son is first in time and rank, as being earlier than every creature and as being agent, and bond of union, of the entire universe. That this priority may be universal, i.e. that it might extend to the Church, Christ rose from the dead before any of His servants : and He did so by the deliberate purpose of God. Beco77ie ; notes the historical development of Christ, in contrast to that which He is, i.e. to His abiding state, as described in 7>v. 15, 17, 18. The emphatic words i7i all thi7igs keep before us tlie sameness of Christ's relation to tlie Church and to the Universe. 19, 20. A statement which explains the foregoing purpose by tracing it to its cause in the thought of God, and sj)ecifios two pur- poses of God toucinng His Son, one relating to His Incarnation and the other to the ultimate aim of His death in the restoration of harmony between God and the universe. In Hi7n : Christ, who is thrust prominently forward to the be- ginning of the sentence. He was-wcll-plcascd : same word as in Sec. 5.] COLOSSI ANS I. 18—20. 155 Gal. i. 15, I Cor. i. 21. This good pleasure cannot be that of the Son : for in v. 20 the Son is distinguished, as the Agent or Instru- ment, from Him whose good pleasure it is to reconcile through Christ all things to Himself: cp. 2 Cor. v. 18. It must therefore be either the Father as in AV. and RV. ; or the fulness personified, as suggested by Ellicott. This suggestion, however, which implies a rather startling personification, has no support in the context or in the Epistles of Paul : whereas the constant presence of God in the entire thought of Paul as the ultimate source of all good makes the other exposition quite easy. [The change of subject between the verbs well-pleased and dwell is in complete harmony with the spirit of the Greek language even in the use of the word well-pleasedj] Paul had no need to say whose good-pleasure it was that the fulness should dwell in Christ. Fulness: a word all-important in these epistles: found in ii. 9, Eph. i. 10, 23, iii. 19, iv. 13, Rom. xi. 12, 25, I Cor. X. 26, Gal. iv. 4. It denotes a result of the action described by the verb * fill ' or ' fulfil ; ' and takes all shades of meaning be- longing to this verb. Since both the vessel filled and the matter filled into it are direct objects of the verb ' fill,' the word fuhiess may denote (i) a filled vessel, (2) that with which it is made full, as evidently in i Cor. x. 26, or (3) the increment by which a partly filled vessel is made quite full, as in Mt. ix. 16. Or, since the verb denotes the accomplishment of a purpose or promise or command, the woid fuhiess may denote (4) that in which such accomplishment is attained, as in Rom. xiii. 10, 'love is a fuhiess {ox fulfihnenf) of the Law.' The absence here of any defining genitive (contrast ch. ii. 9 ' all the fuhiess of the Godhead) implies that the word ful- Jiess itself conveys a definite thought present to the mind of Paul. And this can only be, in sense (2), the fulness of God, the totality of that with which God is Himself full, of the dispositions and powers which make up, in our thought, the personality of God. These, being infinite, leave no lack or defect in God. They are also a necessary development of our conception of God, thus approaching sense (4) ; or rather showing its close connection with the simpler meanings of the word. The fuhiess of God is the totality of attri- butes with which He is essentially full and wnich go to make up our conception of God. And this is the meaning of the less definite phrase here. The Father was pleased that all this divine fuhiess should dwell (or more accurately viake-its-home) in Hhn who has been just described as the * firstborn from the dead.' The past tense He-was-well-p leased suggests [as does the aorist mTOLK^aaC] that Paul refers, not to that which the Son is unchangeably 156 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. from eternity — although we may reverently say (cp. Jno. v. 26) that even in this sense these words are true — but to what He became in time ; and, if so, to the incarnation in which the Eternal Son became the God-Man. In that divine-human Person, the entire circle of the attributes of God took up its abode. This is in complete harmony with the complementary truth in Ph. ii. 7, * He emptied Himself,' For even on earth the Word (Jno. i. 14) was ' full of grace and truth;' and {v. 16) 'from Y[\s fuhicss we all have received.' All that belongs to the essence of God was present in Jesus. But the Son deliberately and definitely laid aside for a time in order to become a sharer of our weakness the actual exercise of the outer and lower circle of His divine attributes. It was the essential and unchangeable possession of these attributes which made possible, and gave worth to, this temporary surrender of the exercise and enjoyment of them. But nothing was surrendered even for a moment which was needful to the further purpose stated in v. 20. All the fulness ; recalls • in all things.' Because the Father had resolved that in Christ should dwell all the fulness of the divine attributes. He resolved further that even in the order of resurrection He should have the first place. 20. Second element in the Father's good pleasure. He was pleased (i) that in Christ should all the fulness dwell, ajid {2) through Hhn to reconcile etc. Reconcile : slightly stronger form, found in N. T. only in v. 22, Eph. ii. 16, of the word in Rom. v. 10, 11, i Cor. vii, 11, 2 Cor. V. 18, 19, 20; meaning possibly to restore a lost friendship. See under Rom. v. i. Through IIi??i : i.e. Christ, who is ever the Agent, as the Father is the Author, of this reconciliation ; so Rom. v. I, II, 2 Cor. V. 18. All things: same words and same compass as in V. 16. God's purpose is to bring into harmony with Himself all things rational and irrational. To Iliviself : literally into Ilivisclf : a stronger term than that in Rom. v. 10, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, 20, Eph. ii. 16, and suggesting close fellowship with God resulting from reconciliation. Having-inade-peace etc. : method of the reconciliation. Peace : primarily * peace with God,' Rom. v. i : but this brings with it ' the peace of God,' Ph. iv. 7. It is the blessed and abiding result of the act of reconciliation. Through the blood of His cross : graphic exposition of througii Him. God resolved to make peace between Himself and man by means of the blood ii\\vi\ on the cross of Christ. Similarly, though less vividly, Eph. ii. 16, Ph. iii. 18, Gal. vi. 14, I C(jr. i. 17, 18. The cross o{ Christ is used in this theological sense, m the N. T., only by Paul. It is therefore a mark of genuineness. Sec. 5.] COLOSSI ANS I. 18—20. 157 About the genuineness of the words ihrougJi Him, documentary evidence is equally divided. But their apparent needlessness might occasion their omission ; whereas, if not genuine, it is not easy to explain their insertion. This gives a slight balance of probability in their favour. They are an emphatic resumption of the same words at the beginning of the verse. Whether the things iipo7i the earth etc, : exposition of the words all things, showing that they include not only all objects on earth but those in heaven ; and thus indicating that the peace resulting from the death of Christ is designed to leave no discord tipon the earth or in the heavens. The earth is put first because it chiefly and manifestly needs reconciliation. In 7/. 16 the heavens were put first, because the angelic powers were created before the inhabitants of the earth. These words do not prove absolutely that there is disharmony in heaven. For they admit a negative interpretation, viz. that the death of Christ is designed to leave no discord in the entire universe. But they suggest it. And we may conceive that, the entire universe being essentially one and each part contributing to the good of the whole, the blight caused by sin in one part might be an element of discord to the whole, Paul declares that, whatever discord has thus been caused, the death of Christ was designed to remove it. Although this purpose embraces everything and every one in heaven and earth, it is unsafe to infer from it that all men now living on earth will eventually be saved. For, although God's purpose cannot fail as a whole but must receive worthy accomplishment. He has thought fit to make its fulfilment in individuals dependent on them- selves, thus leaving it abundantly possible that they who now trample under foot the blood of Christ may be finally cast out both from earth and heaven and thus excluded from this universal harmony. Cer- tainly this purpose is not sufficient to disprove the plain contrary assertion in Ph. in. 19. See under Ph. ii. 10, 11. Section 5 reveals the importance of section 4. To the material world around and the angelic world above us, it links the work of redemption as wrought by the same exalted Person and as an accom- plishment of one great purpose as wide as creation. Paul thus raises his readers at Colossae out of the narrow valley of the Lycus where they had lately found personal salvation to a platform from which they can survey the entire universe of God to its utmost bound and the successive ages of the past to the moment when the earliest creature began to be. This width of view is a conspicuous and invaluable feature of these ISS EXPOSITIOX OF [Div. ii. Epistles as compared with tJie earlier ones. Paul has reminded his readers {v. 6, so v. 23) that the Gospel preached to them was preached also throughout the world. He has led out their thoughts (v. 16) to the entire visible universe and to the invisible universe beyond it, to the beginning of the world and of w^hatever began to be, and (7'. 17) to the abiding constitution of the manifold realm of creation. In Rom. v. 12 — 19 Paul traced up sin and death to the first father of the race, and taught that the purpose of salvation was coextensive with the race. He here declares that the same purpose embraces not only earth but heaven. He thus makes the cross of Christ the centre of the universe, and links with it the creation of the earliest and loftiest archangel. SECT/ON VL THE COLOSSI AN CHRISTIANS IN THEIR RELATION TO CHRIST. Ch. I. 21—23. And yoii,foJ7nerlv alie?iated as ye were and enemies by your mind in your wicked works, yet now He has j-cconcilcd -'■ in the body of His flesh, throicgh death, to present yoit holy aftd spotless and tmijti- peachable before Hi7n ; '^^ if at least ye continue in the faith founda- tio7ied and firm and not 7?ioving away from the hope of the Gospel which ye heard, the Gospel p7-eached i7i all crcatio7i midcr heave7i, of which I Paul beca7ne a 7ni7iister. 21,22. A7id you : the Christians at Colossae now conspicuously brought within the scope and operation of the all-embracing purpose of reconciliation. Alic7tated as ye we7'e : calling conspicuous atten- tion to a fact. It describes their state when this purpose found, and laid hold of, them: cp. Eph. ii. i, 5, 11. Alicnated-ones, literally 77iade-to-be-stra7igers : a word frequently used to describe men de- prived of the rights of citizens: same word in Eph. ii. 12, iv. 18; frequent in the Lxx., e.g. Ezek. xiv. 5, 7, Ps. Ixix. 9; and in classic Greek. E7iemies : either hostile to God, or men wlio have to reckon with God as hostile to them. Which of these meanings Paul intends here, we can determine only by his general conception of the Gospel. We saw under Rom. v. i that the justice of God, which as we learnt Sec. 6. COLOSSIANS \. 21—2^-,. 159 from Rom, iii. 26 forbade Him to justify believers except throiighthe death of Christ, makes Him in this sense hostile to those wlio refuse salvation from sin. Thus an obstacle to peace between God and sinners is found in the justice of God. Now Paul declares in Rom. iii. 24—26, expressly and plainly, that God gave Christ to die in order to remove this obstacle to peace. This last doctrine is, in Rom. v. 10, embodied in the words ' being enemies, we were re- conciled to God through the death of His Son,' words almost the same as those now before us. Similarly, in Eph. ii. 12, 16 men 'for77ierl\> . . . alienated from the commonwealth of Israel,' Christ came to ' reconcile ... to God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.' On the other hand, only once (Rom. viii. 7) does Paul speak of sin under the aspect of hostility to God. (Jas. iv. 4 admits, and perhaps suggests the sense that they who choose the friendship of the world are thereby placed among those who will have to reckon with God as their enemy.) And Paul never speaks of the cross of Christ as the instrument by which God moves the sinner to lay down his hostility. We are therefore compelled to interpret the words 'reconciled . . . through death' in v. 22 as meaning that by the death of Christ God removed the obstacle to peace between God and man which lay in His own justice, and thus brought us out of a position in which we had to reckon with God as an enemy into one in which we look upon Him as a friend. This interpretation of the word ' reconciled ' in v. 22 fixes in the main the meaning of enemies in v. 2\. We shall find that it will harmonize with the context ; and may therefore accept it with confidence. Possibly, however, Paul chose the word enemies the more readily because, as matter of fact, sinners are actually hostile to God. Had not Christ died, this double hostility would have been irreconcilable. Your mind : either the faculty of mental discrimination or the operation of tliat faculty ; senses closely allied. [The Greek dative merely states that this enmity has something to do \\\\X\ the readers' minds, leaving the exact relation to be inferred from the context. The simplest expositions are (i) that the mind was the seat ot the enmity, as in Eph. iv. 18 where the same word and case mean ' darkened in their mind ; ' or (2) that the mind was the instrument by means of which the enmity was brought about, as the Greek dative is used in Gal. ii. 13, Eph. ii. i, 5, 'dead by means of your trespasses.' This latter sense is required by our exposition of enemies. For their entire personality was exposed to the hostility of God. Consequently, further specification of the locality of the enmity was needless. On the other hand, we are eager to know by i6o EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. what means they became enemies of God. Exposition 2 tells us that it was by the perverted activity of their intelligence which mistook evil for good ; and which thus, instead of leading them to God, led them into the ranks of His foes. Iii your wicked works : immoral locality of this enmity. Same thought in Eph. ii. 2. Led astray by their own wicked thought they wandered among wicked actions, and thus became exposed to the just anger of God. Whether Paul intended to say that the alienation as well as the enmity were caused by his readers' perverted 7fn?id and had its locality I'ji their wicked works, we cannot determine with certainty. But, as matter of fact, the alienation and the enmity had the same instrumental cause and the same ideal locality. And the absence here (contrast Eph. ii. 12, iv. 18) of any further specification of the word alieiiated suggests that Paul intended to say this. Before stating how the divine purpose just mentioned has been accomplished in his readers, Paul describes in v. 21 their former spiritual state. Not only were they aliens destitute of the rights of sons or even of citizens but they were found in the ranks of the enemies of God. And this separation and hostility were brought about by their mistaken mode of thought revealing itself in evil actions. 22. The change wrought by God, and its further purpose. But now: see under Eph. ii. 13. It throws the present reconciliation somewhat into contrast with the former alienation and enmity. He has i-eco7icilcd : has brought out of a position in which they had to reckon with God as an enemy into one in which they can look upon Him as a friend. Same word in v. 20. As before, the Reconciler is the Father. The body of His flesh : the organized structure of flesh and blood, and therefore weak and mortal, in vvhich Christ lived on earth. Same phrase in ch. ii. 11, describing the bodies of the baptized. Contrast Ph. iii. 21 : 'the body of His glory.' This body, when nailed to the cross, is here thought of as the sacred locality in which the Father reconciled us to Himself. Cp. 2 Cor. V. 19: 'God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself;' I Pet. ii. 24, ' Himself bore our sins in His body.' Through death : the precise means of the reconciliation which took place /// the body of His flesh. In order to pn-scnt etc. : ukimate jjurpose of tin reconciliation. Cp. Eph. V. 27. J 'resent: as in Eph. v. 27, 2 Cor. iv. 14, xi. 2, Col. i. 28. J/oty: subjectively holy, i.e. all our powers actually devoted to the service of (^hrist. This is the aim of the objective,- lioliiiess whicli God's claim stamps on all oljjects claimed by Him. Skc. 6.] COLOSSIANS I. 21—23. 161 It is tlierefore the sense intended wherever hoHness is represented as a purpose of God. Spotless : as in Ph. ii. 15. It is the negative side of holiness. "Whatever is unreservedly devoted to God, is spotless ; and that only. Unimpeachable : as in i Cor. i. 8. Before Him : either God, as the same words mean in Eph. i. 4 ; or as in 2 Cor. V. 10 'before the judgment-seat of Christ.' Since Paul is speaking here chiefly about Christ, to Him probably these words refer. The Father has reconciled us to Himself in order that in the great day He may set us before the searching gaze of Christ our Judge in all the sacredness symbolised in outline in the sacred objects of the Old Covenant, without any blemish being detected by the eye of the Judge, or any charge being brought against us by any accuser. Close parallel in Eph. v. 27 ; except that there the saved are represented as given by the Son to Himself to be His own, whereas here they are placed by the Father before the Son as if for His inspection. 23. A condition on which depends the accomplishment of the foregoing purpose of God, the condition being so described as to invite fulfilment. Contimte in faith, or in yom faith : persevere in beheving the Gospel. Similar phrase in Rom. xi. 22, 23, vi. i. [The particle dye lays great stress upon the condition as absolutely essential to, and certainly followed by, the accomplishment of the divine purpose contingent on it. The present indicative, which might be rendered if-ye-are-contintcing, suggests inquiry whether we are still retaining our faith or arx-being-moved-away from it. Contrast Gal. i. 6. But Paul's words give no hint whether his readers were or were n.ot so continuing. They simply state that upon this continuance all depends.] Foimdationed : i.e. placed-upon-a-fou7idatio7i: see under Eph. iii. 17. Firm: result of being on a fotindation : same word in I Cor. vii. 37, XV. 58. And-not-moved-away : negative counterpart X.O foundationcd and fiim. [The present passive describes the pro- cess of removal as now going on.] Since the good things promised in the Gospel are contingent on continuance in faith, to surrender faith is to he moved aiv ay from the hope evoked by, and thus belonging to, the Gospel. For both hope and the blessings hoped for vanish when faith fails. Which ye heard; recalls the first preaching of the Gospel at Colossse. Similar thought in v. 5. In all creation : literally, in every creature : same words as every C7'eature in 7/. 15. Surrounded by, and within hearing of, all rational creatures the good news has been proclaimed. Under the heaven : a strong hyperbole. Every- II i62 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. where under the arching firmament the good news has been an- nounced. This is in harmony with the many proofs that this epistle was written near to the end of Paul's life. It testifies how wide- spread was the preaching of the Gospel. And we can well believe that, just as without any apostolic messenger the good news of salvation had reached Rome, so it had reached all the chief cities of the empire. The emphatic repetition of a thought already expressed in v. 6, viz. the universality of the Gospel, suggests that this thought bears upon the special circumstances of the Colossian Christians. And this we can easily understand. They were in danger (ch. ii. 4) of bci7ig 7noved away from \.h.^\r faith and hope by erroneous teaching. Now such teaching is always local. Only the truth is universal. Paul therefore lifts his readers above their immediate surroundings and reminds them that the Gospel which has given them a new hope has been also proclaimed with the same result all over the world. Of which Gospel / Paid : the writer's relation to this universal Gospel. I Paul : as in 2 Cor. x. i, Gal. v. 2, Eph. iii. i, i Th. ii. 18, Philem. 19. It brings the personality of the heroic Apostle to bear o nthe matter in hand. To forsake the Gospel, is to forsake him. Of which Gospel . . . a minister : not as now a technical term for a Christian pastor, but in its ordinary sense of one who renders free and honourable service. Paul is a minister of God, of the New Covenant, of the Church, and of the Gospel : for he does the work of God, makes known the terms of the Covenant, seeks to promote the interests of the Church, and spreads the good news of salvation. So 2 Cor. vi. 4, iii. 6, Col. i. 25, Eph. iii. 7. See note under Rom. xii. 8. The same word is found in its technical sense of deacon in Ph. i. i. In V. 5 Paul thanked God for the blessings awaiting his readers in heaven and already an object of their hope, a hope prompted by the Gospel they had heard. And now, when raising the question whether they are continuing in their early faith and are resting firmly on its sure foundation, he reminds them that upon such continuance depends the accomplishment of God's purpose for their eternal salva- tion, and that therefore to allow themselves to be carried away from that foundation is to allow themselves to be separated from the bright liope which ilhimines their path, from the Gospel preached througliout the world, and from the founder of the Churches of Asia Minor and of Greece. Thus has § 6 brought the eternal purpose of God to bear upon the readers of this Epistle ; and has linked them, through the Gospel they had heard, with Paul, its writer. This reference to Paul forms a stepping-stone to § 7. Sec. 7.] COLOSSIANS I. 24— II. 3. 163 SECTION VII. PAULS RELATION TO THE CHURCH, AND TO THE COLOSSIAN CHRISTIANS. Ch. I. 24-11. 3. Now I rejoice m my suffermgs on your behalf, and I Jill up the shortcomijigs of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh 07i behalf of His body, which is the Church ; -'" of which I becajne a minister according to the stewardship of God which was given to me for you, to fulfic the word of God, '-^ the mystejy which lay hidden from the ages aiia from the ge7ierations — but now it has been inanifested to His saifits, to ^'^ who7?t God thought fit to make known what is the wealth of the glory of this 7nystery a7no7ig the Ge7itiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glo7y ; -^ whom we an7iou7ice, ad77i07iishi7ig every ma7i a7id teachi7ig every ma7i i7i all wisdom, that we may prese7it eve7y 7na7i 77iatiire i7i Christ ; '^for which tlmig I also laborer, C07ite7idi7ig accordi7ig to His zuorki7ig which works in 77ie wth power. ^ For I wish you to know how great a struggle I have on behalj of you a7id of those i7t Laodicea, a7id as 77ia7iy as have 7iot see7t my face in the flesh, - that their hearts may be e7tcouraged, they being k7iit together i7t love a7td for all wealth of the full assurance of the U7iderstanding, for knowledge of the mystery of God, eve7i Christ, ^ i7t who77i are all the treasiu^es of wisdo7n a7id k7iowledge hiddcM. After describing Christ's relation to the Father, to the created universe, to the Church, and to the readers of this Epistle, Paul mentioned, in the closing words of § 6, himself and his relation to the Gospel. These closing words are the key-note of § 7. Paul tells us in vv. 24 — 29 his office and work in the universal Church ; and in ch. ii. i — 3 his special interest in the Churches of Colossae and Laodicea. 24. Now: 'now that I have become a minister of the Gospel. My sjifferi7tgs 07t your behalf, or for your benefit : the hardships to which Paul exposed himself by preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. They were a foreseen result of his preaching : and, had he not ex- posed himself to them, Asia Minor and Colossae would probably still have been in darkness. Similar thought in Eph. iii. i, 13; and, from a slightly different point of view, in 2 Cor. i. 6. A77iid these S7ifferi?igs, and with a joy evidently prompted by them, Paul says / rejoice. A similar joy in Ph. ii. 17. A somewhat different but kin- dred joy in Rom. v. 3. Its great Example : Heb. xii. 2. Doubtless i64 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. Paul's joy was prompted by the foreseen results of the work which exposed him to these sufferings. And I Jill up etc. : an added statement which reveals the import and dignity of these sufferings. Afflictions of CJu'ist : a phrase not found elsewhere; whereas we often read of the afflictions of His servants. By using it Paul asso- ciates His sufferings with theirs. The short-comiiigs of etc. ; implies that tJie afflictions of Christ were not in themselves sufficient to attain their end. What they fell short, Paul's sufferings y^7/ up. In my flesh : the locality of these supplementary sufferings, viz. Paul's body, this being described as fcsh, i.e. consisting of material liable to suffering and death. On behalf of His body : fuller counterpart to on your behalf. Paul explains His body by reasserting the great metaphor in v. i8: tvhich is the Church. Notice the contrast between Paul's fragile flesh, which by its constitution is weak and liable to decay, and Christ's Body, which will survive the destruction of all flesh and share the eternal life and royalty of Christ. In what sense are these strange words true ? In this sense. When Christ breathed His last upon the cross, all the sufferings needful for the complete establishment of the Kingdom of God had not yet been endured. For the full realisation of the purposes of God it was needful, not only that Christ should die for the sins of the world, but that the Gospel should be preached to all nations. This involved, owing to the wickedness of men, hardship to the preachers. This hardship Paul willingly endured in order to save men. Consequently, just as the life on earth of the servants of Christ is in some sense an extension of His incarnation, (for in them He lives, Gal. ii. 20,) so the sufferings of Paul were in a similar sense a continuation and completion of the sufferings of Christ. This is in close harmony with, and further emphasises, Paul's constant teaching that Christ's servants share all that Christ has and is and does: i Cor. I, 9, Ph. iii. 10, Rom. viii. 17. But it by no means suggests that Paul's sufferings were in any sense propitiatory or that Christ's sufferings were not so. For the one point in common here mentioned and made conspicuous by repetition is suffering on behalf . 2, 12, iii. 12, Ph. iv. 21, 22. In one sense the secret has been set before the eyes of all to whom the Gospel is preached. But inasmuch as none can see it except those whom God saves from spiritual blindness and thus claims to be His own, Paul says that it was inaiiifested to His saints. Since the manifested secret is {v. 17) that Christ is in the Colossian Christians who were Gentiles, possibly these saints were primarily the Jews who first believed in Christ and thus became His people. To them was revealed the new and great truth that believing Gentiles were to share with them the blessings of the New Cove- nant. A recognition of this truth is recorded in Acts xi. 18. 27. Further statement expounding ' the mystery manifested to His saints.' God thought-fit, or // was the will of God : cp. Eph. i. 5, 9, II. The insertion of this word detains us for a moment to look at the secret now manifested when it was only a determined purpose in the mind of God. MaJce-known; includes the subjective appro- priation of ' the mystery manifested to,' i.e. set conspicuously before, ' the saints.' What is : of what kind, and how much. The richts etc. : the abundance, making its possessors rich, of the splendour which belongs to this great secret: same phrase in Eph. i. 18, iii. 16. Cp. Col. ii. 2, Eph. i. 7, ii. 7, iii. 8, Rom. xi. 33. The spiritual wealth in Christ is a favourite conception of Paul. The frequency of the word glory to describe the splendour of the final consummation suggests that this is its meaning here. And this is confirmed by the same word at the end of the verse. Cp. ch. iii. 4, 2 Cor. iii. 7 — 11, Rom. v. 2. God was minded to make known how abundant is the splendour with which in the great day those initiated on earth into the Gospel secret will be enriched. Among the Gentiles, or in the Gentiles : same Greek preposition again in the same verse, in or ajtiong yoii : and, with similar compass, in Gal. iii. 5. It includes both senses. As matter of fact, the abundance of glory is both among the Ge?itiles as a spiritual possession of the whole com- munity, and within them as a spiritual possession enjoyed in the inner life of each one. But this full latitude of meaning cannot be expressed by any one English word. The Gentiles taken as a whole and taken individually are the personal locality of the abund- ance of glory with which this 7nystery will enrich those who know it. Similar words and connection in Eph. i. 18. The great secret was Paul's Gospel, viz. that by faith and in proportion to their faith God receives into His favour, moulds into the inward image of Christ, and will some day cover with splendour, all who believe the good Sec. 7.] COLOSSIANS I. 24— II. 3. 167 news announced by Christ. This implies that even Gentiles will be thus received and glorified. And to a Jew, e.g. to Paul, this inclusion of the Gentiles in the coming glory was the most con- spicuous feature of the Gospel revelation. To him this was the secret hidden during ages, but now manifested. Which is ; may refer grammatically either to the wealth of the glory of the mystery, throwing emphasis on the abundance of the splendour, or specifically to this mystery. This latter reference is suggested by the conspicuous repetition of the word mystery in vv. 26, 27. Moreover, Christ i7i y oil is not the abundance of the mystery, but the mystery itself, hi or 'withi7i yon is better than amotig you. For we are ever taught that Christ dwells in the hearts of His people: so Eph. iii. 17, Rom, viii. 10. The woxd. you includes the Gentile Christians to whom Paul writes. Hope of glo?y : ex- pectation of the splendour of heaven, as in Rom. v. i ; cp. Tit. i. 2. The felt presence of Christ in our hearts (cp. i Jno. iii. 24) assures us that we are in the way of life leading to endless glory. Thus Christ in tis and the hope of glory go together ; and therefore may be spoken of as equivalent. So i Tim. i, i, 'Christ Jesus our hope;' cp. Col. iii. 3. This presence of Christ in us. Himself a pledge of our eternal splendour, is a 7nystery, i.e. a secret which cannot be conveyed by human words, known only by actual experience and therefore known only by those whom God takes by the hand, leads into His own secret chamber, and teaches as only God can teach. And it will enrich the initiated with the abundant splendour of heaven. All this was for long ages a hidden purpose of God. But He had been pleased to make it known in Paul's day. ' It had been manifested to His saints.' 28. In V. 25 Paul rose from himself and his stewardship to the Gospel of God, the great mystery kept secret during long ages but now revealed. This led him to its great matter, viz. Christ. He now returns to the chief thought of § 7, himself and his work. We : very emphatic, suggesting perhaps others who acted otherwise. Paul and his companions announce Christ. Same word in Ph. i. 17, 18; I Cor. ii. I, ix. 14, xi. 26. Admo7iish : i Cor. iv. 14, x. 11, Rom. XV. 14. It includes all kinds of friendly discipline and training, as of a father, brother, or companion ; especially reproof with a view to improvement. Teaching ; is mere impartation of knowledge : cp. ch. iii. 16, Mt. xxviii. 20. Wisdom : ^^^ under i Cor. ii. 5. In all wisdojn : Col. i. 9, iii. 16, Eph. i. 8. A wisdom in which no element was lacking was the instrument of Paul's teaching. It was from God : i Cor. xii. 8, Eph. i. 8, Jas. i. 5, iii. 17. So 2 Cor. i. 12, i6S EXPOSITIOX OF [Div. ii. ' not in flcslily wisdom ; ' and i Cor. i. 17, ' not in wisdom of word.' Against these Paul sets in i Cor. ii. 6 a higher wisdom. Armed with it, he teaches every man who comes within his reach. The basis of this varied training is Christ : ivhoin we announce. That wc may etc. : practical aim of Paul's teaching. It should be the one aim of all religious teachers. Present : as in v. 22. It is Paul's appropriation of God's purpose there stated. Cp. 2 Cor. xi. 2. God reconciled to Himself the Colossian Christians that in the great day He might set them faultless before Christ the Judge : for the same end Paul corrects and teaches all within his reach. Mature or full-gj-oivn : in contrast to ' babes in Christ.' Cp. i Cor. iii. i, Eph. iv. 13, 14. See under i Cor. ii. 6. In Christ: the encom- passing element of this full growth. The emphatic repetition, every man . . . every ma?i . . . eve?y 7?ian^ makes conspicuous the uni- versality of Paul's aim. Every one he meets is to him a possibility of another fully-developed trophy presented in the final triumph. 'Consequently, every inan is an object for the discipline and teaching needful to make this possibility actual. 29. After stating in v. 28 his aim in announcing Christ, Paul now records the earnestness with which he pursues it, and the divine source of this earnestness For which thing : ' that we may present ' etc. Not only does Paul announce Christ, but also does this with an earnestness which involves weariness : / also labour. Same word and thought in Ph. ii. 16, Gal. iv. 11, i Cor. xv. 10. Contend^ i.e. in the athletic festivals : same word in i Cor. ix. 25, wliere see note, and in Col. iv. 12. It amplifies and explains I-labour. So intense are Paul's efforts to save men that he compares them to the intense bodily struggles of a Greek athlete contending for a prize against an equally earnest antagonist. Such struggle was labour of the severest kind. Same words together in i Tim. iv. 10. The word contend suggests opponents. And not only is the Christian life itself (Eph. vi. 12) a conflict with spiritual foes, but Paul had in his evangelical efforts actual human opponents : e.g. Col. ii. 4, 2 Cor. x. 10. But of such there is no hint here or in ch. ii. i. Our thougiits are concentrated on the earnestness of Paul's efforts to save men. And this earnestness sufficiently accounts for the word here used. So ch. iv. 12, where there is no thought of opponents. Accordi?tg to the workiiig : same words in Ph. iii. 21 ; see note. Underlying Paul's activity, stimulating and directing it, was a corre- sponding divim- activity. His working: probably Christ's, who has just been mentioned. But the distinction is unimportant. Tlie inward ai'tivity is from tlie Father through tlie Son. The working Sec. 7.] COLOSSTANS I. 24— II. 3. 169 which 'W07'ks : emphatic repetition; so Eph. i. 19. In me: so Ph. ii. 13, Eph. iii. 20, ii. 2. In powei' : or less accurately w///^ /(^w*?;-, i.e. clothed with abihty to produce results. And this inward working of Christ evokes, as its appropriate outworking, intense effort of Paul himself like the struggle of an athlete : according to His work- ing etc. Thus Paul's proclamation of Christ becomes labour. Notice here as in 2 Cor. x. 7 — 11 the ease with which Paul passes from ' we ' to /, and conversely. He remembers his companions and says who77i we amioitnce : he remembers his own personal and in some sense solitary effort, and says / labour, works i?t me. II. 1, For I wish etc. ; supports the foregoing assertion by a proof case, viz. Paul's inward struggle for his readers' good. Struggle, or convict: the substantive from which is derived the verb rendered ' contend ' in the last verse. It is the Greek original of our word agony ; and is the technical term for the Greek athletic contests. The verb and substantive are together also in i Tim. vi. 12, 2 Tim. iv. 7. From the aim stated in v. 2 we learn that this struggle was practically the same as that of Epaphras mentioned in ch. iv. 12, ' agonizing on your behalf in his prayers that ye may stand mature and fully assured.' O71 your behalf : i.e. for your benefit: cp. ch. i. 24, * sufferings on your behalf Laodicea : see Intro, iv, 3. Gram- matically, the words have 7iot see7i 77iy flesh might or might not include Colossse as well as Laodicea. But these words seem to give a reason for Paul's anxiety. And the reason must be valid for both Churches. Moreover, they were so near that if Paul had visited one he would almost certainly have visited the other. We therefore infer with confidence that Paul had never been in the valley of the Lycus. But he knew that there were Christians there. And so anxious was he for their good, while unable directly to help them, that his thoughts about them became a spiritual conflict. Naturally he says / %vish you to k7iow this : same words in i Cor. xi. 3 ; similar words in ch. x. i, xii. i, etc. I71 flesh ; gives greater definiteness to the bodily presence involved in see7i my face. Cp, Eph. ii. II, ' the Gentiles in flesh.' 2. Aim of Paul's struggles on his readers' behalf. It determines the nature of the struggle. E7tcou7'aged : same word as exhort in Rom. xii. i, and very common with Paul: cp. Rom. i. 12. It denotes speech designed to rouse men to courage, endurance, or action. Hearts be e7icou7'aged : same words in ch. iv, 8, Eph. vi. 22, 2 Th. ii. 17. Paul wishes the encouragement to reach the inmost centre of their emotions and the inmost source of their actions. Their: not 'your.' It suggests that this inward struggle is not I70 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. specially for the Christians at Colossac but for all whom Paul has not seen. Knit-together: same word in v. 19, Eph. iv. 16. It denotes the harmonious fitting together of various parts into one whole, each part supplementing the others and helping the whole. Iti love : mutual Christian love, as in i Cor, xiii., where see note. It is the encompassing element and bond of this union : cp. Col. iii. 14. Ye-being (or better having-beeii) knit together: this loving union one with another being the means by which their hearts arc to receive encouragevient. To the encompassing element of this union, viz. in love, Paul adds its aim : and for all wealth etc. Cp. i. 27. This aim is collateral with that already expressed, that their hearts etc. It is another purpose which Paul has in view in his earnest struggle for his readers. The unity which is to bring them encouragement is designed also to lead to the full assiirafice of the nnderstatiding, and indeed to a knowledge of the inystery of God. Full assurance : same word in i Th. i, 5, Heb. vi. 11, x. 22. The cognate verb in Col. iv. 12, Rom. iv. 21, xiv. 5, Lk. i. i. It is a certainty which fills us. Uiiderstanding : as in ch. i. 9. The full assurance results from the faculty of interpreting the various objects presented to the mind. Such assurance Paul desires his readers to have in an abundance which will make them rich ; and as a con- dition of it desires for them the unity of mutual love. More fully stated, the aim of this unity \s for knowledge of the 7nystery of God. These last words keep before us, and by keeping so long before us greatly emphasise, the thought embodied in the word ??iystery in ch. i. 26, 27. On the various readings here, see Introd. iii. 2. The last words of V. 2 may be rendered either the God of Christ or of God, ei.>cn of Christ, or the mystery of God, evc7i Christ. Tiiis last exposition is at once suggested by ch. i. 27 where ' Christ in you ' is Himself ' the mystery.' And it is confirmed by the context; and by the aim of the whole Epistle, which is to set forth the mysterious grandeur of tlie Son of God. To know Christ, i.e. to comprehend the purpose of His incarnation with an acquaintance derived from personal con- tact with Him, is to know the mystery of God, i.e. the purpose kept secret during long ages and now revealed, viz. that without respect of nationality God will receive into His favour and cover with eternal glory those who believe the Gospel. The alnne exposition is con- firmed by the word ' hidden ' in v. 3, which recalls the same word in cii. i. 26. Knowledge, or full-knowledge : same wortl in ch. i. 9, 10: cp. Eph. i. 17, ' in knowledge of Him.' 3. Statement about Christ, proving that He is ' the mystery ol Sec. 7.] COLOSSIANS I. 24— II. 3. 171 God.' I?t whom : i.e. in Christ, immediately preceding. To refer it to the more distant word ' mystery,' would be an impossible leap over the word ' Christ ' and over the important implied assertion that He is 'the mystery of God.' And it would make the word hidden almost meaningless : for all mysteries are hidden. Whereas as expounded above the word hidden justifies the assumed equivalence of * Christ ' and ' the mystery of God.' Wisdom : such acquaintance with the great reahties as enables a man to choose the best steps in life. See my Corinthians p. 47. Knowledge: acquaintance with things seen or unseen, great or small. The nearness of the nobler word wisdom, which occupies part of the ground usually covered by the word knowledge, limits somewhat this last word to matters which have come under our immediate observation. The two words are together in Rom. xi. 33, Eccl. i. 16, 17, 18, ii. 21, 26, ix. 10; in all which places except the last wisdom comes first. The word rendered treasure denotes in Mt. ii. II, xii. 35 the place where valuables are kept for safety; in Mt. vi. 19, 20, 21, the valuables themselves. Here it has the latter sense : for Christ is Himself the personal locality of the laid-up wealth. All the treasures : all the many forms of spiritual wealth with which wisdom and knowledge enrich their possessors, and which are all to be found in Christ. It is parallel with, and expounds, 'all wealth of the full assurance of the understanding.' Compare Plato, Philebiis p. I5e, 'having found some treasure of wisdom;' Xenophon, Memoirs bk. iv. 2, 9, ' not treasures of silver and gold rather than of wisdom.' In Christ this wealth of wisdom lies out of sight : hidden. The idea of concealment, frequently associated with the word treasure, does not necessarily belong to it. For laid-up wealth is not always out of sight. But the ' mystery of God ' is essentially hidde?t : close parallel in i Cor. ii. 7, ' God's wisdom, in a mystery, the hidden * wisdom. Fully to know Christ, is to know the hidden truths of priceless worth which none know except they whom God leads into His secret chamber and whose eyes He opens to see this inner light. They who know this are indeed rich. But this knowledge is possible only to those whom Christian love knits together in a union which fills their hearts with encouragement ; and only to those who are themselves in Christ and thus know and possess, in measure, whatever is in Him : in whom are all the treasures . . . hidden. Such is Paul's earnest and agonizing desire for His readers. His tender sympathy longs to cheer their hearts. But for real encourage- ment there must be loving union among themselves. Such union 172 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. will open the cliannels of the inner life, and will enrich them with an assured comprehension of the great realities known only to those who know Christ. In other words, for those whom he has never seen Paul desires the same blessings as for those to whom he has personally preached Christ. Section 7 describes Paul's relation to the Gospel which has saved his readers. The preaching of the Gospel brings upon him hard- ship. But this hardship gives him joy : for he remembers its sacred relation to the sufferings of Christ, and its sacred purpose, viz. to benefit the body of Christ. It is inseparably involved in the work, committed to him by God, of making known the great secret, precious and glorious beyond description and hidden during long ages, that Christ dwells in men on earth, a pledge of future glory. This secret Paul proclaims to all within his reach, endeavouring thus to save every one. Hence his strenuous effort for the good not only of those whom he personally teaches but of those Christians who liave never seen his face. For all men everywhere, he desires a full knowledge of the profound mystery of God which lies hidden in Christ. Division II., embracing Chs. i. 15 — ii. 3, is Paul's fullest delinea- tion of the Person and Work of the Son of God. He notes first Christ's relation to the Father, as an Image of the Invisible One ; and as born, whereas all others were created. He then notes His similar relation to the created universe, to the universal Church, and to the Church at Colossee ; viz. as the Agent through whom all things came into being. Consequently, He is earlier than the brightest in heaven, and holds together in His grasp the entire universe. Similarly, He was the first to pass triumphantly through death. As wide as the universe is the purpose of redemption : for its aim is to reconcile to God all things in heaven and earth. And the Gospel which has brought salvation to Colossae has done so in all the world. Thus throughout Div. 11. we hear again the note of universality already sounded (ch. i. 6) in Div. i. All this reminds Paul of the grandeur of the truth which in his own day God had made known to men, a truth hidden during long ages. God had given to men, not truth only, but the living presence in their hearts of Him who made the world. Himself a pledge in them of future blessedness. Remembrance of this moves Paul to strenuous effort to make Christ known everywhere. He has warned his readers that their share in the blessings hidden yet revealed in Christ depends upon their continuance in the word they have already received. How needful was this warning we shall learn from Div. 11 1. Sec. 8.] COLOSSIANS II. 4-7. 173 Notice here (cli. i. 18, 24) the important metaphor of the body of Christ, and the Gospel described (ch. i. 26, 27, ii. 2) as a mystery ; aspects of truth already conspicuous in i Cor. xii. 12 — 27 and in I Cor. ii. 7, Rom. xvi. 25, and peculiar to Paul. DIVISION III. WARNING AGAINST ERRORS. Ch. II. 4— III. 4. SECTION VIII. DO NOT FORSAKE THE TEACHING ALREADY RECEIVED. Ch. II. 4—7. This I say in order that no one 7nay delude you with persuasive speech. ^ For^ if indeed in the flesh I am absent, yet in the spirit I am with you, rejoicing a7td beholding your order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. ^ As then ye have 7'eceived Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Hifn, "^ rooted and being built up i7i Hint and being established by your faith, according as ye were taught, abounding i7i tha7iksgivi7ig. (Or abou7iding i7i it with thank sgivi7ig.) 4. Hitherto, although in ch. i. 9 we have the occasion of Paul's praise and prayer for his readers, viz. the good news about them brought by Epaphras, and although v. 23 has suggested a danger of their ' being moved away ' from the safe anchorage of their hope, we have had no mention yet of any specific aim of this Epistle. Now for the first time we have a clearly stated and definite aim, viz. to guard the Colossian Christians from erroneous teaching. / say this : not merely v. 3 ; for as w^e have seen this was added to explain and justify the words preceding. Moreover, v. 5 bears directly on V. I : and the words ' mystery of God ' in v. 2 take up similar words in ch. i. 26. Thus the words / say this recall the entire teaching of Div. n., of which indeed ch. ii. 3 is but a compact summing up. In other words, Paul's invaluable exposition of the nature and work of the Son of God was given, not merely to instruct and edify, but 174 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. as a safeguard against persuasive error. A good example for us. £he only real safeguard against the manifold religious errors is an telligent and comprehensive knowledge of the central doctrines of wve Gospel. Such expositions of truth have abiding worth even when the errors they were designed to combat have passed utterly away. Paul's method of defence makes all the difference between the living epistle before us and the obsolete Refutation of Irenseus. Delude you : ' reason you away from the line." It is a modification of Paul's favourite word reckon in Rom. ii. 3, 26, etc. ; and denotes perverse reckoning, "^'x^^v persuasive-speech : cp. Rom. xvi. 18, 'by means of smooth-speech and fine-speech deceive the hearts of the innocent ; ' i Cor. ii. 4, ' persuasive words of wisdom.' This per- suasiveness does not in itself imply error. The error lies in the word delude. What specific delusion Paul has in view, we must learn from the specific warnings following. 5. For if etc. ; explains the interest in the readers which prompted the foregoing warning, and thus tacitly and very kindly supports it. Flesh . . . spirit: favourite contrast of Paul. It is practically the same as 'body' and 'spirit' in i Cor. v. 3. While the weak and mox\.2\ flesh of Paul lingered in prison at Rome, the eye of his spirit was fixed on the Christians at Colossae. Rejoici?ig and beholding : as though the narrative of Epaphras at once gave Paul joy ; and led him to contemplate with abiding interest his readers" military regularity and solidity. Order: same word and sense in i Cor. xiv. 40 ; cognate word in ch. xv. 23 : a not uncommon military term. Firmness: or \)t.ii&T, firm-fro?it. It denotes something made firm. Of your faith i7i Christ: 'the solid front which your faith enables you to present.' Cp. Acts xvi. 5 : ' made firm by faith.' The Chris- tians at Colossae held their position as good soldiers : and their faith in Christ enabled them to present to every enemy an immove- able line of battle. The military tone of this verse suggests that looseness in faith exposes Christians to disastrous overthrow. The phrase rendered faith^in Christ is not found elsewhere in the N, T. : but we have 'faith towards God' in i Th. i. 8, Philem. 5; and a similar phrase 'believe in God' or 'in Christ' in Rom. x. 14, Ph. i. 29, I Pet. i. 8, 21, and frequently in the Fourth Gospel. The truthfulness of Paul compels us to accept these words as complete proof that the Christians at Colossae had not yet been actually led away by the delusion against which lie now warns them. If so, this verse is not only a courteous, but a necessary, recognition, in view of the warnings which follow, of their loyal adherence to the truth. Sec. 8.] COLOSSI ANS II. 4—7. 175 6. An exhortation, based on v. 5, and followed in v. 7 by collateral details of manner. Received: same word in Jno. i. 11, 'His own people received Him not.' Frequently used by Paul in reference to the Gospel he received from Christ: i Cor. xi. 23, xv. i, 3, Gal. i. 9, 12. They who welcome the good news of salvation thereby receive Christ Himself to be their Lord and their life. As then, or inas?mcch then as, ye received etc. : practical application oi v. 5. That they have received Christ and have thus obtained spiritual solidity, is good reason why they should walk in Him : cp. ch. iv. 5, 'walk in wisdom;' Eph. v. 2, 'in love.' 'Let the personality of Christ be the encompassing and guiding and controlling element of every step in life.' Cp. Gal. v. 25 : * If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.' A good beginning is reason for continuing in the same path. 7. Collateral details about the walk in life which Paul desires for his readers. Rooted, same word and form in Eph. iii. 18. It suggests stability and nourishment and life derived from inward contact with Christ : in- Him. Built-up : same composite word in Eph. ii. 20, I Cor. iii. 10, 12, 14, Jude 20. It calls attention to the foundation on which the building rises. This second metaphor adds the idea of stability derived from the mutual cohesion of various component parts. [Notice a conspicuous change of tenses. The Greek perfect ivoted denotes an abiding result of a past event : the present being-built-up describes a process now going on. Our ' walk in Him ' is a present result of our having first taken root in Christ ; and continues only so long as we retain our hold of Him. And, ^vhi^e we ualk in Him, our spiritual life, which derives stability from union with our fellow-Christians, makes progress day by day like the rising walls of a building.] Each metaphor supplements the other. The former suggests organic life, and nourishment : the latter suggests strength derived from union of various parts. The words in Hi??i forsake the metaphor of a builditig, in order to recall the foregoing exhortation, ' walk in Him,' and to keep before us the inwardness of that union with Christ from which the members of His Church derive cohesion and stability. A condition and accom- paniment of our walk in Christ is that we retain our inward grasp of Him and that by compact union with our fellows the Christian life makes daily progress in us. Being-made-finn by faith : another collateral detail supporting the foregoing metaphor by singling out and "stating in plain language its chief element, viz. immoveable firmness, and by pointing to the channel through which spiritual firmness comes, viz. faith. 176 EXPOSiriON OF [Div. iii. [The dative of instrument, as in ch. i. lo, is more likely here than that of limitation. For we need to know the channel through which comes the firmness implied in built-up rather than the particular element of our spiritual life in which that firmness is to be found : for evidently the whole man is made firm in Christ.] They who rest on the promises of God are themselves immoveable. These last words recall ' the firmness of your faith ' in v. 5. According as ye were taught : the directive rule of their faith : cp. ch. i. 7, ' according as ye learnt from Epaphras.' The teaching which already has brouglit them out of darkness into light is to be the guide of their present faith. Similar argument in Gal. iii. 3. Thanksgiving is to be associated with faith ; as in Ph. iv. 6 with prayer. And so abundant are the reasons for gratitude that Paul prescribes for his readers an overflow of thanks : abounding with thanksgivitig : cp. Ph. iv. 6. Paul reminds the Christians at Colossae that they have already accepted Christ as their Lord, and bids them now walk in Him they have received. In other words, he urges that their outward life correspond with the beginning of their Christian profession. There must be continued inward grasp of Clirist, firm cohesion with their fellows and progress, and tlie solidity which faith gives ; all this on the lines laid down by those who have led tliem to Christ, and mingled with thanks to God. As yet we have learnt nothing about the specific danger which prompted Paul's warning, except that it is one against which the foregoing exposition of the dignity of Christ will shield his readers, and one which threatens to lead them away from the path which at their conversion they entered. We wait for more definite infor- mation about the specific and plausible error Paul has in view. SECTION IX. WARNING AGAINST ERROR IN THE GUISE OF PHILOSOPHY AND JUDAISM, Cii. II. 8—15. Take heed lest there will be any one making plunder of you through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of me7i, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ. '^Because in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Sec. 9-] COLOSSIANS II. ^—1$. 177 ""^ And in Him ye are made ftdl ; who is the Head of all ^principality and authority ; '^ in whom ye were also circimicised with a circimn^ cisio7i 7iot made with hands, i7i the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, ^'-having been buried with Hi??i ifi Baptism: wherein (or in whoni) also ye were raised with Him through belief of the working of God who raised Him from the dead. ^^ And y OIL, being dead by your trespasses and the tmcircumcision oj your flesh, He has made you alive with Him, having forgiven us all the trespasses, ^^ having blotted out the handwriting against us with the dogmas, which was co?itrary to us : a?id He has taken it out of the midst, having nailed it to the cross ; ^'^ having stripped off frojn Himself the principalities and the aiithorities. He 7?iade a show of them openly, havi7ig led the7n i7i triu77tph i7i it. 8. Specific danger against which Paul warns his readers. Take- heed ox see-to-it : same word as behold m. v. 5. It denotes simply an act of sight : ' have your eyes open lest ' etc. Maki7ig-plii7ide7-- of : or literally lead-away-plunder. Paul fears lest his readers be themselves led away by an enemy as spoil. For error enslaves both body and soul. This exposition is suggested by the use in one or two places of this rare Greek word, and of similar words. It is a compound of the word used in 2 Cor. xi. 8; where Churches are said to have been plimdered by Paul who received their contribution to do work for others. Th?-ough philosophy etc. : means by which Paul feared that his readers might be led captive. Philosophy: literally love-of-wisdo77i : a common Greek word. Diogenes Laertius tells us {Lives of Philo- sophers Introd. 12) that Pythagoras was the first to call himself a philosopher or lover of wisdom, on the ground that ' no one is wise except God.' In this sense, the word is one of the noblest in human language, denoting man's effort to understand that which is best worth knowing. In a somewhat similar sense, it is used by Philo to describe the religious teaching of the Jews : e.g. vol. i. 613, ' they who philosophize according to Moses.' And Josephus speaks {A7itiq. bk. xviii. i. i, 2) of the schools of thought embodied in the Jewish sects, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, as philosophies. This last use helps us to understand how a word with an origin so good came to have, as here, a sense evidently bad. Under the guise of professed love of wisdom, men attached themselves to schools putting forth their own explanations of the phenomena of life, ex- planations for the more part artificial and baseless. Of such baseless philosophies we have abundant and various examples in the many 12 178 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. Gnostic systems prevalent in the second century, strange mixtures of the Gospel with earlier Jewish and Gentile teaching. See note on The Gnostics at the end of this Exposition. These were called philosophy : and we shall see that to something of this sort probably Paul refers here. Deceit: the teachers of this philosophy being either deceivers or themselves deceived. Empty: a hollow form of error. That both words are under one article, suggests that philosophy and error are two sides of one instrument of seduction. It claimed to be a search for wisdom : actually it was a hollow deception. A close parallel in i Tim. vi. 20, * the profane empty-voices and oppo- sitions of knowledge falsely so named.' For the precise nature of this teaching we must seek in the warnings which follow and in the foregoing exposition of truth which Paul tells us was written as a safeguard against this persuasive error. According to . . . according to . . . not according to : description, positive and negative, of the path along which the captives were led. Tradition of men: same words in Mk. vii. 8 ; cp. vv. 3, 5, 9, 13 : a close and instructive parallel. Cp. Gal. i. 14 ; and contrast i Cor. xi. 2, 2 Th. ii. 15, iii. 6. They who are led away by this philosophy go along a path marked out by no higher authority than that of men, from whom it has been handed down. All teaching is apt to become mere iraditio7i. For it is easier to learn to repeat results than to understand the processes by which they have been attained and the proofs on which they rest ; easier to accept as decisive a master's ipse dixit than to follow his reasoning. False teaching is specially liable to become a tradition. For it has no basis of truth. A con- spicuous example of tradition is found in the Talmud which consists almost entirely of assertions of celebrated Jewish teachers ; the greater part having no ground whatever except the teacher's authority. See Barclay's selections in English from the Talmud. Similarly the Gnostics handed down secret doctrines professedly received from one or other of the Apostles. The riidiinents of the world: same words and sense in Gal. iv. 3, where see note : the rudimentary teaching derived from the material world. In some sense both Greek philosophy and O. T. ritual were on their better side rudimentary forms of teaching preparatory to the Gospel. And with all false teaching are associated such rudimen- tary elements of truth. Otherwise the falsehood would not live. In Gal. iv. 3 we learn that this rudimentary teaching brings men 'under bondage.' Similarly, they who seek to lead captive the Colossian Christians would lead them along a path marked out by the tradi- Sec. 9.] COLOSSIANS II. 8—15. 179 tions of men and by the rudimentary teaching of the material world. Of these two delineations of this wrong path, possibly the traditions of men recall rather Jewish teaching ; and the rudiineftts of the world that of Gentiles. A7id not according to Christ : not taking for their guide the nature and purposes of Christ. Cp. Rom. xv, 5. And this agrees with Paul's exposition in Div. 11. of the nature and work of Christ, as a safeguard against prevalent error; and especially with the last words of this exposition, ' Christ, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.' 9. A great truth proving, as v. 8 assumes, that every path * not according to Christ ' leads astray. That which in ch. i. 19 was a divine purpose is here stated to be an abiding reality: in Him dwells. All the ftdness : as in ch. i. 19, but now defined by the words of the Godhead, or Deity. It denotes all that distinguishes God from the highest of His creatures ; all the attributes and powers of which God is full, and in which our conception of God finds its realisation. These have an abiding home in the God-Man, and are ' His fulness : ' cp. Jno. i. 14. The overflow of this fulness fills us. And because the Eternal Son wears a human body, in Him this fulness dwells bodily : i.e. in bodily form and manner. We may perhaps reverently say that in the Eternal Son dwelt from eternity the fulness of the Deity. At the Incarnation, the same fulness, dwelling unchangeably in Him, assumed bodily form. And in the glorified humanity of Christ this bodily form continues, as henceforth the abiding dwelling-place of all the perfections of God. The Son assumed bodily form in order that this fulness might fill us, supplying all our need and enabling us to attain the true aim of our being. Now, inasmuch as in Christ dwells this fulness. His nature ought to be the norm of our action. For His fulness is our hope. Conse- quently, every path which is * not according to Christ ' leads away from the goal of our life. 10. And we are etc. : 6ne step farther, viz. from Christ to His people. Ye are in Him: as your refuge and bulwark and home. Consequently, since He is full, iti Him ye are ?nade-ftill or 7nade- cofnplete : same word as in ch. i. 9, 25. It denotes a filling up of an outline of any kind. The outline here is sketched by the needs and aim of our being. They who are in Christ, and so far as they are in Him, find in Him their need supplied and their goal attained. In them remain no unfilled chasms. They have therefore no need to seek anything away from Christ. All principality and authority : same words in same order in ch. i. 16, and apparently in the same sense, viz. different ranks of i8o EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. angelic powers. Their mention here, after the earlier mention tliere, suggests very strongly that they had something to do with the error prevalent at Colosste. And this is confirmed by the same words again in v. 15 and by the mention of angels in v. 18. See further in the note under ch. iii. 4. Paul here says that, whatever angelic powers have rule or authority over men, of all such Christ is the Head. This implies that He is not only their Ruler but stands to them in the relation of the head to the various members of a living body, viz. the liv^ing and controlling source of their power and action. Consequently, any trust in angels which leads away from Christ springs from ignorance of their relation to Him. Notice that the angels, who are here said to be vitally luiited to Christ as their Head were also created by Him. In other words, their continued life depends upon their abiding union with Him from whom they first received it : and they use their powers under the direction of Him from whom these powers were derived. Doubtless it was to prepare the way for this important harmony, and thus to overturn an error which practically set the angels against Christ, that Paul taught in ch. i. 16 that 'through Him' even the angels * were created ; ' a statement nowhere found from his pen except in this Epistle written to dispel this special error. Notice also that Christ bears to thei Church (ch. i. 18) and to the angels the same relation of Head : another important harmony. Both men and angels spring from Him : and of both angels and redeemed mankind He is the Head. 11, 12a. Another important truth added to those foregoing. Not- made-with-hands : i.e. superhuman. It emphasises the absence of human agency. Contrast Eph. ii. 11. The same two words, here contrasted, are placed conspicuously side by side in Mk. xiv. 58. This superhuman circumcision has Christ for its encompassing element, being wrought in virtue of inward union with Him : in whom ye were also circui?iciscd. The laying-aside: as we take off and put away clothes. The cognate verb in ch. iii. 9, where the readers are said to have them- selves laid aside ' the old man : ' a similar verb in 2 Cor. v. 4. Also the opposite verb in Col. iii. 10, ' put on the new man ; ' and again in V. 12. The body of the flesh : the human body looked upon in its material constitution, in view of the trutli ever present to the mind of Paul (e.g. Rom. vi. 12) that through the needs and desires arising from tlie constitution of our body sin rules all those whom Christ has not saved. For in fallen man the flesh, although in itself good, has come under the domination of sin and has become a weapon Sec. 9-] COLOSSIANS II. 8—15. 181 with which sin enslaves its victims. Hence apart from Christ, man's flesh is (Rom. viii. 3) ' flesh of sin ' and his body (ch. vi. 6) a * body of sin.' Circumcision is only the outward removal, by human hands, of a small part of that body which to so many is an instrument by which sin holds them captive. But the servants of Christ have stripped off from themselves and laid aside their entire body of flesh, inasmuch as they have been completely rescued from its deadly dominion. Henceforth they stand in a new relation to their own bodies : these are no longer the throne of sin but the temple of God. I7t the laying aside of the body of the flesh : the environ- ment in which took place the circumcision 7iot iiiade with hands. While the one was done the other was done. Or, practically, the two clauses describe under two aspects the same inward experience. The two figures are linked together by the next clause : in the cir- cimicisioji of CJu^ist, the better circumcision which has Christ for its source and distinguishing mark. Having-beeJi-btcried with Him in your Baptism : another descrip- tion of this inward and spiritual circumcision, specifying also its time and outward instrumentality. A close parallel with Rom. vi. 4 : a parallel the more remarkable because in the N. T, this mode of thought is found only with Paul, and is extremely rare even with later Christian writers. Already, in Rom. vi. 3— n, Gal. ii. 20, vi. 14, we have been taught that, like Christ and in Christ, we are to be dead to sin, i.e. completely separated from it as the dead are separated from the world in which they once lived, by means of that death upon the cross by which Christ Himself was separated from the penalty and curse and power of sin under which for our sakes He once groaned ; and that consequently Baptism, the visible gate through which the convert from heathenism entered the com- pany of the professed followers of Christ, is designed to be the funeral service of the old life announcing publicly that life has ceased and separating the dead man completely from the land in which he lived. In this sense the Colossian Christians were buiied in the grave of Christ ; and this burial took place in their Baptis77i. Although this burial is evidently metaphorical, we have no hint that Baptis7n refers to anything except the outward rite. Indeed the metaphor needs the outward rite as its basis and explanation. And in Rom. vi. 3, so similar in thoiight and expression, ' baptized for Christ ' refers indisputably to the rite, of which Paul goes on to explain the inward significance. The sudden and conspicuous introduction of a new topic, ci7-cu77i- cised . . . circu77tcisio7i . . . cirac77icisio7i, in this warning against i82 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. error suggests irresistibly that, as in Galatia (Gal. v. 2, 3) so in Colossae, the false teachers insisted on circumcision as a condition of salvation. This reveals a Jewish element in the error here com- bated. (In V. 16 this suggestion is placed beyond doubt.) Paul declares that circumcision by the hands of men is needless for the servants of Christ because they have already undergone a more complete circumcision, that in the Baptism by which they were out- wardly and formally joined to Christ their whole body, not a mere fragment of it, looked upon as a body of sin, its real earlier condition, was buried in the grave of Christ. Consequently, they have actually experienced that circumcision of the heart of which Moses and the Prophets (Dt. xxx. 6, Ezek. xliv. 9) so frequently spoke as the real condition of spiritual blessing. 12b. Wherein also: or in whom also. Grammatically, each rendering is equally admissible : and the context affords no sure ground of decision. On the one hand, ' Baptism ' is the nearest antecedent: and raised with Him evidently supplements 'buried with Him,' recalling forcibly the ancient mode of the rite (see under Rom. vi, 4) and the baptismal water under which the convert sank and from udiich he rose. Paul may wish to say that in their Baptism his readers were not only buried, but also raised, with Christ. On the other hand, Christ in His relation to His people is the chief thought of the whole sentence : ' in Him dwells ' and ' in Him ye are,' vv. 9, 10 ; ' who is the Head,' v. 10 ; and ' in whom also ye were circumcised,' v. 11, where the first three words are the same as in v. 12b. Paul may wish to say, still thinking of the dignity of Christ, that in Him we have been not only circumcised \v\i\\ a superhuman circumcision but also raised together with Christ tlwou^h faith. It cannot be objected that our resurrection is not with Him but in Him. It is both in Him, resulting from inward union with Him, and with Him, introducing us to a life enjoyed by fellowship with Him. So expressly Eph. ii. 6, ' raised together with Him . . . in Christ Jesus.' This latter exposition is slightly favoured by the added words through faith. For to say that in Baptism they were raised through faith is somewhat clumsy : whereas the words ' buried with Him in Baptism ' would be evenly balanced by the addition, in Him ye were also raised through faith. But confident decision is impossible ; and unimportant. For each exposition embodies a truth. The command of ("hrist made Baj)tism, to those not yet baptized, whether Jews or heathens, a condition of His favour; and therefore the only ordinary way to the new life which flows from His death, l)urial, and resurrection. In this correct sense, in Sec. 9-] COLOSS/AXS U. S—i^. 183 their Baptism the Colossian Christians liad risen with Christ. On the other hand, their resurrection was in Christ as well as with Christ. For it both resulted from inward contact with Him and placed them by His side. Through faith : the constant condition of salvation in all its aspects; Ph. iii. 9, Eph. ii. 8, iii. 12, 17, Rom. iii. 22, etc. Working : see under Ph. iii. 21. It was the active power of God raising Christ from the dead. A close and important parallel in Eph. i. 19, Faith or belief of the working etc. : belief that the activity of God raised Him from the dead. According to a common Greek construction, the genitive specifies the object of faith, and in this case the object- matter. So Ph. i. 27, 2 Th. ii. 13. Similarly, in Ph. iii. 9, Eph. iii. 12, Rom. iii. 22, 26, it specifies the personal object of faith. These words assert that saving faith (like that of Abraham, Rom. iv. 21) rests upon the recognised power of God. The phrase raised together with Christ is found also in ch. iii. i, Eph. ii. 6. In this last place the readers are said to be also ' seated with Christ in the heavenly places.' Similarly, believers are crucified, dead, and buried, with Christ: v. 20, Rom. vi. 6, 11, 4. This re- markable teaching is both very familiar to Paul and peculiar to him. It demands our best attention. Under Rom. vi. 6 we have learnt that we are dead and crucified with Christ in the sense that we have shared with Him the results of His own death, that through His death upon the cross we have escaped completely, as He escaped, from the penalty and burden and dominion of sin. The day will come when we shall share to the full the results of His resurrection and ascension : for, ourselves risen from the dead, we shall sit with Him upon His throne in endless life. In that day we shall sa}^, I am risen with Christ and through Christ and in Christ. For we shall share His throne, this being a result of His resurrection and ascension, and of our inward union with Him, a union begun on earth. For, had He not risen, we should not have believed in Him, and should not rise with Him, Now, when a future event is absolutely certain, we sometimes speak of it as present or past. For the future seems inadequate to express such certainty. Just so, as Paul looked forward with perfect con- fidence to the day when he will sit with Christ in glory, and re- membered that no hostile power could prevent that glory, he felt that it was already his. And when, looking back to the cross and to the empty grave of Christ, he remembered that all the glory awaiting him was a result of His death and resurrection, and felt in his own heart and life the presence and power of the Risen i84 EXPOSITION OF [Div. in. One bearing him forward to the great consummation, the intervals between Christ's resurrection and his own conversion and between his present life on earth and the realisation of his hopes in the great day seemed to vanish from his view; and he felt himself to be already risen and enthroned with Christ. This anticipatory language is the more easy because a certainty touching the future is to a large extent an actual present influence upon us. Our confident hope becomes a mental platform on which we stand and from which we view all things. The heir to vast estates looks upon them as already his own ; and takes them into all his plans for life. In this sense Paul was already risen with Christ. In his Baptism he had been laid in His grave : for it was a formal declaration that in Christ his old life of bondage had ceased. And through a faith grasping the infinite power which raised Christ from the grave Paul was himself made a sharer of the immortal life to which His resurrection and ascension had introduced the humanity of Christ, already a sharer virtually of tliat victory over death which will soon, as it seemed to him, be his in outward bodily reality. Notice that faith is the link between Christ's resurrection and our own. Our assurance that the power of God is able to raise the dead enables us to believe that God actually raised Christ. A result of this faith will be that the same power will raise us. And a foretaste of that final resurrection we have in the new life which the power of God has already breathed into us, and which reveals itself day by day in victory over sin and communion with the spiritual world. In Eph. i. 19, 20, this relation between the resurrection of Christ and our present spiritual life is further expounded. 13. Another statement, in a somewhat different, yet related, form, of the great change described as 'risen with' Christ. And you : in addition to Christ whom ' God raised from the dead.' It emphasises by repetition this second resurrection. Same words in ch. i. 21, where they add, to God's purpose to reconcile all things to Himself in Christ, the actual reconciliation of the readers of this Epistle ; similarly Ejjh. ii. i. In ch. i. 21 Gentile Christians were contrasted with Jewish Christians. But the word *ye-were-raised ' in ch. ii. 12, which certainly includes Gentiles, forbids such" contrast here. At the same time tliese introductory words raise into great jirominence the Colossian Christians to whom Paul now writes : and the words iincircumcisiun of your flesh remind us that they were Gentiles. By trespasses: the instrument with which these dead ones were slain. Same words and sense in E|)h. ii. I. Sec. 9-] COLOSSIANS II. 8—15. 185 In what sense theseimen were formerly dead, must be determined by Paul's general system of thought. Since they were manifestly living, tlieir death could not be that of the body. Since it was caused by trespasses, and was connected with imcircumcisiojt, it could not be inherited depravity resulting from Adam's ' one trespass:' Kom. v. 18. Moreover, the dead ones have been made- alive in close connection with the resurrection of Christ, and their trespasses have been forgiven. Now we remember that (Rom. vi. 23) tthe wages of sin is death. This death can only be utter ruin of body and soul. It wall be consummated (2 Th. i. 9, Mt. x. 28) in the day of judgment. But inasmuch as sinners are already beyond reach of salvation except by the power of Him w-ho raises the dead, and are separated from the Source of Life, a separation producing moral corruption, Paul correctly and frequently speaks of them as already dead. See under Rom. vii. 9, Eph. ii. 1,1 Tim. v. 6: also Jno. v. 24, 25, a most important coincidence enabling us to trace the teaching of Paul to the Hps of Christ; i Jno. iii. 14, Rev. xx. 14. Just as a dead and a sleeping child differ chiefly in that, whereas the latter will wake up to life, activity, growth, and manhood, nothing awaits the former except corruption and worms, a difference which all human power fails utterly to bridge, so and in infinitely greater degree differ those whom God has, and those whom He has not, 7?tade alive together with Christ: cp. Jno. v. 25. Such was the awful former position of the Colossian Christians. They had com- mitted trespasses : and these trespasses were bars shutting them up in the doom and gloom of eternal corruption. Uncircu7ncisio7i : joint cause with trespasses of this death. Or rather it places their death by reason of trespasses in its relation to their outward separation from the ancient people of God. Similar thought in Eph. ii. 11, 12. The uncircumcised bodies of the Colossians once bore witness to their separation from the God of Abraham and from the chosen nation of the Old Covenant. By commanding circum- cision God had claimed for His own the human body. The heathen live in ignorance or rejection of this claim and are thus outside the Covenant. The words uncircumcision of your flesh came the more easily to Paul's pen because, in the heathen, with absence of the seal of the Covenant was associated moral bondage to the rule of the bodily life. Such was the terrible position of those to whom Paul now writes. They had again and again fallen into sin, and were as their bodies bore witness outside the Covenant of God. Consequently, they were separated from the only life worthy of the name, and were i86 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. under the dominion of eternal corruption, a dominion from which no earthly power could save them. Has-made-alivc : has removed all that is involved in the word death. By reuniting them to Himself, the source of life, God breathed into them new vital power, a power opening to them a prospect of endless development and activity, a spiritual develop- ment already begun. Yoic together zvith Him : a very emphatic mode of asserting that God has so joined us to Christ that the act by which He gave life to the sacred corpse in the grave gave im- mortal life also to us. This is really equivalent to the statement in V. 12, *ye were raised together with Him,' But this statement now before us looks at the inward spiritual life received by believers, when they believe, in consequence of the life then breathed into the Saviour's lifeless body. Verse 1 2 looked at their removal from the realm of spiritual death and restoration to the land of the living resulting from Christ's uprising from the sleep of death. Both expressions are again together in Eph. ii. 5, 6. The words before us are the more suitable here because the new life thus received is derived each moment from vital inward contact with the Risen Lord. All the trespasses : suggesting many sins, and an all-embracing pardon. Having-forgiven etc. : a condition involved in this new life. Since surrender to death is the just and inevitable punishment of sin, restoration to life implies forgiveness ; and necessarily follows it. Just so, to a man doomed to die, pardon is life. Forgiven: literally bestowed-favour-iipon : same word in Rom. viii. 32, Phil. i. 29, ii. 9 ; and in the same sense in Col. iii. 13, 2 Cor. ii. 7, 10, xii. 13. By the change from yoii to tis^ Paul puts himself among those whose trespasses are fo7giveii . 14. This forgiveness is now traced to the cross of Christ, the means by which was removed the obstacle to forgiveness which lay in the written lav/. It is added in the form of a second parti- cipial clause, which passes, according to the frequent habit of Paul in matters of great importance, into direct assertion. Blofted-out, literally washed-out: a common word for complete removal of writing. The defective nature of ancient ink made it ca5;y. Same word and sense in Rev. iii. 5, Acts iii. 19, Ps. Ixix. 29, Dt. ix. 14; and, in a similar sense, in Rev. vii. 17, xxi. 4. TJie handivritiiig : a later Greek word, usually in the sense of a written obligation ; so Tobit V. 3, ix. 5. In this sense it passed without change into Latin. Dogma : an exact reproduction in English of the Greek word here used. It denotes something which ' seems good,' e.g. an opinion Sec. 9-] COLOSSIANS II. 8—15. 187 which commends itself as true or a course of action which commends itself as wise. It is frequently used for the expressed judgments of the Greek philosophers, for a joint resolution touching some united action, and for the decrees of an authority which claims to determine the conduct of others. So in Lk. ii. i, * there went out a decree from Csesar Augustus ; ' Acts xvii. 7. The decisions of the conference at Jerusalem (Acts xv. 23 — 29) are in ch. xvi. 4 called dog77tas. Similarly Ignatius To the Magnesians (ch. 13) speaks of • tlie decrees of the Lord and of the Apostles.' In this verse the dog7nas must be the various commands, ritual or moral, of the Law of Moses, looked upon simply as the decrees of an authority claiming to direct and control man's conduct. For the handwriting agaiiist us can be no other than the Law of Moses which Paul speaks of in 2 Cor. iii. 6 as 'the letter which kills.' And this condemnatory document is the chief feature of the Old Covenant. The connection between the handwriti7ig and the dog7nas is not determined by the grammatical construction ; but is left to be inferred. Perhaps it is easiest to understand it as the ha7idwriti7ig written with the dog77ias, as in Gal. vi. 11 we have an 'epistle written with (large) letters.' But, however we render these words, their meaning is clear. The Law was made up of dogmas, i.e. of commands claiming simply obedience. And these decrees gave to the Law its power agai7ist us : for we had broken them ; and they cried out for punishment. Which was co7itrary to us: a very conspicuous repetition, given as an express assertion, of the words agai7tst us. This remarkable emphasis indicates Paul's chief thought in this verse, a thought ever present to his mind, viz. the condemnation pronounced by the Law, and the barrier thus erected between man and God. .Similarly, in Rom. vii. 3 the law of marriage condemns a married woman to bondage while her (bad) husband lives. Such a law seemed to be against her best interests. Usually, the word rendered ha7tdw7iii7ig denotes something written by the person whom the writing binds. It is not so here. Man is bound by a law written not by himself but by God. But this does not in the least degree make Paul's language inappropriate. The essential point is obligation resting upon a written document. By whom written is immaterial. Indeed it is the national law not made by us which gives its binding force to the bond we have our- selves signed. Another point is that the document consists of decrees claiming obedience. The word dog77ias proves that the ha7idwriti7ig was the Law of Sinai, which consisted entirely of written decrees. For the law 1 88 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. written on the heart, (Rom. ii. 15,) although marking out certain actions as forbidden, would hardly be thus described. The change in 7/. 13 from 'you' to 'us' made it easy for Paul to write of the Law of Moses as hostile : for doubtless, as a Pharisee, he had often quailed under its condemnation. And in this condemnation even the heathen were included. For we read in Rom, iii. 19 that the Law was given to Israel to make the whole world silent and guilty before God. The Law of Sinai proves that all men are under the anger of God. For it awakens the law written within, and through tliat inner law pronounces sentence even upon those who have never heard of the God of Israel. The mention of forgiveness recalls to Paul's thoughts the tremen- dous sentence written in unmistakable characters in the commands of the ancient Law. He remembers that in former times this written law had seemed to be his worst enemy. And even now forgiveness can come only by blotting out its terrible deaxcs. And He has taken it away out of the midst: a restatement, in the form of direct assertion, of what is already implied in blotted-out. The writing completely erased is here described as an obstacle removed. [The Greek perfect suggests the abiding result of the removal of the great barrier blocking the way to forgiveness.] Having nailed it to the cross: means by which the obstacle was removed. The person holding the bond has driven a nail through it and fastened it to the cross of Christ, thus making it invalid. This is a very graphic way of saying that the obstacle to forgiveness which lay in the Law, i.e. in the justice of God of which the Law is an embodiment, was removed by means of the death of Christ. Prac- tically, the nails which fastened to the cross the hands and feet of Jesus, and thus slew Him, pierced and rendered invalid the Law which pronounced our just condemnation. 15. Perhaps the most obscure verse in the New Testament. Its obscurity arises from our ignorance of the precise nature of the error here combated. [The verb eVSuco denotes ' to take off clothes.' Tlie very rare verb a'niKhvo\iai adds the idea of laying aside the stripped off clothing. An accusative following these verbs may denote either the person unclothed or the clothing taken off: for both ])erson and clothes are tlirect objects of the act of unclothing. The middle voice denotes most simply removal of one's f)wn clothing. In this sense it occurs in cii. iii. 9; and the corresponding abstract substantive in ch. ii. II. But the middle voice of all sorts of Greek verbs denotes not infre- (juently merely an action for the beneiit of the actor. This would Sec. 9-] COLOSS/A A'S IL ^—1$. 189 allow us to take f/ie pri7icipalihes etc. as the persons unclothed. And this is done by the Vulgate, which renders expolians princip. etc. But we cannot think that Paul would use in this more remote seiise, without any indication of his meaning, a word so commonly used in, and therefore naturally suggesting, the simple meaning of laying aside one's own clothes. The p?incipalities and the aiithoiities may be either the clothing laid aside, or may belong only to the next verb made-a-show-of as its direct object, the clothing laid aside not being specified. This seems to have been the favourite exposition of the Latin Fathers, who suppose that the clothing laid aside was the human flesh of Christ. Their rendering would be, 'having stripped Himself of His own body by death, * He made a show of the principalities,' etc. This exposition has found its way into the mss. FG, which read ' having laid aside the flesh, He made a show ' etc. Probably the word Jlesh was an explanatory note which was afterwards copied into the text: a frequent source of error in the text of the N. T. To this exposition it is an objection that, by putting the object before the verb it gives to the angelic powers a prominence not easily explained. On the other hand, the Greek Fathers generally accept the other interpretation, viz. that the principalities etc. were themselves the garment laid aside and the object of the public show. This interpretation agrees so well with the grammatical structure of the verse that we may, with most modern commentators, accept it.] Two questions remain. The pri7tcipalities and the authorities are undoubtedly successive ranks of angels. Are they good or bad ? And did God or Christ strip them off from Himself ? In V. 10 and ch. i. 16, where the same words are found in the same order, they certainly denote good angels, as does the word * angel ' when not otherwise defined. But, that here the angelic powers are said to have been stripped off and laid aside, suggested to the Greek Fathers that Paul refers to hostile, and therefore bad, angels. This is the plain reference of the same words in Eph. vi. 12 ; where, however, the meaning is made quite clear by the foregoing mention of ' the devil ' and of strenuous conflict, and by the absence of any mention of good angels. But to the Colossians Paul says nothing about hostile angels : in v. 10 he uses the words before us of good angels : and in v. 18 we have, based upon this verse, a dissuasion from ' worshipping of angels,' such worship being incon- ceivable except as rendered to holy beings. Again, the principalities etc. are here looked upon as a robe which must have been previously \ worn, or it could not have been laid aside. In what sense could I90 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. evil spirits be, thus conceived ? Only by supposing that in their attack on the Incarnate Son they clung to Him like a deadly robe, and that in repelling their attack He stripped them off from Himself. But I do not know that enemies attacking are ever so described : and of such desperate struggle with evil powers we have as yet in this place no hint. Another serious objection is that this exposition involves a change of subject of which we have no indication. Certainly in v. 13 it is the Father who has made us alive together with Christ and forgiven us all trespasses. In v. 14 there is no hint of change of subject. For it is in perfect liarmony with Paul's thought to say that the Father blotted out the liandwriting against us and nailed it to the cross. Indeed God is said in Rom. iii. 25, 26 to have given Christ to die in order to reconcile the justification of believers with His own justice. \iv. 15 refers to Christ repelling an attack of evil spirits, we have a most important change of actor in the scene before us which could hardly have been made in perfect silence. An exposition surrounded by such difficulties can be accepted only after all others have failed. Is there any sense in which until the death of Christ and no longer tlie angels of heaven were, or might be spoken of as, a robe of God ? There is. In Gal. iii. 19 we read that the Law was ' ordained by the agency of angels : ' see my note. The whole argument in Heb. i., ii., especially ii. 2 ' the word spoken by the agency of angels,' implies that they were the medium through which the revelations of the Old Covenant were given. If so, we may speak of these bright messengers as the robe in which God revealed Himself to men during long ages. Only under the veil of angelic forms and through angel lips did they see His face and hear His voice. Even at the Incarnation (Lk. ii. 9) God approached man in the same mysterious garb. But in Christ the veil was laid aside. Through the lips of the Incarnate Son God spoke to man face to face and revealed His unveiled glory. He thus stripped off and laid aside the garb He had previously worn. This action of God is a strong reason why the Colossian Christians should not {t.>. 18) 'worship angels.' To do so, is to cling to a superseded mode of Divine re- velation. The prevalence of this error suggested this mention of angelic powers. In Christ the Law as a means of salvation has passed away, having been nailed {%>. 14) to His cross : therefore none may now {v. 16) pronounce sentence against others on legal grounds. And in Christ God has {v. 15) laid aside the visible mediation of angels: consequently, no one (7/. 18) may any longer worship them. Sec. 9.] COLOSSIANS II. 8—15. 191 Openly : i.e. without reserve, telling the whole truth. Same word in 2 Cor. iii. 12. By laying aside the mediation of angels, God revealed the whole truth about them and their relation to Himself and to men. They are seen to be our helpers not our lords. Havi7ig-led-them etc. : an exposition of the foregoing, describing the manner of this unreserved and public show of the discarded angelic robe. Led-in-triumph : same word as in 2 Cor. ii. 14, where see note. If the principalities etc. were enemies, this word would naturally suggest a train of captives led along as in a Roman triumph and revealing by their number the greatness of the victory. And it must be admitted that this natural connection of thought favours the exposition of the Greek Fathers noticed and rejected above. But the serious objections to it, stated above, outweigh this support. Moreover apparently the word denoted originally the peaceful Greek processions in honour of Dionysius : and this made more easy its use by Paul when thinking only of a public procession and not of the military victory implied in a Roman triumph. How did God, in Christ or in His cross, lead the angels, good or bad, in triumphal procession and thus make them a public show ? Perhaps in two ways. The changed position of angels in the New Covenant as compared with the Old was itself a conspicuous mani- festation by God of their subordination to the Son. It made plain to all men that they were no longer His medium of revelation to man. Again, their occasional appearance around the person of Christ is another public mark of their changed position. They are now manifestly subordinate to the Son as His servants : e.g. Mt. iv. II, Lk. xxii. 43, Mt. xxviii. 5; xxiv. 31, xxvi. 53. In the N. T. angelic mediation as a means of revelation to man is almost laid aside ; and angels appear only to pay homage to the Son or to help His servants ; in other words, as swelling the train of Christ the Conqueror. The incompleteness of this explanation is perhaps due to our ignorance of the exact nature of the error this Epistle was designed to overturn. The last words oiv. 15 may be rendered with equal right in Hijn or in it. The former rendering is better. For it was in the entire personality of Christ rather than in His ' cross ' and death that God revealed the subordinate position of angels. And this suits the scope of § 9, of which Christ and His relation to us are the chief feature. In Him was manifested to men the victory of God involved in the establishment of the New Covenant. The exposition implied in the Vulgate is maintained by Meyer : that of the Greek Fathers by Ellicott and Lightfoot. The exposition 192 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. I have adopted differs little from that of Alford, and from that advocated by Findlay in a very able paper in The Expositor, ist series, vol. x. p. 403 and in the Pulpit Covwiciitary. Mr. Findlay has done good service b}- calling attention to the original connection of the Greek word rendered triiunph vvitii the Dionysiac processions. In Section 9 the warning already given in § 8 becomes much more definite. The error warned against is called philosophy, i.e. an attempt to reach the realities underlying the phenomena around ; and is further described as empty deception. Its source is mere human tradition : and what good it possesses belongs only to the rudimentary teaching common to the whole human race. In con- trast to it, Paul points to Christ as the norm of Christian belief and practice. In Him dwells all completeness ; a completeness shared by all who dwell in Him. To Him bow the hierarchy of heaven. And even the blessings of the Old Covenant belong to His servants by their union with Him in Baptism. So closely are they joined to Him that they have lain in His grave, and already share His resurrection life. This life implies, as its condition, forgiveness of sins. And this forgiveness is traced to the death of Christ, by which was removed the barrier to forgiveness based upon the ancient Law or ratlier upon the eternal justice of God of which that law was a literary embodiment. In the Old Covenant God revealed Himself to men in the garb of angelic agency. But in these better days that garb has been laid aside : and those bright spirits, who in former times appeared as the highest powers on earth, bearers of the might of God, appear now merely as swelling the train of One Greater than themselves. Notice in this warning, as marked features of the error combated, philosophy and tradition, angelic powers and circumcision. This suggests that the error contained both thcosophic and Jewish elements. And this suggestion will be confirmed in § 10. We notice also that, to guard against this error, Paul relies wholly on a setting forth of the Christian's_rclati,Qii to Chris t. This ex- plains the full expositicn in Div. 11., bef(jre the error is mentioned, of the Person and Work of Christ. Sec. io.] COLOSSIANS II. i6— III. 4. 193 SECTION X. WARNING AGAINSI VARIOUS DOGMAS, JEWISH OR GENTILE, CONTRARY TO CHRIST. Ch. II. 16— III. 4. Let not any one the?t judge you in eatiiig or i?i drinking, or in a matter of a feast or of a new tnoon or of a sabbath, ^' which thiftgs are a shadow of those to come, but the body is Christ's. ^^ Let 710 one rob you of your prize, desiring to do it in lowliness of mind and worshipping of a^igels, investigating things which he has seen, vaifily puffed up by the miiid of his flesh, ^^ and not holding fast the Head, from wJioin all the body, through the joints and bands 7-eceiving supply and being k7iit together, i7ic7-eases zuith the i7icrease of God. -^ If ye died with Christ from the 7-2cdime7its of the zuo7ld, why as though livi7ig 171 the world are ye placed U7ider dog7nas ? ^^ ' Handle 7iot, 7ior taste, nor touch,' -^ {all which thi7igs are to pe7dsh i7i the nsi7ig up of them,) according to the C07n77ia7idme7its and teachi7igs of 7nen : -^ t/migs which have i7ideed a repute of wisdom i7t will- wo7-ship a7id lowliness of mi7id a7id U7tspari7ig t7-eat?fie7tt of the body, 7tot i7i a7iy value against indulge7ice of the flesh. ^ If the7i ye have bec7i 7-aised together with Christ, seek the things above, whe7'e Christ is, sitti7ig at the 7ight ha7id of God : -7ni7id tJie thi7igs above, 7iot those upo7i the ea7-th. - For ye are dead, a7id your life lies hidde7i with Christ i7i God. if Whe7i Christ shall be 7na7ii- fested, your life, the7i also ye with Him will be 7na7iifested i7i glory. This section falls into three clearly marked divisions, each com- prising four verses. Ch. ii. i6 — 19 specifies the errors referred to in the more general warning of § 9, distinguishing their Jewish {vv. 16, 17) and theosophic {vv. 18, 19) elements: ch. ii. 20 — 23 brings to bear against them one factor of the positive teaching in § 9, viz. our death with Christ : and ch. iii. i — 4 brings to bear upon them another factor, viz. our resurrection with Christ. 16. Practical application of the foregoing, especially of v. 14. ' Since God has nailed to the cross of Christ, and thus made invalid, the written obligation of the Old Covenant with its decrees, do not submit to any one's award of praise or blame on the ground of its prohibitions or prescriptions : for these have passed away.' Eati7ig . . . dri7iki7ig : same words in Rom. xiv. 17, and similar 13 194 EXPOSITION OF [Div. in thought; cp. V. 13, Met us no longer judge one another.' They might refer, as they do associated together in Rom. xiv. 21, to meat and wine offered in sacrifice to idols. But, that this is not Paul's main reference here, is proved by v. iGb, which mentions distinctively Levitical ordinances, by the mention in 7/. 11 of circumcision, which involves obedience to the whole Law of Moses, and the mention in V. 14 of a written obligation. The word eating refers therefore chiefly to the Levitical prohibition of unclean animals as food. The word drinking suggests tliat the would-be judges extended to them- selves the Mosaic prohibition of wine to Nazarites (Num. vi. 3) and (Lev. X. 9) to priests while officiating at tlie altar. In other words, they not only maintained the abiding obligation of the Law but also claimed to belong to the narroweKd)-cle of Nazarites, and possibly wished to force into it the entire Church of Christ. Paul's protest against this judgment is in close accord with Rom. xiv. 13, 14. And it is a complete abrogation of the Law of Moses, of which a con- spicuous feature was distinction of meats. Feast . . . 7iezv-7?ioon . . . sabbath : same words in same order in Ezek. xiv. 17, Hosea ii. 11 ; in the inverse order in i Chr. xxiii. 31, 2 Chr. ii. 4, xxxi. 3. Feast: a yearly festival, as in Acts xviii. 21, Mt. xxvi. 5, xxvii. 15, Lev. xxiii. 4, etc. Neiv-nwon : same word in Num. xxviii. 11 — 15: it refers to the special sacrifices at the beginning of each month. Sabbath : the weekly day of rest. This is the ordinary meaning of the word ; and is determined here by the ascending scale of frequency, annual, monthly, weekly. These three terms include all tiie sacred seasons of the Jewish year. 17. A shadozv : an intangible outline caused by, and revealing the approach of, a solid reality. Im{)ortant coincidence of language and thought in Heb. viii. 5, x. i. Indeed this verse contains the germ of very much in that Papistic. The things to come ; or about to be: either the New Covenant or the eternal glory. There is no grammatical objection to the former : for the future must be mea- sured, as in Rom. v. 14, from the point of view of the shadow or type. And the Jewish restrictions and sacred seasons suggest at once by contrast our present service of Christ. On the other hand, since the shadow was still existing, though fadin;^, when Paul wrote, the words things to come seem to point forward to the far future. So Heb. viii. 5 : 'shadow of tiie heavenly things.' Indeed the dis- tinction is unimportant. For Christian life on earth receives its real worth from the glory awaiting the children of God. Just so the day- dawn is of worth cjiiefly as herald of the day. The prescriptions of the Old Covenant were outlines botji of the Gospel and the spiritual Sec. io.] COLOSSIANS II. i6— III. 4. 195 life which it at once imparts and of the eternal temple and service and sabbath. Even the old restrictions of food have their counter- part in a loyalty to Christ which controls our food and all the little details of life: e.g. i Cor. viii. 13. The body, i.e. the solid and tangible reality, {of the things to come,) is Chrisfs, i.e. belongs to Him, so that he who has Christ has the reality whose approach was dimly foreshadowed by the Old Covenant. Cp. Josephus, Jewish JVars bk. ii. 2. 5, ' asking a shadow of royalty when he had seized the substance (or dody) of it.' In Heb. x. i, the contrast is between a mere outline cast by a shadow and a complete picture or 'image.' Possibly here the choice of the word body was prompted by the use Paul had made of it in Col. ii. 17. Verse 17 supports v. 16. Since Christ is ours, with all He has and is, we have the reality dimly outlined in the ancient ordinances. Consequently, the ancient ritual, once of value as an outline of things to come, is now worthless. Thus, as throughout this Epistle, Christ is Himself a sufficient safeguard against all error. The warning in v. 16 proves how far Paul was from placing the Lord's Day in the same category as the Jewish Sabbath. And this warning is not altogether needless now. For it is possible to degrade into a mere prescribed rite this precious and abiding gift of Christ to His Church. That this warning does not in any way contradict the divine authority and abiding validity and infinite value of the Lord's Day, I have in my note under Gal. iv. 1 1 endeavoured to show. 18. Another warning. Whether it refers to another class of false teachers or to another element in the teaching combated in w. 16, 17, Paul's words do not indicate. Rob-of-thc-Prize : by giving as an umpire an unfavourable judgment. This one word is a compound of that rendered //vs'^ in i Cor. ix. 24, Ph. iii. 14. And the prize is in each case the same, viz. eternal life, the reward of victory in the good fight of faith: i Tim. vi. 12. In v. 16 some one is supposed to be pronouncing sentence on the ground of eating and drinking. Here some one is supposed to be setting up himself as umpire in the Christian race and judging the prize in a spirit hostile to Paul's readers. [Notice the present imperative in vv. 16 and 18. It suggests that what the false teachers are already saying practically amounts to a hostile judgment.] Paul warns his readers not to submit to the judgment of the one or the other. And his words imply that such submission will rob them of the hope which is to them the light of life. Lowliness-of-mifid : same word in Ph. ii. 3. Whether it was real or only professed, Paul does not say. In either case his warning 196 EXPOSITION OF [Div. in. remains the same. Worship : the outward form of religious adora- tion : same word in Acts xxvi. 5, Jas. i. 26, 27. This outward adoration, these men paid to the angels. Wishing to do so in (or iviUi) lowli?iess of mind etc. : description of the profession and outward action of the would-be umpire. (For the lowliness of mind must in some way have made itself known.) We may conceive him pretending to be unworthy immediately to approach God or the Son of God, and therefore in his humility directing his worship towards the created spirits who from heaven minister to the needs of men on earth. Paul says that what such men actually wish is to deprive his readers of the prize for which they are running the Christian race. [The object-matter of this wish must be inferred from the long word foregoing. P^vidently the would-be umpire wished to give a hostile decision. So 2 Pet. iii. 5, 'this lies hidden from them, they wishing it to be hidden.' The Greek phrase here, QkXaiv iv, is found in the Lxx. as a rendering of a Hebrew phrase denoting ' to take delight in.' But in this sense it never took root in the Greek language ; and therefore is not likely to be so used here. Moreover, , a man's own delight in these things would do no harm to Paul's Veaders unless he tried to force his own religious tastes upon them. But, however we understand the grammatical structure, practically the sense is the same. Paul feared that by this professed humility and this worshipping of angels his readers might be beguiled, and thus robbed of their prize.] Investigating etc. : another detail collateral with iti lozvliness etc. Probably it refers specially to worshipping of angels, and traces this worship to its professed origin and foundation, viz. visions of angels. The word rendered investigate denotes originally to step into something, especially with a view to take possession of it. It is also used of mental entrance into a subject with a view to examine and thus take mental possession of it. So 2 Maccabees ii. 30, ' to investigate and to make discourse about all things and to be much occupied with the details, is fitting for the author of the story.' Things zvhich he has seen : professed visions of the unseen world. Like so many ieachers of strange doctrines in all ages, these men professed to have seen something unseen by others. These supposed visions then became matters of investigation, i.e. of comparison and inference ; and thus became the foundation of a system of teaching and of religious rites. Vainly : either without reason or without result: senses closely allied. Same word in Rom. xiii. 4, l Cor. xv. 2, Gal. iii. 4, iv. 11. Sec. io.] COLOSSIANS II. i6— III. 4. 197 Grammatically it ma}^ be joined to the words foregoing or to those following. For the order of the original is, things ivhich lie has seen, investigathig vainly puffed up by etc. The word in-vain is best understood as Paul's verdict about the uselessness of this investiga- tion of these fancied visions. For it is needless to say that self- inflation is vain. ' He talks about things ivhich he has seen and makes his own visions a matter of laborious inquiry : a useless inquiry.' Paul declares that this useless inquiry is the only founda- tion of his worship of angels and of his pretended humility. Pnffed-up : same word in i Cor. iv. 6, 18, 19, v. 2, viii. i, xiii. 4; and not elsewhere in N. T. Notice that here only the false teachers are said to be puffed up, and of these Paul speaks in the third person : but at Corinth the same charge is brought against the whole Church. The viind of his flesh : not exactly the same as, but similar to, * the mind of the flesh ' in Rom. viii. 6. His flesh : that portion of flesh and blood, with all its belongings physical and psychological, which is owned by one person. It is the bodily side of his nature. Mind: the inward eye which looks through phenomena to the reality underlying them : same word in Ph. iv. 7, Rom. i. 28, vii. 23, 25, etc. Here the bodily nature is said to have a mind. And rightly. For the bodily appetites ever tend to dominate the intelli- gence, and to make it their slave. And since each mind thus dominated has a development of its own, both mind and flesh are here individualized : the mind of his flesh. Now the animating principle of the flesh is selfishness : for our bodies care for nothing except their own protection and maintenance and indulgence. Con- sequently, the mind of our flesh always begets an inflated self- estimate, which is a form of selfishness. This accounts for the supposed visions : for the selfish man is ever ready to believe any- thing which flatters his own vanity ; and few things do this more than belief that he has personal and unusual intercourse with the unseen world. This man pretends to investigate his wonderful revelations ; and on the ground of them pays outward adoration to angels. And, blinded by his own vanity, he attributes his desire to worship angels to a humility which dares not approach God Himself. Paul warns his readers that these empty products of self-esteem will, if accepted, rob the Christian of the prize he has in view; and that this is their real aim. Such is perhaps the easiest explanation of this very obscure verse. Doubtless the obscurity is caused by our ignorance of details well known to the readers. Paul says plainly that worship of angels was part of the teaching of these false guides. And we can easily 198 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. believe that they claimed to have seen visions of angels, and made these visions a matter of serious though empty examination. If so, the word in-vain would reveal in a moment the unreality of these boasted researches. And Paul's explanation of them as a product of a self-estimate inflated by a sensual mind was probably verified by personal knowledge of the men who put forward these lordly claims. The sense of this verse is completely changed by the corrected reading which he has seen. See Introd, iii. Lightfoot, moved by the difficulty of the passage, suggests that error may have crept into all our copies, and proposes a reading of which no trace whatever is found in any ancient MS., version, or quotation. A better sugges- tion in the same direction is made by Westcott and Hort ; and may be rendered treading einpty air. But that the true reading should have utterly vanished from the almost innumerable witnesses to the original text of the Epistle, is in the last degree unlikely. Even the erroneous insertion of the negative shows that the suggested reading was unthought of in the early Church. Its complete obliteration is much more difficult to accept than is the exposition given above. See a very good paper by Findlay in The Expositor ist series, vol. xi. p. 385. The express mention of angels here sheds light upon the mention of them in v. 1 5 where they are said to be led by God in triumphal procession, in v. 10 where Christ is said to be their Head, and in ch. i. 16, where He is said to be their Creator. Worship of angels was a conspicuous feature of the Gnostic sects so prevalent in so many strange varieties throughout the second century and traceable in their early origin almost or quite to the days of the apostles. So Irenaeus (^On Heixsies bk. i. 31, 2) speaks of the Cainites as appealing to angels, " O angel, I use th)- work : O authority," (same word as in Col. ii. 10, 15,) " I perform thy operation." And Theodoret in his note on this passage says that a sjmod at Laodicea (in a.d. 364) forbade prayer to angels. This prohibition reveals how deeply the practice here condemned had taken root in the immediate neighbourhood of Coloss?e. And this worship of angels implies as its basis supposed visions of the unseen world. See further in the note at the close of the Epistle. 19. Further description of the false teacliers, tracing their error, negatively, to their failure to grasp, or to retain hold of, Him from whom as the Head flows to the various members of the body nourish- ment and stability and growth. The Head : as in v. 10 and ch, i. 18 : the one highest member, itself a part of the body yet directing Sec. lo.] COLOSSIANS II. i6— III. 4. 199 all the other members, which live only so long as they are united to each other and to the Head. The would-be seducer does 7iot hold fast the Head, i.e. he has no firm union with Christ, the one great reality, and therefore investigates unreal visions and betakes himself to angel worship. Fro7n luhojii etc. : reason for holding fast the Head, a reason which explains the aberrations of those who fail to do so. The joints : Eph. iv. 16 : the various points of contact of the various parts of the body. Ligajuents : the bands which hold together the bones which form the joint. In this technical sense of ligame^tts the word is used by the Greek medical writers. The joints and ligaments comprise the whole mechanism by which the various parts of the body become one whole. Receiving supply : see under 2 Cor. ix. 10. The supply in this case must be nourishment. We need not assume that Paul means that nourishment flows through the joints and ligatures. Probably his one thought was that without the bodily union of which these were the means the various members of the body would receive no nourishment. And knit-togethei- : same word as in v. 2. The increase of God : i.e. wrought by God, i Cor. iii. 7 : cp. 'peace of God' in Ph. iv. 7. Paul here asserts that the entire body of Christ, consisting of various members, all receiviug from Him nourishment and compactness, so long as they are closely fitted and joined each to the others, grows with a growth which God works and gives. Hence the need for holding fast the Head : for, separate from Him, there is neither nourishment nor compactness nor growth. Through want of this union with Christ, the false teacher is given up to his own vagaries. Close coincidence of words and thought in Eph. iv. 16. Verses 16 — 19 contain the specific warning of the Epistle. We note in it two distinct elements. Paul warns first against those who would maintain as still binding, and even extend, the prescriptions of the ancient law : and then against those who, relying upon fancied intercourse with the unseen, would set up a worship of their own invention. To this second error Paul gives great attention, unveiling its source in blind conceit fostered by sensuality. But against each error his real safeguard is a knowledge of Christ in His relation to His Church. They who know Christ have the reality diml}^ fore- shadowed in the Old Covenant, and therefore will not wish to re-establish it. And He is the Head of the Church, His body, con- sisting of various members each receiving from Christ, in virtue of its close union with Him 'and with the other members, nourish- ment and compactness and growth. They who know this will 200 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. not be led astray by empty fancies even about the bright ones of heaven. 20 — 23. These verses bring to bear against the errors mentioned or alluded to in vv. l6 — 19 the teaching in § 9 that through the death of Christ His servants have been placed beyond the domain of the ordinances of the written Law. Ifyc died : not doubt, but logical sequence. For death is plainly asserted in ch, iii. 3. It brings to bear against all restrictions of food the teaching of 7/7^. 11,12: for baptism and resurrection imply death, and death is essentially a separation from the life previously lived. Died ivith Christ: same words in Rom. vi. 8; and practically the same in 2 Tim. ii. 11, Gal. ii. 20. The rudiments of the world : as in V. 8, which it recalls and in some measure explains. These rudiments of religious education belong to the bondage of spiritual childhood : Gal. iv. 3. Under them Christ was Himself in bondage when for our sakes He took (Ph. ii. 7) the form of a slave and was made (Heb. ii. 17) in all things like us, and became (Gal. iv. 5) under law and (ch. iii. 13) under the burden and curse of our sins. From this subjection Christ was set free by His own death. That death we have shared : for through His death our old life of bondage has come to an end. In this sense we are (ch. iii, 3) dead with Christ, and thus removed /;^w the elements of the world. Same thought, but not so fully expressed, in Gal. vi. 14: 'crucified to the world.' Paul asks why, if all this be so, his readers are submitting- to-dogmas as though they were still livi7ig their old life in the world. Allow-yourselves-to-be-dogmatized: the passive form of a verb derived from the word dogina. The active form is found n Esth. iii. 9, 2 Mace. x. 8, and means to issue an authoritative command. The passive form here used does not, however, imply that the Christians at Coloss?e were actually submitting to this spiritual tyranny ; and therefore does not necessarily imply blame. But it implies that eflorts were being made to place them under the bondage of dogmas. Paul's question reveals how inconsistent with their relation to Christ and His death is such bondage. To try to maintam it, is to try to keep in prison one whom death has set free. By siiowing this, Paul practically exhorts his readers not to bare the neck to the yoke which others would impose. Notice the contrast died . . . frof?i the . . . woj'ld and liinng in the world: cp. Rom, vi, 2, This verse is a practical apj)lication of v. 14. For the decrees which the false teachers would reimpose have been nailed to the cross of Christ and thus made invalid. 21. Various proliibitcjry dogmas wliicii the false teachers sought Sec. io.] COLOSSIANS II. i6— III. 4. 201 to impose. This correct meaning of these words was observed so early as Tertullian : Against Marciojihk. v. 19. But it was over- looked by some of the Latin P'athers. What the prohibited things were, Paul did not find it needful to say. His readers knew well. The word taste evidently refers to the eating and drinking of v. 16. And to the same refer most probably the words handle and touch. This inference is strongly confirmed by v. 22 : for food and drink are, and most things are not, destroyed in their use. Of the three words, the first seems to be somewhat stronger than the third, which seems to denote always a mere touch, whereas the first is sometimes used in the sense of ' take hold of.' Hence the RV. reverses the order of the AV. The words are in an ascending scale of stringency. Of this, that, and the other, these teachers say, ' Do not take it, do not even taste it, do not so much as touch it.' 22a. Alliuhich thi7igs : those forbidden by the dogmatizers. Are for destruction /jy the using : they exist in order to be used up and thus destroyed. This proves that the forbidden things were articles of food. For all such are by their nature perishing; and attain the aim of their existence by being consumed. Cp. i Tim. iv. 3, 'to abstain from articles of food, which God created to be partaken of.' Also I Cor. vi. 13, * food for the belly, and the belly for the food : ' i.e. each is designed for the other, and both will pass away. And 3 Pet. ii. 12, 'born to be caught and destroyed.' The argument here is that, since these articles of food were created in order to be eaten, to forbid them is to bring back the state of childhood (cp. Gal. iv. 3) in which for a time certain things were not allowed to be put to their natural use. 221). These words have evidently no connection with those imme- diately foregoing. Consequently, v. 22a must be a parenthetic com- ment on the prohibitions of v. 21 ; and v. 22b must be joined to ' dogmatized ' in v. 20, as a further description of the ordinances whicii the false teachers sought to impose. Co7?tinand7nents : verbal prohibitions, resting on doctrinal grounds or teachings. All were of human origin. This clause recalls a similar rebuke of empty forms of religion in Isa. xxix. 13, which in the Lxx. reads, 'teaching com7}iands of men and teachings! It was quoted by Christ in Mt. XV. 9 as a warning to some who ' transgress the commandments of God because of their 'tradition.' This similar use of O. T. words suggests whether Paul had heard of the discourse of Christ there recorded. We saw under %>. 16 that the mention of 'drink' proves that the false teachers not only maintained but exaggerated the Mosaic 202 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. prohibitions. Such exaggerations were evidently coniinandments and teachings of ??ien. And the divine commands of the Law of Moses became mere human precepts when they were asserted to be still binding after they had been revoked by Christ. The perpetual obligation of the Law was therefore a demand resting only on human authority. Consequently, all the prohibitions suggested in v. i6 come under this description, and under the warning in v. 8. 23. Paul's final and solemn judgment about the mere human and traditional teaching which forms the basis of the dogmas which some would impose on the Christians at Colossae. They are things (or better a chiss of things^ having indeed a repute of wisdom. In other words, these ' commands and doctrines ' belong to a larger category to which as a whole the following words apply. Repute (literally word) of wisdom: a verbal utterance of wisdom, i.e. either called wise or claiming to be wise ; senses closely allied. This recalls 'philosophy,' i.e. 'love of wisdom' in v. 8, by which Paul feared that his readers might be despoiled. Seff-itnposed- worship : evidently the 'worship of angels' in v. i8, this looked upon as a fiction of man's invention. It keeps before us, as in vv. 8, 22, the human origin of that which Paul here condemns. Low- liness-of-77iind : again recalling ?/. i8 where, as here, a professed inward state of mind is joined with outward forms of religion. Unsparing treat)ne7it of one's body: harsh refusal to it of that which rightly or wrongly it desires. It seems to be a description of the prohibitions in v. 2i. And these three things, self-imposed worship, apparent humility, ascetic self-denial, are represented as an encompassing element, perhaps as an auriole of glory, of the false teaching Paul here combats : in self-imposed-worship etc. This composite surrounding gained for it the 7-epiite of wisdom. [Paul's language suggests that it was an empty repute : \Liv solitary.] This apparent glf)ry was no mark of real worth : 7iot in any ho7wiir. The precise meaning of these words is very obscure. Perhaps Paul wishes to say that this unsparing treatment, this refusal of all pleasant tilings, was no ho7ioiir to the body, i.e. no recognition of its true dignity. For all asceticism is contempt of the body. Fnim the l>ody\ the organized unity belonging to each one, Paul nf)w turns to the flesh, the material constitution which Inmian bodies have in common, which creates common needs, likes, and (lislik(?s, and tjius exerts a common influence on the spirit within. Indu/ge7ue (or satiety) of the flesh : a supply to the full of these needs and desires, good or bad. The word rendered against is in itself neutral ; and may refer, as the context determines, to Sec. la] COLOSSIANS II. i6 III. 4. 203 something gratifying, or checking gratification ot, the flesh. Perhaps the latter here. And, if so, we may join these words closely to the word ho7iour. Thus understood, the verse means that these human prescriptions, though possessing a repute of wisdom, as being ap- parently fitted to show men a way to ttie attainment of their highest good, are not associated with any real honour to the body in the way of guarding it from the self-indulgence which so often covers it with shame. Verses 20 — 23 prove that our relation to Christ renders, or ought to render, impossible submission to the empty dogmatism of vv. 16 — 19. And from it we may glean something about the nature of this dogmatism. We have what seem to be some of the very words of these spiritual autocrats ; words forbidding by mere human authority the eating of food destined by the Creator to be eaten. We are reminded that their worship of angels was a fiction of their own fancy ; and that their hard treatment of their own bodies was not accompanied by any real honour to the body as the temple of God, and was not of any use to enable men to resist the temptations to self-indulgence prompted by the constitution of the body. Yet, as so often in the history of the world, this homage to citizens of the unseen world, this refusal of the luxuries and comforts ot life, and the apparent humility of which these seem to be an outward expression, gained for these teachers credit for rare wisdom, i.e. for acquaintance with things unknown to the multitude. All this sur- rounded with an illusive auriole of glory the spiritual tyranny with which these apparently wise ones sought to dictate, by their own arbitrary will, restrictions to those foolish enough to submit to them. But to those who are Christ's such submission is impossible. For by His death they have themselves died, and have thus escaped from all spiritual bondage. III. 1 — 4. The new life into which, by their union with Christ in His resurrection and ascension. Christians have already entered, a life utterly inconsistent with bondage to human dogmas. Thus, after bringing to bear upon the errors of ch. ii. 16 — 19, in vv. 20 — 23, the believer's union with Christ in His death, Paul now brings to bear on the same the believer's union with Christ in His resurrection and ascension. If then ye have been raised together with Christ : more glorious counterpart of ch. ii. 20, which it recalls. It takes up a statement in ch. ii. 12 and makes it a basis of exhortation. Through the resur- rection of Christ we have been made citizens of the world to which He has gone and sharers of its wealth and glory. That this resur- 204 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. rection with Christ inchidcs not only new spiritual life but also a place with Christ in glory, is made clear by the exhortation which follows. The tJiiiigs above: the blessings of heaven. These are the reward of faithfid service on earth, and are within reach of present linman effort and are its noblest aim. Indeed every effort to please Christ and to advance His kingdom may be looked upon as an effort to gain the things at His right hand : for these are an inevitable and known result of such effort. Cp. Rom. ii. 7, 'seek glory and honour and incorruption.' Where Christ is: cp. Rev. xxii. 12, 'My reward is with Me.' Christ and the reward are together. Paul's assertion is then further developed. Among the things above Christ is ; more accurately defined, He is at the right hand of God : and He is there, not worshipping or standing, but sitting in majesty. Same teaching in Rom. viii. 34, Eph. i. 20, Heb. i. 3, 13, viii. i, x. 12, xii. 2, i Pet. iii. 22, Mt. xxvi. 64 etc. These passages reveal a thought familiar in the early Church. 2. Mind the things above : literally the things aiwve, make these the objects of your thought. The repetition of the thittgs above keeps conspicuously before us the new and lofty element just intro- duced. Not the things on the earth: cp. Ph. iii. 19, 'who mind the earthly things.' This antithesis to the things above recalls the low aims of the false teachers. For their whole thought was, in spite of their religiousness, after the passing things of earth. 3. Reason for the foregoing exhortation, viz. that the life which Paul's readers once lived on earth has ceased : consequently they can no longer ' mind the things on the earth.' Ye-arc-dead or yc- have-died : in the death implied in the burial of ch. ii. 12 and hypothetically stated in v. 20. Christians are not merely ' dead to the world,' i.e. separated by the death of Christ from its control, but dead absolutely ; i.e.' their former life which was entircl}^ earthly has come absolutely to an end. So complete is the change that Paul can describe it only by saying that they are dead. And the dead care nothing for things pertaining only to the world they have left. So, if Christians are true to their profession, will they no longer care for things merely belonging to earth. And your life : like Christ they still live, though dead : so Rev. i. 18, 'living and was dead;' 2 Cor. v. 15, 'all died . . . they who/ live." For they share already the immortal life oi the Risen One. And this is their only life. For all they have and are and do is an outflow of it. On earth they are living a life which in its essence behjugs to heaven and which will develop into eternal life. Lies- hidden : beyond human sight and beyond reach of accident and Sec. io.] COLOSSTAiYS II. i6— III. 4. 205 death. With Christ : for they are dead, buried, and risen with Him. Whatever Christ has and is, they share. In God : the surrounding and Hfe-giving element of the new life, audits impenetrable bulwark. As Christ is (Jno. xvii. 21) in the Father, so are Christians zvith Christ in God. And, in the arms of omnipotence, their life, though apparently exposed to deadly peril, is absolutely and for ever safe. This Christian life, hidden as to its root and essence beyond reach of human intelligence and human attack, is also incomprehensible in its manifestations. For these are an outflow of its hidden essence. Thus are men on earth living a life hidden from the children of earth, a life absolutely safe, a participation of Christ's life in heaven. For by union with Christ in His death on the cross their old life has ceased ; and by union widi the Risen One they have entered a life altogether new. 4. This life cannot be for ever hidden. Like all hidden things, it must be manifested: Mk. iv. 22. When Christ etc: or whenever ' Christ be manifested : suggesting uncertainty about the time of an event which itself is absolutely certain. Manifested : set publicly before the eyes of all men in the great day. So will all men them- selves be manifested : 2 Cor. v. 10. The same word is used of Christ's self-presentation to men in His earthly life: Jno. xxi. i, 14. To describe His appearance in judgment, the word ' revelation ' is also used : i Cor. i. 7, 2 Th. i. 7, i Pet. i. 7, 13. For in that day manifestation and revelation (see under Rom. i. 19) will coincide : i.e. Christ will be set before the eyes of all ; and all will actually see Him. Christ \s our life : for we shall live (Jno. xiv. 19) because He lives and because (Gal. ii. 20, Jno. xvii. 23) He lives in us and we in Him. Consequently, where Christ is, there is our hidden life : and when Christ is manifested to the eyes of all men, then shall we also be manifested, sharing the splendour of His manifestation. With Him : a frequent phrase, making conspicuous the truth that we shall be all that Christ has and is. In glory : surrounded with a splen- dour which will excite the admiration of all : so 2 Cor. iii. 7, 8, 9, 11, Ph. iv. 19, I Tim. iii. 16. At present the real dignity of the sons of God is hidden from the eyes of men and indeed from their own eyes, as Christ is hidden from mortal sight. In that day Christ in His essential grandeur will appear and with Him will appear also the grandeur with which He will adorn His servants. Cp. Ph. iii. 21, 'conformed to the body of His glory,' and Rom. viii. 19, 21, 'revela- tion of the sons of God . . . glory of the children of God.' The believer's death and his pursuit only of things in heaven will 2o6 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iii. ill nowise unfit him for life on earth, or lessen his interest in things around. For the things of earth reach forward in their influence into the world to come. For instance, the movements of political life and the course of war have again and again helped or hindered the progress of the Gospel. Consequently, the Christian man whose eyes are open to the many spiritual issues at stake will watch these movements with deepest interest. Even the details and drudgery of common life receive thus importance and dignity. On the other hand, the new light in which he views all things will save him from the degrading tyranny which the uncertainties of earth exercise ov^er those whom Christ has not made free. Notice that in the phrases * dead' and ' j-ise?i with Christ ' we have an ideal Christian life which is ours objectively in Christ ; and which it is our privilege to make subjectively our own by faith. Hence Paul sometimes speaks as though his readers were already actually dead with Christ : at other times he urges them to appro- jjriate the inward experience thus described. Contrast Col. iii. 5 with V. 3 and Gal. v. 24. This apparent contradiction is easily understood, and is spiritually helpful. To speak of believers as already dead with Christ, helps our faith : to urge them to put to death their members on the earth, warns us that the ideal needs to be made actual. Division iii. reveals the specific occasion of the Papistic, viz. errors, or possibly one composite error, which some unknown persons were actively pressing on the Christians at Colossae. Before men- tioning tliis great danger, Paul armed his readers in Div. 11. with a complete })rotection against it, viz. a full exposition of the nature and work of Christ. He begins Div. iii. by saying in § 8 that he has written this exposition in order to guard them from seductive and perverse reasoning ; and then goes on to recognise the solid front which faith enables them to present to all opponents, and to beg them, as already they have laid hold of Christ, to make Him the surrounding element, the nutritious soil, and the firm foundation, of their life and movement. In § 9 Paul's warning becomes more definite. The false teaching professes to be philosophy ; but is really empty deception. It is such as we might expect from its outward source, viz. mere Inunan tradition, and from its inward principle, viz. the rudiments of religion common to all mankind. And it does not take for its directive principle the one true norm, viz. the Person and Work of Christ. This norm, Paul further expounds, keeping in view the errors at Colossce and thus to some extent indicating their nature. From Sec. io.] COLOSSIANS II. i6— III. 4. 207 § 10 we shall learn that the seducers worship angels. And in § 9 Paul says that Christ, in whom the whole nature of God finds perfect embodiment in human form and in whom His people find their full development, is Himself Lord of the successive ranks of angels. From § 10 we shall also learn that the false teachers sought to enforce the restrictions and ordinances of the Jewish Law. And Paul teaches in § 9 that in Christ His people have received the fulness of which circumcision was but an outline, and that, just as it is needless to circumcise a corpse, so they who have been spiritually laid in the grave of Christ need no circumcision. Moreover, if dead with Christ, they are also by faith sharers of His resurrection. By forgiving their sins, God raised them from the dead. He did this by nailing to the cross of Christ and thus making invalid the Law which condemned them. Thus, what the ministrations of angels could not do, God did without their aid. So conspicuously subor- dinate is their position in this culmination of the work of salvation, as contrasted with their more prominent place in the Old Covenant, that God may be said, by placing them in this subordinate position, to have used them simply to swell the triumphant train of the real Conqueror. Thus without exact mention of the errors he is combat- ing, Paul has virtually overturned them by expounding more fully the relation of Christ to the work of salvation. In § 10, the errors indicated in general language in § 9 are stated without reserve. The false teachers not only maintain the abiding validity of the Law, which God had made invalid by nailing it to the cross of Christ, but add to its stringency. And other teachers, or more probably the same, amid professions of humility as unworthy directly to approach God, pretending to receive instruction from visions of the inhabitants of the unseen world, bow in uorship to angels. From this it is evident that the errors which Paul combats comprise two elements, Jewish and theosophic. The former he rebuts by asserting that the Law is only an ;unsubstantial outline, of which the solid reality belongs to Christ. The latter element he condemns as worthless by pointing to its real source, viz. an inflated self-estimate, offspring of a mind dominated by the needs and pleasures of the bodily life, a delusion possible only to those who have no hold of Christ and who do not know that from Him is derived, by the mutual contact and close cohesion of the members of His Body, spiritual nourishment, firmness, and growth. The entire mass of restriction and ritual, resting as it does simply upon mere human assertion and pertaining only at best to the rudiments of religion common to the whole world, is for us completely set 2o8 EXPOSITIOX OF [Div. iii. aside by the cross of Christ, which has for ever separated us from the things in which once we Hved. It is far below the feet of those who are already sharers of the immortal life of the Risen Saviour and already citizens of the world in which He reigns. Our one aim now is to seek, even while we tread the soil of earth, the infinite and abiding wealth of heaven. Our thoughts and hearts go forward to that day when the inner life, hidden now not only from the world, but in great part even from us who live it, will by the appearance of Christ be manifested in the splendour of the eternal glory. Notice how in Div. in. Paul has led us down into, and completely out of, the mist and gloom of error. Before we entered the dark valley, he had already fixed our gaze upon the Son of God, Creator of the world, crucified that He might reconcile us to God, and risen from the dead. In § 8 he warned us that danger was near. In § 9 the outlines of the enemy became discernible. In § 10 he came fully into view : and we seemed in Paul's argument to enter into deadly conflict with him. In that conflict, death came to our rescue, even the death of Christ upon the cross. We lay dead with Him. Then burst upon us like the light of Easter morn the bright vision of ch. iii. We saw Christ not only risen from the grave, but seated at the right hand of God. In the brightness of that vision we forgot that our bodies are still doomed to corruption and worms. These had vanished from our view. And we felt ourselves to be already where Christ is ; and that henceforth the only matters worthy of our thought and effort are the realities which abide with Christ in God. Notice how throughout Div. iii. Paul points to Christ. With Him we go down into the grave. In death we are with Him. And His presence guides us up to the light of day. As throughout this Epistle, so especially in this Division, the Son of God is All and in all. Sec. II.] COLOSSIANS III. 5— ii. 209 DIVISION IV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION. Ch. III. 5— IV. 6. SECTION XL GENERAL MORAL TEACHING: NEGATIVE. Ch. III. 5— II. Put to death then the bodily members which are upon the earth — fornication, iincleanness, passion, evil desire, and the covetonsness, which is idolatry; ^ because of which things comes the anger of God upon the sons of disobedience. ^ Among whom ye also walked once, wheii ye lived in these things. ^ But now, also ye, put azvay all things, anger, fury, badness, i^ailing, shameful talking, out of your mouth : ^ lie not o?ie to another ; having put of the old man with his actions, ^° aiid having pitt on the neiv ??ta7i which is beijig re- newed for knozvledge accoi'ding to the image of Hijn that created hifn. " Where there is not Greek and Jew, circumcisio7i and un- circiimcision, barbarian, Scythia?i, bond, free ; but Christ is all things and i?t all. In the light of the glory of the Risen Lord, which shone upon us in ch. iii. i — 4, the errors prevalent at Colossse have utterly vanished. In the rest of the Epistle, no trace of them remains. But Paul remembers that his readers are still men on earth, exposed to the temptations incident to human life. Therefore, as he comes down from this Mount of Transfiguration, he uses the brightness of the vision as a moral influence deterring from sin, and prompting every kind of excellence. In other words, the vision of Christ in ch. iii. I — 4 is a transition from the specific errors treated in Div. in. to the principles of general morality taught in Div. iv. In § 11 we have negative moral teaching, i.e. a warning against various forms of sin ; in § 12, positive moral teaching, i.e. incentives to various kinds of excellence; in § 13, precepts for various classes of persons; and in § 14 sundry general exhortations. 5. Practical application of the foregoing: put-to-death then. Cp. Rom. viii. 13, 'putting to death the actions of the body.' [In con- trast to Rom. viii. 13, the Greek aorist here bids that the putting to 14 2IO EXPOSITION OF [Div. iv. death be at once completed so that henceforth the bodily members be not dying but dead. Similarly 2 Cor. vii. 7, ' let us cleanse our- selves,' so that henceforth we be clean.] The members which are upon the earth : hands, feet, lips, eyes, etc., according to Paul's con- stant use of the word and his frequent reference to the immoral influence of the body. This implies that the word death is meta- phorical. And it recalls the very strong metaphor of Mt. v. 29, 30, especially ' one of thy 77te?nbe?'s perish.' The body exerts on the unsaved, through its various parts and their various functions, an active and immoral influence. Its members may therefore be re- presented as a living and hostile power. Not that matter or the body is essentially bad : for they are good creatures of God. But man's body has fallen under the dominion of sin, and has thus become a fetter with which sin binds the spirit within. This hostile power, Paul bids us kill, so that the bodily senses shall no longer, clamouring for indulgence, shape our actions or even our desires. He means that we surrender ourselves to the saving influence which comes to us through the cross of Christ and appropriate by faith the deliverance from the rule of the bodily life which Christ has gained for us by His death. Thus are the members of our body, which once enslaved us, nailed to His cross and thus rendered powerless for evil. And, since this deliverance comes by our own self-sur- render and faith, we may be said, as here, ourselves to ptct to death the members of our bodies. Thus (2 Cor. vii. i) we cleanse our- selves from all pollution of flesh and spirit. Upon the earth; recalls the same words in v. 2, thus bringing them to bear on this exhortation. Our bodies and all that pertains to them belong to the earth. Therefore, to allow them to rule us, whom God has raised to heaven, is to bow to the dominion of a world which God has placed far beneath our feet. For7iication, iindcanness : as in Gal. v. 19. Passion: an inward emotion aroused by some external object ; in this case by an impure object prompting inchastity. Same word in Rom. i. 26. Desire: good or bad ; see under Gal. v. 17. It therefore needs to be further specified as evil desire. It is a wider term than passion, and de- scribes a mind going out after some external object. These four terms descend from the specific to the general : intercourse with harlots, any form of outward inchastity, the inward emotion from which inchastity springs, any bad desire. Covetoiisncss, literally having more : desire for more than our share. The definite article raises this sin into special prominence : and this is increased by the comment which follows. Which (or better ■zc/z/c/t sort of thing) is Sec. II.] COLOSS/ANS III. s~^i- 21 1 idolatry : it belongs to a class of things all which are idolatry. Covetousness is worship of material good. And it presupposes that our well-being depends upon having the good things of earth, and that therefore created objects around are arbiters of our happiness. To suppose this, is to put the creature in the place of the Creator, and to put man under the dominion of the accidents of life. Thus (i Tim. vi. 10) ' love of money is a root of all the evils.' That this apparently casual assertion is repeated in Eph. v. 5, reveals its firm hold of the thought of Paul. This double warning is the more needful because the great evil of covetousness is not at once ap- parent. Both covetousness and sensuality are exact contraries, in different directions, to seeking the things at Godte right hand. Notice here, as in Rom. i. 29 — 31, i Cor. vi. 9, Gal. v. 20, a catalogue of sins. This marked feature of Paul's writings reveals a familiar student of fallen human nature. Also that, after bidding us put to death the members of our body, Paul mentions first sins directly connected with the body. This list of sins is placed in grammatical apposition to the j?iembers which are upon the earth as something which we must p?it to death. Practically it is an explanation of the foregoing metaphor. Paul really wishes us to kill the various sins which once used our bodily powers as instruments of evil. This simple explanation accounts fully for the arrangement of the verse, Paul does not say that these sins are members of our bodies, nor does he ever use such a metaphor. But, looking upon the bodies of the unsaved as organs of sin, as animated by a power hostile to us, he bids us put them to death ; and then explains his meaning by saying that what he wishes us to kill is sin in its various forms. Thus this verse is a natural develop- ment of the teaching of Rom. vi. 12 — 19. 6. Solemn assertion of the inseparable connection of sin and punishment. A frequent conclusion to Paul's lists of sins : Eph. v. 6, Gal. V. 21, I Cor. vi. 10, He was accustomed thus to guard from abuse the doctrine of Justification through Faith. This solemn assertion greatly strengthens the foregoing exhortation. Anger of God : Rom. i. 18, v. 9: His determination to punish. It conies 'in the day of anger and of revelation of the righteous judgment of God,' Rom. ii. 5. The certainty of future punishment makes it to Paul's thought a present reality, as though retribution were already on the way : cp. i Th. i. 10. It comes down from heaven upon the wicked. Disobedience : same word in Rom. xi. 30, 32, Eph. ii. 2, v. 6, Heb. iv. 6, II. It is practical unbelief. So7is of disobedience : Eph. ii. 2, V. 6: as though the abstract principle were the source of their 212 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iv. immoral nature. In each sinner the abstract principle of unbelief has given birth to a child. Similarl}^ Jno. xvii. 12, 'son of destruction ;" I Jno. iii. 10, 'children of the devil;' Eph. v. 8, 'children of light;' Lk. XX. 36. ' sons of the resurrection.' It is a Hebrew phrase : I Sam. ii. 12, 'sons of Belial ;' xx. 31, *a son of death is he.' The phrase suggests how completely disobedience is a part of the nature of sinners. On the correct reading of this verse see Introd. iii. 2. 7. If in V. 6 we omit ' upon the sons of disobedience,' we must render here in which thiiigs ye walked : cp. Eph. ii. 2, 2 Cor, iv. 2, Rom. vi. 4. This would imply that when the Colossians lived in these things they walked in them. Now, when used of sinners, the word live can mean only the outward manner of life. Touching the inner reality, their state is not life, but death. In this sense none but believers can be said to live and to have vital surroundings : e.g. Gal. ii. 20, ' live in faith.' And, if the word live means here only the outward manner of life, it is practically the same as the word walk. Consequently, if we omit the doubtful words in v. 6, the latter part of v. 7 becomes an empty tautology. This confirms the testimony of almost all tiie ancient documents that these words are genuine ; and suggests that this is one more of the many cases in which the Vatican MS. omits genuine words. If we accept these words as genuine, we must render af?i07ig whom also ye walked. Cp. Eph. ii. 3, ' among whom also we had our manner of life formerly in the desires of our flesh.' They travelled in company with other sons of disobedience. All walked along the same broad way. Lived in these things : close parallel in Rom. vi, 2, ' live in it,' i.e. in sin. Somewhat different is Col. ii. 20, 'living in the world.' Formerly Paul's readers lived in the sins mentioned above : they then went along a path trodden by those whose character is derived from, and determined by, the principle of rebelhon against God. This justifies the exhortation of v. 5, and prepares a way for that of 7/. 8. 8, 9a. But noiv : Paul's frequent contrast of past and present : so ch. i. 22, 26, Eph. ii. 13, Rom. vi. 22, vii. 6. It introduces here, in contrast to the readers' past life just described, a repetition in plain language of the metaphorical exhortation of v. 5. Put-azvay : as in Eph. iv. 22, 25, Rom. xiii. 12, Also ye ; joins the Colossian Cliris- tians in present duty with all believers, just as the same words in 7/. 7 joined them with ' tlu> sons of disobedience.' All things : including the list in 7/. 5, the further list now added, and every kind of sin. It ^ives to Paul's proliibition tlie widest universality. Sec. II.] COLOSS/ANSlU.i—ii. 213 A7iger: a disposition which prompts to inflict pain or injury : see under Rom. i. 18. Fury: a bursting forth of this disposition. Same words in same order in Rom. ii. 8, describing God's determination to punish sin. Converse order in Eph. iv. 31. That they are here classed among sins, reminds us how easily anger oversteps the line and becomes evil. Badness : general worthlessness, in contrast to excellence : same word in Rom. i. 29, i Cor. v. 8, xiv. 20, Eph. iv. 31. Railing : the Greek original of our own word blasphemy. It denotes any hurtful or evil speaking against God or against man. See under Rom. ii. 24, iii. 8. Shameftil speaking : foul-mouthed lan- guage of any kind. These two forms of improper speech are closely associated. For language hurtful to our neighbour easily becomes coarse abuse. And both are a frequent expression of anger and fiuy. Out of your moiith ; adds to the prohibition graphic definite- ness, ' Put out of your mouth, as unworthy to be in it, every form of bad speech.' To take these words merely as describing the bodily organ of speech, (cp. Eph. iv. 29,) would make them almost meaningless. Lie not : another kind of prohibited language. One to another ; recalls their close mutual relation, as (Eph. iv. 25) ' members one of another.' This separate prohibition of falsehood reminds us of its unique wickedness : cp. Rev. xxi. 8. 9b, 10. Reasons, negative and positive, supporting the prohibitions of w. 8, 9^. Put-off : as one takes off and lays aside clothing. Same word in ch. ii, 15, where see note. The old ma7i : same words in Rom. vi. 6. So complete is the change that the man himself as he formerly was is spoken of as an old garment laid aside, as though personality itself were changed. So 2 Cor. v. 17, 'the old things have gone by.' Actions : same word as in Rom. viii. 13, xii. 4. The various activities of the old Hfe are supposed to have been laid aside together with their one personal source : the old man with his actions. Put-on : as one puts on clothes or weapons, the exact counterpart oi put-off. Same word in Mt. vi. 25, Cor. v. 3 ; and in Rom. xiii. 12, 14, Gal. iii. 27, where we have close parallels. The new man: in marked contrast to the old man. So complete is the change, and so distinct from ourselves is the new life, that Paul speaks of it as a new personality put on as we put on clothing. This implies an inner and neutral and unchangeable personaHty which puts off and on, and another personality with moral qualities which is ptit off and on. New : recent in time : same word in i Cor. v. 7, Mt. ix. 17, etc. ; a cognate word in Eph. iv. 23. It recalls the shortness of time since the change. The word rendered renewed comes from another 214 EXPOSITIOX OF [Div. iv. root found in Eph. ii. 15, iv. 24, 2 Cor. iii. G, v. 17, and denoting that whicli is new in quality. Which-is-being-renczved : a gradual renovation day by day of the new character which has once for all been put 07i. The old character, now put off, was day by day undergoing corruption : Eph. iv. 22. Thus the new life is represented as one delinite assumption of a character which henceforth is gradually progressing. The word re- newed does not necessarily mean restoration to a former state. For • the New Covenant ' is by no means a restoration of the Old Covenant to its original form: and the 'New Earth and Heaven' will differ greatly from the present ones. But it involves the removal of all defects. The renewal will not be complete until every trace of the damage done by sin is erased. Kitoivledge, ox full-knowledge : same word as in ch. i. 9, 10, ii. 2. It notes the direction and aim of this renewal, as designed to bring us i7ito full-kiiowlcdgc. As the Christian life progresses we know more and more of that which is best worth knowing. Image : an outward manifestation of the inward reality of God. It is the nature of God as set before the eyes of men. Him that created : the Father, as always; Rom. i 25, Eph. iii. 9. This is confirmed by Col. i. 16, where Christ is not the Author, but the Agent, of creation. According to the image etc.; recalls at once the same words in Gen. i. 26, 27. Cp. Jas. iii. 9. The story of creation teaches that the Creator is Himself the Archetype of His intelligent creatures. Now the Creator knows perfectly whatever He has made. And Paul says that this divine knowledge is a pattern of the knowledge which this renewal aims to impart to men : for knowledge according to the image of Him that created him : viz. the new man^ the chief matter of this verse. Consequently, the word created must refer to the moral re-creation. This use of a word originally used of the old creation implies that the old and new are analogous. So are all God's works in harmony one with another, and in proportion to the similarity of their occasion. Whether the words according to the image etc. be joined to knowledge or to being-rcncwedy is un- important and was jx'rhaps not definite to the writer's mind. For knoiuledge is an aim of the renewal, and the Creator is its pattern : therefore the knowledge aimed at must be a human counterpart of the Creator's infinite knowledge. As the renewal makes progress, we shall in greater measure share God's knowledge of all that He has made and done. In other words, si)iriUial growth is growth in intelligence. This inontion of knowledge as an aim of rrnewal is in close Sec. II.] COLOSSIANS III. 5— ii. 215 harmony with ch. i. 9, 28, ii. 2, and with the general scope of this Epistle. [Grammatically, the aorist participles havmg-pnf-nff and havmg- put-on denote only actions preceding, in act or thought, the laying aside of sin to which in v. 8 Paul exhorts ; and do not say whether the putting off be something still to be done and therefore a part of the exhortation, or something already done and therefore a reason for it. Each of these expositions is in harmony with Paul's thought elsewhere : cp. Gal. iii. 27 for the latter, and Rom. xiii. 14 for the former. The practical difference is very slight. Perhaps it is best to understand Paul to mean that by joining the company of the followers of Christ the Christians at Colossse had already formally stripped off from themselves and laid aside their former life and character and had put on a new life ; and that he appeals to this profession as a reason for now laying aside all sin. Similar appeal in Rom. vi. 2. This latter exposition may be embodied in translation by rendering, inasmuch as ye have put ojf etc. 11. A comment on the new life just described as a new man undergoing further renewal. Where there is etc. : the new life looked upon as a locality in which the old distinctions are no longer found. Paul cannot repress a thought very familiar to him, the great distinctions of Greek and Jew, of bond a.nd f?'ee ; and these distinctions overshadowed and set aside by Christ. Close parallels in Gal. iii. 28, I Cor. xii. 13. The similarities and differences of these unexpected allusions to the same human distinctions as set aside in Christ reveal the hand not of a copyist but of one original author. Greek and Jew : in this order only here ; contrast even I Cor. i. 22. These words embrace all mankind from the point of view of Jewish nationality : the words circumcision and tmcircum- cision do so from the point of view of Jewish ritual. The preposition a7id puts, in each pair, the two counterparts in conspicuous contrast and combination. Barbarian, Scythian: no longer an inclusive description. The word Greek, which to a Jew included usually all nations other than his own, seemed to Paul not sufficiently inclusive. He therefore adds the word Barbarian, a frequent and all-inclusive contrast to Greek : and to make his description still more specific he mentions by name one of the most barbarous of the barbarian nations. Cp. Josephus, Agaiiist Apion bk. ii. 38, " The Scythians differ little from wild beasts." As not containing an inclusive description of mankind, these two last words are added without a connecting conjunction. And in the same loose way the words bond, free, are added, the reader being left to observe that they 2i6 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iv. include the wholes race. As in i Cor. xii. 13, Gal. iii. 27, Paul declares that in the new life these wide distinctions do not exist. B7ci Christ etc. : a positive truth, of which v. \\a is but a nega- tive counterpart. All thin((S in all persons : see under i Cor. xv. 28, where ' God is all things in all.' To have Christ, is to have all thitigs : for He is Himself all that His servants need. A7id in all His servants, as Himself all things to tliem, Christ is. In the slave Christ is, as his liberty ; in the Scythian, as his civilisation and culture. And since Christ includes in Himself the whole world of man's need, and dwells in all His servants, all human distinctions, which are but embodiments of human defects, have in the new life passed utterly away. National and social barriers there cannot be where Christ is. In Div. hi. Paul dealt with the specific matter of this Epistle, vi;^. certain errors prevalent at Colossae, errors derogatory to the dignity of Christ. For his refutation of these errors, he prepared a way in Div. II. by expounding the nature and work of the Eternal Son. In Div. IV. this refutation of specific doctrinal error is followed by the general principles of Christian morality. And this moral teaching is directly based upon the specific and exalted Christian doctrine with which Div. iii. concludes. For with Paul morality is always based upon doctrine : and doctrine is always brought to bear upon morality. First comes, in § 11, negative moral teaching. And every line reveals the peculiar thought of Paul. The various members of the body, taken as a whole, are in his thought almost identical with various sins, of which he gives a list beginning with sins specially related to the body. All these, the members of the body metaphori- cally, the specific sins actually, Paul bids his readers kill. He calls special attention to the worship of material good implied in the everywhere-prevalent greed for wealth ; and then points to the anger of God which will fall upon those whose character is moulded by rejection of His word. After a direct cxliortation to cast away everything of this sort, Paul continues his list by mentioning sins of inward passion and of its outward expression in word, noting specially among sins of the tongue the luiique sin of falsehood. He strengthens his exhortation by an ideal picture of conversion which he describes as a laying aside of the old personality and its various activities as one lays aside an old garment, and as a putting on of a new pcTsonality marked by progressive renovation tending towards jjcrfect knowk'iige — like that by which the Creator knows all that He has made. This ideal Christian life, Paul cannot mention Sec. 12.] COLOSSIANS III. 12—17. 217 without remembering the national, theocratic, and social barriers which separate men, but which are completely broken down by Christ, who dwells in all His people as the full supply of all their need. SECTION XII. GENERAL MORAL TEACHING: POSITIVE, Ch. III. 12—17. Put on then, as chosen ones of God, holy and beloved, a heart of conipassion, kindness, lowliness of miiid, ??teek7tess, longsuffering ; ^^ forbea7ing one another, and forgiving eacJi other if any one against any have complaint. According as the Loj^d forgave yoti, so also do ye. ^^And upon all this put on love, which is the bond of 7natiirity. ^'"^ And let the peace of Ch?ist ncle in your hearts, for which also yc were called i?i one body : and be thankful. "^ Let the zvord of Christ dwell in you richly ; in all wisdo??t teaching and instructiiig your- selves with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs ; with grace singing to God in your hearts. ^^ And whatever ye do iii word or deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through Hii?t. 12. Practical consequence of v. 10. Just as the negative partici- pial clause, 'having put off' etc., is introduced as a reason for the foregoing exhortation to put away all sins, of which a list is given, so now the positive participial clause, ' having put on the new man ' etc., is made the ground of an exhortation to put on all Christian virtues. In each case the ideal Christian life already accepted is made the foundation of an appeal to realize that ideal in the practical details of Christian character. If so, v. 11 is a mental parenthesis. Paul interrupts for a moment his line of thought to give expression to other thoughts deeply interwoven into the tissue of his mind and ever ready, when occasion is given, to come to the surface. Chosen ones of God : same words in Rom. viii. 33 ; see my Ro7na7is, p. 277. These were men whom, in the sense there ex- pounded, God had selected from the rest of mankind to be specially His own. Holy : men whom, through the death of Christ and the preached Gospel, God has claimed to stand in pecuhar relation to Himself. See under Rom. i. 8. The words holy a7id beloved take up and develop ideas already suggested by chose7i 07ies of God, 2i8 EXPOSITION OF [Div. iv. Because chosen by Him before the foundation of the world, they are now sacred i)ersons devoted to His service : and they cannot forget that the divine choice sprang from the love of God which now embraces tliem. These titles are inserted as a motive for putting on all Christian virtues. Heart: same word as in 2 Cor. vi. 12, where see note. Heart of compassion; suggests that compassion, i.e. kindness towards the needy and helpless, is fitting to man, having its seat in his natural constitution. Kindness : as in i Cor. xiii. 4. It is that which makes intercourse with others pleasant. Lowliness-of-mind : Ph. ii. 3 : a mind which does not form lofty plans for its own aggrandisement. Cp. Mt. xi. 29. Meekness : see under i Cor. iv. 21 : absence of self- assertion. Long-suffering: see under i Cor. xiii. 4. It is a mind which does not quickly yield to unfavourable influences. Notice here a list of virtues following a list of sins ; a close coincidence with Gal. V. 22. Paul reminds his readers that they are God's chosen ones, separated from others to be specially His, and objects of His special love ; and bids them, in view of this their relation to God, to clotlie themselves with compassion for the helpless and kind- ness toward all, with a lowly estimate of themselves, avoiding self- assertion, and refraining from anger. 13. A participial clause expounding the last word oi v. 12 by showing what ' long-suffering ' sometimes involves, and supporting it by the example of Christ. Forbearing : to refrain from laying our hands on others in order either to free ourselves from annoyance or to vindicate our rights. Compare a cognate word in Rom. iii. 25. It gives definiteness to the word ' long-suffering ' by suggesting a probable occasion for it, viz. the impleasant action of others. For- giviiig each other ; adds still further definiteness by suggesting a special kind oi forbearance, viz. towards those who have done us wrong. Each other: \\\.^T?i\\y yoiosehies : as tliough the whole Church were one person, as it is actually the one Body of Christ, so that forbearance towards a fellow-Christian is forbearance towards ourselves. Same word and idea in v. 16. Since the whole Church has one interest, each member gains by every good act to another. Indeed, only when forbearance is a benefit to the whole, is it really good. And only to such forgiveness do Paul's words refer. For- giving : same word as ch. ii. 13, 2 Cor. xii. 13, ii. 7, 10, i Cor. ii. 12, Rom, viii. 32 : it is forgiveness looked upon as an act of grace or favour. According as dr. : Christ's forgiveness to us the modi-l, and there- fore the motive, of our forgiveness of others, Notice that Paul Sec. 12.] COLOSSIANS III. 12—17. 219 assumes, as in ch. ii. 13, that his readers know that they are forgiven. This forgiveness is here attributed probably to ihe Lord, i.e. to Christ : in Eph. iv. 32, a close parallel to ' God in Christ.' The distinction is unimportant ; for ' the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son : ' Jno. v. 22. Consequently, the Father's forgiveness is through the Son : or, leaving out of sight the ultimate source of forgiveness in the Father, we may think only, as here, of its immediate source in the Son. So also do ye : i.e. forgiving each other. The whole verse is a participial clause expounding * longsuffering ' in v. 12. 14. Grand completion of the list of Christian virtues. Upon all these : as an outer garment over all the underclothing. Love : to our fellows, as always when not otherwise defined : see under i Cor. xiii. I, 3. Literally the love, the article making this virtue con- spicuous, like 'the covetousness ' in z/. 5. Bond: same word in ch. ii. 19, iv. 3, Acts viii. 23. Love is a virtue which binds into one harmonious whole the various virtues mentioned above. Matmity or perfection : cognate to the word in i Cor. ii. 6, where see note. Perhaps it is best to understand this uniting bond as being an essential element of Christian viatiirity. Already from i Cor. xiii we have learnt that where love is there are all the virtues mentioned in V. 12. Love may therefore be called an overgarment enclosing all others, as a bond uniting them into one whole. And, since love is an infallible measure of Christian manhood, it may be called a bond of viaticrity. The practical and positive exhortation of §12 retains the metaphor of clothing assumed in vv. 9, 10. Paul prefaces the exhortation by referring to God's eternal choice of the objects of salvation, to the sacredness of their position, and to the love with which God regards them. ' The new man,' which like a garment his readers are bidden to put on, is one of many colours, comprising many virtues, especially that of mutual forbearance and forgiveness, the latter being repre- sented as kindness to ourselves, made binding upon us by the for- giveness we have received from Christ. These various virtues must be bound into one harmonious whole by the all-encompassing virtue of love, a uniting bond never absent from Christian manhood. 15. The peace of Owist : cp. Jno. xiv. 27. Practically the same as ' the peace of God ' in Ph. iv. 7 : a close parallel. This profound rest of spirit, like all else in the Kingdom of God, is from the Father through the Son; and is therefore the peace of God and of Christ. Rule : literally award-the-prize : same word in Wisdom x, 12, and cognate to the word prize in i Cor. ix. 24, Ph. iii. 14. In later 220 EXPOSITIOX OF [Div. iv Greek it is frequently used in the sense of rule : for a conspicuous part of a ruler's work is to pronounce decision in matters open to question. This general sense of rjcle or arbiirate is all that we can attach to the word here : for nothing in the context suggests a detinite prize to be awarded. In all details of life the inward rest which Christ gives is to be the principle determining what we are to be and to do. In your hearts : the home and throne and ward of the peace of God : Ph. iv. 7. To which ye were also called: the peace of Christ enjoyed by all who believe is an integral part of the purpose for which tlie Gospel call is proclaimed to men. In one body : the Church, as in ch. i. 18, 24. This is the locality in which is to be enjoyed the peace to which God has summoned us. This reminds us that the profound inward rest which Christ gives is a sure source of harmony with our fellow-Christians, and is impossible without such harmony. Be thankful : cp. Ph. iv. 7. Gratitude to God is a fertile source of peace. Acknowledgment of what He has done for us removes all fear that He will forsake us in the future. Notice two sides of the Christian life. Paul bids us put on all Christian virtues in our dealings with others ; and desires that divinely-given peace be the ruling principle witliin us, nourishing, and itself nourished by, gratitude to God. 16. TJie word of CJwist : the Gospel proclaimed by Christ. So 2 Til. iii. I, 'the word of the Lord;' and Jno. v. 24, 'My word.' Dwell: same word in Rom. viii. 11, 2 Cor. vi. 16, 2 Tim. i. $, 14. hi you: i.e. either within or among. Which of these was in the writer's thought, must be determined by the context. Probably the latter chiefly : for the word teaching shows that Paul thinks of the word of Christ as spoken by one to others. But, as the spoken word must come from the speaker's heart, the former sense, which is also suggested by the Greek word rendered dwells is not alto- gether absent. Richly ; suggests abundance and enrichment. Paul desires the spoken word of Christ to have a permanent and abund- ant place in the Church at ColosScC, and in the lips and thoughts of its members, thus making them truly rich. In all wisdo7?i : to be joined probably to the; words following as specifying the manner of teaching, rather than to those foregoing which liave already a modal adverb, richly. Teaching, admonishijtg : as in ch. i. 28. Teaching is here put first, because the phrase word of Christ suggests first the actual impartation of knowledge. Your- selves : same word in v. 13. It describes a reflex action of the Church upon itself, building up itself by teaching the wf>rd of Christ. That this stU-cdilication niav Ix' effi-ctivc-, the U'licliing nuist be in Sec. 12.] COLOSSI ANS III. 12—17. 221 all wisdom. So ch. i. 28 ; cp. iv. 5 : contrast 2 Cor. i. 12. It must be accompanied, as its surrounding element, by knowledge of that which is best worth knowing, and by all sorts of such knowledge. Psalms : as in i Cor. xiv^ 15, sacred poems like those of the Book of Psalms. Hyirms : an English form of the not uncommon Greek word here used, which denotes apparently a short poetical composi- tion in praise to God. Songs : literally odes : apparently a wider term denoting any kind of poetry to be sung. Hence it was needful to add the word spiritual: i.e. prompted and permeated by the Spirit of God. The three Greek words are fairly represented by their English equivalents ; the psahfis recalling the sacred songs of the Old Testament, the hymns any song of praise to God, and the spiritual songs including any song prompted by the Holy Spirit. With gi'ace singing : a second participial clause, expounding the cognate word so7ig in the foregoing clause. With grace : literally in grace : cp. 2 Cor. i. 12, ' in the grace of God.' We are to sing in the sunshine of the smile and favour of God, our songs prompted by His smile. /;^ your hearts : the melody of the lips coming from, and filling, the heart. To God : the Object and Auditor of these songs. And whatever goes up to God must first fill the heart. In all ages, songs of praise to God have been an important element of worship. So Philo, vol. ii. 484: "Then some one rising up sings a hymn made in honour of God, either himself having made it new or an old hymn of the poets of former days, ... all others listening except when it is needful to sing the responses : then all, both men and women, sing." Cp. p. 485, where we have a long account of Jewish sacred singing. Of Christian song, even Pliny, in his letter to the Emperor Trajan, bears witness : " They were wont on a certain day to sing a hymn to Christ as God." Paul speaks here of sacred song as a means of Christian instruction. And in all ages popular songs, sacred and secular, have been the most effective teachers. 17. An all-embracing exhortation concluding the general moral teaching. Whatever, or literally everything whatever; looks upon the entirety of man's conduct as one whole. This is then distin- guished into word and deed, the two great factors of human life. And these are summed up, and the idea of entirety is again expressed, the repetition giving it great emphasis, in the word all-tjiings. The na?ne v. 20, 21. 8, 9a. For-which-causc : because of thy kindness to the saints. Boldness in Christ : confidence of unrestrained speech arising from Paul's relation to Christ. To command : as if by superior autliority: same word in Lk. iv. 36, viii. 25. That which is fitting : z.zWon agreeing with the position and circumstances of the actor. Same word in Eph. v. 4, Col. iii. 18. It suggests slightly that the request following is what Philemon ought to do. Because ofX\\y love, ox for love's sake : literally because of the love. The definite article refers either to Philemon's love mentioned in v. 7 or to the well-known Christian virtue of love. In view of the express mention {v. 5) of 'thy love,' and of the introductory \ydi\.\c\Q fo?'-zvhich-cause, of which these words seem to be an exposition, the former reference seems the more likely. The two expositions are closely allied. By allow- ing himself to be influenced by Philemon's love, Paul was paying deference to the central Christian virtue of which this was a concrete example. Exhort: as in Ph. iv. 2. Instead of speaking to Philemon with authority as from above, Paul speaks to him as a brother by his side using language calculated to encourage to action. 9b. Two points about Paul, his age and his bonds, strengthening the request which he makes when he might liave used words of command. Since this Epistle was probably (see Introd. v.) written about A.u. 64 and Paul's conversion took place apparently (see my Galatians p. 193) about a.d. 35, it is quite possible that a man who in Acts vii. 58 is spoken of as young at the stoning of Stephen may here have spoken of himself as old. For life is reckoned by deeds rather than by years. After thirty years of hardship and toil for Christ, and this preceded by hard work of another kind, a man of sixty might well seem to himself to have already lived a long life. And the weakness of advancing years gave him a claim upon Philemon, his son in Christ. Prisoner of Christ fcsus : as in v. i. It is here added to old age as a second plea. Paul stands in special relation to Christ, his relation to Him is that of one who for His sake has been put in prison, and the prisoner is old. Such is the man who now forbears to use his indisputable authority and merely jnakes a request- Sec. 3.] PHILEMON vv. 8—21. 261 [Some commentators separate such-a-one from the words following and make it refer to v. 8, where Paul suggests his right to command. But this back-reference is not grammatically necessary: and it is unlikely that Paul would lay stress upon his authority by thus referring to it twice. It is best to take together such a ojie as, these words introducing and picturing old men as a class to which the writer belongs. And the mention of Paul's old age at once recalls his hard surroundings.] 10. The matter of the Epistle, viz. Onesimus : see note under V. 21. I exhort; takes up the same word in v. 9 a^ and adds the object of Paul's exhortations. My own child: close harmony with Ph. ii. 22, I Cor. iv. 17, where Timothy is so called. These words are at once expounded and amplified by those following, 'whor7t I have begotten etc.: s. close parallel to i Cor. iv. 15. They prove that Onesimus was converted b}' Paul. So apparently was Timothy. I71. my bonds, or in these bonds : the dark surroundings of a father's joy. Thus for the third time Philemon is made to hear the clanking of the prisoner's chain. And it pleads irresistibly for Paul and for Onesimus. 11. Details about Onesimus. Note the double contrast : for7nerly . . . profitless . . . to thee ; but now . . . profitable . . . to thee and to nie. There is here probably a play upon the name Onesimus, which is a not uncommon Greek word meaning useful or helpful, and which, though different in form, has practically the same sense as the word here rendered profitable. Formerly the character of Onesimus contradicted his name : but now, in reference both to Philemon and to Paul, the name describes the man. The words profitless to thee are explained by 7/. 18 which suggests or implies that Onesimus had robbed Philemon. And in any case a runaway slave would be, from his master's point of view, profitless. P7'ofit- able to thee and to i7ie : explained by vv. 10, 16. In Onesimus Philemon had gained a brother in Christ : and Paul another son in the Gospel. Therefore, to each of them he was an enrichment. 12. Another detail about Onesimus. Who77i I have se7it back : evidently as bearer of this letter. Thus the runaway but now returning slave comes to Philemon with a character certified by Paul. Hi77iself: laying stress upon the personal return of Onesimus. So strongly did Paul's affection cling to him that to send him away was to tear out and send to Philemon his ow7i heart: same word as in V. 7. 13. Another detail. Was-77ii7ided : mere inclination. Paul's contrary resolution and action are stated in v. 14. /; emphatic, 262 EXPOSITION OF [Sec. 3. giving prominence to the personal inclination which Paul refused to gratify. To keep with me : literally ' to hold fast by myself.' These words emphasise still further Paul's personal feeling in this matter. On thy behalf: assuming that assistance rendered by Onesimus to Paul would be looked upon by Philemon as service done for himself. Paul thus delicately recognises Philemon's great care for him. [This simple exposition of the preposition ^Trep removes all need to give to it the sense of 'instead of,' which it never has in N. T. or in classic Greek.] Minister: render friendly service of any kind: see under Rom. xv. 25. This wish of Paul suggests that Onesimus had already shown kindness to him in prison. Possibly such kindness explains the epithet 'beloved brother' applied to Onesimus in v. 16 and Col. iv. 9. Then follows a fourth mention of Paul's imprisonment. His bo7ids made more needful to him the help of Onesimus. And they were caused by his endeavour to maintain and spread the Gospel. Indeed his arrest at Jerusalem was occasioned by his outspoken proclamation at all hazards of the unalloyed Gospel of salvation through faith. That Paul's captivity stood in this close relation to the Gospel, gave him a special claim to the help of Onesimus, even though his help to Paul might occasion some incon- venience to Philemon. And his bonds explain and justify his wish to retain Onesimus. 14. In contrast to his inclination, Paul now states his actual resolve ; and a reason for it, this last in the form of a purpose. Without thy mind: same word in i Cor. vii. 25, 40. Not having Philemon's judgment about his retaining Onesimus, Paul resolved not to retain him. For, had he done so, the service rendered to Paul by Philemon's slave would have been, so far as he was con- cerned, done by way of necessity. Thy good thing : any act of kind- ness by Philemon, including the help to Paul in prison. Rendered by Philemon's slave, this help would have been a good thing from Philemon to Paul : but it would have been done by way of necessity^ Philemon liaving no choice in it. Paul desired that it should be by way of freezuill, i.e. of his own free choice. 15, 16. A reason for this refusal to act without Philemon's consent, viz. ih^t petiiaps God had another purpose about Onesimus. And Paul wishes to act in harmony with this Divine plan. Perhaps : introduces this reason timidly, by way of suggestion. For this cause : explained by iji order that for ci>er etc. He was separated : a gentle way of describing the flight of Onesimus. For a time: literally /an accomplishment of a divine purpose and choice and predestination. The restatement has the emphasis of conspicuous repetition. The purpose to save man is traced back to eternit}^ ; is shown to be part of a purpose embracing both earth and heaven ; and is placed in closest relation to Christ. In other words, Paul's earlier teaching has received rich and har- monious development. We have again his favourite thought that the Gospel contains a secret known only to the initiated ; as in Rom. xvi. 25, I Cor. ii. 7, Col. i. 26. The gift of the Spirit is again appealed to as a proof of the favour of God and as a pledge of a share in the inheritance awaiting the sons of God ; in close harmony with Rom. viii. 16, 17, Gal. iii. 29, iv. 6, and with Acts xi. 17, 18. A marked feature of this section is the occurrence in it ten times of the phrase ill Christ or its equivalents, noting an inward union with Him as the all-embracing and all-pervading element both of salvation and of the eternal purpose to save. This we have already noticed as a conspicuous feature of the writings of Paul, a feature not found else- where in the N. T. except, in a peculiar form, in the Gospel and First Epistle of John. Its presence here in so great frequency, but never without meaning, is a clear indication of genuineness : as are the coincidences noted above. We notice the word redemption used to describe the deliverance wrought through the death of Christ, as in Rom. iii. 24 ; and with special reference to the final deliverance, as in Rom. viii. 23. Also the word wealth, as in Rom. ii. 4, ix. 23, xi. 33, Col. i. 27 ; and the word earnest, as in 2 Cor. i. 22, v. 5. As we rise from the study of this section we are conscious that we have heard the tones of a familiar voice, and have learnt from the lips of a revered teacher new .lessons equal to the most valuable we had learnt before, 284 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i SECTION III. PRAYER THAT THE READERS MAY RECOGNISE IN THEMSELVES THE GREAT POUER WHICH RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD. Ch. I. 15-23. For which cause also /, having heard the faith among you in the Lord Jesus, and the faithfulness towards all the sai?its, ^^ do not cease giving tha?iks on your behalf, 7?takijig 7?ieiition of you in ?ny prayers; ^"^ that the God of otcr Lord Jesus Christ, the Leather of glory, 77iay give to you the Spirit of wisdoin and revelation, in the know- ledge of Him "^ having the eyes of your hearts enlighteiied, in order that ye may knozv what is the hope of your calling, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints, ''•' and zvhat the surpassing g7-catness of His power towai'ds us who believe, according to the tvorking of the might of His strength -^^ which He wrought in Christ zvhen He raised Hijn front the dead and set Him at His right Jiand in the heave ftly places -• beyond and above all principality and authority and power and lordship and every name named 7wt 07ily i7i this age but also in that which is to be. -^ And He subjected all things under His feet ; arid gave Hi7n, as Head above all things, to the Chuixh, -•^ which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all things in all. Paul began his Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians, after a few words of greeting, with thanks to God for his readers' Christian life. The Epistle before us, he begins with a glorious psahn of praise for blessings given to the whole people of God, which he expounds at some length, followed by specilic mention of Jewish and Gentile Christians, The mention of these last suggests now definite thanks to God on his readers' behalf, thanks which pass easily into a wonderful prayer for their further progress. His thanks and prayer occupy this section. 15. For which cause : because you have Ijcen sealed by the Spirit as heirs of the inheritance of God. Also I : Paul placing himself ah)ngsidc tliesc Gentiles, as interested in their welfare, Having- hcard : cp. Col. i. 4, to a Church Paul has never visited ; and contrast Ph. i. 3, where the al)sence of this word sui'gests th;it he writes Sec. 3.] EPHESIANS I. 15—23. 285 from personal knowledge. That Paul speaks only of having heard about people among whom (Acts xx. 31) he laboured three years, is certainly remarkable. It can hardly be explained by tidings received since he left Ephesus four or five years before. For it was nearly as long since he was at Philippi ; and after leaving Philippi he met the Ephesian elders at Miletus. More likely is the suggestion (see under v. i) that this letter was written to other Churches besides that at Ephesus, Churches which Paul had never visited ; and that chiefly to tidings about these last, together with later tidings about the Ephesians, the word have-heard refers. This word therefore supports the suggestion just mentioned. The faith aiiiong you ; differs very slightly from 'your faith,' by making y«///^ and the believer distinct objects of thought. Faith in the Lord Jesus : similar phrase in i Tim. iii. 13, 2 Tim. iii, 15, It represents Christ, the personal object and ground of our faith, as also its surrounding element. The word love, omitted from the text of the RV., is not found in any Greek copy earlier than the Clermont Ms. in the sixth century, and in a correction of the Sinai Ms, made perhaps in the seventh century. It is absent entirely from the Vat. and Alex. Mss. and from the Sinai Ms. as originally written ; and seems to have been unknown to the early Biblical scholars, Origen and Jerome. But it is found in the Latin, Syriac, and Coptic Versions. If spurious, the insertion of the word is easily accounted for as a reminiscence of Col. i. 4. But, if genuine, its omission is very difficult to explain. This likelihood of insertion and unlikeliness of omission, together with the united testimony of the ancient Greek Mss., our best witnesses for the text of the N. T., testify strongly that the word was not written by Paul. And that without it the sentence gives a good meaning, I shall endeavour to show. In the sense in which Paul writes faith in the Lord Jesus, we cannot possibly have faith . . . i7t all the saints. Certainly these last cannot be the object or element of Christian faith. But the common classic meaning which I have given to the same word in Philem. 4, and which is found in a few places in the N. T., viz. faithfulness, would give a good meaning here. That one word would then be used in the same sentence in two senses, need not surprise us. For each use of the word was common, the first in the N. T. and the other in the Greek spoken everywhere in Paul's day. And the context makes quite clear that the word cannot have in the second clause the meaning which it undoubtedly has in the first. In such cases the mind passes almost unconsciously from one sense 286 EXPOSITJON OF [Div i. ol the word to another. Moreover, faith and faithfiihiess have much in common. They who rest with confidence upon the word and character of God become themselves a rock on which others rest. Hence, in Greek, the same words, substantive and adjective, denote faith 3.\\<1 f ait/if uhicss, ' believing ' and ' trustworthy.' Between these meanings it is frequently difficult to decide : e.g. Col. i. 2, iv. 9. An example of transition from one to the other, we have in Rom. iii. 3 * What if some did not believe ? Shall their want of faith make of no effect \\\Q. faith {ox faithfulness) of God ? ' We may therefore accept this meaning as not unlikely. And it enables us to accept also the reading so strongly supported by the best ancient copies. But since no English word combines the two meanings of the Greek word, we can reproduce Pauls full sense only by using two words. The passage may fairly be reproduced, /«//'/; in the Loi'd Jesiis and faithfulness towards all the saints. The assurance of which Christ was the personal Object and Ground and Sphere produced as its natural result trustworthiness towards all the saints. These last words as in Col. i. 4. 16. Do not cease giving thanks : cp. Ph. i. 3, Col. i. 3, 9, Rom. i. 8, 9. Paul's constant attitude of mind, since he heard about his readers, has been thankfulness to God for them. For he knew that their faithfulness was God's work and gift. 17. As ever, Paul's thoughts pass imperceptibly into prayer for further blessing. The good he hears prompts him, while giving thanks, to ask for more. In order that etc. : matter of the prayer, given as its aim and purpose. So frequently : cp. Philem. 6. For Paul's prayer is a means to a definite end. Knowing that God answers prayer, he prays in order that God . . . may give. The God of our Lord fesits Christ : who on earth addressed Him as 'My God,' Jno. xx. 17, Mt. xxvii. 46. The word God here notes a relation of the Father, not only to men, but to Christ. And the entire teaching of Paul and John assures us that this relation extends, not only to the Incarnate, but to the Eternal, Son. As supreme in the Godhead, the Father occupies, even to the Eternal Son, a relation suitably described by the word God. Hence this word is the fre- quent title of the Father even as distinguished from the Son : see under i Cor. iii. 23, viii. 6. For to Him, as God, the Son is and ever will be subject: i Cor. xv. 28. A genitive following the word father usually describes his children. But the abstract term glory cannot do this. It is evidently a characterizing quality of the Father of Christ and of us. So 2 Cor. i. 3, ' Father of compassions ; ' Acts vii. 2, ' God of glory,' i Cor. ii. 8, ' Lord of glory.' Paul prays to Him Sec. 3.] EPHESIANS I. 15—23. 287 to whom the divine Head of the Church bows as God, to the Father, clothed in infinite grandeur, of Christ and of us. Spirit of wisdo7}i : the Holy Spirit, as an animating principle possessing and imparting wisdom. See under i Cor. iv. 21, 'Spirit of meekness; ' 2 Cor. iv. 13, Rom. viii. 2, 15. For the word cannot denote here a human spirit: nor does it ever, apparently, denote mere disposition of mind. [The absence of the Greek article is frequent even when the one Holy Spirit is indisputably referred to : e.g. Rom. viii. 9 — 11, 14, 15. For where a word is in itself suffi- ciently definite, the Greeks frequently omitted the article, in order to direct attention to the qualities implied in the anarthrous word ; in this case, to the Holy Spirit as an animating principle characterized by wisdom.] Wisdom and revelation : see under i Cor. ii. 5, Rom. i. 17. It is a characterizing prerogative of the Spirit of God to impart a knowledge of eternal realities ; and, more definitely, to lift a veil which no hand but that of God can lift and which hides from us the unseen things of God. The former term is general : the latter specific. Paul prays that the Father who is characterized by infinite grandeur, who has already {v. 13) sealed his readers with the Spirit of promise, may give to them the same Spirit as an inward source of wisdom and as One who reveals the things unseen. His prayer reminds us that each new influence and work of the Spirit is a fresh gift from God. Knowledge: \\iex?i\\y, ftdl-knowledge ; as in Col. i. 9, 10, ii. 2, iii. 10. 0/ Hi?n : of God, to whom here Paul prays. The Spirit of wisdom comes to us clothed ift a deep and real knowledge of God ; and makes Himself known to us by imparting such knowledge. For God is Himself the great Reality, and the great Object which appears when the veil is lifted. 18. Enlightened : as in Heb. vi. 4, x. 32. The heart: the inmost centre of human life, and the source of action : see under Rom. i. 21. The eyes of the heart: the faculty by which knowledge enters into and illumines this inmost chamber. Having the eyes of yonr heart enlightened : connecting link between the gift of the Spirit and the personal knowledge which Paul desires for his readers. [The accusative case puts these words in apposition, not as we might have expected to the preceding words ' give to you,' but to those following that ye 7nay know; in order, apparently, to suggest that only by enlightenment of the heart can we receive this desired knowledge. This use of the accusative is made somewhat the more easy by the occasional use of the accusative absolute, as in Rom. viii. 3.] Before expounding the ultimate aim of his prayer, vi2. 288 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. knowledge of three things pertaining to the Christian life, Paul states conspicuously a condition on which alone this aim can be attained, viz. the entrance of light, ever the condition of know- ledge, into the inmost chamber of our nature. This light he hopes for as a result of the gift of the Spirit of God whose special work is to impart wisdom and to unveil mysteries. For He is the one principle of spiritual life. And, always, life is an essential con- dition of sight. That ye may know etc. : ultimate aim of the gift of the Spirit, and of inward enlightenment. So Ph. i. 9, Col. i. 9. This earnest prayer reveals the infinite importance of knowledge as a condition of Christian life. Three matters, Paul desires his readers to know : two \\\v. 18, and a third in v. 19. His calling : a favourite word of iPaul, Rom. i. 6, viii. 28, 30, i Cor. i. 9, 26, vii. 18, 20, 21, 22, etc; 'the high calling of God,' Ph. iii. 14. It is the Gospel summons to salvation, to the service of God, and to eternal glory. To this calling belongs hope : for it gives to those who hear and obe}^ it an expecta- tion of infinite blessing to come. Paul desires that his readers may know how great these blessings are. And to this end he has already prayed that they may receive the Spirit of wisdom. For only the Spirit of God can reveal the greatness of the blessings awaiting the sons of God: cp. i Cor. ii. 10, 12. And what etc. : second matter which Paul desires His readers to knozv. It is also the object of the hope just mentioned. His inherit- ance : the good things of God w^hich will pass to the saints as His children. For they are 'heirs of God,' Rom. viii. 17. Of these good things the S])irit of Adoption is the first: cp. 7/. 14. This inheritance has an abundance of splendour which will make truly rich all who receive it. Paul desires his readers to know how great is the abmidance of this splendour. Among or in the saints : cp. Col. i. 27, ' among the Gentiles.' The saints arc represented as standing round their own inheritance. Heirship to the wealth of God is located by God in and among the sacred people of the New Covenant. 19a. A third ultimate aim of Paul's prayer. Surpassing : chs. ii. 7, iii. 19: a similar form of the same word, in 2 Cor. iii. 10, ix. 14; the corresponding substantive in Rom. vii. 13, i Cor. xii. 31, 3 Cor. i. 8, iv, 7, 17, xii. 7, Gal. i. 13, and a corresponding adverb in 2 Cor. xi. 23. This family of words is peculiar to this Epistle and to the undisputed Epistles of Paul. It embodies a tliought evidently familiar to him ; and is thus a note of genuineness. Us that believe : cp. V. 13 : another important harmony with Paul's doctrine of salvation Sec. 3.] EPHESIANS I. 15—23. 289 through faith. It tells us the aim and direction of this mighty power. Paul desires his readers to know what, in its operation in the hearts of believers, the greatness of that power is. 19b, 20. According to etc. : a standard by which they may measure it. Working : or energy: see under Ph. iii. 21. Notice the accumulation of synonyms representing different sides of one conception. The word rendered _power denotes ability to produce results. That rendered might is the last part of the words autocrat, democrat ; and suggests a controlling influence. The word rendered strength is frequently used of muscular force. It suggests the inherent capacity of God for breaking down obstacles and working out His will. The energy of the 7night of His strength is the activity of the all-controlling and inherent capacity for action which dwells in God. Same words together in ch, vi. 10. Which He wrought: specific activity of the power of God to which Paul has just referred as a measure of the power at work in us. Wrought or energized : cognate to working in v. 19. It is used in Gal. iii. 5, Mt. xiv. 2 for the putting forth of miraculous pov/er. In Christ : objectively and historically, in the personality of the God- Man. Similarly, Rom. iii. 24 ; cp. i Cor. xv. 22, ' in Adam all die.' When He raised Him etc. : specific manifestation of the energy of God. Close parallel in Ph. iii. 10, 'the power of His resurrection.' Notice that, as ever, Christ is said to have been raised by the power of the Father: so Col. ii. 12, Gal. i. i, Rom. iv. 21, viii. 11, x. 9. At His right hand : see under Col. iii. i. Christ's session in glory is here represented as being, like His resurrection, a w^ork of God. In the heavenly places : word for word as in v. 3. It depicts further the surroundings of the Risen Lord. 21. Further delineation of the position of the Risen One. Beyo7id- and above : movement upwards going beyond even the most exalted. All pri7icipality and authority : word for word as in Col. ii. 10. Same words in the plural in Col. i. 16; where see note. They evidently describe successive ranks of angels. Power: same word as in 7/. 19. In i Pet. iii. 22 we have 'angels and authorities and powers,' made subject to the Risen Saviour. Lo7^dship : same word in Col. i. 16, but there placed immediately before 'principalities or authorities.' This change of order makes it impossible to determine whether the order here given is ascending or descending. All that we can infer with certainty is that Paul's faith saw the Risen and Rising One passing through and beyond and above successive ranks of angelic powers until there was in heaven no grandeur which He had not left behind. Then, after naming heavenly powers known 19 290 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. to him, he uses a universal phrase covering 7iot only those known by men Hving on earth in the present age, but also those names which will be needed and used to describe men and angels throughout the eternal future. Whatever may be thus designated, Christ has already 'passed. Every name named: a close parallel in Ph. ii. 9. It includes every kind of character and position as recognised by intelligent persons. Not only etc.; emphasises the universal expres- sion by specifying two component parts of it. So Col. i. 16. Same division of time in Mt. xii. 32. This age : same words in Rom. xii. 2, I Cor. ii. 6, Gal. i. 4 ; where see notes. It is the present course of things. That which is to co7?te : the new course of things to be introduced by the coming of Christ, this looked upon as one definite whole. 22a. Further delineation of the exaltation of Christ. For greater emphasis, it is added as an independent sentence. All-things; keeps up the idea of universality already expressed by the words 'air and 'every.' All things He subjected under His feet : word for word as in i Cor. xv. 27, which is almost word for word from (Lxx.) Ps. viii. 6. What the Psalmist asserts of man, in poetic ideal, Paul claims in each passage to have been fulfilled in Christ. And rightly. For, as Son of man, He is heir of whatever belongs to man. 22b. The exalted Saviour's relation to the Church. Notice also a fuller statement of His relation to the universe, this including evidently the angelic powers just mentioned. Christ is not only above the angels, but above all created things as their Head, i.e. as the seat of supreme authority: see under Col. i. 18. Above or rather beyond all things: recalling v. 21, 'above and beyond all jirincipality etc' We have here the historic exaltation of the human body and nature of the Son, and His original relation to the uni- verse: see Col. i. 16-18. In this supreme dignity, raised above and controlling all things, God gave Him to the Church; evidently in order that the Head of the universe maybe also Head of the Church, thus making the universe an ally of the Church. 23. Two important relations of the Church to Christ. Which is, or, more fully, inasmuch as it is : a reason why God gave Christ to the Church. His body : as in Col. i. 18. See note under i Cor. xii. 30. In vv. 20 — 22 we saw the mighty power of God raising Christ from the grave in which He lay dead and raising Him through the successive ranks of angels until He sits in glory at the right hand of God. We now learn that the Risen and Enthroned One is God's gift to the Church, to be its Head, i.e. to be Himself a part of Sec. 3.] EP/IES/ANS l. 1^—23. 291 the Church and occupying in it a unique and supreme place as that part which directs the whole and is essential to the vitaHty of the whole. In other words, He who is above everything created is in closest union with the Church. Thefichtess etc. : further description of the Church. It is the body of Christ, an outward and visible form consisting of various and variously endowed members all animated by the one Spirit of Christ, of which body He is Himself the Head, the supreme and controlling member. It is also "His ftibiess : see under Col. i. 19. Hwi who Jills all thiiigs with all thiiigs : Christ, who gives to the universe in its various parts the fulness with which every part is full. Fills, or more accurately fills for Himself or from Himself: Christ being enriched by the fulness with which He makes the universe full. This keeps before us the similar relation of Christ to the universe and to the Church, In what sense are these words true ? The Church can hardly be the fulness with which Christ is Himself full ; as in the ordinary use and construction of the word. Rather it is that which Christ makes full ; according to a less common classic use in which a fully manned ship is sometimes called a fulness, as though in its full equipment the idea of a ship found its full realisa- tion. He who fills the universe and by its abundant contents reveals Himself as one who fills all things with all things, fills also the Church, making it a receptacle of every blessing which proceeds from Him. Somewhat similar is the common use of the same word by the Gnostics, as quoted frequently by Irenaeus, in a local sense to describe the abode of blessedness, which they called the fulness in contrast to ' the void ' or abode of darkness. Also closely akin to the word before us is the verb in Col. ii. 10, 'in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are madefull in Him,' He who has so joined to Himself the Church as to make it His body, the visible organ of His self-manifestation, and Himself its Head, has also made it His fidness, the receptacle and embodiment of His own abundance, of the infinite blessings He is able to bestow. Review. That his readers have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and that He is an earnest of the inheritance awaiting them, moves Paul, on hearing of their faith in Christ and their faithfulness towards all Christians, to give ceaseless thanks on their behalf in his approaches to God in prayer. His thanks pass imperceptibly into prayer that God would give to them that Spirit who is the Bearer of the wisdom of God and the Agent of His revelations to men, this gift assuming the form of imparted knowledge of God, in order that they, receiving light where the heart sees things unseen. 292 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. may know what blessings await those who have heard and obeyed the Gospel summons, how abundant is the splendour of the inherit- ance which already belongs to the saints, and how surpassingly mighty is the power which is already at work upon them and will ultimately realise their hopes. Paul gives them a measure by which they may estimate the greatness of this power, viz. the power which raised Christ from the dead to the throne of God, far beyond the shining ranks of heaven and beyond whatever dignity is known in the age now passing or will be known in the ages to come. The exaltation of Christ rivets the Apostle's wondering gaze. He remembers that not only is Christ raised above all angelic powers, but that all things good and bad, personal and impersonal, are put under His control ; that the humanity of Christ, itself a part of the created universe, holds in it a place of unique dignity as the supreme part which controls all else ; that this supreme Ruler of the universe has been given to the Church to be a part of it, viz. the one supreme and controlling member without which the others cannot live ; and that the Church is both His body, the visible organ of His self- manifestation, and His fulness, the receptacle of the effulgence and wealth which ever flow from Him. Notice carefully that, in consequence of the close relation between Christ and His people, the splendour given to Him and the power which rescued Him from death and gave Him that splendour are a measure of the splendour awaiting His people ; and that the power which raised Christ is already at work in those who believe, and will ultimately raise them to the throne of their Risen Lord. A similar argument in Ph. iii. 21. This exaltation above even the highest created beings assures us that no created power will pre- vent or lessen the glory awaiting us. Notice also the appropriate- ness here of Paul's favourite metaphor of tlie Church as the body of Christ. If we are members of His body, where the Head is we must some day be. Therefore, since the Head cannot descend, the exaltation of Christ is a pledge that we shall reign with Him. The Church is also the self-development of Him who fills the universe with His own life ; as though apart from the Church our conception of Clirist would be incomplete. Sec 4.] EPHESIANS II. 1—3. 293 SECTION IV. PAUL AND HIS READERS WERE ONCE DEAD BY REASON OF THEIR SINS. Ch. II. 1—3. And you, being dead through your trespasses and sins, '-in which formerly ye walked acco7'ding to the course of this world, according to the prince of the authority of the air, of the spirit which now works hi the sons of disobedience ; ^ among whom also we all lived formerly in the desires of our flesh, doiiig the resolves of the flesh and the thoughts : and we were by 7iature children of anger as also the rest. In § 3 Paul prayed that his readers might know the great power of God at work towards those who believe ; and, as a measure of it» pointed to Christ raised from the dead and enthroned with God. He sees Christ not only raised above all but the Head of all, and given to the Church to be its Head and the Church His body and His fulness. The original purpose of this reference to Christ's resurrection and ascension, viz. as a measure of the power at work in us, now reappears. In ch. ii. i, (§ 4,) Paul turns suddenly to his readers and declares that, like Christ, they once were dead : in vv. 2, 3 he proves this. In § 5 he goes on to say that in Christ they also have been raised and enthroned. 1. Andyoic : the Christians at Ephesus and elsewhere, in contrast to the Risen Saviour. Being: as in Col. i. 21. Dead through trespasses : as in Col. ii. 13, where see note. Ti'espasses are moral falls: sins are moral failures. This twofold description of the same actions emphasizes the cause of spiritual death. Their former position was analogous to that of Christ in the grave. For they also were dead ; and their death, like His, was caused by human sins. These sins had robbed them of the only true life ; and had given them up, unless rescued by Him who raises the dead, to eternal corruption. Such was their awful state, utterly beyond reach of human help. The words in italics (AV. and RV.) are an anticipation of ^. 5, inserted to complete the English sentence. The verb governing the accusative j(/<9?^ in v. i is pushed back to make way for the relative sentences in vv. 2, 3, which describe further the sad condition of the persons referred to, until in v. 4 its place is supplied by a new 294 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. sentence. All this is characteristic of Paul : a close parallel in Rom. V. 12. Paul keeps us under the shadow of death that the darkness of the shadow may throw into greater prominence the splendour of the light of life. 2. In which sins : as the surrounding element of their life and movement. Cp. i Cor. xv. 17. Ye walked : see under Col. iii. 7. Of this world: the whole realm of men and things around, looked upon as existing in space and as hostile to Christ. The course, or age : the whole stream and tendency of things around, looked upon as moving forward in time. According to the course etc. : carried along by the moving current of men and things around, all belonging to this world. The two words cow'se and woiid represent the same idea in its reference to time and space respectively. And each word recalls the vast complexity of things and movements around. The combination presents this idea with a completeness not found elsewhere. Rtiler, or prince : same \v6{^ in Rom. xiii. 3, i Cor. ii. 6, 8, of earthly rulers ; in Rev. i. 5, of Christ as ' the Ruler of the kingdoms of the earth ; ' and in Jno. xii. 31, xiv. 30, xvi. 11, of Satan. Accord- ing to the ruler etc. : parallel with according to the course etc., and another view of the same truth. Steps guided by the current of things around are guided by the unseen ruler of that current. For the visible stream is animated and directed by an unseen spirit. Authority : a controlling influerice, as in Col. i. 13. A genitive after this word usually denotes either the person exercising authority or those under authority. But we cannot conceive the air, the impon- derable element around and above us, as either ruling or being ruled over. It must therefore be the locality of this controlling influence. The authority which directs the course of those who float down the stream of things around must be that of evil spirits. That these were conceived, both by Jews and by others in the ancient world, as having their abode in the air, we have in Rabbinical literature and elsewhere, e.g. Diogenes Laertius bk. viii. 32, abundant proof. And this agrees with their comparative power, greater than men and less than the powers of heaven. Apparently, Paul accepted and used this common conception as sufficiently embodying a truth he wished to teach. His words remind us that all around are spiritual enemies, as near as the air we breathe. Over these reigns a tremendous potentate. Along a path marked out by him, led by unseen powers who do his bidding and by the current of things around, once walked the Christians to whom Paul now writes. TIic spirit which now works etc. : parallel witli the authority of the Sec. 4.] EPHESIANS II. 1—3. 295 air, and further describing the agency which does the bidding of the prince of darkness, as an animating principle moving men from within in contrast to the course of this world which carries them along as an influence from without. With the spi7'it, contrast ' the spirits ' in I Jno. iv. i. This latter passage looks at the infinite variety, the former at the essential oneness, of these evil influences. A variety of spiritual foes is also portrayed in Eph. vi. 12. Works, or in- works : as in ch. i. 11, 20, Ph. ii. 13. This interior working is a characteristic of spirit. To the Christians at Ephesus this inward influence is past : to others it Jiow works. Sons of disobedience : ch. V. 6. See note under Col. iii. 6. As a description of the un- saved, it prepares the way for the fuller description in v. 3. After asserting that his readers were once dead through their sins, Paul further describes their former state of death. The sins which had been the means of their destruction were also an element in which they moved. And their path was guided by the current around them, a current belonging to the present material world. It was guided, not by a blind force or unconscious influence, but by a personal ruler, under whose sway was a controlling power as pervasive as the air. This power Paul speaks of as an active animating principle, prompting disobedience to God and making those who yield to it personal embodiments of the principle of disobedience. 3a. To the foregoing description of the former state of the Gentile Christians, Paul now adds an equivalent description including him- self and the Jewish Christians : also we all. He thus completes his picture of unsaved mankind. By now including all men, he brings the Jews specially before us. Among whom : as belonging to their number. Paul thus asserts that all men, Jews and Gentiles, were once ' sons of disobedience.' Lived: same word as behaved-otir- selves or had our manner of life in 2 Cor. i. 12 ; also i Tim. iii. 15, I Pet. i. 17. It denotes life not as an inward principle, but as an outward activity and movement ; and is thus parallel and similar to the word ' walk ' in v. 2. Forinerly : parallel to the same word in zf. 2. In the desires: same words in Rom. i. 24. The desires of our flesh : see under Gal. v. 16, 24 ; cp. i Jno. ii. 16. The plural number recalls the variety of tendencies inherent to the constitution of our bodies and going out after objects pleasant to the senses. These tendencies are the world in which the unsaved move. Doing the resolves etc. : further description of the manner of life in the desires of the flesh, asserting the fulfilment of these desires in action. The 7'esolves : Acts xiii. 22 : the plural form of the word 296 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. rendered will'xw ch. i, 5, 9, 11. It denotes a deliberate wish. The plural number corresponds with the foregoing plural desires. The resolves differ from the desires of the flesh as a definite wish differs from the general liking from which it springs. The repetition of the word Jlesh is emphatic. The minds : same word in the singular in Col. i. 21, where see note, and in Mt. xxii. 37. The plural number reminds us that, whereas all men have one flesh, they have many 7?ii?ids. Moreover, our 7?iinds, like our flesh, have wills of their own. The condemnation implied in this verse teaches that these wills do not bow to the will of God ; and that, consequently, they who do them come under the anger of God. On the flesh, see note under Rom. viii. 1 1. 3b. The last detail in Paul's description of the unsaved. In order to show its importance as in itself claiming attention, Paul adds it as an independent statement : ajtd we were etc. He declares that in former days his readers we7'e childre?i, by 7tatu?-e, of anger, i.e. exposed to the anger of God. Cp. Jno. xvii. 12, 'the son of destruc- tion : ' close Hebrew parallels in Dt. xxv. 2, ' a son of stripes ; ' I Sam. XX. 31, xxvi. 16, 2 Sam. xii. 5, ' a son of death,' i.e. doomed to death. So terrible was the position of those about whom Paul writes that to his vivid thought they seemed to be an offspring of the anger of God. And they were this hy-natiwe : i.e. their exposure to the anger of God was an outworking of forces born in them. Same word in Rom. ii. 14, where see note; Gal. ii. 15, iv. 8. As also the rest : i.e. of men, Paul solemnly concludes his description of the former state of his readers and himself by saying that the description is or has been true of all men. These last words must be read in the light of the statement in V. I that the Ephesian Christians v/ere formerly dead by reason of their own personal sins. All is explained if we assume that men are born in such position that, apart from the salvation wrought out for them in Christ, none can avoid committing actual sin, and that in Christ salvation is offered to all men. If so, the universality of actual sin is a result of the lost state into which we were born. But, to those who have heard the Gospel, present condemnation is a result of rejection of offered salvation, and of actual sins from which Christ would have saved us. This evil nature is easily explained by Paul's teaching in Rom. v. 12. By his first trespass Adam sold himself into bondage to sin and death. This double bondage his children inherit. No power of theirs can save them from actual sin and from the grave. But in Christ God offers to men deliverance now from the bondage of sin and ultimately Iruni the grave. They Sec. 4.] EPHESIANS II. 1—3. 297 who continue in sin do so because they reject the offered salvation. The word by-Jiatiire inserted at the close of Paul's picture of lost humanity increases the darkness of the picture. For it tells us that not only are all men sinners but they are so in consequence of the position in which they were born. None can save them except one who can change their inborn nature. Notice that, without professing to do so, Paul has virtually in vv. 2, 3 explained and justified 2/. i, * dead through your trespasses.' For he has asserted that his readers went once with the mass of mankind along a path marked out by the prince of evil, and were animated by an evil influence under his direction. The lower side of human nature was the element in which they lived : all men are or were numbered among the sons of disobedience, and were under the anger of God. If so, all men are guilty of actual sin ; and all are dead except those whom God has raised from the dead. For the anger of God involves exclusion from the only real life, and leads inevitably to eternal corruption. Consequently, they who thus live are dead through their own sins. This section is Paul's fullest description of unsaved mankind. And it is a picture of utter and universal ruin. He assumes in v. i that all men have committed trespasses and sins ; and in v. 3 that all were once numbered among the sons of disobedience and were under the anger of God. We have here universal sin and universal condemnation. This moral ruin Paul traces to a cause common to all men, viz. \X\^\x fleshy the material and lower side of their nature, this being to the unsaved the encompassing and determining ele- ment of their life and activity. In harmony with this, the anger of God resting upon all men is traced to the constitution received at. birth. This inherited evil is further traced to a personal source mightier than man, viz. to a ruler from beneath who leads men along from within by an animating principle under his direction. Naturally, this inward force of evil operates on man through the lower and material side of his being, giving to it power to control his entire activity. It thus impresses its will on man's own nature, and forces him along a path on which God frowns. A further analysis of sin is given in ch. iv. 17-19. 298 EXPOSITION OF [Div. SECTION V. GOD HAS MADE US SHARERS OF THE RESURRECTION LIFE OF CHRIST. Cm. II. 4 — 10. But God, being I'ich in mercy, because of His much love with wJiicli He loved us, ^ and we bei7ig dead through our trespasses, has 7tiade us alive together with Christ — by grace ye are saved — ^ and raised us with Him a7id 7nade us sit with Him i7t the heavenly places iti Christ Jesus ; "^ that He may show in the ages coming on the sur- passing riches of His grace in Imidness to us in Christ Jesus. ^ For by grace ye are saved, th7'ough faith : and that not of yourselves ; the gift is God's; ^ not of works, that no man may glory. ^^ For His work7nanship we are, created iit Christ Jesus for good works, which God bcfoi'e prcpa7-ed i7t order that we 77iay walk i7i the7n. 4, 5. But God : in conspicuous contrast to lost and sinful man- kind. This new sentence supplies the place of the grammatical conclusion of the foregoing sentence, which was postponed to make way for the further delineation of those dead in sins, and not after- wards added. Similarly, the sentence broken off in Rom. v. 12 has its virtual completion in v. 18. This delineation is a dark background for the glory which suddenly and majestically now bursts upon us. Mc7xy : compassion for the helpless. It recalls the helplessness of those under the anger of God, and thus completes the picture given in § 4. Rich i7i mercy : cp. ch. i. 7, 18. Because of His 77mch love; traces this mercy to its source in the central attribute of God. Upon this unique attribute Paul lingers : His 77iuch love with which He loved us. The past tense refers to the love manifested in the salvation of Paul and his readers. A7id we bei7ig dead etc. : a repetition of v. 1, for vivid contrast with the foregoing description of God and His love. A close parallel with Rom. iii. 23, where for a similar contrast we have a similar summary of foregoing teaching. This love of contrast, especially of contrast between past and pre- sent, is an almost certain mark of Pauline authorship. IIas-7uadc- alive-with-Christ : as in Col. ii. 13, where the same word is explained by ' having forgiven you all the trespasses.' It reverses all that is implied in the words deail ihrougli t7'cspasscs. V\'r were once, in consequence of our sins, a spiritual corpse given up to corruption Sec. 5.] EPHESIANS II. 4—10. 299 utter and helpless, from which nothing could save us except the life- giving power of God. But God has pardoned our sins and given back to us the eternal life for which we were created. This eternal life is already our assured possession : and the witness of it is the Holy Spirit, the Breath of immortality, already moving our hearts with the pulse of divine life and prompting all Christian activities. With Christ^: as in Col. ii. 13. Our new immortal life is an outflow of the hfe breathed on the first Easter morning into His sacred corpse. For, had He not risen, there had been no saving faith, no Gospel, and no life eternal. By-grace (cp. Rom. iii. 2^) ye-are saved: each word emphatic. Salvation is by the undeserved favour of God : it is already actual : and this is emphatically asserted. Contrast Rom. v. 10, xiii. 11. We are already saved from the sinking wreck into a lifeboat which cannot sink : but we are not finally safe until the perilous voyage of life is past. Hence Paul can say as here we are saved; or as in I Cor. i. 18 we ' are being saved ; ' or as above we 'shall be saved.' 6. Raised with Him : as in Col. ii. 12, iii. i. It further pictures the new life as a participation in the act of God which raised Christ from the grave and brought Him back to the land of the living. Made-to-sit-with Him : only here and Lk. xxii. 55. A new feature of the Christian life. We are not only made ahve, and raised from the surroundings of death, but are also sharers of the throne of Christ. Cp. ch. i. 20: 'raised Him from the dead and made Him sit.' Notice the close connection between the Christian's life on earth and the life of his risen and glorified Lord. See under Col. ii. 12. In the heavenly places : same words as in ch. i. 3, which they expound. They give further definiteness to the picture of Christ's enthronement in heaven, and declare that already we share even its glorious environment. This resurrection and enthronement are with Christ and in Christ. For He will be both the companion and the encompassing element of our future glory. And whatever we shall be, to Paul's faith, believers already are. Thus (ch. i. 3) has God ' blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.' 7. Aim of God in raising and enthroning us. Close harmony with ch. i. 6, 12, 14. That He-may-show : more fully show some- thing in Hi7nself, i.e. reveal His own inner nature. Same word in Rom. ii. 15, ix. 17, 22, i Tim. i. 16. The ages coming on : beginning with the coming of Christ. For only then will God's kindness to men be worthily manifested. To the prophetic eye of Paul, suc- cessive ages of future glory are already approaching, like successive 300 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. waves of blessing ; an endless vista of splendour. That this mani- festation is to take place during the ages of glory, suggests that it will be for angels as well as men : cp. ch. iii. lo. The sti7'passing riches of His grace : a superlative term embracing and surpassing ch. i. 7, 19. Kindness: so Rom. ii. 4, 'riches of His kindness;' also ch. xi. 22. It is * mercy ' and ' grace ' represented as gentle- ness. In Christ Jcsiis : objectively, through His death and. resur- rection, as in ch. i. 20, Rom. iii. 24 ; and subjectively through inward contact with Him, as in 2 Cor. v. 17. This aim of God in raising us together with Christ proves the infinite greatness of the blessing thus conferred on men. For the means must be sufficient for the end in view. God resolved to manifest the surpassing abundance of His grace ; and, to this end, loaded us with kindness. A similar, but further, purpose in ch. iii. 10. Ar-^ 8, 9. In order to justify and expound ' the riches of His grace,' Paul now repeats and amplifies a few words which, in v. 4, burst through the grammatical order of the sentence. By-grace : by the grace of God ; referring definitely to the grace mentioned in v. 7. Through faith : added in order to give a more complete account of salvation. It embodies a thought ever present to Paul, and ever ready to find expression : compare the casual mention of faith in Rom. iii. 25, 26. The favour of God is the divine source, ^nd faith is the human channel, of salvation. T/iis or this thing; refers almost certainly to the salvation just mentioned. For it is neuter, whereas faith and grace are feminine. Moreover, ?iot fro?n works, which must refer io ye are saved, is evidently parallel to not from yourselves, and thus gives to these words the same reference. They are added as an emphatic exposition, negative and then positive, of the words by grace. * You are not the source of your own salva- tion : it is a gift : and the gift is God's. It is 7iotfro7n human works! Not fro?n worlcs, that no one may glory : marked characteristics of Paul : Rom. iv. 2, 6, ix. 11, xi. 6; iii. 27, i Cor. i. 29, Gal. vi. 14. From every side, Paul shuts out, as his wont is, all self-salvation. 10. Proof and amplification of the statement that our salvation is not from ourselves or from works, but from God ; viz. that we are ourselves God's workmanship. Having-been-crcatcd etc. : proof of the foregoing. Paul refers evidently, in words taken from the o\d creation, to the new creation of the spiritual life. Cp. 2 Cor. v. 17, Gal. vi. 15. Another trace of the hand of Paul. Created: a word predicated only of God, and thus denoting a putting forth of power possessed only by God. Kven when creating out of existing materials, as in Gen. i. 21, God breathed into tlicni new life ; which Sec. 5.] EPHESIANS II. 4—10. 301 man cannot do. The word here teaches that the Christian life is not only a workmanship of God but is a new putting forth of crea- tive power. Bi Christ: as in vv. 6, 7. Notice the emphatic and characteristic repetition. Good works : as in Rom. ii. 7, xiii. 3, 2 Cor. ix. 8 : a phrase found only with Paul. The word good includes beneficence and intrinsic worth : another word, noting only excel- lence, in Mt. V. 16. Just as God created certain animals for certain activities which were a part of His creative purpose, so He designs the new life in Christ to reveal itself in good works. The words following lay further stress on this definite purpose of God. Before- pi'epared : in eternity, when the new life was only a thought in the mind of God. He then designed that good woi'ks should be its environment and outward expression. Same word in Rom. ix. 23, ^ before-prepaj'ed ior glory.' That we should walk in them: God's purpose touching these good works. He designs them to be the surrounding element of our movements ; in absolute contrast to V. 2, ' in which sins ye walked.' It is now quite clear that salvation is in no way from ourselves or from works. For even our own good works are a part of God's eternal purpose to give spiritual life to those who believe in Christ. And if they are an outworking of His purpose of mercy, they cannot be a ground of merit, or a source of salvation. Notice here another reference to the eternal purpose of salvation, already mentioned in ch. i. 4, 5, 9, 11 ; also in ch. iii. 11. It is a conspicuous feature of .this Epistle, and a fuller development of teaching already found in Rom. viii. 28, 29, ix. 11, 23. The chief significance of § 5 is derived from its relation to § 3. Paul there prayed that God would reveal to his readers the glory awaiting them and the great power of God which some day will realise their hopes and which already is at work in them. As a measure of that power and of that hope, he pointed to the power which raised Christ from the grave and set Him at the right hand of God. In order to make practical use of this comparison, Paul showed in § 4 that all the unsaved are in a position analogous to that of the body of Jesus as it lay dead in the grave. For, through their sins, they were separated from the only real life and were doomed to corruption. This state of ruin Paul further described. Although dead, they were capable of movement : but it was a mere floating down a stream, in a channel marked out by the great enemy, under influences directed by him ; a mere surrender to the promptings of the lower side of their nature. That the prince of darkness and their own nature led them along the same path, proved that their 302 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. nature is corrupt, and that they who follow it are under the anger of God. Now the anger of God is death in its worst form. At the beginning of § 5 we see God looking down with compassion and infinite love upon the lost human race. Paul asserts that He who gave life to the lifeless body of Christ has made alive those who once were dead through their sins. This can only mean that He has rescued them from the corruption which was their inevitable doom and has given back to them spiritual activity and growth. This life is an outflow of that which entered into the silent body of Christ. And, as with Christ so with them, life has been accompanied by removal from the surroundings of death and by exaltation to heaven. All this God did in order to reveal His infinite favour to men. The same truth Paul repeats for emphasis in another form. Since his readers have been made alive, he can rightly say that they have been saved. And, since their resurrection with Christ is an outflow of the mercy and love of God, they are saved by grace. To make this the more conspicuous, Paul adds that salvation is not from themselves or their works, but is the gift of God ; and that it has come in this way in order that no one may boast. And he cannot forbear to remind his readers that it is through faith. To complete his proof that salvation is altogether from God and not at all from man, he says that the new life is a work of the creative pou'er of God and an accomplishment of an eternal purpose. Thus Paul, after raising his readers to the throne of God and setting them beside their risen Lord, leads their thoughts back to the eternal purpose of which the actual salvation of men is an historic realisation. This tracing of the phenomena of time to their source in the eternal thouglit of God is a conspicuous feature of Paul, a feature nowhere so conspicuous as in this Epistle. SECTION VI. THROUGH CHRIST, BOTH JEWS AND GENTILES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT NEAR TO GOD. Cii. II. II — 22. For this cause rc7?ie?nber that fo?yncrly yc, the Gcdiilcs m Jlcsh, those called iincirciimcision by that which is called circumcision injlesh, made by hands — '- that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the co7?imofiwealth of Israel, and strangers to the Sec. 6.] EPHESTANS II. 11—22. 303 covenants of the p7-omise, having no hope, a?td without God i7i the world. 1^ But now, i7i Christ Jesus, ye who formerly were far off have become 7iear in the blood of Christ. ^^ For He Hijnself is our peace, who has 77iade both one and has b?vken down the iniddle wall of partition, ^'"^ having made of no effect the etimity, i7i His flesh, even the law of C07nma7id77ie7its i7i dog77ias ; i7i order that He 7nay C7'eate i7i Hi7nself the two i7ito 07te new 77ia7i, 77iaki7ig peace ; '''^ a7id that He 77iay reco7icile both i7i 07ie body to God th7'ough the C7'0ss, having slai77- the en77iity thereby. ^"^ A7id He came and a7i7ioimced peace, as good 7iews, to those far off a7id to those oiear ; ""^ because through Him we both have access in 07te Spirit to the Father. ^^ The7'efore no lo7iger aj'e ye stra7igers a7id sojourne7's but fellow-citize7is of the saints and members of the household of God, ^" havi7ig bee7i built up on the foundatio7i of the apostles a7td prophets, the chief cor7ier stone bei7tg Chi'ist Jesus Hi77iself, ^^ i7t whom every building, bei7tg fitly f7'a77ied together, is growi7tg i7tto a holy temple 171 the Lo7'd, ^^i7t who77i also ye are bei7ig built together for a dwelli7ig-place of God in the Spi7it. Like §§4 and 5, § 6 depicts the contrast of past and present. This is indicated by the word 'formerly' in vv. 2, 3 and in vv. ii, 13. But the earlier contrast was that of men once dead through their sins but now reigning in life. The contrast here is of the same men once far off from the people of God but now united with them in the one rising temple. The first contrast was personal and spiritual : this one is social and in a sense ecclesiastical. Paul comes now to look at salvation in its bearing on the great distinction of Jew and Gentile, a distinction ever present to his thought and already faintly indicated by the change from ' we ' to ' you ' and ' you ' to ' we ' in chs. i. 13, ii. 3. This distinction, and the equal import- ance here given to Jew and Gentile are indications both of early date and of Pauline authorship. For no such conspicuous distinction is found in sub-apostolic writings ; nor can we conceive it com.ing from a writer of the second century : and even in the N. T. it is peculiar to Paul. As containing respectively the dark and bright sides of the con- trast, vv. II, 12 correspond to § 4, vv. lyii to § 5. 11. For which cause: 'because God has so wonderfully saved you, re7ne77iber what you once were.' Fo7'77te7'ly : placed for em- phasis at the beginning of the clause. It recalls the same word in V. 2, and resumes .conspicuously the contrast of past and present. The Ge7itiles : the well-known class to which they belonged. Its 304 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. distinguishing mark, viz, absence of circumcision, is in the perishing body: in JIcs/i. These added words give definiteness to the dis- tinction. Who are called ; further depicts the readers as they were looked upon by those who with some right claimed to be the people of God. Cp. I Cor. viii. 5. Uncircimicision . . . cirat77icision : ab- stract terms put for the persons in whom tlie abstract quality is found : close parallel in Rom. ii. 26, 27. They who, with evident contempt, called the Gentiles tincircioncision called themselves cir- cu7)icisioii. That the distinction is said to be, on both sides, a matter of a name, suggests that it was now practically only a name, hi flesh, made by hands : not governed by the word called: for Jews would not so speak of circumcision. It is rather Paul's own reflection, confirming the above suggestion. He remembers that circumcision was, in the case of those who spoke of the Gentiles as uncircumcised, a mere cutting of the flesh by the hand of man. . Yet such was once his readers' position that men who had nothing better than this could speak of them as lower than themselves : for the absence even of this external rite marked them out as destitute of the many advantages of the ancient people of God. The repeti- tion of the words in flesh and the added word made-by-ha7ids keep vividly before us that the vaunted rite was in the lower side of man's nature and was only a work of man. 12. The grammatical order is broken by a repetition of the word tJiat, added for the sake of greater clearness after a rather long description of 'the Gentiles.' At that season; corresponds to 'formerly' in 7/. 11, referring to the readers' heathen life. Contrast Rom. iii. 26, xi. 5, 'in the present season' Separate fro7}i Christ: destitute of all the spiritual blessings which flow from inward union with Him. This full sense is required by the very conspicuous contrast in v. 13, 'but now in Christ Jesus;' and by the contrast maintained tliroughout this chapter between the past and the present. But the words following show that this spiritual des- titution is here looked upon in the light of the separation of the Gentiles from the nation to which the ancient promises were given. In those days they had not so much as heard the name of the promised Messiah. Now follow four furtlicr descriptions of tliose Gentiles, arranged in two pairs. The relation of these items to the main assertion, ye were separate fro7n Christ, is left to the readers. Co77i77io7iwealth : either a community of citizens looked upon as definitely constituted, or the rights of its members. Same word in this last sense in Acts xxii. 28. The former sense here, and, with a cognate word, in Sec. 6.] EPHESIANS II. 11—22. 305 Ph. iii. 20: but in these two passages the difference is not great. The coDwioiiwealth of Israel: the nation looked upon as a community in which each citizen had personal rights. The whole tone of the verse reminds us that Israel possessed the highest spiritual advan- tages on earth. Cp. Rom. iii. i, ix. 4. Israel: a name of honour, as in Rom. ix. 4, 2 Cor. xi. 22, etc. Before Christ came there was a privileged community : but its members looked upon the Gentiles as aliens. Alie?iated : same word and form in ch. iv. 18, Col. i. 21. [The perfect participle does not imply that they had once been citizens ; but simply calls attention to the process of alienation, thus depicting more vividly the sad state of those alienated.] The Covenants : the mutual engagements into which God entered with Abraham, and through Moses with Israel. From these covenants came all the spiritual advantages of the Jews. Same word in same connection in Rom. ix. 4 : a close coincidence of thought. A con- spicuous feature common to these covenants, and the source of their value, was the promise. It is here spoken of as one because all the promises looked forward to one glorious consummation. Otherwise in Rom. ix. 9, which recalls the many ' promises.' To these coveiiants and to this promise^ the Gentile readers of this Epistle were once stj-angers : same word in Heb. xi. 13. Now follows an awful result of the foregoing. The only hope on earth worthy of the name rests upon the great promise given in out- line to Israel. Consequently, they who have not this hope have no hope. To them the roughness of the present life is not cheered by any reasonable and assured prospect of good things to come. With- out-God : Hterally atheists, i.e. destitute of all the help and peace and joy which comes through knowledge of God and faith in God. This subjective absence of God is quite consistent with the objective truth (Acts xvii. 28) that ' in Him we live and move and are.' The lack of conscious intercourse with a personal God is a marked feature of the best classic writings as compared with the Old Testament. The heathen have no Father in heaven on whose bosom they can rest. In the world : the locality of this destitution. In the seething mass of sinful humanity, dominated by the god of this world, away from the brightness of the smile of the God of heaven and from the joy of hope, these Gentiles were : for they had no part in the covenants which God made with Israel nor place in the sacred nation. 13. But now: a conspicuous and favourite phrase of Paul recalling the contrast, ever present to his mind, of the past and the present. Same words in same sense in Col. i. 22, 26, iii. 8; Rom: iii. 21, 20 3o6 EXPOSITION OF [Uiv. i. vi. 22, vii. 6, xi. 30, etc. They are another note of authorship. In Christ Jesus : objectively, in the actual and historic person born at Bethlehem, whom Paul acknowledges to be the hoped-for Messiah. Hence the fuller title. Same words and sense in Rom. iii. 24. They are more fully expounded at the end of the verse. Ye who formerly were far off ; sums up the description in v. 12. This summing up of the lower side of a contrast is, as in v. 5, an indis- putable trace of the hand of Paul. Become near: to God and to the people of God. For distance from Israel and from God are the chief points of the description in v. 12. And in vv. 14, 15 we have peace between Jews and Gentiles given as an explanation of this verse, and in vv. 16, 18 reconciliation and approach to God through Christ. I7t the blood of Christ : more specific than in Christ. It suggests (cp. ch. i. 7) the continued validity of the violent death of Christ as the means of salvation. 14, 15. Explanation and justification of the triumphant assertion in V. 13, and especially of its last words. He is : each word very emphatic, pointing conspicuously to Him in whose blood the Gentiles have been brought near. Our peace ; implies that the distance involves hostility. The words following prove that Paul's first thought is peace between Jews and Gentiles. But the words ' re- conciled to God ' in v. 16 followed by 'access to the Father' in v. 18 prove that this involves peace between men and God. In both references, Christ is our peace. For where He is, and there only, is peace. Cp. Jno, xi. 25, ' I am the Resurrection and the Life.' The plain statement He is our peace, which explains and justifies V. 13, is itself expounded and supported in vv. \^b — 18. The result of the whole is stated triumphantly in vv. 19 — 22. Made or has-7?iade : simple statement of fact without reference to any definite time. Both 07ie: literally the both thiiigs into one thing. As in Col. i. 16, etc., the neuter looks upon persons merely as objects of thought without reference to personality. And has broke7i down etc. : additional detail explaining the general assertion. Middle-wall: between houses or courts. Found elsewhere only once : but the meaning is clear. It is further defined by the addition, of the partition or fence. Same word in Mt. xxi. 33. It denotes something designed to keep away intruders. Here the fc7ice is represented as a wall between the men to be kept apart. The whole phrase unites the ideas of separation and solidity. This barrier, Christ has broken down. He has thus made the two hostile divisions into one whoh;. At the Temple of Jerusalem, between the court of the Gentiles and Sec. 6.] EPHESIANS II. 11—22. 307 that of tlie women, the latter being a part of the sacred enclosure, was a dividing wall on which were inscriptions in different languages warning foreigners, on pain of death, not to pass : Josephus, Wa?'S bk. V. 5. 2. This was a visible embodiment of the barrier which Paul here depicts in the metaphor of a wall; and helps us to realise the spiritual separation of Jews and Gentiles. But his words do not betray any direct reference to it. Havi7ig-7nade-of-no-effect (as in Rom. iii. 3) the enmity : means by which Christ has broken down the barrier. Consequently, the enmity is that between Jew and Gentile ; especially as the aim of its removal is to create the two into one new ma?i. In His flesh : evidently our Lord's crucified flesh and blood : so v. 16. The law of commands in dogmas : in apposition to the e)i7nity. By render- ing invalid the Law, Christ brought to nothing the enmity. The co??i7?ia?idi7ie?its or C07nma7ids : definite prescriptions of the Law. An example is quoted in Rom. vii. 8-13. These were a charac- teristic feature of the Lav/. And they took the form of dog77ias, i.e. decrees by a superior authority : same word in Col. ii. 14, where see note. This Law can be no other than that of Moses. In what sense Christ has made it invalid, we learn from Gal. iii. 25, 26. As first given, obedience to the prescriptions of the Law^ was a condition of the favour of God : Lev. xviii. 5. This condition made the favour of God impossible. For none can keep the Law^ as it claims to be kept. By proclaiming righteousness through faith, Christ set aside, as a condition and means of the favour of God, the ancient Law. Paul says here that by doing so He removed also the hostility be tw-een Jew and Gentile. This we can understand. For the Law of Sinai, given only to a part of mankind, became a separation between those who had, and those who had not, received it. And this separation was followed by mutual hatred and hostility. This hatred and its occasion, Christ removed. In Him, both Jew and Gentile, the Law now powerless to condemn or to separate them, become brethren. That He ?nay cjrate etc. : purpose for which Christ has set aside the Law^ and its decrees, viz. to unite by creative power into one new unity the two parts into which the Law divided mankind. In V. 1 4 this unity is represented as already attained : who made both 07ie. For it will infallibly result from what Christ has already done. It is here represented as a purpose : for its full realisation is still future, dependent on each one's faith. Create ; recalls the same word in v. 10, Col. i. 16. It implies that this unity is wrought by the creative power of God, breathing new life and order into hitherto 3o8 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. discordant elements. Creation always produces something new. Same thought in 2 Cor. v. 17, Gal. vi, 15 : an important coincidence. The two persons into one new man: the masculine form calling attention to the personality of the reconciled ones. So, but less conspicuously, in Gal. iii. 28. In Himself: Christ being the surrounding element in which the new creation takes place, and in which the resulting unity abides. While cherishing and working out this purpose, Christ is making peace. These words, which describe the entire process of salvation from its conception in the heart of God to its full accomplishment, link the new creation to the peace mentioned in v. 14, thus keeping it before us. 16. And that He 7nay reconcile etc. : a second purpose of Christ, parallel with 'that He may create etc' He designed not only to unite together the two hostile divisions of mankind but to reconcile the united race to God. This implies that behind the hostility of man against man there was also hostility between man and God. Each kind of hostility Christ resolved to remove. The two reconciliations are so closely related that either may be placed before the other, according to the point of view chosen. In this section and Epistle Paul's chief thought is unity of Jew and Gentile. He therefore mentions first peace between man and man. But he remembers that this can be only by peace between man and God. Hence these words. Reconcile to God : cp. Col. i. 22, where see note. Another mark of Pauline authorship : Rom. v. 10, 2 Cor. V. 18, 19, 20. Both persons, or the two persons: a mode of thought different from v. 14, ' the two things into one thing,' and keeping before us the personality of those to be reconciled, hi one body : viz. the Church, v/hich is the body of Christ. It is thus parallel to 'one new man' in 2/. 15; and keeps up the dominant thought, viz. the unity of Jews and Gentiles. This exposition agrees better with the tenor of the context than to interpret the one body as that nailed to the cross. Moreover, nowhere in the N. T. is attention directed to the oneness of the human body of Christ. Through the cross : as the instrument of reconciliation : so ' through His death ' in Col. i. 22, Rom. V. 10. Ilaving-slain etc. : mode by which Christ purposed to reconcile men to God. It thus expounds through the cross. The i?;/w//y .-. probably, of Jews and Gentiles. For this is at once suggested by the same word in 2/. 15; and is the chief thought of this section. And the removal of this ancient enmity, itself a result of man's sin, comes through the death of Christ. For, had He not died, its removal would have been impossible. While writing about Christ's purpose to break down the barrier between Sec. 6.] EPHESIANS II. 11—22. 309 Jew and Gentile, Paul remembers that this can be done only by breaking down another barrier, that between man and God. Now man can be reconciled to God (see my Galatia?is Diss, vii.) only through the death of Christ. Consequently, thereby or therein, i.e. in the cross on which He died, Christ slew not only the enmity between man and God but that between man and man, in order to bring in universal harmony. For had He not died, this unity would have been impossible : now it is certain. 17. Another detail in this reconciliation, added as an independent assertion. And He came : at His incarnation. And announced- good-tidings-of-peace : on earth before His death. Cp. Lk. iv. 21. For the words then spoken were a proclamation of peace for all man- kind, and, in view of their subsequent announcement throughout the world by the Apostles, may be said to have been spoken to all mankind. This is better than to understand these words as referring to the preaching of the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost under the influence of the Holy Spirit whose descent is in Jno. xiv. 18 spoken of as a coming of Christ. For the preaching of the Apostles was but a re-echo of the words spoken by Christ on earth, who not only obtained for us peace through His death but announced through His own lips the good-tidings-of-peace. To this end He ca7ne from heaven to earth. Good-tidings : see under Rom. i. i ; cp. i Th. iii. 6. Peace: between man and man, as throughout the section. This implies peace with God. But to this last we have no need to assume any direct reference here. Those far off : put first, although the Gospel came first to the Jews, because the entrance of the Gentiles into the one fold of Christ is the chief matter of this section. This order shows that Paul is thinking of Christ's words, not as spoken to those who heard them on earth, but as spoken virtually to the whole world. Far off: as in V. 13. TJiose 7iear: the Jews who from childhood had heard of the coming Messiah and of the blessings He would bring. They were 'the sons of the Covenant: ' Acts iii. 25. 18. A fact, later in date, yet virtually underlying the assertion of V. 17. It is practically a re-statement oiv. 13. Through Him : the emphatic words of the verse. Access : same word and almost the same phrase in Rom. v. 2, 'through whom we have obtained access;' a very close parallel. A cognate verb in i Pet. iii. 18. Christ took us by the hand and led us to the Father. Similarly 77. 13 : ' made near in the blood of Christ.' It includes the whole work of salvation. We both : Jews and Gentiles, whose union in Christ is the domin: nt thought of this section, hi one Spirit: the divine Agent of all 3IO EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. abiding harmony of man with man. So ch, iv. 4, Ph. i. 27, i Cor. xii. 13 : important coincidences. Notice here the relation of each Person of the Trinity to the work of salvation. Both Jews and Gentiles were far away from God; and consequently each far from the other. Through the agency of the Son, and in the Holy Spirit dwelling in the hearts of all His people, they have been led into the presence and smile of God, and into the harmony of spiritual brotherhood. And to this end the Son Himself came into the world and proclaimed peace to men. Notice also that of this salvation the death of Christ is conspicuously pointed to as the means. In His blood we have been made near. And Christ's aim is to reconcile us to God through the cross, and in that cross to kill the previously-existing enmity. 19. Argumentative summing up of § 6. Therefoi'e : two Greek words, a collocation favourite with, and peculiar to, Paul, It sums up the foregoing and draws from it an inference. A close parallel in Rom. v. 18, Strangers: as in v. 12, Sojourners: foreign residents without civic riglits. Same word in Acts vii. 6, 29, i Pet. ii. 11. Even in this summing up Paul states, as his wont is, the full contrast of past and present. But ye are : solemn repetition of the verb, stating not only what they have ceased to be but what they actually are. Fellow-citizens: sharing all municipal rights. It represents the Church as a city. The saints^ or holy ones : the sacred people of God. Israel at Sinai was called ' a holy nation : ' Ex. xix. 6. The priests were specially holy: Num. xvi. 3, 5. In the New Covenant, they who believe the Gospel become the peculiar people of God, and receive as their usual designation the name saints : see under Rom. i. 7; cp. Acts ix. 13, 32, 41, Of this sacred company, the earliest members were Jews. Then Samaritans were added to it ; and now these far off Asiatic Greeks. Memhcis-of-thc-hoitsehold : same word in Gal. vi. 10, where see note. In the great household of God, all are both sons and servants. And to this house and home belong now these far off Gentiles. 20. Process by which these aliens were received into the city and house of God. It further describes their present position. ' The household of God ' suggests easily a favourite metaplior, viz. the Church as a building, and more specifically as the temple of God. In tins splendid metaphor culminates Paul's tcacliing here about the union in Clirist of Jews and Gentiles. Cp. Mt. xvi. 18 from the lips of Christ; i Cor. iii. 9—17, vi. 19, 2 Cor. vi 16, Rom. xv. 20; I Pet. ii. 5. It underlies the word rendered edij'y or build. The composite word here used is found also in i Cor. iii. lo, 12, 14, Col. Sec. 6.] EPHESTANS II. 11—22. 311 ii. 7 ; and denotes to carry up a building already begun. The foun- dation of the Apostles : that laid by them. So i Cor. iii. 10, where Paul stated his own relation to this foundation. And nothing more is suggested now. Another conception in Mt. xvi. 18. But of this there is no hint here. Upon Christ rests firmly, and rises, the Church. By preaching Christ and leading men to Him, the Apostles laid this foundation in actual human life. See under i Cor. iii. 11. Now the Apostles, in laying this foundation, were building the house and city of God. To it therefore belong those who were being built into the rising walls. Prophets : conspicuously men- tioned in I Cor. xii. 28 as holding the second rank in the Church. And this is indisputably the meaning of the same word in Eph. iii. 5, iv. II. As in O. T., they were men who spoke under special inspiration : see note under i Cor. xiv. 40. Had the reference here been to the O. T. prophets, the order would have been inverted, ' prophets and apostles.' Corner-stone: i Pet. ii. 6, quoted from Isa. xxviii. 16; but not found elsewhere. Same idea in Ps. cxviii. 22, quoted in Mt. xxi. 42. Christ is both the foundation underlying the entire building and a conspicuous corner stone uniting its walls and thus giving solidity to the whole. This word, which recalls an ancient prophecy touching the Church of Christ, is very appropriate here in a summary of Paul's teaching that in Christ Jews and Gentiles are united into one whole. Christ Jesits Himself: cp. v. 14, ' He is our peace.' 21. Further account of this building and of its relation to Christ. Eve?y hiilding : various parts of the one great structure. Such were the various Churches, Jewish or Gentile. So Mt. xxi v. i, 'the buildings of the Temple : ' i.e. the various parts of the Temple at Jerusalem. Frequently a great building is begun at different points ; and in the earlier stages its parts seem to be independent erections : but as it advances all are united into one whole. So there were in Paul's day, as now, various Churches. But, to his eye, they were parts of, and were advancing towards, one great temple. The separation was apparent and passing : the unity was real and abiding. Beijig-fitly-joiJied-together : as a living body is united by its joints. Same word in ch. iv. 16. [The present participle de- scribes the process of union as now going on. So does the next word.] Is-growing : for the progress of the building is a development of its own inner life. This word supplements the metaphor of a building by that of a tree. Similar metaphor in i Cor. iii. 6 — 9, Rom. xi. 16 — 24, Jno. xv. i — 8. A holy temple : a conception familiar to Paul: see i Cor. iii. 16, 17, and my note. The various 312 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. buildings, separate as they are during erection, are designed to become one great temple. And the temple is essentially holy : for it belongs to God. Consequently, they who are built upon the one foundation are numbered among {y. 19) the citizen ' saints.' A holy temple in the Lord or a te??iple holy in the Lord: Christ Himself being the surrounding element of this holiness. It notes a closer relation than the O. T. phrase, 'holy to the Lord.' In virtue of their inward union with the one Master, the Jewish and Gentile Churches are growing into one holy temple. 22. In whom : as in v. 21. It keeps before us Christ as the element of growth. Also ye : as in v. 3, i. 13. It brings the Christians at Ephesus conspicuously under the foregoing general assertion ; a thought present throughout the Epistle, Are-being-bidlt-together : as stones in a rising building. It is, under another metaphor, prac- tically the same as ' fitly joined together,' in v. 21, which suggests the union of bones and members in a living body. Dwelling-place (same word in Rev. xviii. 2) of God : parallel with 'holy temple ' in 7'. 21. For this is the central idea of a temple : i Cor. iii. 16, where sec note. In the Spirit: the Agent of this indwelling of God in man. They in whom the Spirit dwells are also in the Spirit: Rom. viii. 9. For tlve Spirit within raises them into a new element of life. Thus these last words connect Paul's teaching about the holy temple with His frequent teaching about the Holy Spirit. Cp. i Cor. iii. 16, vi. 19. They are also parallel to 'in one Spirit' in v. 18. For the Spirit is the surrounding element both of man's approach to God and of God's presence in man. Same words also in ch. iii. 5. In view of the great work wrought in them by God, Paul reminds his readers of their former heathen state. Even before Christ came there was an organized community on earth in special covenant with God, holding special promises and cherishing glorious hopes. By its members, the readers of this Epistle were looked down upon as aliens. And, having no share in its hopes and in its covenant with God, they were without hope and without God. Through the death of Christ, all this is changed. The barrier between Jew and Gen- tile, which separated both Jews and Gentiles from God, Christ has through His own death broken down ; in order that, by creative power, He may make out of two enemies one new man reconciled to God. Of this peace, He is not only the Author but the Herald. And of this approach to God the Holy Spirit is the Agent and Element. Then all is changctl. The aliens have become members of the sacred commonwealth and of the family of God. That city and family are a temple whose foundations have been laid by men Sec. 7.] EPHESTANS III. i— 13. 313 divinely sent and inspired, and whose conspicuous corner stone is Christ Himself. On this foundation day by day living stones are being laid and fitted together. And thus, in virtue of its own inherent life, the temple is growing. It seems to consist of various separate buildings. But, as it rises, these various parts are becoming, through the one indwelling Spirit, one holy temple of God. Very conspicuous in this section is the death of Christ as the means by which {v. 13) the far off ones have been brought near, the barrier between Jew and Gentile broken down, and both Jew and Gentile reconciled to God. The barrier thus broken down is the Law with its prescriptions. Similarly in ch. i. 7 the violent death of Christ is the means of the forgiveness of sins. All this is in close harmony with Paul's constant and varied teaching that salvation comes through the death of Christ upon the cross. It can be explained only on the principle asserted in Rom. iii. 26, viz. that God gave Christ to die in order to harmonize with His own justice the justification of believers, or in other words that the need for this costly means of salvation lay in man's sin viewed in the light of the justice of God. The union of Jews and Gentiles suggests the unity of the Church, a thought already implied in the universal purpose asserted in ch. i. 10 and further developed in ch. iv. 3 — 6. This unity is a con- spicuous feature of the Epistle. SECTION VIL THE GOSPEL OF PEACE BETWEEN JEWS AND GENTILES HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO PAUL. Ch. III. I— 13. For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Ch7'ist Jesus 071 behalf of you the Geiitiles — ^ if, at least, ye have heard the stewai'dship of the grace of God given to me for you, ^that by way of revelation was made hiown to me the mystery, according as I wrote before in short space, '^whey-eby ye can, as ye read, perceive my understanding in the ?nystery of Christ ; ^ which in other generations was 7iot 77iade k7tow7t to the sons of men, as 7tow it has bee7t revealed to His holy apostles a7id p7'ophets i7t the Spi7it : ^ that the Ge7itiles a7'e fellozv-hei7's a7id fcllo%v-77ie77ibe7's of the body and fellow-pa7-takers of the p)-07nise ifi Christ Jesus through the Gospel, "^ of which I was 7nade a 7?ii7iister, 314 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. accordin(r to the gift of the grace of God, the grace giveii to me according to the worki7ig of His power. ^ To me, the less than least of all saints, zvas this grace given, to announce to the Gentiles as good news the nnsearchable riches of Christ, ^ a?id to enlighten all what is the stewardship of the mystery hidde^t f?'o??i the ages, in God who created all things, ^"^ m order that there may be made known now to the principalities and the authorities in the heavenly places through the Church the mafiifold zvisdom of God, " according to a purpose of the ages which He 7nade in Clwist Jesus our Lord, ^- in whoin we have bold?iess and access with confide?tce through our faith in Hi7n. ^^ For which cause I ask that ye faint not at my tribulatio7is 07t your behalf , zuhich is your glory. 1. For this cause : because, on the foundation laid by the Apostles, Paul's readers had been built into the rising walls of the temple of God. Same words in v. 14, Tit. i. 5 ; not elsewhere in the N. T, As in ch, i. 15, so now, a recital of blessings already given moves Paul to pray for more. / Paul: as in Col. i. 23. Priso7ier of CJnist Jesus : as in Philem. i, 9. The definite article suggests that lie looked upon his imprisonment as placing him in a unique position among the servants of Christ. And this is easily explained. He w^s ^ priso7ier . . . 071 behalf of the Ge7itiles : for his loyalty to their spiritual rights as fellow-heirs of the Kingdom of God had aroused the hostility of the Jews and thus brought about, after many earlier troubles, his arrest at Jerusalem. He had pursued his path in full view of the peril to which it exposed him, knowing that this loyalty was demanded by the highest interests both of Jews and Gentiles. Same thought in v. 13, 'afflictions on your behalf,' and in Col. i. 24, where see note. At this point the grammatical construction is broken off, as in ch. ii. I, by a long parenthesis explaining these last words by an account of the Gospel committed to Paul. The close of the paren- thesis is marked by a return in 7/. 13 to the thought now before us ; and by a repetition in v. 14 of the first words of v. i, for which cause. But, instead of completing the broken-off sentence, Paul begins in v. 14 as in ch. ii. 5 a new sentence. 2. In vv. 2 — 12 Paul expounds at length the relation implied in V. I, 'on your behalf.' If at least: not suggesting uncertainty, but asserting that if, as is the fact, the readers have heard about Paul's commission, they cannot doubt that his imprisonment is on their behalf. IIavc-hea7'd : either from Paul's lips when at Ephesus or by report from others. The grace given to me : the undeserved Sec. 7.] EPHESIANS III. i— 13. 315 favour with which God had smiled on Paul ; as in Rom. xii. 3, 6, XV. 15, I Cor. iii, 10. Cp. i Cor. xv. 10. This favour prompted Christ's appearance to Paul and the commission then given to him. And Paul never forgot the responsibility to God and to the Gentiles thus laid upon him. The spiritual wealth thus entrusted to him for their good was a stewardship of the grace of God . . . for you. Similar thought in Col. i. 25. But here stress is laid upon the un- deserved favour to Paul involved in his commission to the Gentiles. So are all tasks given by God to man marks of His favour. For they bring great reward. This sense of responsibility finds expres- sion in Gal. i. 16, Acts xxvi. 16 — 18. 3. Further account of the stewardship committed to Paul. The mystery 7?iade known (as in ch. i. 9) to Paul was spiritual wealth entrusted to him for distribution to others. It was therefore a stewardship. By way of revelation : mode in which it was made known \.o Paul, viz. by spiritual enlightenment. See under Rom. i. 17. Mystery and revelation are constant correlatives : Rom. xvi. 25, I Cor. ii. 7, 10. For the secrets of God are known only by those for whom God lifts the veil which hides them from unaided human vision. / have before w?'itten : apparently in this Epistle. For v. 6 which gives the contents of this mystery is a summing up of ch. ii. 13 — 22. Moreover, the present tense, 'reading,' in v. 4 suggests that Paul refers to something new. To the same teaching refer also the similar words in ch. i. 9, ' having made known the mystery.' For the union of Jews and Gentiles is part of God's larger purpose (v. 10) to unite in Christ the whole universe. In sho7^t space : viz. in ch. ii. 13 — 22, words very few for the truths so great, and to Jews so astounding, therein set forth. 4. Whereby : more accurately, to which refen'ing as a standard of co7nparison. Understanding : ability to interpret tlie significance of things observed: see under Col. i. 9. The mystery of Christ: expounded in Col. i. 27. The presence of Christ in His people, as a pledge of the splendour awaiting them, is a secret known only to those specially taught by God. This secret, which is the matter understood, is here represented as the surrounding element of the spiritual insight which Paul's readers would recognise in his teach- ing about the union in Christ of Jews and Gentiles. 5. Ge?ie7^aticns : the successive courses of men living at one time. So Ph. ii. 15, Col. i. 26. Other : more correctly dif[ere7tt. It calls attention to the different and less favoured position of those who lived before the Gospel age. The words are here a note of time. The S071S of me7i : men looked upon in the light of their human 3i6 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. origin : so Gen. xi. 5, Ps. viii. 4, xi. 4. ' While the successive genej-- atio7is of the past, so different in their lower privileges from the men of Paul's day, followed each other from the cradle to the grave, the great secret now revealed was not made known to the offspring of human parents.' Revealed; takes up ' made known by way of revelation ' in v. 3, and asserts that others shared with Paul the truth supernaturally communicated to him. Apostles and prophets : as in ch. ii. 20. These were holy because in virtue of their office they stood in special relation to God. Cp. Lk. i. 70. In the Spirit: same words and sense as in ch. ii. 22. Close parallel in Mt. xxii. 43 : for David was (Acts ii. 30) a prophet. Both Apostles a?id Prophets were specially inspired by the Holy Spirit, who made known to them truths till then not known to men. They held respectively (ch. iv. II, I Cor. xii. 28) the first and second ranks in the universal Church ; differing in the supreme authority exercised by the Apostles. 6. Statement of the mystery now revealed. That the Ge7itiles arc etc.: objectively in Christ, subjectively through each one's faith. Fellow-heirs : same word and sense in Rom. viii. 17, Heb. xi. 9, I Peter iii. 7. To Gentiles, as to Jews, belongs, in virtue of their filial relation to God, the wealth of heaven. Fellow-nieinhers-of-the- body : a word not found elsewhere and probably coined by Paul. It presents the union of Jews and Gentiles under Paul's favourite metaphor of the Body of Christ. Fellow -partalzers : same word in ch. V. 7. These three words, beginning with the same syllable, pro- claim very clearly the equal rights of Jews and Gentiles. The pro7nise : as in ch. ii. 12. It was designed for, and will be fulfilled in, Jews and Gentiles alike ; and tlierefore belongs to both. In Christ Jesus : as in ch. ii. 13, which is explained in vv. 14, 15. The above was God's purpose from eternity : ch. i. 4. Therefore in His eternal purpose, which is more real than any creature, already Jews and Gentiles are, in virtue of their relation to Christ, sharers of the one inheritance, members of the one body, and sharers of the one promise. Through the Gospel : means by which this objective right is subjectively and personally appropriated, and this purpose of eternity accomplished in time. As Abraham, in the day when he believed the promise, stood before God as already father of many nations, so before time began tlie believing Gentiles stood before God, as, by means of the good news announced by Christ and His servants, sharers with tlie believing Israelites of the blessings promised to Abraliam. The union of Jews and Gentiles in the one Churrli may seem to some unworthy to be called 'the mystery of Christ.' But this union Sec. 7.] EPHESIANS III. i— 13. 317 is a logical result of the central doctrine of the Gospel, viz. that God accepts into His favour all who believe. Consequently, in the exten- sion to the Gentiles of the rights of the New Covenant, was involved the essence of the Gospel. Hence the strong language of Gal, v. 2, iv. 10, II. Moreover to Paul, a zealous Jew, it was the most con- spicuous feature of the Gospel, and at one time the most serious objection to it. And, in all ages, the universality of the Gospel, embracing on the same terms men of all kinds, is one of the clearest proofs that it comes from the common Parent of all. This universal destiny of the Kingdom of God was in great part veiled under the Old Covenant. But to Paul and his colleagues, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, it had been revealed, A remembrance of these long ages of silence, of his superior privilege, and of the special honour put upon him as an Apostle filled him with wonder and gratitude. See further in vv. 8- 11. This verse is another plain note of genuineness. For it gives to the union of Jews and Gentiles an importance in complete harmony with Paul's position, history, and mode of thought ; but inconceiv- able in the second century, when the Gentiles had obtained a secure and predominant position in the Church. 7. Of which I became a minister : as in Col. i. 23 ; stating in each case Paul's relation to a foregoing general statement. According to the gift etc. : close parallel to Col. i. 25. The appointment of Paul as a minister of the Gospel is traced to its source in the favour with which God smiled on him. And this gi^ace was in^harmony with the working or activity of His power. Otherwise the grace would have been ineffective. As in Gal. ii. 8, 9, Paul felt that in his labours the might of God was at work. 8 — 12. A new sentence, reasserting and amplifying the statements in vv. 2.-y. The less-than- least : a combination, not found elsewhere, of superlative and comparative : close parallels in i Cor. xv. 9, i Tim. i. 13. These two passages explain Paul's self-depreciation here ; and they reveal his profound sense of the awful sin of lifting a hand against the Church of God. Not merely below the Apostles, as in I Cor. XV. 9, but far below all saints, i,e. Christians, Paul places himself. Was given etc. : a remarkable re-echo of vv. 2, 7, reveal- ing Paul's deep sense of the undeserved favour of God which com- mitted to him so glorious a commission. This grace is further expounded by the words to annotmce to the Gentiles as good tidings etc. Unsearchable : whose footsteps cannot be traced. So in Rom. xi. 33. The idches of Christ extend, in their abundance, farther than the mind of man can follow. When the Gospel went forth to enrich 31 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. the Gentiles, it passed the thought of Israel. And, to announce as good news this infinite wealth for all that believe, was the mission given to Paul by the undeserved favour of God. 9. And to e?tlighten etc. : another item of the grace given to Paul, or rather another view of the grace just described. Enlighten, or shed light ypon: as in ch. i. i8, 2 Tim. i. lo, Heb. vi. 4, Jno. i. 9. The light may be conceived as cast, either upon the person seeing, who finds himself surrounded by light, or upon the object seen. A cognate word in 2 Cor. iv. 4, 6. All: probably not more than our phrase 'all of them,' viz. the Gentiles. For its position is not emphatic ; nor have we here the universal phrase found in Rom. v. 12, 18, etc. Stewardship of the mystery : as in i Cor. iv. i, 'stewards of the mysteries of God.' It combines the ideas separately expressed in vv. 2 and 3. The great secret revealed to Paul was, in reality, spiritual wealth entrusted to him for distribution to others. To make this secret known to the Gentiles, was to give them light. T do this by announcing the unsearchable riches of Christ, was Paul's joyful task. Hidde7t from the ages : from the beginning of time, as in Col. i. 26. In God : whose all-knowing mind is the treasury'' in which this wealth lay hidden. This suggests, as is clearly implied in V. 10, that the mystery was not known even to angels. Who created all things ; links together the purpose kept secret for ages with the creation of the universe: so ch. i. 4, Col. i. 16, 17. And this suggests that the world was created with a view to the realisa- tion of this purpose. 10. Purpose, not of the creation of all thing's nor of the conceal- ment of the mystery during long ages, but of the chief matter of the .sentence, viz. the commission to Paul to proclaim the mystery. For the mention of creation is only passing : and the revelation, which is itself a part of the original purpose, can hardly be said to be the aim of the concealment. Whereas, as expounded above, this ultimate aim increases immensely the grandeur of Paul's com- mission. Tlie Gospel he preaches is designed to make-knowji even to angels something about God not known before. Cp. i Pet. i. 10. Now : in contrast to the ages of silence. The p?'incipalities and the authorities : as in ch. i. 21. The mention of two ranks of angels throws into bolder relief the greatness of this revelation. In the heavenly places : as in ch. i. 3. Through the CJnirch : as a visible embodiment of God's eternal purpose. Wisdom of God : as in Rom. xi. 33, I Cor. ii. 7, i. 24. It is God's perfect knowledge of whatever is and can be, enabling Him to select tlie best ends and means. Mani- fold or 7na7iy-colourcd ; suggests an extreme variety of means used. Sec. 7.] EPHESIANS III. i— 13. 319 As the various ranks of angels contemplated the Church on earth, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, of every nationality, rank, degree of culture, and previous character, yet now saved from their sins by the one Gospel of Christ united into one living body with Christ as its Head, and as they observed the combination of various means by which this great consummation has been accomplished, they see, as even angels never saw before, the infinite wisdom with which God selects ends worthy of Himself and the most fitting means. Thus the Church becomes a mirror in which the bright ones of heaven see the glory of God. And, in order to show them this glory, God committed the Gospel to Paul. This teaches that heaven and earth are one great whole ; and that good done on earth extends to heaven. 11. According to pm'pose : same words and sense as in ch. i, 11, Rom. viii. 28, 2 Tim. i, 9. A cognate word in ch. i. 9. Of the ages ; keeps conspicuously before us the idea of a long-cherished purpose. Paul here asserts that the ultimate aim described in v. 10 was in harmony with, i.e. was a part of, the one eternal purpose. Gram- matically, the words which follow may mean either that God made, or accomplished, in Christ His great purpose. As matter of fact, both are true. But, inasmuch as the full title Jestts Christ our Lord calls very marked attention to the historic Saviour and as v. 12 speaks of actual access to God through Christ, it is perhaps better to understand Paul to refer here to the virtual accomplishment in Jesus of Nazareth of the eternal purpose. 12. A new statement proving from spiritual matter of fact the statement in ^'. 11. In whom we have : as in ch. i. 7. Boldness : or rather the boldness, i.e. the well-known confidence which does not fear to speak the whole truth. Same word and sense in Ph. i. 20. Access: as in ch. ii. 18, Rom. v. 2. In C07ifide7ice : our state of mind in approaching God. Same word in Ph. iii. 4. Through faith : as in ch. ii. 8, Rom. iii. 22, etc. A favourite phrase of Paul. Faith in Hi?n : literally, the faith of Hi77t ; i.e. the faith of which He is the personal object. ' Thi'otcgh our assurance that the words of Christ are true and will come true, and i7t virtue of our relation to Him, we have a confidence which enables us to speak unreservedly to man and to approach God without fear.' By giving to us this, confidence, God has, in the historic Christ, accompHshed a purpose formed before time began. 13. In 7/. 12 Paul completed his account, begun in v. 2, of the stewardship committed to him. This prompts a request bearing upon V. I, a reference indicated by the words on your behalf which 320 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. recall the same words in v. i. They mark the close of the long parenthesis, vv. 2-13. Paul then takes up the thought interrupted by the parenthesis, noting the resumption by the words 'for this cause ' carried on from v. i to v. 14. For which cause : because of this boldness towards men and God which Christians have in Christ and through faith. / ask: more fully, ask as a favour to 7?iyself: so Col. i. 9. It is a courteous request suggesting the pleasure and profit which the Christian courage of his readers will give to Paul. My afflictio7is on your behalf: cp. Col. i. 24, ' my sufferings on your behalf; ' and see note. Not to faint : same word and sense in 2 Cor. iv. i, 16, Gal. vi. 9. Paul begs his readers, as a personal favour to himself, not to lose courage in the great fight through the hardships which he endures in order to preach the Gospel to them. This request, his own con- fidence in Christ emboldens him to make. For he is sure that Christ is able to make them also brave. Then follows a reason for not losing heart : which arc your gloiy. Paul declares, conscious that his own brave perseverance is a manifestation of the grace of God, that his sufferings are an ornament to his readers. They can point to his unfaltering courage under great hardships as a confirmation of the Gospel which he preaches and they believe. Surely, their hearts need not sink because of afflictions which bring honour to the whole Church. Glory : as in i Cor. xi. 7, 2 Cor. viii. 23. Review. Paul's recital in § 2 of blessings conferred, in accom- plishment of afi eternal purpose, upon Jews and Gentiles, prompts him in § 3 to pray that God may reveal to the Ephesian Christians His own great power already at work in those who believe. As a measure of this power, he points them to Christ raised from the dead and seated at God's right hand. And, that his readers may apply to themselves this standard of measurement, Paul teaches in § 4 that they once were dead, and in § 5 that Christ has breathed into them new life, thus saving them through faith. This salvation he further describes in § 6 as bringing near those who once were far off not only from God but from the ancient people of God, and as reconciling to God Jews and Gentiles united into one body. The various parts of the Church, however separate they may now seem to be, arc destined to become one temple, one dwelling-place of God. All this moves Paul to pray for his readers' further develop- ment. But, while preparing to pray, the prisoner remembers his bonds, and that they were caused by his loyalty to the truth which brought salvation to the Gentiles. He delays for a moment his prayer that he may set forth his relation to the Gosjjel which has Sec. 8.] EPHESIANS III. 14—21. 321 brought this unexpected salvation. And this delay interrupts the grammatical sequence of his letter. In undeserved favour, God has made Paul a steward of good things for the Gentiles, by revealing to him a secret kept in silence while successive generations of men passed to the grave. But the secret has now been revealed to certain men whom God has made the mouth-piece of His Spirit. The secret is that through the Gospel the Gentiles are to share all the spiritual privileges of the people of God. Of this Gospel, Paul is a servant. With profound gratitude for God's kindness to one so unworthy, he repeats what he has just said. It is his happy lot to announce as good news the wealth entrusted to him for others, viz. the secret so long hidden in the mind of God. The ultimate aim of the trust reposed in Paul reaches even to the bright ones of heaven, to whom God has purposed to reveal through His united people on earth His own many-sided wisdom. This purpose God has carried into effect in Christ. Its effect is seen in the confidence towards man and God already enjoyed by those who believe. In view of all this, Paul begs his readers, as though half apologizing for mention of his imprisonment, not to be discouraged by his hardships but rather to rejoice in the divinely-given endurance they evoke. SECTION VIIL PAUL PRAYS THAT HIS READERS MAY KNOW CHRIST AND THUS ATTAIN THE CONSUMMA- TION DESIGNED BY GOD. Ch. III. 14—21. For this cause I how my knees to the Father ^-'from whom every fa?mly in heaveji and up07i earth is named, ^^ in order that He may give to you, accorditig to the riches of His glory, to be streiigthened with power through His Spirit to the inward 7?ian, ^Uhat Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts; ^^ in order that, being rooted and fotaidationed in love, ye may be strong to apprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height and depth, ^"^ and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge ; in order that ye may be filled to all the fulness of God. 20 To Him that is able to do beyond all things abundantly beyond the things which we ask or think, according to the power that works 21 322 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. in us, =^' to Hi77i be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus^ to all the generations of the age of the ages. Anieti. This section contains in vv. 14 — 19 a sublime prayer for the readers, consisting of three petitions, viz. vv. 16, 17 and vv. 18, ic^a and V. 19^, each leading up to the petition following; and in vv. 20, 21 a doxology of praise to Him who is able to surpass in fulfilment our loftiest prayer or thought. 14, 15. For which cause ; takes up the same words in v. i, after the digression prompted by the latter part of v. i, and continues the line of thought there broken off. That the Christians at Ephesus who were once far off, are now (ch. ii. 21, 22) stones built into the rising walls of the temple of God, was prompting Paul in v. i, while in prison through his loyalty to their spiritual interests, to pray for them. But his prayer was delayed to make way for an account of his Apostolic commission for the Gentiles. This account he closes by an assertion that in Christ his readers and himself have confident access to God. He begs them not to lose heart through his perse- cutions ; and declares that these, by revealing the grandeur of the grace of God, cover them with splendour. And now comes the postponed prayer, introduced by a repetition of the words of the broken-off sentence, y^*/' this cause : i.e. because of his readers' confident access to God by faith and the glory which is theirs through the sufferings of Paul. Thus both § 7 and § 8 were prompted by the actual spiritual life of those to whom he writes. Bow . . . k?iee : same phrase in Rom. xi. 4, xiv. 11, Ph. ii. 10: slightly different from Acts vii. 60, ix. 40, xx. 36, xxi. 5. So in- tensely real, so deliberate and solemn, is Paul's approach to God for his readers that even while writing he forgets his actual posture and says / bow 7ny knees. He turns in prayer to the Father frojn whom etc. Family : same word in Ex. vi. 15, 'These are the families of the sons of Simeon;' and in Num. i. 16, 'leaders of the tribes according to their families,' etc. Eve?y family in heaven : the various classes of angels, e.g. those mentioned in ch. i. 21. So in Job i. 6, ii. I the ' sons of God ' can be no other than angels : and the word is so rendered by the Lxx. They are sons of God as sharing, by derivation from Him, His moral and intellectual nature ; not by adoption, which is always the reception of a stranger's child, but by creation and continuance in the image of God. Every amily . . . on earth : Jews and Gentiles, or any other classes into which the race is divided. Not all men indiscriminately, but the adopted sons, according to Paul's constant teaching : see under Sec. 8.] EPHESIANS III. 14—21. 323 Rom. viii. 17. With the various famihes of heaven are associated, as children of one divine Father, families of adopted sons on earth And, from the one Father, all these bear the same name: cp. ch. i. 21. Notice that, in harmony with the exalted standpoint of the whole Epistle, when Paul approaches God in prayer his eye passes the limits of earth and sees other races sharing with himself a name which enables them to call God their Father. Thus the cry. My Father God, unites earth to heaven. 16 — 19. Contents of Paul's praj^er. It consists of three parts, vv. 16, 17; vv. 18, I9« ; V. i<^b ; each under the same conjunction, which represents the contents of the prayer as also its aim ; in ordet that God ?nay give . . . in order that ye 7?iay be strong . . . in order that ye may be filled. 16. In 07'der that He may give to yoit : same words and sense in ch. i. 17. The riches of His glojy : the abundance of the splendour of God. Same words in Rom. ix. 23. Similarly ch. i. 7, Ph. iv. 19. Conscious that the answer to his prayer will reveal the grandeur of God and thus evoke the admiration of men, and that there is in God an infinity of grandeur ready to reveal itself, Paul asks that this infinite grandeur may be the measure of the answer to his prayer. Sti-engthe7ied : fitted for the intellectual and moral effort and work and battle of the Christian life. Same word and sense in i Cor. xvi. 13, Lk. i. 80, ii. 40. It is practically the same as the similar word in Col. i. 11, Ph. iv. 13. This strengthening is to come by contact with divine power, which enters into us and makes us strong. Similar connection of thought in Col. i. 11. Through (or by mea?is of) His Spirit: the Bearer of the presence and power of God. Same or similar words and same sense in Rom. v. 5, i Cor. xii. 8, 2 Tim. i. 14. The inwar'd nian : that in man which is furthest removed from the outer world and its influence, the secret chamber in which man's personality dwells alone. Same words and sense in Rom. vii. 22, 2 Cor. iv. 16. Paul prays that, by contact with the might of God and by the agency of the Holy Spirit, the inward Bearer to man's spirit of all divine influences, divine strength may reach and fill this inmost chamber, making his readers strong indeed. 17. A clause exactly parallel to that preceding it. Dwell: or 7nake His home : same word in Col. i. 19, ii. 9 ; Heb. xi. 9, Mt. ii. 23, iv. 13. In Rom. viii. 9, 11 and i Cor. iii. 16 cognate words describe the indwelling of the Spirit of God: cp. also 2 Cor. vi. 16 and Col. iii. 16. hi your hearts: the locality of spiritual life: same words and sense in Col. iii. 15, 16, Rom. v. 5 ; cp. Eph. i. 18, iv. 18, vi. 5, 324 EXPOSITION OF [Div. i. Gal. iv. 6. The heart is the inmost chamber of our nature, whence come our thoughts, words, and actions : see under Rom. i. 21. It is, therefore, practically identical with * the inner man.' Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the divine person through whose agency Christ dwells in man. For the coming of the 'other Helper' is the coming of Christ to His disciples: Jno. xiv. 18. Hence the indwelling of the Spirit is practically the indwelling of Christ : Rom. viii. 9 — 11 ; cp. Gal. ii. 20. Now Christ has all power. Therefore, for Him to make His home in our heart, is for God to give us, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, the Bearer of the presence of Christ, a strength reaching to the inmost chamber of our being. Moreover, faith is the constant condition of the gift of the Spirit: ch. i. 13, Gal. iii. 2, 14. Conse- quently, it is through faith that Christ makes His home in our hearts. Thus each of these parallel clauses explains the other. This unexpected reference to faith is in complete accord with ch. ii. 8, and with the importance everywhere given to faith in the theology .of Paul as the means of salvation. The above exposition is better than to take the indwelling of Christ as a result of the strengthening wrought by the Spirit ; a connection of thought not found elsewhere. The presence of Christ in us is not a result, but a means, of the spiritual strength for which Paul prays. 18, 19a. Second petition of Paul's prayer. Love : to our fellows, as always when not otherwise defined : see under i Cor. xiii. i. It is a reflection in man of God's love to man. Rooted : same word and sense in Col. ii. 7. Fo7mdatio7ied, i.e. ' placed upon a solid foundation : ' same word in Col. i. 23, Hcb. i. 10, Mt. vii. 25, Notice the double metaphor : a similar combination in Col. ii. 7. A man animated by Christian love has therein good soil in which his spiritual life may take firm hold and raise its head securely, and from which it may derive nourishment and growth. He has also a firm rock on which may rest and rise a solid structure of immoveable perseverance. Cp. i Jno. ii. 10. Where love does not reign, the Christian life is always unstable. The above words may grammatically be joined either to those preceding or to those following. In the former case, they would further describe the state of those in whom Christ dwells : in the latter, they would state a condition needful in order to comprehe7id the love of Christ. The latter seems the more likely: so AV. and RV. For the strength implied in this root 2Lnd foimdation seems to ead up to the strength needful to coi7iprchciid etc. [This would also more easily explain the nominative ^dCi\Xcv^\v. 12-16) to further the harmonious development of all the members of the Church. 1. I exho7-t you, theri; introduces, as do the same words in Rom. xii. I, a practical application of the foregoing teaching. The great truth that God is working in us beyond our thought ought to mould our conduct. Prisoner in the Lord : Christ the Master being the element in which Paul lives, and so living finds himself in prison at Rome. For all that he is and does is iji the Lord. Similar thought in Ph. i. 13: a slightly different conception in Eph. iii. i. /, the prisoner: Paul's own personality and circumstances appealing to his readers: so ch. iii. i. Gal. v. 2, 2 Cor. x. i. Walk worthily : same words and sense in Col. i. 10 ; similar words in Ph. i. 27. Calli7ig: as in ch. i. 18. The grandeur of the Gospel call lays upon us an obligation to choose such steps in life as are in harmony with the ijrospect of blessing which that call opens to our view. 2. Lowli7icss-of-77iind, 7)icekness, lo7ig-suJfc7-ing : same throe words together in Col. iii. 12, where see note. The first two are joini-d Sec. 9.] EPHESIANS IV. i— 16. 331 under one preposition and strengthened by the word all. Our ' walk ' in life must be accompanied by a correct estimate of our utter powerlessness for good and by a consequent absence of self- assertion ; and this at all times and in all circumstances. And with this must be a disposition slow to give way to unfavourable influences from without. Fo7'bea7'ing one another : same words in same con- nection in Col. iii. 13 ; see note. This participial clause both con- tinues Paul's account of the disposition he desires in his readers and describes the practical working, and the source, of lo7igsiiffering, the point last mentioned. If Christian love be the element of our life, we shall refrain from anything which would injure or grieve our brethren, whatever provocation they may give. 3. A second participial clause giving a motive for the forbearance just described, viz. that want of it may endanger Christian unity. Giving-diligence : same word and sense in Gal. ii. 10 ; a cognate word in 2 Cor. vii. 11, 12, viii. 7, 8, 16. It suggests difficulty, and a resolute effort to overcome it. The Spirit : of God ; see v. 4. The unity of the Spirit: harmony wrought by the Spirit among the members of the one Body of Christ. Similarly, the spirit of life produces harmony in the variously endowed members of the human body, making each member helpful to all the others. In a dead body this harmony is lost ; and each member pursues its own way along the path of corruption. Since this unity is a work of the spirit of God, but is conditional on man's self-surrender to the Spirit, we are bidden to keep it. And, since this is sometimes difficult, inasmuch as everything which needs forbearance tends to destroy unity in the Church, Paul bids us to give diligence to keep etc. Peace: harmony with those around us: so ch. ii. 14, 15, 17, Rom. xiv. 19, I Cor. xiv. 33, Acts vii. 26. It is represented as a silken cord binding into one the members of the Church : in the bond of peace. Contrast Acts viii. 23, ' bond of injustice.' This mutual peace, which is the encompassing element of the unity of the Spirit, has the same source as the peace of God which fills the breast of each believer : Col. iii. 1 5, Ph. iv. 7. 4 — 6. Seven objective unities, underlying the subjective unity which Paul desires his readers to maintain. One body : the Church, which occupies a unique relation to Christ as His Body. So ch. ii. 16, Rom. xii. 5, i Cor. xii. 12, 13. One Spirit : the Holy Spirit, the one animating principle of the Church, giving to it life and unity as the one Body of Christ. Thus every living human body is a pattern of the Church. And this unity is in harmony with the truth that the good news of salvation opens, to all who receive it, the same 332 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. prospect of good things to come : according as ye were called in one hope. Cp. ch. i. i8. This one hope animates all the members of the one body, and has its source in the one Spirit. Cp. Col. iii. 5. So in secular matters the uniting power of a common hope often binds together a company of men, and makes it a living unity. One Lord, or Master: whom all obey. So i Cor. viii. 6, cp. I Tim. ii. 5. Each of His servants relies upon the same Gospel promise : one faith. And each has entered the company of His professed followers by the one gate of Baptisfu. One God: final and supreme unity. So i Cor. viii. 6, i Tim. ii. 5. Since the word God does not need a defining genitive in order to give a complete sense, it is perhaps better to understand it abso- lutely : there is one God who is also Father of all. Grammatically, the word all, three times repeated, may denote all things, or men, or believers. Probably here the last. For Paul is evidently thinking about members of the one body. Throughout § 9 we have no reference to the outside world. Above all : reigning supreme over all His people: so Rom. ix. 5. Through all: using them as instru- ments to work out His purposes : cp. Rom. xi. 36 ; an important parallel. In all : dwelling in, and filling, their hearts. Notice here seven unities, arranged in two groups of three and surmounted by one supreme unity presented in a threefold relation to us. Among these unities are the three Persons of the Trinity, each possessing a unity of His own and Himself a centre of unity to the servants of God : One Spirit . . . One Lord . . . 07ie God. Same order in i Cor. xii. 4 — 6, a close parallel. As ever, Paul rises from the Son to the Father : and in the presence of the Father he lingers. For all unity in tlie creature has its source in this Supreme Unity. 7. After the unity of the Church, based upon tlie eternal unities of the Godhead, now follow the manifold gifts to the various members of the Church. To each one of us : no member left without an endow- ment. Was given grace: the undeserved favour of God revealed in the gift of capacities for usefulness : a thought frequent with Paul, e.g. Rom. xii. 6, i Cor. xii. 4, also i Pet. iv. 10. The kind and degree of the grace given to each one is determined by the measure of the free gift of Christ, i.e. by His wisdom and love : a close parallel in Rom. xii. 3, 6. We may therefore cheerfully acquiesce in the absence of some gifts which others have, knowing that other gifts have been chosen for us by the unerring wisdom of Christ. 8 — 10. A parenthesis, in thouglit though not in form. It links the spiritual endowments given by Christ to all His servants with the Sec. 9.] EPHESIANS IV. i— 16. 333 historic facts of His life on earth ; a connection ever present to the thought of Paul. This is introduced by a quotation connecting the deliverance wrought by Christ with deliverances wrought by God for ancient Israel and celebrated in their ancient songs. The speaker of the words here quoted is not mentioned : and, since no one is suggested by the context and God is addressed in the second person, it is best to understand the speaker to be the Psalmist. Cp. I Cor. vi. 16, Heb. ii. 6. The introductory formula. For which cause one says, occurs again in ch. v. 14, Jas. iv. 6, and not elsewhere in the N. T. It asserts that the words quoted were in some sense prompted by the gifts of Christ to the Church. This demands explanation. Psalm Ixviii. is evidently a song of triumphant praise to God for a great deliverance from enemies of Israel and of God: cp. vv. i, 12, 20, 21. The Psalmist compared it to that wrought by God when He led Israel through the wilderness and revealed Himself in majesty on Sinai. He accosts the conqueror as, after complete victory, returning in triumph to heaven, whence He came in power to save His people : ' Thou hast gone up on high.' The triumphal proces- sion is, as usual, accompanied by captives, these attesting the great- ness of the victory : ' Thou hast led captive a captivity.' As usual, there are also 'gifts' which the conqueror has 'received,' either from the gratitude of those whom He has rescued or from others who seek His favour. And we are told that these gifts were received by Him ' among men ; ' who are represented as standing round and observing the triumph of God. Among these astonished observers are ' the rebellious ones,' who had vainly refused to bow to His yoke but now witness His complete victory. Of this victory, a purpose is that God may reign securely, undisturbed upon His throne, as King among men. The truth underlying this poetic imagery is that, by conspicuously rescuing His people, God has manifested His power in a way which even His enemies cannot fail to recognise ; and that, the victory being now complete, His power is again hidden from the eyes of men. This truth, the Psalmist has represented under the figure of a conqueror's return from the field of victory. Now Paul saw that all such earlier deliverances culminated in the deliverance wrought by Christ, through His life and death and resurrection among men on earth, for those who believe the Gospel. In Him, God had come conspicuously forth from His unseen dwelling place in heaven ; and had wrought for His people complete salvation by victory over their spiritual enemies. The ascension of Christ 33 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. marked the completion of this victory ; and was thus the triumphant return of the Conqueror to His home on high. Whatever therefore the Psalmist said about an earlier deliverance was true in still greater measure of the ascension of Christ, Moreover, whatever God did for ancient Israel was made possible only by the death of Christ on the cross, which reconciled mercy to sinful man with the justice of God. Consequently, the deliverance celebrated by the Psalmist was due, and is here attributed by Paul, to the incarnate Son of God. Hence the introductory formula : for which cause one says. Among many songs of praise for deliverances wrought by God, Paul chose one containing a poetic figure which has an exact and literal counterpart in the ascension of Christ from earth to heaven. And since, through the victory over the powers of darkness gained by Christ on the cross, multitudes of His enemies had been brought to bow to Him in cheerful submission, Paul was able appropriately to retain in his quotation the word captivity^ which belongs only to the drapery of the Psalm. Moreover, the practical gain to men of Christ's victory, of which gain the gifts mentioned in v. 7 were a part, suggested retention of the word gifts, which also belongs to the drapery of the Psalm. And, in order to make clear the relation of Christ's victory to the spiritual gifts about which he is here speaking, Paul does not hesitate to change the form of the quotation and to write He gave gifts to 7nen. For the word altered is only a part of the dramatic picturing of the passage quoted. And the alteration makes at once evident the connection between the quota- tion and the matter wiiich in this section Paul has in hand. The 'gifts received' by the Conqueror revealed the completeness of His victory: \\\^ gifts which the ascended Saviour ^rt:?/^ to His servants on earth revealed the completion of His work for them. The essential point of connection between the quoted Psalm and the gifts bestowed by Christ is that, just as in ancient days God some- times came forth from the unseen world and manifested Himself to men by working for His servants unexpected deliverance, and then again retired from their view, so still more conspicuously in Paul's day He had wrought deliverance by the incarnation and death and ascension of Christ. A Targum reads in Ps. Ixviii. 18 'Thou hast given to them gifts ; ' as does the Syriac Version. If this reading was known to Paul, it may have suggested the change here adopted. But this is not needful to explain the change. It was justified by the fact that the alteration pertains only to the drapery of the Psalm. And it was Sec. 9.] EPHESIANS IV. 1—16. 335 needful in order to show the bearing of the quotation upon Christ's gifts to the Church. [In the Lxx., the Sinai Ms. reads avOpanois. If this reading was in Paul's mind, it might possibly have made easier to him the change from the singular number in the Psalm to the plural in the quotation.] This quotation is the first we have met with in the four Epistles now before us ; a marked contrast to the Epistles of his third mis- sionary journey, already annotated. Or rather, in its abundance of quotations from the O. T., the second group of Paul's Epistles differs greatly from all his other Epistles. This difference, we cannot explain. For reasons unknown to us, the O. T. was, during his third missionary journey specially near to the Apostle's thought. 9. Now this, He went up : viz. Christ. For Paul has asserted, and now assumes, that in His ascension Ps. Ixviii. finds its most complete fulfilment. Inasmuch as the original dwelling place of God and of the Son of God is the highest heaven, Paul justly points out that the ascent of Christ implies that He had already come down from heaven to save His people. This is asserted by God in Ex. iii. 8 ; and by Christ in J no. iii. 13, vi. 62. Certainly Christ's return in triumph to the skies implies His previous incarnation. Moreover, all this reminds us at once that Christ's ascent was preceded by a still deeper descent, that before He went up to heaven He went down into the realms of the dead. And Paul taught that He died in order to make mercy to the guilty consistent with the justice of God, and therefore possible. Consequently, had He not gone dou^n into the grave, there had been no triumphant ascent of Christ as (Acts V. 31) a Prince and Saviour. And so closely was this thought interwoven into the whole teaching of Paul that we cannot doubt that he here refers to it. The descent of Christ into the abode of the dead is also the simplest explanation of the words into the lower parts of the earth. For this can hardly mean that eaiih is lower than heaven, which is self-evident. It recalls rather the constant conception of the ancient world that just as the bodies of the dead are beneath the earth so even their souls are in the under-world. So in Ph. ii. 10 dead persons capable of worship are described as * under the earth.' The same thought underlies the O. T. conception of Hades. If this exposition be correct, we have here an express assertion that Christ went down into the world of the dead. And this agrees with Jno. xx. 17 where Christ risen from the dead says that He had not yet ascended to God, thus implying that His spirit did not go from the cross to the throne. But, apparently, the chief significance of these words is not so much the descent of Christ into 336 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. the realms of the dead as a tremendous fact involved in this descent viz. that He who ascended in triumph had previously died. The readers of the Epistle knew well that He died for their sins and to save them from sin. Had He not died, there had been no spiritual gifts for men. For these were the purchase of His blood. The descent of Christ into Hades is mentioned here, apparently, as a strong pictorial contrast to His triumphant ascent to heaven. The connection between His death and triumph is also plainly stated in Col. ii. 14, 15. The words before us do not imply that Christ went to the abode of the lost awaiting their final doom. For even the righteous dead are in the under-world : so Acts ii. 34. 10. Lingering upon the contrast between the death and ascension of Christ, Paul asserts the identity of the dead and the risen Saviour ; and further describes the grandeur and the aim of His ascension. Beyond-and-above all the heavens : until the loftiest seat on high became lower than the ascended Lord. Same word and same thought in ch. i. 21. Similar thought in Heb. iv. 14. It depicts an extreme contrast to 'the lower parts of the earth.' All the heave?is : suggesting a variety of abodes in heaven. Cp. Jno. xiv. 2. This variety is closely related to the various ranks in Eph. i. 21. May fill all things : primarily the palaces of heaven. These the Son, at His incarnation, left. At His ascension He returned to claim His own again. He now fills all things, not only as the Eternal Son but as the God-Man, the slain Lamb. His return to heaven marked the completion of the work for which He came to earth. And we can easily conceive that for this completion it was needful that His spirit, driven through man's sin into exile from its body, should descend to the lowest depth reached by His servants, in order that from that depth He might raise them to be sharers of His throne. To this end He must needs claim for His own, by entering its gloomy chambers, even the realms of the dead. Therefore, in order that the whole universe might become ' the fulness of Him who fills all in all,' He both descended and rose. Verses 8 — 10 teach the important truth that the inward experiences of Christians rest upon the outward historic facts of the human life of ('hrist. His descent into the grave luis for us the deepest persona interest : His triumphant ascent to heaven was our spiritual enrich- ment. That tliis truth is embodied in an O. T. quotation, reminds us that the greatest deliverances in the sacred songs of Israel have been surpassed by the mightier work wrought by Christ. Led from step to step by this quotation, we have followed the Saviour into Sec. 9.] EPHESIANS IV. i— 16. 337 the dark regions of the dead; and from afar have witnessed His exaltation until the brightest abodes of heaven have been left behind in His triumphal progress. A close parallel in Ph. ii. 9 — II. 11. And HE gave : emphatic addition to ' is Himself also etc' in V. 9. It also takes up the thought in v. 7 which was interrupted by the reference to the ascension and descent of Christ, ' to each one has been given grace.' Apostles . . . Prophets: close parallel in I Cor. xii, 28, 'first apostles, secondly prophets.' Apostles: see under i Cor. xv. 7, Rom. i. i : the highest rank in the Church. Prophets : the second rank. See under i Cor. xiv. 40. Evangelists or gospellers : see under Rom. i. i. Only found in 2 Tim. iv. 5, Acts xxi. 8. Its position here after apostles and prophets suggests a definite order of men : its form suggests an order of preachers. That they are called a gift of Christ, implies that they were endowed with special capacity for usefulness, as were the apostles and pro- phets. Shepherds, or pastors : same word in Lk. ii. 8. A frequent and appropriate metaphor for those who have charge of others in the Church. So Ezek. xxxiv. 2, 9, 10, 23, Jno. x. 16, i Pet. ii. 25, Heb. xiii. 20: cognate verb in Jno. xxi. 16, Acts xx. 28, i Pet. v. 2. It denotes evidently a class of men whose work is to find food for, to protect, and to guide, the members of the Church. Teachers: men whose work is to impart Gospel truth. Close parallel in i Cor. xii. 28, 'thirdly teachers.' Cp. Acts xiii. i, 'prophets and teachers.' The pasto7's and teachers are grammatically closely joined as describing either the same office or offices closely allied. Since the food of the flock of Christ is Gospel truth, these two words describe probably the same office. Now in Acts xx. 28 the elders or bishops are exhorted to shepherd the flock of God. And in i Tim. iii. 2 Paul requires that a bishop be 'apt to teach.' We may therefore take these titles as describing the elders, not however as filling an office but as endowed by Christ with capacity fitting them for it. Such capable officers are indeed Christ's best gifts to His Church. Moreover, if outside the circle of the elders there were others possessing in a marked degree the gift of teaching, these would come under the assertion of this verse. For all capacities for Chris tian work are gifts of the Risen Lord. Notice here not only gifts for each member but special gifts fitting certain members for special offices. Such gifts are an enrichment to the whole Church, which needs for its various officers divinely- given capacities corresponding to the work of each. 12 — 16. Aim of the gifts just mentioned, viz. the full development 22 338 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. of the Church in every part ; with an exposition in detail of this development. Fidl-eqjcipmeiit : for the work and battle of the Christian life. Cognate words in i Cor. i. lo, 2 Cor. xiii. 9, 11 : see notes. Of the saints : a title noting the sacred relation to God of all Church- members. This first clause states the general aim of Christ's gift of officers to His Church. Then follow subordinate aims needful for its attainment. Alinistry : see under Rom. xii. 8. The absence of any reference here to the specific office of a deacon, the mention above of various Church-officers, and the frequency of this word in the general sense of any office, suggest that it is here used in this more general sense. So i Cor. xii. 5, ' varieties of ministries.' Work of ministry : result to be attained by this official ministration. For this practical end, Christ endowed certain Church-members with special capacities. For building up etc. : further aim, parallel with and defining that just mentioned. It reproduces the metaphor of ch. ii. 20 — 22. As in English, so in Greek the same word, building, denotes both the structure erected and the act of erection. The body of Christ : Paul's favourite metaphor, found already in ch. i. 23. This combination of two metaphors links with the idea of the progress of a rising building that of the growth of a living body and the vital relation of the Church to Christ. Similar combination in V. 16. This wot'k of 7ninistry and buildijig of the body of Christ, we may perhaps understand as means leading to the full eqtiip??ient of the saints. [The prepositions irpos and ds are used here together, as in Rom. xv. 2, apparently for the further and nearer objects in view.] God designs that, through the agency of the officers of the Church and through the consequent progress of the Church as a whole, each individual Christian, standing as he does in special relation to God, may attain his full development. 13. Further aim of Christ's gift of Church-officers ; represented here as the length of time during which the gift will continue in the Church : until we attain. Not that the gift will then cease : for in Rom. V. 14 the reign of death, which wrs until Moses, continues still. We all: i.e. Church-members in contrast to office-bearers. Attain: to overtake an object aimed at : same word and sense in i Cor. x. II, xiv. 36. The unity of the faith: complete harmony of the members of the one body of Christ arising from their faith in the Son of God. Cp. V. 5: 'one faith.' It is jiractically the same as 'the unity of the Spirit ' in v. 3. For the uniting Spirit is obtained through faith. Paul means probably the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. For the phrase /«///; of the Son of God, though strange to Sec. 9.] EPHESIANS IV. i— 16. 339 English ears, is good Greek. So ch. iii, 12, twice in Gal. ii. 16, 20, iii. 22, Ph. iii. 9, etc. It denotes the mental act in which we accept and lean upon the words of Christ. Our faith has for its personal object, a7id our kjiowledge for its object matter, the Son of God. To believe His words, is to know Him. Full-grown: as in Ph. iii. 15, Col. i. 28, iv. 12, i Cor. ii. 6, xiv. 20. Ma7i, not ' men : ' for Paul thinks of the ideal oneness of Christian manhood. These words are parallel with to the unity of the faith. By attaining this unity we attain the full stature of men in Christ. To the measui'e of etc.: in apposition to, and expounding, the fore- going. The fulness of Christ : the abundant blessing and full deve- lopment, these being practically the same, which Christ has and gives. It is 'the fulness of God' in ch. iii. 19. This fulness raises those who receive it to the stature of Christian manhood. And this is the measiu^e to which Paul would have his readers attain. The word rendered stature denotes bodily height in Mt. vi. 27, Lk. ii. 52, xii. 25, xix. 3. In Jno. ix. 21, 23, Heb. xi. 11, it denotes length of life. The former sense is suggested here by full-grown man, and by ' growth ' in vv. 15, 16. Christ gave to Kis Church various personal endowments that, through exercise of these by those to whom they were given, its members might attain their full development, even the standard erected for them by the wealth of Christ. This verse suggests that all disunion is a mark, not only of ignorance and want of faith, but of spiritual childishness and diminutive Christian hfe. 14:— 16. In V. 13 Paul stated that the gifts of Christ to the Church were designed to continue till all His servants attain full development. This was really a statement of Christ's purpose in bestowing these gifts. Grammatically, vv. 14-16 announce a further purpose to be attained by the purpose implied in 2/. 13 or by the purpose asserted in V. 12. Practically, they expound in detail these purposes; nega- tively in V. 14, positively in vv. 15, 16. 14. A state from which Christ designs to save His people. The word no-longer implies that it was actual and frequent among the Christians of Paul's day. Babes ; keeps up by contrast the metaphor of 'full-grown' in v. 13. So i Cor. iii. i in contrast to ch. ii. 6, where we have the same words. Then follows a picture of spiritual babyhood. Waf ted-about : like a wave of the sea. Same metaphor in Jas. i. 6, ' he who doubts is like a wave of the sea carried by wind : ' a close parallel. Instability under external pressure is a mark both of weak faith and of spiritual childishness. Ca?ricd-abo7ct or around ; emphasises an idea already present in wafted-about, viz. 340 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. useless movement hither and thither. Every zviiid of teaching : the changing cause of this ceaseless and useless motion. On babes, teachmg operates like 1^171(1 on water. Every wind: recalling the infinite variety of such influences. The immature Christian is carried along by what he hears, good or bad. He is therefore at the mercy of every influence brought to bear upon him, and is borne hither and thither in ceaseless and useless movement. In the trickery of men : the source of this teaching, represented as the surrounding element and atmosphere of this vain movement. Trickery : literally dice-playing, the gamester's art. ht craftiness etc. : parallel with, and expounding, the foregoing. Craftiness : as in 2 Cor. iv. 2 : a disposition to do anything to gain one's ends. The wiles, or deliberate-system, literally the method, of error: a way of working peculiar to those who are away from the truth. This is the path and goal of those by whom the immature ones are led. This verse opens a dark picture of the Churches in Paul's day : for this teaching of error must be that of professed Christians. But the picture is no darker than that in 2 Cor. xii. 21. We have here men wandering in, and dominated by, error. While professing to teach Divine truth, they do anything to gain their ends, using even the trickery of a dice-player. By such teachers, some immature Christians are carried about from one belief to another like the tossing waves of the sea. Against their craft nothing can stand firmly except robust Christian manhood. To guard His servants from this peril, by raising them to men in Christ, the Risen Lord has enriched His Church with abundant and various spiritual gifts. 15, 16. Positive side of Christ's purpose for His people. Speak- ing-truth : either statements corresponding with fact, as in Gal. iv. 16 ; or teaching or belief corresponding with reality. This latter sense is at once suggested here by the contrast with 'error' in v. 14, and by the whole context. [The participle preceding a finite verb recalls the same construction in ch. iii. 18.] Paul teaches that know- ledge of the truth is a necessary condition of Christian growth. Consequently, it matters little whether the words in love be joined to the words preceding them or to those following, i.e. whetlicr love be the surrounding element of the truth we speak or of owx growl Ji. In either case Paul teaches that for growth there must be both love and knowledge of the truth. Cp. ch. iii. 18. Wc-may-grow ; keeps before us the idea of progress. So v. 13, 'come to a full- grown man.' Into Him : our spiritual development bringing us into closer inward contact with Christ. In all things : every part of our nature being, by this development, united more closely to Christ. Sec. 9.] EPHESIANS IV. i— 16. 341 Who is etc. : Christ into whom we are to grow is related to the Church as is the head to a living body. Same favourite metaphor in ch. i. 22, Col. i. 18. And He it is from who77i the Church, His body, derives unity and growth. All the body : parallel with ' we all ' in V. 13. Same words in same connection in Col. ii. 19. The}'- represent the entire Church as one whole. Bemg-fitted-togethe?' : same word and same present participle in ch. ii. 21. It suggests harmonious and close union like the various parts of a living body. Knit-together: same word in Col, ii. 19; a close parallel to this verse. It adds to the idea of adaptation that of actual coming together. Joint : same word and sense as in Col. ii. 19, ' through the joints and bands receiving supply and being brought together.' The similarity of these verses seems to compel us to understand thi'ough every joint as the means by which this close union of the various members is brought about ; rather than as the means of the growth afterwards mentioned. The added words of the supply teach that the manifold contact of member with member in the Church, which binds these members into one compact body, is also a means of supplying the spiritual needs of the Church and thus helping its spiritual growth. Same thought in Col. ii. 19. The wo7'king in measure of each one part: each member of the Church being active for the general good, according to the spiritual endow- ment of each. Cp. Rom. xii. 3. Just so, in a healthy body, each member is active, and the activity of each contributes to the general good. And in proportion to this activity of the several parts is the health of the whole : accorditig to the working etc. Makes the in- ci^ease {ox growth) of the body : chief assertion oiv. 16, correspond- ing to may-grow \n v. 15. This growth is derived from Christ, and is conditioned by compact union of the members and by the normal activity of each. For the building-up of itself : the metaphor of a rising building added, as in v. 12, to that of a living and growing body. In love : the encompassing element of Christian progress. Same words in 2/. 15, iii. 18. In § 9 Paul enters upon the moral teaching of this Epistle. After praise and prayer on his readers' behalf in chs. i — iii., interwoven with loftiest doctrinal teaching, he now exhorts them to action worthy of the Gospel call. Of such worthy conduct, the first point emphasised is Christian unity. Paul suggests that the preservation of unity requires effort, and a mutual forbearance possible only to the lowly in heart. Then follows a statement of the objective and eternal unities which underlie all Christian unity. From these he passes to Christ's various gifts to the members of the Church. He 34.2 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. reminds lis that tliese gifts were from the ascended Saviour ; and that His ascension was a triumph grander tlian the many triumphs of God celebrated in the ancient songs of Israel. After this passing reference to Christ's ascension and to His previous descent into the grave, Paul specifies further His gifts to the Church, mentioning specially the various grades of Church officers. These were given for the full development of the Church, which is the body of Christ. It can rise above the vacillations of childhood only by spiritual growth derived from Christ its Head, a growth uniting it more closely to Him, and nourished by the active co-operation of each member in compact union with his fellows. That in this Epistle the spiritual union of believers with Christ and with each other is treated of before morality, reveals Paul's estimate of its importance. The new life in Christ ever draws together those united to Him ; and is therefore hindered by all disunion. There- fore, since the mind of Christ moulding human conduct is the one source of the highest morality, whatever separates Christians is hostile to morality. SECTION X. A TOTAL CHANGE OF LIFE NEEDED. Ch. IV. 17—24. This then I say and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk according as the Gentiles walk in vanity of their mind, '^ being dai'kened iji the iindej^standing , alienated fro77i the life of God because of the ignora?ice which is in the?n because of the hardening of their hearts ; ^^ men who, beijtg past feeling, have given up themselves to wanton7iess for the working of all imcleanness with greediness. ^" But not so have ye leai'nt Christ ; -' if indeed ye have heard Hi7n a7id have bee7i taught i7t Hi77i, accordi7ig as it is truth i7t Jesus -- that ye must needs put azvay, as C07icc7'7is your for77ier 77ia7mer of life, the old ma7i which is co7Tupti7ig accoj'ding to the desires of deceit ; -^a7td be renewed by the Spirit of your mi7id, -' a7id put 07i the new ma7t, which, after God, has bee7i C7'eated i7i righteous7icss and holi/iess of truth. After empliasising the need of unity and mutual help among Christians, Paul now asserts the need of a total change of life, a Sec. io.] EPHESIANS IV. 17—24. 343 complete renunciation of the sins of heathenism. This he prefaces in 71. 17 by a solemn protestation ; and then in w. 18, 19 depicts, as a warning, the moral and spiritual state of the heathen. He then says that Christ {vv. 20, 21) requires a complete surrender {v. 22) of the old life and {yv. 23, 24) a life altogether new. 17. This then I say ; resumes the exhortation interrupted by the assertion in v. 4 of the great unities underlying the unity which in V. 3 Paul bids his readers endeavourto maintain. Protest: as in Gal. V. 3. He calls God to witness the truth of what he is about to say. In the Lord: like 'in Christ' in Rom. ix. i. This protest is an out- flow of Paul's union with Christ. That ye no longer walk ; recalls their earlier contrary life. Along the same path also the Gentiles now walk. This path Paul bids his readers henceforth avoid. Now follows as a warning, a description of the forbidden path. Va7iity .• cp. i Cor. iii. 20, ' the reasonings of the wise . . , are vain.' Their mi7id is at w^ork, but with no good result. And this useless activity is the mental element of their action : i7i the vaitity of their mind. 18. In two parallel participial clauses this useless mental effort is traced to its source. The understa7idi7ig : the mental eye which looks through objects around to their underlying significance. Same word in Col. i. 21. Upon this mental eye falls no light: therefore the heathen are in this all-important faculty dai'kened. This state- ment, the rest of v. 18 further develops. Alienated : same word in ch. ii. 12. The life of God: the immortal life which God Himself lives and which He gives to His servants. Cp. ' the peace of God,' in Ph. iv. 7. To this, the only real life, the heathen are strangers. So terrible is their position. The ignorance which is i?i the?n: stronger than their ignorance. In their hearts dwells an absence of know- ledge of all that is best worth knowing. And, [since knowledge of God is the channel of life, ignorance results in separation from life : alienated from the life .... because of the ignorance. Cp. J no. xvii. 3 : ' this is the eternal life, that they may know Thee.' A keen rebuke to the vaunted knowledge of the Greeks. Then follows the cause of their ignorance. Hardening: as in Rom. xi. 8. Same phrase in Mk. vi. 52, viii. 17, Jno. xii. 40. The heart is hardened when it becomes less sensible to influences from without ; in this case, influences from God. These are designed to fill and mould and raise the whole life. But the heart of the heathen is unmoved by these good influences. And, since they are the one source of the only real knowledge, hardening produces ig7W?'ance. Moreover, since knowledge is the avenue of spiritual life, the hardened and 344 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. ignorant ones are destitute of that life. Thus the two clauses, each introduced by the word bccause-of, are successive hnks of causation. Such is the inward state of the heathen. Their heart is insen- sible to things divine ; therefore ignorance reigns in them, and the true life is far off. No wonder that in these darkened ones the mind works to no purpose, and that their path in life is wrong. 19. Further description of the same men, setting forth the im- moral result of this 'hardening.' Past-feeling : literally haviiig- become-inscnsible-io-pai7i^ i.e. sin no longer painful to them. Gave-iip : surrender to a hostile power. Same word and sense in Rom. i. 24, 26, 28 : an important parallel and complement to this passage. By willingly embracing sin they gave up the??tselves to its power : and by decreeing that sinners fall victims to the power of their own sin 'God gave them up.' Themselves: the most tremendous sacrifice ever laid on the altar of sin. Wa?ito?i?tess : insolent casting aside of all restraint. U7icleajiness : anything inconsistent with personal purity. Same words together in 2 Cor. xii. 21, Gal. v. 19. IVanlon- ness is almost personified as a power to which these men surrendered themselves in order to work out everything which defiles men. I/isolence is their master : and eve/y kind of impurity is their aim. Covetoiisness : desire of having more, an inordinate longing for the good things of earth. See under Col. iii. 5. As a conspicuous form of selfishness, it stands in close relation to bodily self-indulgence. So here and ch. v. 3, Col. iii. 5, This close relation makes it need- less to give to the word here any other than its ordinary meaning. Such is the state of the heathen. The darkening of their minds has made them in some measure insensible to the evil of sin. They have therefore given themselves up to gross and defiling sin and to the worship of material good. 20, 21a. Ye not so : conspicuous and double contrast to the Gentiles. Ch?ist: Himself the matter of the knowledge they have acquired. So in Gal. i. 16, i Cor, i. 23. He is the matter revealed and preached. If at least etc. ; strengthens the foregoing assertion by adding a condition within which it is undoubtedly true, //"they have heard Christ etc., then certainly they have 7iot so learnt Him. Heard Him : by hearing they received not merely His words but Christ Himself. So in v. 20 they learnt Christ. And He is not only the inatter heard but the personal encompassing element of the teaching received : taught in Him. They first heard the truth of Christ and thus received Him ; and then, abiding in Him, received further instruction. 21b. A statement in harmony with the foregoing. This truth can Sec. io.] EPHESIANS IV. 17—24. 345 be no other than that stated in v. 22, viz. that God requires us to put away the old man. This is a truth in Jesus : for in Him who was born in Bethlehem a command has gone forth to all men every- where to repent. The teaching received by the Asiatic Christians was in agreement with the moral truth of this command : according as etc. Notice the Saviour's names. They ' learnt Christ,' i.e. they embraced the meaning of His official title. There is truth in Jesus : for in that historic Person God spoke to man. 22. The moral ' truth,' now plainly stated. Put-away : as clothes are laid aside. Same word and idea in Col. iii. 8, Rom. xiii. 12. That ye put away : this moral truth brought to bear on the Christians at Ephesus. Manner-of-life : same word and sense in Gal. i. 13, * my manner of life formerly.' In-view-of the former ?nanner-of-life : aspect of their case which makes it needful to put away etc. The old 7nan : same words and sense in Col. iii. 9, where we have the same metaphor of laying aside clothing : see note. Which is cor- rupting : moral deterioration and destruction going on day by day. Of this, eternal death is the awful consummation. So is the cor- ruption of a corpse a consummation of mortification before death. The abstract principle of deceit with its tendencies is represented almost as a person cherishing desif-es. In the unsaved, these are a ruling power. And the corruption now going on is what we should expect when such a principle guides the steps of men : according to the desi7'es of deceit. These last words keep before us the teaching \vlV. 18 that ignorance and error are the. treacherous basis of human life without Christ. A building erected on such a foundation is doomed to fall. 23. Positive side of the moral ' truth in Jesus.' And be re7iewed : from day to day, in contrast to the "advancing corruption of the old man. Similar word, and same idea of progressive renovation, in Col. iii. 10, Rom. xii. 2. The Spirit of your 7nind : the Holy Spirit looked upon as enlightening the mind. Similarly, in Rom. vii. 23 the law of God is called * the law of my mind.' Nowhere else in the Bible is the Holy Spirit spoken of as belonging to man or to man's mind. But the phrase is intelligible and appropriate. Whereas, to understand it as describing the human spirit, is to make the col- location of spi7'it and ini7id unmeaning. The Holy Spirit is the Agent of the renewal : Tit. iii. 5. And He renews men by enlighten- ing their intelligence. Paul could therefore say, be re7iewed by the Spirit of your 7ni7id, and ' the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind.' 24. And put on: once for al, lin contrast both to ' put off' in v. 22 346 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. and to the gradual renewal in v. 23. Same word in Col. iii. 10, where we have also a term equivalent to the nezv vian. Aftc7- God : Himself the pattern, as He is also the Author, of this new creation. Cp. Col. iii. 10, 'according to the image of Him that created Him.' The new man has already been created, and is therefore waiting to be put on. In righteousness : right doing, the surrounding element of this new creation. Holiness : not the very common word usually so rendered, but a rare word found, in conjunction with 7'ighteotis- ness, in Lk. i. 75, Cognate words in Acts ii. 27, xiii. 34, 35, i Tim. ii, 8, Tit. i. 8, i Th. ii. 10. It denotes agreement with the eternal sanctities of right. This righteousness and holi7iess belong to the truth, just as * the desires ' which lead to moral corruption belong to ' deceit.' The moral teaching which found utterance in Jesus, and which because it corresponds with the eternal realities is truth, finds its outward expression in conduct agreeable to the Law and to the eternal principle of right. Such conduct is the surrounding element of the 7iew man which has been created in the likeness of God and which Paul bids his readers put ofi. [Notice carefully the tenses in vv. 22 — 24. The old man is day by day corrupting : we are therefore bidden to lay it once for all aside. The new man has already been created : we are therefore bidden once for all to put it on. But the renewal wrought by the Holy Spirit operating on our mind progresses day by day.] Such is the broad platform which Paul lays for his subsequent moral teaching. He points* to the heathen, to their moral insensi- bility and to the consequent darkness which has clouded their minds and reduced to worthlessness their mental efforts, and to their reck- less self-abandonment to every kind of sin ; and silently reminds his readers that this was once a picture of themselves. But the truth which spoke in Jesus has changed all this. The old corrupting life, Paul bids them lay aside ; and bids them put on the new life breathed into man by the creative power of God, in the likeness of God, and receiving daily progressive renewal by the mental illumination of the Holy Spirit. Sec. II.] EPHESTANS IV. 25— V. 21. 347 SECTION XL SUNDRY PRECEPTS. Ch. IV. 25— v.- 21. For which cause ^ having put away falsehood, speak ye truth each with his neighbour. For we are 7ne??tbers one of another. ^^ Be a?tgry and sin not : let not the sun go down on your provocation ; -'' neither give place to the devil. ^^ He that steals, let him steal no longer ; but rather let him labour, working with his hands that which is good, that he 7nay have to impart to him who has need. '^ Let no corrupt speech go forth f7'07n your 77iouth, but if a7iyt]iing is good for edifyi7ig as the 7ieed 77iay be, that it 7nay give g7-ace to those that hear. '^^ A7id grieve 7tot the Holy Spi7'it of God i7i who7n ye have been sealed for the day of rede7nptio7i. ^^ L^t all bitterness and fury and anger a7td clamour and raili7tg be put away fro7n you, with all bad7iess. ^^ A7zd become ki7id one to a7iother, co7npassio7iate , forgiving each other, accordi7ig as God i7i Ch7'ist forgave you. ^ Become the7i i7nitat07's of God as beloved childre7i : ^ a7id walk i7i love acco7'ding as Ch7'ist loved you a7id gave up Hi7nself 07i our behalf an offeri7tg and sacrifice to God for a7t odour of perfmie. ^ But fo7'7ticatio7i a7id all U7tclea7i7iess or covetous7iess, let the77i 7iot be named a7no7ig you, as beco77ies sai7its : ^ a7id sha7neful7iess a7id foolish talki7ig a7id jesti7tg, which a7-e 7totfitti7ig, but rather tha7tks- givi7ig. '"For this ye k7iow bei7ig aware that 710 for7ticator or 2171- clea7i person or covetous 07te, which is an idolater, has inheritance i7t the ki7igdom of Christ a7id of God. ^ Let 7to one deceive you with e7npty words. For because of these things comes the anger of God up07i the S071S of disobedic7tce. ^ Beco7}ie 7iot the7i pa7'takers with the77t. ^ For ye we7'e 07ice da7'k7iess, but are 7iow light i7t the Lord. As childre7i of light walk, ^ {for the f'uit of the light is i7i all good7iess and righteous7tess a7id truth,) ^^provi7ig what is well-pleasi7ig to the Lord. ^1 And be 7iot sharers with others i7i the tmfruitful works of darkness, but rather rep7'ove them. ^^ For the thi7igs secretly do7ie by them, it is a shame even to speak of. ^^ But all thi7igs whe7i reproved are 77iade 7na7iifest by the light. For everythi7ig which is 77iade manifest is light. ^^ For which cause he says, " R is e 2ip, sleeper, a7id arise fro7n the dead, a7id Christ shall give light to thee." 348 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. '•■^ Look then carefully hozu ye walk, not as imwisc but as zvise, ^'^> buying up the opportnjiity, because the days ai'e bad. ^"^ For this cause be not se?iseless, but miderstand what is the will of the Lord. ""^ And be not drunk with witie, in which is riot, but be filled with the spirit; '^ speakiiig one to another with psabns a?td hymns and spiritual songs, singing and chanting in your heart to the Lord; •^giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lo7'd Jesus Christ, to God even the Father; -' subjecting yourselves one to aiwther in the fear of Christ. After asserting in § lo the broad underlying principles of Christian morality, Paul comes in § ii to apply them in detail to various specific vices and virtues. Without any formal divisions, his dis- course flows on witli orderly sequence, shedding light on each point it touches. In vv. 25 — 31 we have a series of prohibitions ; and in vv. 32 — V. 2 positive injunctions supported by the example of God and of Christ. Then follow in vv. 3 — 7 other prohibitions, supported by threatenings. These are further supported in vv. 8 — 14 by a comparison of the past and present under the aspects of darkness and light. In vv. 15 — 21 we have sundry exhortations culminating in an exhortation to spiritual song and praise. A word about mutual subordination closes § 11, and becomes the key-note of § 12. 25. For which cause : a desired practical result of the foregoing general moral principles. Falsehood : in all its forms. [The Greek article looks upon it as a definite and well-known object of thought.] Having-put-away : once for all. [The participle does not imply that this had already taken place, but merely makes it a necessary preliminary to the truth-speaking to which Paul here exhorts his readers. See under Rom. v. i.] Speak ye truth each with his neighbour : almost word for word from Zech. viii. 16, the prophet's word correctly expressing Paul's thought. That this exhortation comes first, was probably suggested by the last word of § 10. Members one of another : same words in same sense in Rom. xii. 5. They bring Paul's favourite metaphor of the Church as the body ol Christ, asserted in ch. i. 23 and further expounded in ch, iv. 12, 16, to bear upon this detail of practical morality. If we are members of one body, we have one interest. And, where this is recognised, falsehood is impossible. For it is only a cloak to hide our selfish disregard of the interests of others. To limit the word iieighbour to fellow-Christians, would contradict both the broad (Xjmpass of the word itself and the plain teaching of Lk. X. 29. And the samejvvidth must be given to the words follow- Sec. II.] EPHESIANS IV. 25— V. 21. 349 ing which support this exhortation. If so, all men are here said to be members of one body. And, in a very real sense, this is true. The whole human race, like a human body, is so joined together that benefit or injury to any one member is done to the whole, and thus indirectly done in some measure to each other member. They who know this have nothing to hide ; and will therefore speak the truth. Notice here an application of Paul's favourite metaphor wider than is found elsewhere in his Epistles. 26, 27. Be angry and sin not: word for word from Ps. iv. 4. Grammatically each word conveys an exhortation. But practically the whole force of the exhortation falls upon the second verb. The first exhortation implies that anger may sometimes be right ; and is therefore practically permissive. Paul bids us see that our anger be ever joined to sinlessness. Then follow two warnings against dangers which always attend anger. It is always wrong when it becomes an abiding state of mind : and in all danger Satan is near, seeking for entrance. The sun go down : the solemn close of the day. Even nature, by dividing life into short portions, suggests retrospection as each portion passes. And such retrospection is a safeguard against sinful anger. Yotcr provocation, or aity provoca- tion of yours : cognate word in Rom. x. 19. It is therefore not necessarily sinful. It denotes a rousing of the emotion of anger. Give place : as in Rom. xii. 19. Paul suggests that when anger continues Satan is near ; and warns that we be careful not to afford him an opportunity of doing us spiritual harm. The devil: see under ch. vi. 11. 28. He that steals etc. : a general precept which all Paul's readers must obey. For Christ bids every sinner to put away his sin. But rather let him labour. . . . that he may have to impart etc. : exact opposite to stealing. To avoid labour, a thief impoverishes others. He must now work that by possessing he may be able to i7npai% i.e. to give a portion of his own possession, to him that has need. Working with his hands : vivid picture of actual toil. That which is good: in contrast to the evil of theft. 29. Every corrupt (or bitter) word : put conspicuously first as the serious matter of this prohibition. Out of your mouth : graphic delineation of speech, revealing the inappropriateness of such talk from the lips of Christians. Then the prohibition : let it not go forth. Btit if aity discourse be good etc. : the contrasted positive exhortation. For edificatio7i : i.e. tending to build-up the spiritual life, and thus to supply the 7iecd (same word as above) of men. A further purpose, explaining the foregoing words, is that it may give 350 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. grace to the hearers, i.e. convey to them the favour of God and its consequent benefits. In Jas. iv. 6, i Pet. v. 5, Ps. Ixxxiv. 11, Ex. iii. 21, God gives grace. This last passage denotes the favour towards Israel wrought by God in tlie hearts of the Egyptians. The others refer to His own favour with which God enriches the lowly : a meaning practically the same as here. 30. A fifth prohibition. The Holy Spirit of God: full and solemn title. Grieve : literally caiise-sorrow-to : same word several times in 2 Cor. ii. 2 — 5, vii. 8, 9. It is here a strong anthropomorphism- They who resist the Spirit and thus provoke His displeasure are here said to cause Him sorrow. Only thus can we conceive the influence of man's sin upon the mind of God. If it stood alone, this phrase would not in itself necessarily imply that the Spirit of God is a Person distinct from the Father. For it might be understood as a mere circumlocution for Him. But when we have learnt this doctrine from Jno. xvi. 13, Mt. xxviii. 19, (see under i Cor. xii. 11,) it sheds new light upon, and thus receives confirmation from, these words. Ye were sealed : same phrase in same connection and sense in ch. i. 13. Redemption : as in ch. i. 14, Rom. viii. 23. The great day will be a final and complete deliverance of the servants of Christ, and in this sense a day of rcdempfioft. And the gift of the Spirit has that day in view: sealed for the day etc. God has given to believers the Holy Spirit that in their hearts He may be a divine testimony that in the day of days they will be rescued from death and the grave. Now all sin tends to deface that seal and thus to destroy this divine attestation. Consequently, this last prohibition contains a strong motive for obedience to those foregoing. 31. A compact group of prohibitions. Notice its comprehensive- ness : all . . . all. Bitterness: cognate to a word in Col. iii. 19; see note. Fury and anger : see under the same words in Col. iii. 8. Clamour : a loud or earnest cry. Same word in Acts xxiii. 9, Mt. XXV. 6, Heb. v. 7. Both anger and clamour so easily pass the bounds of right that the words are, as here, often used in a bad sense. Railing . . . badness : as in Col. iii. 8, in the same connection. This last term is separated from the others as generic and inclusive. 32 — v. 2. A group of closely allied positive exhortations, inserted as a conspicuous contrast among these warnings against sin. Become: in contrast to ' put away from you.' It implies that the readers are not yet what Paul desires them to be. Co?npassionate : literally, good-hearted. Forgiving each other : as in Col. iii. 13, where the same motive is given. God forgai'c you : (cj). Col. ii. 13 :) as the \iltimate source of the grace of pardon. But it reaches us in Christ, Sec. II.] EPHESIANS IV. 25— V. 21. 351 i.e. through the facts of His human Hfe and through inward union with Him. Outside of Christ there is no forgiveness from God. 1, 2. On this divine pattern Paul Hngers. We must be imitators of God. And this because we are His children, objects of His tender love. For children are expected to bear their father's like- ness : and loved ones are influenced by those who love them. And love is to be the encompassing element and directive principle of their steps in life : walk in love. Similar phrase in Rom. xiv. 15. To the example of the Father, Paul adds that of the Son : according as also Christ etc. Gave up Hi7nself on your behalf : as in Rom. viii. 32, Gal. ii. 20, Eph. v. 25. Grammatically, these words mean simply self-surrender for our benefit. But the following word sacrifice and Paul's constant teaching about the purpose of the death of Christ prove abundantly that he refers here to Christ's self- surrender to death for our salvation : an infinite contrast to the self- surrender in ch. iv. 19. Offering : a general term for everything given to God. Sacrifice : a more specific term for the gifts laid upon the altar. It is a frequent translation of the ordinary Hebrew word for bloody sacrifices ; but is sometimes used in the Lxx. (e.g. Lev. ii. I, 3) for unbloody offerings. Wherever used in the N. T., it has reference to the ritual of the altar: e.g. Rom. xii. i, Ph. ii. 17, iv. 18. The two words are together, in reversed order, in Ps. xl. 6, quoted in Heb. X. 5, 8. The psalmist's thought there passes from the specific to the general, denying that either one or other is desired by God. To God : most easily joined to the words immediately foregoing. For the mention of sacrifice recalls at once the deity to whom it is offered. An odour of perfume : as in Ph. iv. 18, where the gift from Philippi is said to be a sacrifice pleasant to God as perfume is fragrant to man. 3, 4. Another group of warnings against sin. FornicatioUy un- cleanness : as in Gal. v. 19. Paul passes from the specific to the general, to which last he gives the widest latitude : all tincleanness. Covetoiisness : as in ch. iv. 19. By the conjunction 6'r it is separated, as belonging to a different class, from the two foregoing sins. As becomes sai7its : their relation to God making it unfitting that the sins of heathenism should be even na^ned a77iong them. Sha7neful- 7iess : a wide term including (Col. iii. 8) ' shameful speaking.' Jest- i7ig : literally quick versatility of speech which easily degenerates into evil. Since the last two prohibitions seem to relate only to trifles, Paul pauses to say that foolish-speaki7ig and jesti7ig are ?wt fitti7tg. Instead of such inappropriate mirth he proposes the glad- ness of tha7iksgiving. So Ph. iv. 6, Col. ii. 7, iv. 2. 352 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii 5. A solemn assertion supporting, the three prohibitions in v. 3. The word I have rendered being-aware denotes the process of C077iing to know, and is almost equal to perceiving. Ye k?iow this that I am going to say, perceiving that every forjiicator etc. The three sins are in the same order as in v. 3. On the last sin Paul lingers to assert again, as already in Col. iii. 5, that the covetous man is an idolater. Has no inheritance in the kingdom : close parallels in I Cor. vi. 9, 10, Gal. v. 21. 0/ Christ and God: climax, rising as ever with Paul from the Son to the Father. These last are here placed in closest relation. But we have no proof that they denote the same divine Person. 6. Further support of the above prohibitions. Paul warns his readers against some who will say that sin is a trifle : let no one deceive you. In a heathen city, and to converts from heathenism, persuasion to sin would most ifrequently come from heathens. And to such probably Paul chiefly refers. But his words are quite general. Enipty words : mere sounds destitute of truth. Cp. ' empty deception ' in Col. ii. 8. A similar compound word in i Tim. vi. 20, 2 Tim. ii. 16. Eor because etc. : solemn confirmation of the foregoing, and proof that the words are empty. Coines the anger of God : word for word as in Col. iii. 6. The so?is of disobedience : as in ch. ii. 2, and Col. iii. 6 where see note. 7. Become not ; courteously suggests that they were not such already. Partakers-with them : joined with them as sharers of their sin and of the anger of God which falls upon sinners. Same word in contrasted surroundings in ch. iii. 6. 8—10. For ye were etc.: an appeal to the readers' former life, suppc^rting the foregoing dissuasive. This contrast of past and present is a genuine trait of Paul : cp. Rom. iii. 21, xi. 30, xvi. 26. 'Darkened in mind (ch. iv. iZ) ye were yourselves / Htsbands, love your wives, as also Christ loved the Church and gave up Himself oji its behalf ^^ that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the bath of water, with the word, ^^ that He may Himself present to Himself the Church glorious not having spot or W7'inkle or any of the sicchlike things, but that it may be holy and blameless. -^ So ought the inoi to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loves his owfi wife loves himself. -^ For ?io 07ie ever hated his own flesh, but iiourishes a?id chcj'ishes it as also Christ 358 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. docs the Church. ^^ Because we are ine?nbers of His Body. ^^^^ For this cause, a mail will leave father and mother and will be joi?ied to his wife; and the two will b ecoine on e fie s h." (Gen. ii. 24.) ^3 xhis mystery is great. But I speak in regard to Christ and i7i regard to the Church. ^ Never- theless, also ye severally, let each one thus love his own wife, as himself ; aJid the wife that she fear the husband. The implied general exhortation at the end of § 11, 'submitting yourselves one to another,' is now specialised in reference to the three most conspicuous relations of social life ; in § 12 to wives and husbands, in § 13 to children and parents, in § 14 to slaves and masters. The same three relations are discussed in the same order in Coi. iii. 18 — iv. i. But the discussion here is much more full and valuable ; especially that of the first pair, which is developed under the influence of the dominant thought of this Epistle. 22—24. The wives to their own husbands : similar injunction to Col. iii. 18. Their own husbands: noting a peculiar and intimate relation. The words in italics, ' be subject ' are supplied from the close of the foregoing sentence. As to the Lord : slightly different from 'as is fitting in the Lord ' in Col. iii. 18. The wife must recog- nise that her position of subordination is ordained by Christ and that in bowing to her husband she does but submit to j her Master in heaven. Thus the Gospel lays upon her a new obligation. But, as we shall see, by laying upon the husband a like obligation it gives to the wife new rights. Because i7ian is etc. : a fact containing a reason for the foregoing injunction. Head of the woma7i : as in i Cor. xi. 3, a close parallel. The head and body are vitally united, and share the same nature. But the one is placed above the other to direct its action. Paul asserts that this is the relation of man to the womaii. To this metaphor is added another similar metaphor which still further expounds the subjection of the woman to the man : as also Christ is Head of the Church. Same favourite metaphor in ch. i. 22, iv. 12, 16. Its frequency is explained by the ideal aspect of the Church which is the dominant tliought of this Epistle. He is Saviour of the Body : an important assertion thrown in, which practically limits the foregoing comparison. From the licad of the W07nan the Head of the Church differs in that HE (very emphatic) is Saviour of the Body. This completes the foregoing metaphor by calling the Church the Body of Christ ; and makes con- spicuous a difference between the metaphors by an assertion about Christ and the Ciuirch quite inapplicable to the relation of man and Sec. 12.] EPHESTANS V. 22—33. 359 woman. The Body of which Christ is Head, He has Himself rescued from bondage and death. Nevertheless etc. ; reasserts, in spite of the difference just men- tioned, the primary injunction of v. 22. In everything : a subjection universal within the limit fixed by its aim, viz. as to the Lord. She must do nothing even in obedience to the husband which she cannot do for Christ. 25. Htcsbands, love the wives: word for w^ord as in Col. iii. 19. Accordi7ig as also etc. : ground of this exhortation. If the woman's relation to the man resembles that of the Church to Christ, the love with which Christ loved the Church must be a model of man's love to his wife. This comparison is the more natural in Greek because the word Church is feminine. And gave-up Himself on its (or her) behalf: historic manifestation and proof of this pattern love. Gave- up on-behalf-of : same words in ch. v. 2, Gal. ii. 20. It is Christ's self-surrender to death. In this verse and in Jno. iii. 16 we have two aspects, each supple- menting the other, of the love which prompted the death of Christ. Since the purpose of salvation embraced the world, and since God brings to bear on every man an influence which unless resisted will lead him to salvation, Christ said to Nicodemus, in a general state- ment about the Gospel, that ' God so loved the world that He gave etc." But the eternal love of God foresaw all who would accept the Gospel and be finally saved. Consequently, this foreseen result of the gift of Christ may be spoken of as the aim of His self-surrender, and therefore as the object of the love which prompted it. Each of the saved can say He ' loved me and gave up Himself for me.' And the lost will know that their destruction was due, not to a limitation of God's love, but to their own rejection of His offered mercy. 26, 27. A digression expounding the moral aim of Christ's self- surrender. Cp. Tit. ii. 14. It is very appropriate in this exposition of Christian morality. May-sanciify it : subjective holiness, i.e. the actual and unreserved devotion and loyalty of the Church to Christ. For this is clearly implied in the words following. So the word holy in v. 27. This is here represented as an aim of the death of Christ. And rightly so : for without it there can be no full blessed- ness. And an intelligent purpose includes all means necessary to the end in view. In i Cor. i. 2, the same word denotes the objective holiness of all the people of God, i.e. His claim that they live only for Him. In this sense even the carnal Corinthian Christians were already 'sanctified.' Wherever sanctification means more than 36o EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. this, viz. the actual devotion which God claims, it is represented, not as attained, but as a divine purpose. So i Th. v. 23, Jno. xvii. 17 : cp. I Cor. vii. 34, 2 Cor. vii. I. Since loyalty to God is ever the work of the Holy Spirit, since the gift of the Spirit implies pardon of sin, and since Christ died in order to harmonize the justification of believers with the justice of God and thus make it possible, Paul here asserts that 'Christ . . . gave up WimsQM in o?-dcr that He 7?iay sanctify' the Church. See a close and important parallel in 2 Cor, V. 15, where we are taught that Christ died in order that we may live a life of devotion to Him. Having-cleaJised it by the bath of water : a necessary preliminary to the actual devotion to God which Christ purposes to work in His people. For all impurity is opposed to unreserved devotion to God, and must therefore be removed before subjective holiness can be realised. So Rom. vi. 11, 'dead to sin, but living for God.' Simi- larly, in symbolic ritual, the priests in the Temple washed themselves at the brazen laver before they approached the altar : Ex. xxx. 18 — 21. Cleanse : same word in 2 Cor. vii. i. Tit. ii. 14, Heb. ix. 14, i Jno. i. 7, 9, Acts XV. 9 ; important parallels. It denotes removal of the stain which mars the moral beauty of sinners. Bath : same word in Tit. iii. 5, ' bath of the new birth ; ' and Sirach xxxi. 30, ' one who is baptized from a dead body and again touches it, what has he been profited by his bath ? ' in reference to ceremonial purification. It denotes, as does the English word bath, both the act of washing and the vessel in which we wash. In view of these two other passages and of Acts xxii. 16, we can hardly doubt that Paul refers here to Baptism. And such reference presents no difficulty. As commanded by Christ, Baptism was binding on all who had not received it and who sought deliverance from the stain of sin ; and was therefore in this sense a condition and instrument of spiritual purification. This does not imply any magical efficacy in the outward rite, but only its divine obligation in all ordinary cases. In Paul's day, the peril frequently involved in outwardly confessing Christ made this obliga- tion a most serious element in the way of salvation. Hence the language of these three passages. This reference to Baptism was proljably suggested by the metaphor in 7>. 27. Paul silently reminds his readers that Baptism, which to many of them had been so perilous, was but the bride's bath on the eve of marriage, in their case a necessary precursor of the joy of eternal union with the great King. With the word : joined most naturally to that //<• uiay sanctify it. For the intervening words give a complete sense, and describe a Sec. 12.] EPHESIANS V. 22—33. 361 necessary preliminary to the sanctification which Christ designs. Having noted this prehminary, Paul adds the instrument of sanctification, viz. the word of the Gospel, God's chosen instrument of salvation. Cp. Jno. xvii. 17, ' sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth.' Same word, in the singular number as here, and referring to the Gospel, in ch. vi. 17, Rom. x. 8, 17, Heb. vi. 5, i Pet. i. 25. In eternity the Son of God purposed to draw men, by a spoken word, viz, the Gospel, to bow to God with unreserved and joyous devotion. Similarly, by a ' word of God ' the world was made : Heb. xi. 3. 27. Further and ultimate aim of the purpose described in v. 26. It is clothed in a not unfrequent metaphor : 2 Cor. xi. 2, Rev. xix. 7, 9, xxi. 9, Jno. iii. 29, Mt. xxv. i. Presetil: same word in Col. i. 22, 28, Rom. vi. 13, 16, 19, xii. i ; and, in the same connection as here, 2 Cor. xi. 2. Himself to Himself : emphatic assertion that the Giver and Receiver are the same. For the Bride has been rescuejd and purified by the self-surrender of the Bridegroom. Glorious : clothed in splendour exciting universal admiration ; cp. Rev. xxi. 11, 'having the glory of God.' Christ designs the CJntrch to h^ glorious, and as such to be His own for ever. Spot : any blemish. Wrinkle : a mark of decay. Maintaining his metaphor, Paul describes moral imperfections as bodily blemishes. But that it may be etc. ; com- pletes the description of the glorious Church. Holy : subjectively : for, objectively, as claimed by God, Paul's readers were (ch. i. i) already holy. This word keeps before us the subjective sanctifica- tion of V. 26. Instead of having spot or wri7ikle, Christ designs the Church to be holy and blameless : same words together in the same connection in ch. i. 4. They are added in the form of a purpose in order to throw emphasis on the holiness and blamelessness of the Church as specially designed by Christ. Notice that present to Himself corresponds to saiictify and holy : for that is holy which is devoted to God. Not having spot or wrinkle corresponds, as a negative element implied in holiness, to cleanse and blameless. 28a. Application of the foregoing metaphor to the matter in hand, viz. the duty of liusbands to love their wives. In this way : ' ac- cording as Christ loved the Church.' As their own bodies: i.e. looking upon their wives as being their own flesh and blood. These words link together two closely related metaphors, viz. the Church as the Body {y. 23) and as the Bride {y. 27) of Christ ; and brings them to bear, thus linked together, upon the relation of husband and wife. 28I3 — 30. These verses develop an argument lying in ' as their own 362 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. bodies.' Husband and wife have one interest. Therefore, affection towards the wife brings proportionate gain to the husband. In this sense, he that loves his owii wife, loves himself. This argument, V. 29 further supports. Paul asserted in v. 25 that a man's relation to his wife is like that of Christ to the Church. And he has fre- quently taught that the Church is the Body of Christ. If so, Christ's love to the Church is like a man's love to his own body. This latter love Paul declares to be universal, and further describes. His own flesh : his body, in view of its material constitution, which has special needs and demands special care. Nourishes : finds the food need- ful for its health and development. Cherishes : i Th. ii. 8 : keeps warm, as a hen her chickens. Every one feeds his own body and protects it from cold. And as every one acts towards his own body so Christ acts towards the Chiirch. This treatment of us by Christ is illustrated by a restatement of the fact that we are members of His Body. 31, 32. The words of Gen. ii. 24 (almost word for word from the Lxx.) taken up by Paul and woven into his argument about the relation of Christ to the Church as a pattern to husbands and wives. Same quotation in Mt. xix. 5, Mk. x. 7, 8. Adam asserts that because woman is derived from man the relation of husband and wife is the closest of human relationships. By appropriating these words, Paul brings them to bear on the argument before him. And they prove clearly that {v. 28) to love one's wife is to love oneself. For they assert that husband and wife are one flesh. This plain reference of the quotation makes it needless to seek in it an assertion about Christ. And certainly the Son of Mary did not leave His mother in order to be united to the Church. Because of this: because woman was taken out of man, as stated in Gen. ii. 23. It is a part of the quotation. We therefore need not assume a special reference to V. 30. A 7?ta7t will leave: whenever in all generations a man marries. The two shall become one flesh: the chief point in the quotation. So close is the marriage relation that it seems in some sense to suspend the distinction of personality. Now, whatever is done to one part of a living body affects the whole. Consequently, kindness to one's wife is kindness to oneself. This quotation casts light upon the assertion in v. 23 that ' man is head of the woman.' The head and body are one flesh, so closely and vitally united that injury or benefit done to one is done to the other. Yet the head directs and the body obeys. All this is true b(Jth of man and woman and of Christ and the Church. Of each of these relationships the human Ijudy is a metaphor. Even Christ and Sec. 12.] EPHESIANS V. 22—33. 363 the Church are one flesh : for both are human. But Christ directs ; and the Church obeys. The human body is thus a pattern of two important relations, viz. of husband and wife and of Christ and the Church. It is therefore a Hnk uniting these relations, and making each a pattern of the other. This double metaphor is not found elsewhere. And it greatly strengthens the obligations here enforced. The wife is bound to obey her husband, as the Church, of which she is a member, obeys Christ. The husband is bound to love his wife, as Christ loved the Church. To fail in this is, as this quotation proves, to act as a man would who did not care for his own body. We have thus a double motive for marital love, the example of Christ and the instinct of self-preservation. 32. Tkzs 7nystery : (same word in Rom. xi. 25 :) the marriage relation described in the foregoing quotation. See note under I Cor. iii. 4. Under the marriage relation lies secret teaching known only to those taught by God. But I speak: Paul's own use here of this quotation as distinguished from the hidden truth underlying marriage. With refej'eitce to Christ and with I'efereiice to the Church : these represented as distinct objects of thought. While quoting Genesis, Paul is thinking not so much of man and woman as of Christ and the Church. In other words, under the specific matter in hand lie broader truths. Even marriage, so important in itself, receives greater importance from being a visible setting forth of the relation of Christ to the Church. It is needless to discuss here whether marriage is a sacrament : for this would involve a definition of the term. Certainly, marriage cannot be put on a level with the two rites ordained by Christ for all His servants. But Paul's teaching here implies clearly its un- changeable sacredness. And this felt sacredness has ever found expression in acts of worship accompanying the marriage ceremony. Callous must they be who can enter the solemn obligations of wed- lock without recognising its divine sanction and sacred duties. 33. Nevertheless : or, more fully, ' I say nothing except this one thing.' It breaks off the discourse to insist on the one thing needful. Ye severally : transition from a mystery touching Christ and the Church to readers of this Epistle, taken one by one. Thu^s love : i.e. in the manner, and for the reasons, just expounded. As himself: * as their own bodies ' in v. 28. And the wife must remember that the husband has been set over her by Christ, and that therefore insubordination to him is disobedience to Christ. An obligation so solemn may w^ell evoke her fear. So careful is Paul to balance the duty of the husband by that of the wife. 364 EXPOSITION OF [Div. II. Review. At the close of § 11 Paul bids his readers to submit one to another. He then discusses in order three very special kinds of submission. Of these, the first and noblest and most significant is that of the wife to her husband. The Apostle bids her render to him a reverence similar to that which she pays to her Master in heaven ; and supports this by asserting a similarity between the marriage relation and that of the Church to Christ. This similarity he describes by comparing each of these relations to that of the head and members of a human body ; but points out the limits of his comparison by reminding us that the Head of the Church is also its Saviour. He concludes his injunction to the wife by urging her to take as her pattern the submission of the Church to Christ. If Paul speaks first of the duties of the wife, he finds it needful to linger longer over those of the husband. Just as the wife must look on the Church's submission to Christ as a pattern of her own sub- mission to her husband, so the husband is bound to take Christ's love to the Church, manifested in His death, as a pattern for his own love to his wife. Paul then leaves for a moment the duty of husbands to describe, in language borrowed from the metaphor he is here using, the purpose of Christ's self-sacrifice for the Church, viz. to present to Himself the Church as His loyal and spotless bride. The purity needed in the bride of Christ recalls the baptismal water through which these Asiatic Christians had passed, and which was designed to be the entrance into a spotless life. Going back to the subject specially in hand, Paul bids husbands to love their wives like Christ loved the Church, to love them even as they love their own bodies. These last words introduce another motive for love to the wife, a motive which is at once more fully developed. To love one's wife, is to love himself : and all are careful to feed and protect their own bodies. Since we are members of the Body of Christ, this care for our own body has a divine counterpart in Christ's kind- ness to the Church. The double analogy involved in this argument, viz. that the human body consisting of head and members has one counterpart in the relation of husband and wife and another spiritual counterpart in the relation of Christ to the Church, Paul supports by a quotation from Genesis which asserts that husband and wife are one flesh as though parts of one living body. He adds that in this quotation he is referring to Christ and the Church. He thus finds in the Bible strong support for his second motive for love to the wife, viz. that in loving licr the husl)and is loving himself. The Apostle roncludcs by r('])eating, and placing side by side, the mutual duties of husband and wife Sec. 13.] EPHESTANS VI. 1—4. 365 This section is throughout characteristic of Paul. As in his earlier Epistles the duties of to-day are enforced by reference to. broad and abiding principles. Thus, as ever with him, little details of common life are raised into dignity. And these details are made an occasion of expounding broad principles, which thus receive important practical illustration. The O. T. quotation finds for the relation of the Church to Christ an important and most instructive counterpart in the original constitution of our race. We notice also, as before, Paul's fairness. While defending the rights of the weaker, he does not forget the obligations involved in those rights. SECTION XIII. DIRECTIONS TO CHILDREN AND PARENTS. Ch. VI. 1—4. Children, obey your pai'ents in the Lord. For this is just. "2 Ho 71 our thy father and m othe r; " {which is the Jirst commandment with promise ;) ''^that it jnay be well with thee, and thai thou ?7iayest be long-living upon the ea7-th'' '^ And, ye fathers, provoke 7iot yottr childre7t, but 7mrture the7n in the discipli7ie and ad77io7iitio7i of the Lord. 1. Children, obey your pare7tts : nearly word for word as in Col. iii. 20. hi the Lo?'d : as in Col. iii. 20. Just : in harmony with the eternal principles of right which found embodiment in the Law of God. Same word in same sense in Col. iv. i, Ph. i. 7, iv. 8, etc. The phrase in the Z(?r^ affords no proof or presumption, especially in the absence of other reliable indications, that infant children were baptized in Paul's day. For doubtless many who might fairly be called childre7t had by their own faith and confession entered the Church. It was therefore suitable that to them directions should be given. Moreover the close and peculiar relation of children to their parents places all children of Christian parents, from the earliest days of opening consciousness, in a pecuhar and close relation to the Church of which their parents are members. Paul therefore writes to them. His words prove that he looked upon them as part of the flock for which he had to care. This intimate relation found, in the early Church, legitimate and suitable expression in the administration of Baptism to infants. That this formal recognition 366 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. of the relation of infants to the New Covenant dates from the early morning of the Church, is made certain by the Hterature of a later day. But we have no sure proof that it was as early as this Epistle. Certainly this passage is easily explained without assuming it. With his usual careful study of the O. T. Paul notices that in the Decalogue the fifth commandment differs from the rest in being supported by a definite promise. So were several later commands : e.g. Dt. xxiv. 19, XXV. 15. But of the many and various commands given to Moses this is \h^ first cojmfiaiidment \v\\\z\i has attached to it a definite promise. At the close of the second commandment there is a virtual and implied promise. But it is only general, and is not specially attached to this one command. The definite promise in the fifth commandment raises it into conspicuous prominence. To this prominence Paul points when enforcing upon children the duty of obedience. After this digression, which explains the significance of what follows, Paul goes on to quote the exact words of the ancient pro- mise. That it may be well with thee etc. : almost word for word from Ex. xx. 12, except that the concluding words ' which the Lord thy God gives thee ' are omitted. This promise is very frequent in Deuteronomy, referring indisputably to the gift of the land of Canaan: ch. iv. 40, v. 33, vi. 2, 3, xi, 8 — 12, etc. This reference is quite inapplicable to Paul's Gentile readers at Ephesus. By omitting these words he makes the promise applicable to all persons in all lands. And this is the simplest explanation of the omission. The Greek word rendered earth denotes both a particular country, viz. in Ex. XX. 12 Canaan, or the whole world consisting of many coun- tries. This latter more general meaning is given to it here by the omission of the defining words ' which the Lord gives thee.' The original promise may refer either to the long life of individuals or to the long continuance of the nation. As quoted by Paul, it can refer only to individuals. But this ancient promise cannot be appealed to as absolute now to all children who honour parents. For the New Covenant promises blessing for this life only indirectly, and under various conditions and limitations. The promise is here quoted chiefly to remind the readers of the special honour given to this command by the promise attached to it. This honour marks the abiding importance of this universal precept. 4. And, ye fathers : to the duty of the weaker, Paul adds as before the obligation of the stronger. So Col. iii. 21. Provoke : move to anger by word or act. Nurti(?-e : same word as in ch. v. 29. It denotes here, as the following words prove, not material food, but Sec. 14.] EPHESIANS VI. 5—9. 367 the care needful for moral and spiritual growth. Discipline: derived from the word boy, and denotes all that pertains to the training of a boy: a cognate word in Acts vii. 22, xxii. 3. The same cognate word is found in Lk. xxiii. 16, 22 in the simpler sense of punishment. This suggests that the idea of punishment was often associated with the word : so does the same or cognate word in i Cor. xi. 32, 2 Cor. vi. 9, I Tim. i. 20, Rev. iii. 19, Heb. xii. 5 — 10. We may understand it here to mean a training which includes punishment when needful. Ad?HO?iition : same word in i Cor. x. 11, Tit. iii. 10: a cognate word in Col. i. 28, iii. 16, and i Cor. iv. 14 where see note. Perhaps discipline refers rather to the fathers firm hand ; admonition to his faithful voice. SECTION XIV. DIRECTIONS TO SERVANTS AND MASTERS. Ch. VI. 5—9. Servants, obey them that are jnasters according to flesh, with fear and tremblittg, in singleness of heart as to Christ; ^ 7iot by way of eye-seivice as men-pleasers, but as servants of Ch?'ist, doing the will of God from the heart; ^ with good-will doing se?vice, as for the lord and not for men ; ^ kitowing that, whatever good thiiig each one does, this he will receive from the Lo7'd, whether he be a servant or a free 77ian. ^ And, ye 77iasters, do the sa77ie thi7igs to them, forbeari7ig threaten- i7tg, knowing that the Lord both of them and of yoji is i7i heaven ; a7id there is no respect of persons with Hi77i. Verse 5 contains a general precept for slaves. This is further expounded in vv. 6, 7 ; and is supported in t/. 8 by a broad principle pertaining alike to slaves and freemen. Se7'va7its, (or slaves^ obey your lords acco7^di7ig to flesh : word for word as in Col. iii. 22 except that ' in all things ' is omitted here. Fear a7id t7-e77ibli7ig : as in Ph. ii. 12. It is a counterpart of ' fearing the Lord ' in Col. iii. 22 ; and describes in strong language an anxious desire to do right and a consciousness of the spiritual peril of disobedience. I71 si7igleness of your heart : almost word for word as in Col. iii. 22. There may be an apparent fear arising from duplicity of heart. As for Christ : in conspicuous contrast to the lords according to flesh. The slave must look upon obedience to his earthl}^ master as obedience rendered to Christ. 368 EXPOSITION OF ' [Div. it. 6, 7. Exposition, negative and positive, of what is involved in * as to Christ' By-way-of eye-service : taking as their principle of action a set vice aiming only at the eye of a human lord. Slightly different in form from ' with eye-service ' in Col. iii. 22. As serva?its of Ch?'ist : positive exposition, after the negative exposition just given, of the words ' as to Christ' in v. 5. As sctvants of Christ, they are doing the will of God: for every command and purpose of Christ is from God and for God. From the heart: as in Col. iii. 23. With good-will : parallel with from the heart, adding to it the idea of gladness. While serving earthly masters, they do so gladly : for they look upon their service as for the Lord Jesus Christ, a7id not for men. They do the bidding of men, but their real aim is to please a Master in heaven. 8. A great and broad truth underlying and supporting the specific direction just given and expounded. A close parallel in Col. iii. 24. From Christ, the real Master, there will be reward correspond- ing exactly to the work done, whether by a Christian slave or a Christian freeman. 9. And ye masters or lords : like ' and ye fathers ' in v. 4.. To the precepts for slaves is now added a precept for masters. So Col. iv. I. The sa?ne things do ye to them: 'treat the slave on the principle just expounded for his treatment of you.' Threatening, or literally the threateni?tg : a common fault of masters. For it is easier to threaten than to punish. Threatetmtg is often an empty and irritating assertion of authority. Knowing that etc. : as in Col. iv. I. The action, as of the slave, so of the master, must be guided by knowledge. Both of them and of you : emphatic. Master and slave are put side by side as servants of the one Master in the heavetis. So Col. iv. i. Respect-of-persons : as in Col. iv. 25. With Him: literally in His presetice. Before the judgment seat of Christ in heaven respect of appearances has no place. Close parallel in Rom. ii. 11. Speaking to slaves, Paul reminds them that their masters are such only in reference to the outward and bodily life. He neverthe- less bids the slave to obey his lord, with anxious care to do right, and with a pure motive, looking upon his obedience as really paid to Christ Such service will not be designed merely to catch the eye or to please men. It will be a service of Christ, doing God's will heartily and gladly, as work done for Christ and not for men. This exhortation Paul supports by the universal principle that every good thing, by whomever done, will be rewarded by Christ. Masters have their duties as well as slaves, duties based on the Sec. 15.] EPHESIANS VI. 10—17. 369 same broad principles. Especially must they avoid threatening, a common fault of the stronger party. This will be easily avoided by those who believe that both Master and servant stand before an impartial Master in heaven. SECTION XV. THE CHRISTIAN WARFARE. Ch. VI. 10—17. Henceforth^ be power/id in the Loi^d, and in the ??iight of His strength. ^^ Put on the panoply of God,\that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ^"^ Because to us the wrestling is not with blood and flesh, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of this darkness, with the spiritual things of wickedness in the heavenly places. ^^ Because of this take tcp the pajwply of God, in order that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having accomplished all things to stand. ^^ Stand then, having girded yoitr loins with truth, and having put 07i the breast- plate of righteousness, ^^ and having shod your feet with a preparation of the Gospel of peace ; ^^ amid all takiiig up the shield of faith, with which ye will be able to qitench all the burtiing darts of the wicked one : ^^ and take the helmet of salvation ; and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word. 10. Henceforth or the rest, i.e. all that remains to be said. Same words, in another case, in Gal. vi. 17, introducing as here a final exhortation. Be-made-powerful : i.e. day by day, for each day's work and fight. Same word in Ph. iv. 13, a close parallel. In the Lord : in Christ our Master, the encompassing element from which we daily draw power. Apart from Him we can do nothing : Jno. XV. 5. Paul bids his readers accept the power which dwells in Christ and is obtained by inward union with Him. The might of His sti^ength : same words in ch. i. 19, (where see note,) describing the might of God. While bidding his readers receive power in Christ, Paul remembers the infinite strength of Christ, capable of controlling and crushing all hostile power ; and points to this omni- potence as the source of the needed power, Cp. ch. iii. 16, *be strengthened with power,' Both the personality of Christ and His infinite might are the surrounding element of Christian strength. Cp. I Jno. iv. 16, ' He that dwells in love dwells in God.' 24 370 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. 11. A second exhortation, pointing to a means of strength and giving a motive for using it. Ptit-on : same word and sense in Rom, xiii. 14, in the same sense of putting on weapons. Panoply : an Enghsh form of the Greek word here used, which denotes an entire and full suit of armour and weapons. Same word in Wisdom V. 18, ' He shall take His zeal as a panoply ; ' Judith xiv. 3, ' having taken up their panoplies ; ' 2 Mace. iii. 25, 'a golden panoply.' This pa7Wply is described in detail in vv. 14 — 17. It is the entire provi- sion of God to protect His servants and to arm them for the battle of life. All this, Paul bids his readers appropriate to themselves. Thai ye 7nay etc. : purpose of, and motive for, putting 011 the panoply of God. Stand : maintain your Christian position. It is the opposite of falling or fleeing. Same word and sense in Rom. V. 2, xi. 20, I Cor. X. 12, XV. i, 2 Cor. i. 24. Able to stand ; suggests the difficulty of holding our own in the Christian fight. Wiles : same word and sense in ch. iv, 14, 'wiles of error.' The devil: an English form of a Greek word meaning slanderer, and so used in I Tim. iii. ii, 2 Tim. iii. 3, Tit. ii. 3. The same word is used by the Lxx., e.g. i Chr. xxi. i, Job i. 6, 7, 9, 12, as a rendering oi Sata?i, a Hebrew word meaning ' opponent.' In other places, the Lxx. merely reproduces the Hebrew word Satan, as in i Kgs. xi. 14, 23, where it is simply a human opponent. The Hebrew form is found in Rom. xvi. 20, i Cor. v. 5, vii. 5, 2 Cor. ii. 11, xi. 14. In the N. T. the two words are practically equivalent as a proper name of the great enemy of God and man. His weapon is deception ; and with this he seeks to overthrow and put to flight the soldiers of the cross. In order that we may maintain our ground, Paul bids us //// o?i the panoply of God. 12. A tremendous fact supporting the motive just given. As usual with Paul, the fact is stated, first negatively, then positively : not with . . . but with. W?-estli?tg : a technical term of the Greek athletic contests. So Homer Iliad bk. xxiii. 635. It was probably suggested here by the word ' stand.' For the wrestler's work is to maintain his position and to throw down his adversary. And it is a most graphic picture of the Christian life. For, unlike military con- flict, in wrestling each one contends alone against a personal anta- gonist, and can gain the victory only by intense personal effort and watchfulness. This suitability of the word led Paul to forsake for a moment the military mctaplior involved in the word 'panoply,' to which he returns in v. 13, and to borrow another metaphor from the Greek athletic festivals. //'//// blood and flesh : so ' flesh and blood ' in I Cor. xv. 50, Gal. i. 16. It denotes mankind as limited by the Sec. 15.] EPHESIANS VI. 10-17. 37^ constitution of the human body. The Christian struggle is not against persons so limited. This is true even when we have reso- lute human opponents. For these are but instruments of unseen and more tremendous foes. B7it with . . . with . . . with . . . with : graphic description of the real enemies. The principalities . . . the authorities: same words in same order in ch. i. 21, iii. 10, Col. i. 16, ii. 10, 15, denoting in each case ranks of superhuman beings. Here the context implies various ranks of fallen angels. Possibly, as suggested under Col. i. 16, the principalities were the highest rank ; and the authorities an order exercising sway over men or angels or natural forces. This last is also suggested by the term world-rulers which describes the realm over which they rule. Throughout the world they reign supreme. And they belong to this darkness, to the present state of ignorance, the moral and intellectual night which hides from the view of the children of this world their impurity and their peril. The spiritual-things or powers : the Greek neuter including persons and things, as in Col. i. 16 and elsewhere frequently. Of evil or wicked- ness : a characterizing quality of these spiritual enemies. In the heavenly places : same words in ch. i. 3, 20, ii. 6, iii. 10 ; in each case in a local sense, denoting superhuman abodes. And so probably here. It describes the superhuman abode of the fallen angels, already described in ch. ii. 2 as ' the air.' This locality agrees with their nature. They are above men and below the throne of God. It forms a climax in Paul's description of his readers' enemies. They have to struggle not against men like themselves limited by the weakness of bodily hfe, but against the various ranks of angels, against the lords who rule over the darkness which envelops the present world, against spiritual beings whose nature is bad and whose home is in realms far above the abodes of men. The frequent use of the first two terms of this series and in the order here given suggests that they denote definite classes of angels. All else is uncertain. Possibly the term world-rulers is a fuller description of the pri7icipalities and authorities. And the last term is evidently a description of all the spiritual foes with which the Christian has to contend. If therefore we take the first two terms as describing two classes, the third and fourth terms are probably further descriptions of the same superhuman antagonists. Although Paul often speaks of the Christian life as a conflict, only here does he name the opponent. In i Jno. v. 4, 5, the enemy to be conquered is called ' the world.' This calls attention to the outward and visible form, and the multiplicity, of the foes arrayed 372 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. against us. In i Jno. iv. 4, the power of this multiform antagonist is traced to one animating and personal principle. In 2 Cor. iv. 4, ' the God of this age ' proves his hostility by blinding ' those who believe not.' And the passage before us speaks of various super- human powers acting under direction of one supreme foe. 13. After the reason given in v. 12, Paul repeats the exhortation of V. II. He then adds, in the form of a purpose, a motive : that ye may be able etc. It is parallel to a similar purpose in v. 1 1. The repetition emphasises our need for weapons and armour in order to maintain our position. Withstand: to hold one's own against another: same word in Gal. ii. 11, Jas. iv. 7, i Pet. v. 9. Evil: as in ch. V. 16, 'because the days are evil.' But here the evil day is spoken of as future. Yet there is nothing to suggest the revelation of ' the lawless one ' mentioned in 2 Th. ii. 8. Probably Paul thinks of the day of severe trial which comes sooner or later to every soldier of Christ. So certain is this trial that to his thought it becomes definite as the evil day. These words correspond to ' against the wiles of the devil' in v. 11. But here Paul mentions the day of battle ; there, the enemy with whom we fight. Having-accomplished or worked-out : same word in Ph. ii. 12, Rom, vii. 18, xv. 18. All things : i.e. needful for vdctory. 14 — 17. Specification of armour and weapons included in 'the panoply of God.' Stand the7t : an exhortation summing up the fore- going. It keeps before us an idea prominent in ^. 11, and still more so in V. 13, viz. the need for immoveable firmness in face of foes who would put us to flight or trample us under loot. Notice that the word stand at the end oiv. 13 notes a position still held when the battle is over. It is therefore represented as a goal kept in view. The same word here refers to a position to be maintained now. We must stand now in order that we may stand then. The Christian armament. Haviitg-girded . . . having -put-07i- . . . having-shod : preliminaries needful in order to maintain our position. Cp. Isa. xi. 5, ' having girded his loins with righteousness.' To gird himself, was the soldier's first preparation for battle. Only then could he put on his weapons. The Christian's girdle is //'///// .• i.e. a subjective conception corresponding with the eternal realities. See under Rom. i. 18. It is the absolute opposite of the error of heathenism. Without such hold of eternal truth, the Christian lacks all compactness of character and is like a soldier going into battle with ungirt loins. Breastplate : covering the vital parts of the body. Righteousness : as in ch. iv. 24, v. 9. Same words in Isa. lix. 17 • He put on righteousness as a breastplate.' Without strict upright- Sec. 15.] EPHESIANS VI. 10—17. 373 ness, the Christian is like a soldier whose breast is unprotected. His conceptions must agree with the eternal realities, and his con- duct with the eternal law of right. The Gospel of peace : cp. Isa. lii. 7 ' How beautiful . . . the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace.' Readi?iess : ever prepared for the Christian fight. This readiness comes from the Gospel of peace, i.e. from the announcement as good news that to us in midst of conflict there is peace. Just as the shod foot is ready at once to meet the enemy, so they who have heard and grasped the Gospel of peace are in readi- 7tess for any conflict which may await them. That they are ready and eager to proclaim the Gospel, is only a part of the more general readiness mentioned here. 16. Another participial clause somewhat separated from those foregoing and noting a fourth preliminary needful for Christian sta- bility. Having-take?i-up : parallel w^ith ' having-girded etc' Same word in v. 13. Shield : large Roman shield some four feet by two and a half, used by heavily armed troops. It was usually of wood covered with leather. Faith : behef of the Gospel, the unique con- dition of salvation. It saves us from both the guilt and power of sin, as being the one condition of union with Christ. Burniiig darts : arrows with affixed torches, used to set fire to ships or towns. So Octavius used against the ships of Antony ' fire-bearing da7is : ' Dio Cassius bk. 1. 34. The evil o?te : same word as in vv. 12, 13, Close parallels in 2 Th. iii. 3, Mt. xiii. 19, i Jno. ii. I3f, V. i8f. It is equivalent here to ' the devil ' in z/. 11. The evil thoughts which he suggests are like burning darts : for they tend to kindle strange fire in the hearts of men. But they cannot injure those 'guarded in the power of God through y<2//^ .• ' i Pet. i. 5, Since faith is thus a complete protection, it is here called a shield able to que7tch all the burniitg darts cast against it. Paul thus teaches the absolute safety of those who believe. Ye shall be able : in every future attack. 17. Two more details of the Christian armour. But, instead of participles as before, these are added in the imperativ^e mood as separate exhortations. Helmet of salvation : same words in Isa. lix, 17. [This accounts probably for the peculiar form of the word salvation, a form not used elsewhere by Paul but found in Lk. ii. 30, iii. 6.] Salvation : in its widest sense, viz. present deliverance from sin to be consummated in eternity by complete deliverance from every kind of evil. Such salvation is a hehjiet covering our heads from what would otherwise be fatal blows. Cp. i Th. v. 8, ' put on ... as a helmet, hope of salvation.' 574 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. Sivord : as in Rom. viii. 35, xiii. 4, Acts xvi. 27. The one weapon of attack here mentioned. Of the Spirit: either as given by the Spirit, like * panoply of God ; ' or used by the Spirit. These senses here almost coincide. Word of God : same words in Heb. xi. 3. Cp. *word of Christ ' in Rom. x. 17. It can be no other than the Gospel, the mighty voice of God raising into new life those who were spiritually dead. The word preached is a sword: for, armed with it, the ser\'ants of Christ attack and overturn the kingdom of darkness and set free its captives. It is put into their hands by the Spirit of God. For, under His influence were spoken (Acts i. 2) even the words of Jesus. And He is with the preacher 1 making His word to be a sharp sword in the hearts of those who hear. Such is Paul's description of the enemy with whom the Christian has to fight and of the armament needed for victory. Our foes are both one and many ; and our real foes are unseen and superhuman. They consist of successive ranks of evil angels ruling from their lofty abode the material world around us, and acting under direction of one guileful chief. Well may the time of their most severe attack be called ' the evil day.' Paul bids his readers hold their own in face of these tremendous foes. And, that they may do this, he bids them appropriate the whole equipment provided for them by God. First of all, the soldier must gird himself, for attack or defence ; then put on his breastplate covering the chief part of his body, and his sandals so as to be ready at a moment's notice to march against the enemy. For still further protection, he must take up and carry the great shield ; and with his right hand put on the helmet and grasp his sword. Paul mentions only one weapon of attack but several pieces of defensive armour, because his chief thought is to encourage his readers to maintain their position against the onslaught of tremendous foes. To this end they need knowledge of the eternal realities, strict integrity, a readiness for every emergency prompted by the glad tidings of peace, firm faith, actual experience of salvation borne triumphantly aloft, and in their lips the recorded words of God to man. Sec. i6.] EPHESIANS VI. 18—20. 375 SECTION XVL A REQUEST FOR PRA YER. Ch. VI. 18—20. With all prayer aiid supplication praying at every season in the Spirit^ and watch i7ig for this with all perseverance a7id siipplicatioii for all the saints; ^^and on iny behalf in order that to me may be give7i t(tie7^a?tce, in opening ?ny mouth, with boldness to make known the 7nystery of the Gospel, -^for which I am an ambassador in a chain, that iti it I may speak boldly, as I must Jieeds speak. Now come participial clauses containing virtually another exhor- tation, a collateral addition to those foregoing. In v. 14 Paul bade his readers stand firm, and that they might do this bade them put on the armament provided by God. The details are added, at first in the form of past participles, * having girded ' etc. But, as Paul enumerates them he passes unconsciously to direct exhortation in the imperative mood. Now follow two present participles noting, not preliminaries, but accompaniments of the original exhortation. It is best to join these participles to the dominant exhortation of § 15, ' stand then,' rather than to the subordinate exhortation, ' take the helmet,' which is a mere detail. Paul bids his readers to maintain their position in face of all their foes ; and while doing this to pray for all the saints {v. 18) and (vv. 19, 20) for himself. 18. With or by-?nea?is-of : using prayer as a means of obtaining blessing. Prayer a7id stcpplicatio7i : as in Ph. iv. 6. In every way they must approach God in prayer, and must make petition for definite benefits. Bi every seaso7i : same words in similar connec- tion in Lk. xxi. 36. In the Spirit : prayers prompted by Him. So Rom. viii. 15, 'in whom we cry, Abba, Father.' A7id watchi7ig for etc. : a second participial clause, adding further details. Watching : as in Col. iv. 2, i Cor. xvi. 13. For successful prayer, we must keep wide awake, i.e. with our faculties in full exercise. And this must be accompanied by unlimited persevera7ice : cognate to a word in Col. iv. 2, Rom. xii. 12. This suggests that for a continual exercise of our faculties in prayer every kind of sustained effort is needful, and bids us make the effort. Petitio7i : as above. Our watchfulness must be accompanied both by sustained eff'ort and by definite request for definite blessing. ' Touching all the sai7its : cp. ch. V. 3. It is best to understand the first participial clause in 376 EXPOSITION OF [Div. ii. this verse as referring to prayer in general ; and the second as going on to speak specifically of prayer for our fellow-Christians. 19. Ajid 071 7ny behalf : a particular request for prayer, added to the foregoing more general request. That to 7ne may be given etc. : purpose and contents of the desired prayer. It expounds 07i 77iy behalf. Uttera7tce, or word : as in i Cor. i. 5. I71 ope7ii7tg 77iy mouth, or 'whe7t I open my mouth : same phrase in 2 Cor. vi. 11. Boldness : unreserved speech, as in 2 Cor. iii. 12. Paul asks his readers to pray that whenever he begins to speak God will give him something to say, in order that with unreserved speech he may 77iake k7iown the Gospel. The 77iystery of the Gospel : the secret, known only by those to whom God reveals it, which belongs to the good news announced by Christ. See under i Cor. iii. 4. Cp. Col. iv. 3, ' to speak the mystery of Christ.' 20. 071 behalf of which mystery of the Gospel : i.e. in order to ' make it known.' / am a7t a7nbassador : same word and sense in 2 Cor. V. 20. It expresses Paul's sense of the dignity of his apostolic office. I71 a chai7i : strange paradox ; (for by all nations ambassadors were held to be inviolate ;) and a graphic picture of Paul's present position. The hand which writes or signs this letter is bound by a chain. But since this chain was borne for Christ's sake and by Christ's providential arrangement, it was to Paul an honourable badge of office. Moreover, that Paul was bound, made it more needful tliat God should give him unrestrained speech. Cp. 2 Tim. ii. 9. I71 order that etc. : ultimate aim of the prayer which Paul requests, supplementing and expounding the purpose given in v. 19. I71 it : in 'the mystery of the Gospel.' I-77iay-spcak-boldly : cognate to 'boldness' in v. 19, keeping before and emphasising the idea of unrestrained speech. As I 77iust 7ieeds speak : same words in same connection in Col. iv. 3. The imperative need for unrestrained I)roclamation of the Gospel, together with his own solemn and official relation to it, prompt Paul to ask his readers' prayers that God may give him fit utterance. This section reveals unmistakeably the hand and thought of Paul. The man who himself prays for every Church to which he writes may well ask liis readers' prayer 'for all the saints.' And this request for prayer on liis own behalt', attesting as it does his deep sense of the efficacy of prayer, is in close harmony with similar requests in Rom. XV. 30, 2 Cor. i. 11, Col. iv. 3, i Tii. v. 25, 2 Th. iii. i ; and with Ph. i. 19. The word a77ibassador is one of many proofs of liis consciousness of tiie grandeur of his office : cp. ch. iii. 2, Rom. xv. 15, 16, 2 Cor. iii. 6, xi. 2, xiii. 10, Sec. 17.] EPHESIANS VI. 21—24. 377 SECTION XVIL ABOUT TYCHICUS. FAREWELL. Ch. VI. 21—24. But that ye may know the matters touching m.e, how I am doing, Tychiciis, the beloved brother and faithful 7ninister in the Lord, will make knowjt to you all things ; "who77i I have sent to you for this very thing that ye may knoiv the thijigs about us and that he may encourage your hearts. "^"^ Peace to the brethre7t, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ -^ Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorrupttiess. 21, 22. A close and verbal parallel with Col. iv. 7, 8. Also ye : as well as others who are to receive like information. It is a note of genuineness. For from Col. iv. 7 we learn that Tychicus was com- missioned to carry intelligence and encouragement to others besides those to whom this letter was written. So slight an indication is not like the work of a personator. And such a one would pro- bably have mentioned Onesimus. Eiicourage your hearts : as in Col. iv. 8. 23, 24. Peace : inward rest prompting outward harmony, as in ch. i. 2. At the end of an Epistle, only here and Gal. vi. 16. To the bretlwen : noting their close relation to each other and to Paul. This suggests the addition and love : i.e. one to another, its usual sense when not otherwise defined. See under i Cor. xiii. i. With faith : more fully Gal. v. 6, * faith working by means of love.' From God etc. : source of this inward rest, and of this mutual love associ- ated with faith. For the former compare ch. i. 2 ; and for the latter 1 Jno. iv. 19, 'we love because He first loved us.' V)0\k\ peace and love with faith are a work and gift of G^<9^and of Christ. Grace with all who love etc. : a contrast to i Cor. xvi. 22. In incorruptness : same words in i Cor, xv. 42. The absence of decay (so Rom. ii. 7, 2 Tim. i. 10) which will characterize our resurrection bodies must characterize our present love to Christ. Review of the Epistle. As usual, Paul's first words, after a Christian greeting, are praise to God. But, in what seems to have been a circular letter to several Churches, his thanks are not for special blessings to his readers but for the blessings conferred on 378 REVIEW OF THE EPISTLE all the peoj)le of God. These he traces to their source in a purpose of God in Christ older than the world but now made known to men, viz. His purpose to unite under the rule of Christ both earth and heaven. This purpose embraces not only those who were long wait- ing for the appearance of Christ but also the Gentile readers of this Epistle who have already received as a seal of their acceptance the Spirit of God promised of old to Israel. All this, and what he has heard about their faith and faithfulness, move Paul to constant thanks on his readers' behalf. His praise turns imperceptibly into prayer. He prays that God may give to them the Hoty Spirit to reveal the things of God and specially to teach how great are the blessings to which He has called them, how rich is the inheritance belonging to the people of God, and how mighty the power at work in those that believe. Of this last Paul gives a measure in the power which raised Christ from the grave and to hcav^en, above the highest ranks of angels. He adds that God gave Christ, thus exalted, to the Church to be its Head, and the Church to be His body and His fulness. The assertion that the power which raised Christ from the grave is at work in believers, Paul goes on to prove by saying that, in consequence of their sins which brought them under the anger of God, both his readers and himself were once dead ; and that, by saving them through faith, God had raised them from the dead and made them sharers of the throne of Christ. He did this in order to reveal throughout eternity, in His kindness to them, the abundance of His favour to men. This salvation was wrouglit by the creative power of God, not prompted by any good in man, but designed by God to lead to good works. Having described salvation as an inward and spiritual change from death to life, Paul goes on to describe it as a changed relation to the covenant-people of God. They who were once far off aliens have, through the death of Christ, been brought near and built into the rising walls of the living temple of God. In view of all this the Apostle seemed to be approaching God in prayer. But he pauses for a moment to say that to himself and others had been revealed a secret hidden during long ages, viz. God's purpose, mentioned above, to unite Jews and Gentiles into one body, in order thus to reveal to the various ranks of heaven, by this wonderful accomplishment of a divine purpose. His own manifold wisdom. In view of all this, Paul turns solemnly to God in prayer that He may give to his readers spiritual strength, by the indwelling presence of Christ, that thus they may be able to comprehend the TO THE EPHESIANS. 379 incomprehensible love of God, and that thus they may be made full to an extent limited only by the fulness of God. And, while offering this great prayer he remembers that God is able to surpass in fulfil- ment all prayers and thoughts of men. From this mount of transfiguration Paul comes down to discuss, in the light of the glory there revealed, matters of practical life. He begs his readers to walk worthy of their divine call ; and specially urges them to do all they can to preserve Christian unity. This last exhortation he supports by pointing to the great spiritual unities on which rest the Christian Church, From unity he passes to the various spiritual gifts with which the triumphant Saviour has en- riched His Church in order that it may lay aside the vacillation of childhood and grow into Christian manhood, into a compact and healthy body in which each part helps the well-being and develop- ment of the whole. He reminds his readers of the darkness and sin around them, and of the better lesson they have learnt, viz, that in Christ the old life of sin has been laid aside and a new life put on. What is involved in this change, is then expounded in an informal but appropriate series of general precepts. Falsehood, inordinate anger, theft, evil-speaking, and such things must be laid aside : and Christian kindness must take their place. For all sin excludes from the kingdom of God and brings the sinner under the anger of God. His servants must not only avoid, but rebuke, the shameful practices of the heathen. For they are children of the light : and light ever reveals the hidden things of darkness. All this needs wisdom. Instead of the drunken songs of the godless there must be songs of praise to God. And each must loyally accept his place in the social order. These last words are a stepping-stone to directions about the three most conspicuous social relations. Wives must view their husbands as set over them by Christ, and thus in some sense sharing His authority. And husbands must remember that this authority lays upon them an obligation to imitate Christ's love to, and self- sacrifice for, the Church. Just as the Church is united to Christ as the body to the head, so the ancient record of creation says that husband and wife are one flesh. Consequently, the husband's kind- ness or unkindness to his wife is kindness or unkindness to himself. In view of this mysterious relation, the husband must love his wife, and the wife reverence her husband. Similar mutual duties, resting upon their relation to Christ, rest upon children and parents, servants and masters. All that remains is an exhortation to maintain, armed by the 38o REVIEW OF THE EPISTLE. might of Christ, an unbroken front in face of the tremendous spiritual enemies arrayed against the Christian. In this inevitable and deadly conflict, God has provided for His servants a complete arma- ment. The truth is their girdle, righteousness their breastplate : and the good news of salvation will fit their feet for the path before them. Faith will preserve them from the darts of the enemy, salvation will enable them to lift up their heads in triumph ; and the word which God has put into their lips will be an effective weapon of attack. The Apostle begs their prayers for all Christians, and for himself that he may be able to proclaim the Gospel as the necessities of the case demand. All personal matters are left to Tychicus, the bearer of the letter. The width of view already noted as characterizing the Epistles to the Colossians characterizes also that to the Ephesians. But the one Epistle is by no means a duplicate of the other. The same keen eye looks now, with independent gaze, in a somewhat different direction. And the tone of the letters is different. Forceful argu- ment and appeal against perilous error have given place to the serenity of victory. Again the Apostle's thought ascends the stream of time to its source in eternity ; not as before to search out the origin of the material universe, but to contemplate the salvation of man when salvation was only a deliberate thought in the eternal mind of God. Even the historic distinction of Jew and Gentile, separated for a time that they may be united for ever, is viewed in the light of this eternal purpose. The various ranks of angels are still in sight. They bow to their ascending Lord ; and they will learn from saved and united humanity the many-sided wisdom of God. The conception of the Church receives a marked development. Throughout the Epistle the ideal Church is ever before us, one and manifold, in its relation to the one Spirit and Lord and God, as the permanent realization of the eternal purpose of God, and as the chosen Bride of Christ, purified by Him that she may be His for ever. Already in other Epistles we have witnessed Paul's approach to God in prayer. But in the Epistle we now close his prayer takes a more sustained and loftier flight. With strong wing he follows, in spiritual elevation, his rising Lord, and with mighty effort endeavours to grasp the infinite love of Christ and to make his own the infinite fulness of God. And on the summit of his lofty flight, raised by the power of God working in him, he seems to join the chorus of the glorified Church in its eternal song. DISSERTATION I. THE EPISTLES BEFORE US COMPARED WITH THOSE TO THE ROMANS, CORINTHIANS, AND GALATIANS. 1. In my earlier volumes I have endeavoured to show that the Epistles there annotated were written within a year, amid the active evangelistic toil of Paul's third missionary journey. In Introd. ii. and V. of this volume I have tried to prove that the Epistles just expounded were written by Paul, probably during his first imprison- ment at Rome. If these inferences be correct, the two groups of Epistles were separated by a lapse of some years and by a total change of circumstances. We come now to compare the groups, in order to trace in them the effect on the Apostle of this lapse of time and these altered circumstances. Our investigation will also test in some measure the conclusions we have reached about the author- ship of the Epistles ; thus supplementing the argument of Introd. ii. And it will embody some of the practical gains we have derived from our study of these Epistles. 2. In Ph. i. I, for the first time in the Epistles of Paul we find definite mention of Church officers; in two orders, bishops and deacons. The former title appears in Acts xx. 28 as a description of • the elders of the Church ' at Ephesus, summoned by Paul to Miletus, whom he bids to act as shepherds of the Church. Still earlier, in Acts XV. 2, 4, 6, 22, 23, we find at Jerusalem a body of elders associ- ated with the Apostles in discussing a most important matter of doctrine. And from ch. xiv. 23 we learn that Paul appointed elders in the Churches founded during his first missionary journey. With these passages, Ph. i. i is an important coincidence. That in the letters to Corinth which deal specifically with Church matters the bishops are not mentioned, but are mentioned in this later letter, reminds us that as times rolled by the officers of the Church would gain an importance they could not have when officers and members were alike new converts. The word deacons reveals a second order 382 THESE EPISTLES COMPARED [Diss i. of Church-officers. And in Rom. xvi. i a lady is called a deacon of the Church at Kenchaea. In 2 Cor. i. 8 — 11, iv. 8 — 11 we traced the deep impression made upon the heart of the Apostle by a recent and deadly peril. With this we now contrast the serene calm with which in Ph. i. 20 — 26 he contemplates the uncertain issue of his approaching trial before Nero. In active work, Paul clung to life. But in his dungeon at Rome the prisoner had become familiar with the King of Terrors and had learnt to look upon his face without emotion. The secret of this serene calm we learn in ch. iv. 6, 7, and in vv. 11 — 13. The profound peace which reigns in these passages and throughout this Epistle, brightening here and there into a joy which even the gloom of a prison and the shadow of the gallows cannot dim, belongs to the autumn maturity of the Apostle's inner life. These words of peace are gems of priceless worth. As in 2 Cor. viii. 9 so in Ph. ii. 5 — 11, the incarnation of Christ is appealed to as an example for us ; as an example in the former case, of generosity, in the latter of unselfishness. But the second exposi- tion of the example of Christ is far richer than the first. We have the pre-incarnate Son existing in the/or??i of God and equal to God, contemplating this equality and refusing to use it for His own grati- fication. We see Him as He efnptied Hi?nself, then treading a path of humiliation till it led Him to the cross; and raised by God, as a recompense for His obedient self-sacrifice, till the loftiest in heaven bow the knee in worship and proclaim His majesty. This passage, full of dramatic grandeur, is the most complete exposition in the N. T. of the Incarnation of Christ. The word rendered I-have-lcarnt-the-7?iystery in ch. iv. 12 links the cognate word 7?iystery already used by Paul in i Cor. ii. 7, iv. i, Rom. xvi. 25 with the Greek mysteries ; and thus gives to the word as used by him a definite reference which sheds important light upon his conception of the Gospel. The references to Epaphroditus in Ph. ii. 25-30 and to the gift from Philippi in ch. iv. 10, 18 rescue from oblivion a most beautiful Christian character and a most interesting incident of Christian life in an apostolic Church. 3. In Col. i. 9, 10, more emi)hasis is i)Ut on the value of /know- ledge of God as an element of the Christian life than in the similar jjrayer in Ph. i. 9, 10. The same tliought is prominent in Col. ii. 2, 3, iii. 10, 16. It is a feature of the group of Epistles now before us. As compared with 2 Cor. iv. 4, the fuller term in Col. i. 15, of the i7ivisible God, reminds us that an image is a presentation of that Diss, i.] WITH THE EARLIER GROUP. 383 which would otherwise be unseen. The accurate term Fi?'stborn before every creature is an important addition to the teaching of the N. T. about the Son of God. In Col. i. 16 for the first time Paul traces to the Son the creation of the universe : through Him and m Him and for Him were all things in heaven and earth created ; Hi?nself before all things, afid all things held together in Him. Once stated, this teaching carries conviction by its close harmony with Paul's earlier teaching about the relation of Christ to the work of God. But the explicit statement of what would otherwise be only an inference is of infinite value. In Col. i. 18, ii. 19 Christ is called the Head of the Body, i.e. of the Church : a new and most important development of Paul's favourite metaphor. So far was it from his thought at an earlier time that he wrote, in i Cor. xii. 21, 'the head cannot say to the feet I have no need of you : ' a statement utterly inapplicable to Christ. But it is in complete harmony with the original metaphor ; of which indeed it is a logical development. As dwelling in each member, Christ is the lifegiving Spirit of the Body. But as human and corporeal He is also the highest part of it, the supreme and directive part, essential to the life of the whole. This important development of the metaphor was probably suggested to Paul by his study, embodied in this Epistle, of the grandeur of the Son of God and of His relation to the universe and to the Church. In Col. ii. 13 we have a new and important conception of the state of the unsaved as not merely dying but already dead by 7'eason of their trespasses, and therefore beyond reach of salvation except by Him who raises the dead. The same thought in germ is found in Rom. vii. 9, 'the Law came to life, but I died ;' and in Jno. v. 24, 25. It is completed by the teaching in Col. ii. 13 that forgiveness of trespasses is life to whose who were spiritually dead. The Law as a handwriting nailed to the cross of Christ and thus made invalid is in complete accord with Paul's teaching in Rom. vii. 4, ' dead to the Law through the body of Christ.' But the figure is new, and valu- able. Already in Rom. viii. 38 Paul has mentioned angels of superior rank. But in Col. i. 16, and in ii. 15, successive ranks of angels come conspicuously into view. And in ch. i. 20 we learn that the purpose of salvation embraces in some sense even the inhabitants of heaven. The references to Epaphras in Col. i. 7, iv. 12 preserve for us the memory of a worthy member of an apostolic Church. The statements in Col. i. 6 and more emphatically in v. 23 that the Gospel preached at Colossae is preached also throughout the world is more suitable to the later, than to the earlier, part of Paul's life. 384 THESE EPISTLES COMPARED [Diss. i. 4. An important gain in the Epistle to the Ephesians is that Paul's teaching about the purpose of predestination in Rom. viii. 28, 29, the purpose of election in ch. ix. 11, and about adoption in ch. viii. 15, Gal. iv. 5 is combined in Eph. i. 4 — 12 into one profound exposition of a purpose earlier than the world and embracing the universe, a purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. This combination gives unity and vast extension to what was before somewhat fragmentary and limited. Very conspicuous is the threefold refrain of praise in Eph. i, 6, 12, 14: a remarkable development of a germ found in Ph. i. 11. Already in Ph. i. 9 — 11, Col. i. 9 — 12 Paul has led his readers in prayer to God. But these prayers are left far behind by the mighty intercessions of Eph. i. 16 — 23, iii. 14 — 21, in which, pleading'for his readers, the Apostle rises step by step to the very throne of God until in the second intercession prayer is lost in a shout of praise. In all ages these great liturgies have been ladders by which the holiest of men have found nearer access to God. A development in the Epistle to the Colossians of an earlier metaphor, viz. Christ the Head of His body the Church, receives now a still richer development. In Eph. i. 22, Christ, already Head of the universe, is said to be God's gift to the Church to be its Head. In ch. iv. 15, 16, the Head is the source of the Church's com- pactness and development, and the goal of its growth : all develop- ment uniting the members each to the others and all to Christ. And in ch. v. 23 — 31 His relation to the Church as its Head is made a pattern for the relation of husband and wife, and the union of the Church with Christ is represented as a vital union of a living body with its head. The metaphor of the Church as the bride of Christ, so richly expounded in this passage, is but an expansion of a germ already found in 2 Cor. xi. 2. Indeed, throughout the Epistle we have valuable developments not only of the teaching of the earlier group, but of that of the Epistle to the Colossians. For example, we have fuller teaching about the superhuman powers of the unseen world. We read in Eph. iii. 10 that God designs even the bright ones of heaven in their various ranks to learn through the Church the manifold wisdom of God. And in chs. ii. 2, vi. 12 we find in con- flict with men superhuman and evil powers, acting under direction of one supreme leader. Eph. ii. 3 is in subtle harmony with Rom. v. 12 — 14. Paul there taught us that through Adam's sin we were born under the dominion of bodily death, i.e. we were by nature doomed to the grave. He now tells his readers that they were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest, i.e. as all men. This implies that the actual sins through which (Eph. v. 6) comes the Diss, i.] WITH THE EARLIER GROUP. 385 anger of God are done by nature^ i.e. in virtue of a condition received at birth. This evil inheritance must have had an evil origin. And this can be no other than the sin of him through whom ' death passed through to all men.' Eph. ii. 3 is thus a most valuable addition to the teaching of the N. T, about the unsaved. 5. Comparing the eight Epistles I have annotated vi^e notice the vivacity and earnestness of the earlier group, and the profound calm, the wider mental vision, and the deeper insight into the nature and purpose of God, of the later group. Each group supplements the other. The orderly exposition of the Gospel in the Epistle to the Romans and the keen defence of its central doctrine, Justification through Faith, in that to the Galatians explain the casual references to faith and to salvation through faith, and to Jews and Gentiles, in the later group. Without this explanation the later Epistles would lack their doctrinal foundation. The glorious ideal of the Church given in the Epistle to the Ephesians rises immensely above anything in the letters to Corinth. But it would not supply the place of the vivid pictures there drawn of actual Church life in the Apostolic Age. All the letters correspond — and the correspondence grows as we examine them — with the circumstances of the writer. In the midst of active evangelical toil Paul gives us in the Epistle to the Romans an account of the Gospel he preached and in that to the Galatians a sample of the arguments with which he defended it to his countrymen. The letters to the Corinthians reflect the actual condition of Churches in which he laboured. The later Epistles give us the mature thought nurtured in the solitude of his imprisonment at Rome. In the letter to Philippi we have an outburst of Christian affection to the purest of the Churches founded by Paul, revealing his inmost spiritual life. That to Colossse embodies his loftiest thought about the nature and work of his Master. The letter to Ephesus depicts the Church as in the eternal past it presented itself to the loving thought and purpose of Christ ; and as it will stand, when the toil and conflict and sorrow of the present life are but a fading dream of the past, in glorious reality before the satisfied eye of Him who loved it and gave Himself for it, the spotless bride of the Eternal Son. The great and independent worth of each of these Epistles is a complete confirmation of the confident behef of all Churches through- out the world in the second century that they are all from the pen of the greatest of the Apostles. 25 386 PAULS CONCEPTION [Diss. 2. DISSERTATION II. PAULS CONCEPTION OF THE CHURCH. 1. Already in a note under i Cor. i. 9 I have endeavoured to show that in the N. T. the word church denotes usually the company of the professed servants of Christ living in one city : e.g. i Cor. i, 2, 'the Church of God which is at Corinth ; ' ch. iv. 17, ' as I teach in every Church ; ' ch. vii. 17, 'as I give charge in all the Churches.' We notice also that Paul always assumes that they to whom he writes have already personal spiritual life. Even to the Galatians who were (Gal. i. 6, iv. 9) ' turning away to another Gospel. ... to the weak and poor rudiments,' he writes, in ch. iii. 26, ' ye are all sons of God through faith.' And, as sons, they had received (ch. iv. 6) the Spirit of His Son crying in their hearts, Abba, Father. In ch. iii. 2 Paul bases an argument on their inward spiritual experi- ence : ' was it through works of law that ye received the Spirit or through hearing of faith?' The Corinthian Christians, of whom some had once been guilty of gross sin, were now 'justified : ' i Cor. vi. II. In them dwells the Spirit of God: ch. iii. 16, vi. 19. This implies real spiritual life ; although it was only the infantile life of babes in Christ. The Roman Christians had already been 'justified in His blood . . . reconciled to God through the death of His Son ; ' and this experience was to them the ground of a confident hope that they 'will be saved in His life :' Rom. v. 9, 10. Already they had been grafted into the good olive tree : ch. xi. 17. The only question now is about {vv. 20, 22) their continuance in faith. Similarly, the Colossian Christians had been ' rescued from the authority of dark- ness and translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love : ' Col. i. 13. So ch. ii. 13: 'He has made you alive together with Him, having forgiven you all your trespasses.' And Eph. ii. 8, ' By grace ye are saved through faith.' Paul never tries to lead his readers to Christ, but always assumes that already by faith they are united to Him. Similarly i Jno. ii. 12, ' I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you.' In i Pet. i. 3 the readers are said to be ' born again . , . guarded in the power of God through faith.' All this does not imply that there were in the Apostolic Churches no false brethren. Any such, Paul leaves charitably out of sight. Nor does it imply that all had attained a lofty spiritual standard Diss. 2] OF THE CHURCH. 387 The Corinthian Christians were only babes in Christ. But even babes have life. Paul assumes that his readers are what they profess to be, sincere followers of Christ. And his words imply that it is the privilege of all such to enjoy forgiveness of sins and the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. Paul assumes also that all his readers have been baptized. So in Gal. iii. 27 his argument implies that they who are ' sons of God through faith ' have been ' baptized for Christ.' An appeal in Rom. vi. I is based in v. 3 upon the assumed Baptism of the Christians at Rome. Similarly Col. ii. 12. By Baptism the Christians at Corinth had been united to the visible fellowship of the Church of Christ : so I Cor. xii. 13, ' all were baptized into one body.' ' To the Church of God at Corinth ' the Epistle was written : ch. i. 2. The letters of Paul pourtray throughout men joined to Christ by inward spiritual life and joined to each other in a visible community. 2. Although even in the largest towns the Christian community is always spoken of as one Church, the Christian community in a province is never so called. We read of ' the Church at Corinth ' and of ' the Churches of Galatia.' Cp. Rev. i. 4, ' the seven Churches in Asia.' The one apparent exception in the N. T. is Acts ix. 31, ' the Church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria.' But in I Cor. xii, 28 we read that ' God put in the Church first Apostles, secondly prophets, etc' The word Church here can mean only the Church universal. This loftier use of the word receives in the Epistles before us a most important development. In Col. i. 18, 24 the Chnrch is called the body of Christ, the body of which He is Head. In Eph. i. 22, 23, the Risen and Exalted Saviour, who is Head above all things, is said to be God's gift to the Church. God designs (ch. iii. 10) that through the Church may be known to the successive ranks of angels the manifold wisdom of God. In the Church and in Christ Jesus {y. 11) throughout all ages udll glory be given to God. In ch. v. 23 — 32 the Church is spoken of as the bride of Christ, object of His special love, and united to Him as a living body is united to its head. This phraseology and the conception of the Church therein em- bodied are a conspicuous feature of the Epistles now before us and especially of that to the Ephesians. In his busy apostolic toil Paul's thought was occupied chiefly by the actual Churches he had planted and their pressing needs. But in his prison at Rome these Churches are far away. And his mind is at leisure to contemplate the ideal Church as in His eternal purpose it stood before the Eye of God, and as in glorious reahty and perfection it will stand for ever before 388 PAULS CONCEPTIOX [Diss. 2. the eyes of God and of angels and of men. Already once to the Corinthians he has spoken about the universal Church. That universal Church is now to him the one great and engrossing object of thought. Paul's conception of the Church is embodied chiefly in five im- portant metaphors. The Church is the temple of God, the body of Christ, and the bride of Christ. The Kingdom of God is once spoken of as an olive tree. And in a reported address of Paul the Church is called a flock. These metaphors claim now our best attention. 3. In Eph. iv. 1 1 we read that Christ gave to the Church ' shep- herds.' And in Acts xx. 28 Paul bids the elders of the Church at Ephesus to ' shepherd the Church ; ' and speaks of coming wolves who will not 'spare the flock.' Similarly in Heb. xiii. 20 Christ is ' the great Shepherd of the sheep.' So i Pet. ii. 25 ; and v. 2 — 4 where elders are bidden to ' shepherd the flock of God ' and Christ is called the Chief Shepherd. All this recalls the teaching of Christ in Jno. X. i — 16 about Himself as ' the Good Shepherd * and about the 'one flock and One Shepherd.' This metaphor reminds us that Christians are living individuals, and teaches that they need the protection of one greater than them- selves, and that for protection and well-being God designs them to be associated together. To leave the flock is to leave the Shepherd. 4. In I Cor. iii.19, 16, vi. 19, 2 Cor. vi. 16, Paul calls his readers a building and temple of God, and justifies this title by saying that in them dwells the Spirit of God. Of that temple Christ i the one Foundation. By preaching Christ Paul laid that Foundation in the hearts of the men at Corinth : i Cor. iii. 10, 11. Similarly, in Eph. ii. 19 — 22 we have a foundation laid by the Apostles and Prophets, of which Christ Himself is the Corner-stone, and upon which many buildings are rising into one holy temple, destined to be a dwelling- place of God in the Spirit. A similar metaphor is found in i Pet. ii- 4 — 7, where Christians are called living stones of a spiritual house and Christ the chief Corner-stone, This metaphor may be traced to the lips of Christ in Mt. xvi. 18, ' I will build My Church.' Cp. Mt. xxi. 42, Isa. xxviii. 16, Ps. cxviii. 22. In a building many stones arc united into one immoveable whole, each stone made firm by union with other stones. This metaphor implies that Christ designs His people to be united together in firm and mutually helpful fellowship. Of that temple Christ is the Builder: Mt. xvi. 18. And, as Himself in His humanity a part of His own Church, He is its Foundation and its Corner-stone. More- over, this building is the dwelling-place of God. So, emphatically, Diss. 2.] OF THE CHURCH. 389 I Cor. iii. 16, vi. 19, Eph. ii. 22. Indeed the Hebrew and Aramaic word rendered temple denotes a palace, the residence of a king : see under i Cor. iii. 16. So, after giving directions about the erec- tion of the tabernacle, God says in Ex, xxix. 45, ' I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.' The chief thought of every Israelite about the tabernacle was that it was the royal tent of the God of Israel. So, but in an infinitely higher degree, Christ spoke in Jno. ii. 21 'about the temple of His body.' For that sacred human form was in a unique sense the dwelling-place of God in which He manifested Himself to men. And from that temple went up to God the incense of ceaseless devotion. In the same sense but in a lower degree the Church is the temple of God. Of this temple the body born at Bethlehem and now glorified is the Holy of holies. The whole temple will stand for ever, purified and completed, revealing even amid the glories of heaven the infinite grandeur and love of God. 5. In Rom. xi. 16 — 24 we have an olive tree into which Gentiles have been grafted and from vv^hich unbelieving Jews have been broken off This suggests the continuity of the Kingdom of God in the Old and New Covenants. For the Gentiles were grafted into a tree already growing. And it recalls a similar but more fully developed metaphor from the lips of Christ in Jno. xv. i — 7 : ' I am the true Vine ... ye are the branches.' Cp. Ps. Ixxx. 8, Isa. v, I — 7, Jer. ii. 21. A tree differs from a building in that its progress is an outworking of its own inner life according to the laws of that life. The Church is not a mere structure rising only by additions from without, but a living tree growing and bearing fruit by its own inherent vitality, each twig growing out of an earlier branch and drawing nourishment and growth through other branches from the root. Of this tree, Christ is Himself the Root and Stem. 6. The metaphor of the Church as the body of Christ, so con- spicuous in the teaching of Paul, and in the N. T. peculiar to him, has been already expounded, as used in Paul's earlier Epistles, in a note under i Cor. xii. 30. It receives in the Epistles before us a new and important development. We find the metaphor in i Cor, xii. 12 — 27, Rom. xii. 4, 5 ; and in its richer development in Col. i. 18, 24, ii. 19, Eph. i. 23, ii. 16, iv. 12, 16, 25, v. 23, 30. An animal body differs from a tree in possessing a far greater variety of organs, each endowed with peculiar faculties and all needed for the general good. The use of these faculties gives rise to a varied activity without parallel in plant life. The condition and 390 PAULS CONCEPTION [Diss. i, source of this activity is the inward presence of the mysterious spirit of life, the unseen bond of union and source of harmony to the many members of the body. So in the Church we have a multitude of members, each endowed with capacities peculiar to itself but needful for the good of the whole, and all animated and moved and controlled by the one Spirit of God. Of this complex living body Christ is, through His Spirit, the life-giving and directing principle. The Church is therefore His Body. Of old He dwelt on earth in a complex human body with its various and variously-endowed members, in order that through human lips He might speak to dying men words of life and might reach out to men sinking into ruin a human hand able to save. So now He dwells on earth in the Church with its various members possessing various capacities all needful for the life and health and growth of the whole, in order that through human lips and hands He may speak to and save the fallen race of man. The Church is thus in some sense a continuation or repetition of the Incarnation. To this metaphor, so applied, the Epistles before us add an im- portant development. We now learn that Christ is not only the animating Spirit, but also the Head, of the Church. The head is part of the body, consisting as does the rest of flesh and bone. But it is the highest, and immeasurably the noblest, part. As human, Christ is Himself a part of His Church, the Corner-stone of the Temple He is building, and a member of His own Body. This metaphor is the fullest and richest picture of the Church in the New Testament. And it affords the noblest ideal of the Chris- tian life. In a healthy body every member is active, moved and controlled by one spirit, each member putting forth its powers in harmony with all the others, for the good of the whole. Everything in us contrary to this ideal is spiritual disease tending to death. 7. The metaphor of the body of Christ suggests that the Church is dear to Christ as is a man's own body to himself. This thought is developed in the metaphor of the Bride of Christ. Alread}', as recorded in Mt. xxii. 2, Christ had spoken of ' a king who made a marriage feast for his son.' In Rev. xix. 9 wc read of 'the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And in ch. xxi. 9 the New Jerusalem, the eternal home of redeemed humanity, is called the Lamb's Bride. Similarly in 2 Cor. xi. 2, Paul wishes to present the Church as a pure maiden to Christ. In Eph. v. 22 — 33 this metaphor is further developed, in conjimction with that of the Body of Christ, and is made a basis of imf)ortant teaching. Tills last metaphor reminds us that the Church is an object of Diss. 2.] OF THE CHURCH. 391 Christ's tender love and great delight, and that as Queen she will share His throne. When the Bridegroom found her, she was enslaved and polluted. But He loved her, rescued her from bond- age, washed her in His own blood, and will clothe her in royal raiment. And it warns us that injury or insult to the Church is done, in the presence of the Bridegroom, to His affianced and much- loved Bride. 8. In Mt. xvi. 18 Christ is recorded tQ have said in words most solemn at a most important turning point (cp. v. 19) of His teaching : I WILL BUILD My Church. This implies that to erect a Church, i.e. to gather together a community which should be specially His own, was an essential part of the work He came to do. And this is confirmed by the foregoing metaphors, and by the entire teaching of Paul. For each of these metaphors embodies conspicuously the idea of the union of many members into one organized body, a union needful not only for growth and well-being but for life. From them we learn that Christ designs His servants to be not only inwardly and individually united to Himself but united to each other in out- ward and visible fellowship ; in order that the company of His pro- fessed followers may be the earthly home of the people of God, in which by mutual help their spiritual life may be sheltered and nourished and developed, and in order that by their mutual co-opera- tion the Gospel may be carried to the ends of the earth. The Church thus embodies in itself the main results already attained by Christ through the Gospel, and is the living organ for the attainment of further results. This aim has been to a large degree achieved. In the Churches to which Paul wrote, the Christian life found the home it needed, and found suitable embodiment before the eyes of men. And the forces thus embodied overthrew classic paganism. Even in the darkest ages, the Churches were a visible monument, often fearfully defaced but always recognisable, of the Kingdom of God. They have ever directly or indirectly afforded shelter, often rude and unworthy though valuable, to a vast number of sincere followers of Christ. And to-day, with spiritual power ever increasing, the Churches of Christ, i.e. the people of God associated in visible communities, are the chief agency for carrying out in the world Christ's purpose of mercy to men. They are the Light and the Life of the world. The pulsations of that life are felt everywhere even to heathen lands : and that light is spreading to the ends of the earth. 9. The Epistles I have annotated say very little about the officers 392 PAULS CONCEPTION [Diss. 2. and organization of the Apostolic Churches. This comparative silence reminds us that in a living body every member is endowed with faculties for usefulness. In proportion to the vitality of the whole, the peculiar work of the officers of the Church is less con- spicuous. And this would be specially so where all members were alike recent converts. In I Cor. xii. 28, Rom. xii, 6, Eph. iv. 11 we find not only various special endowments but official rank : apostles, pj'ophets, teacher's. And in Ph. i. i a greeting is sent to bishops and deacons. In agreement with these passages, great prominence is given in Mt. X. 2, Mk. iii. 14, Lk. vi. 13 to the Apostles as holding the first rank among the servants of Christ. In the presence of them only Christ ordained the Lord's Supper, and afterwards gave the com- mand to baptize: Mt. xxvi. 20, 26, xxvuii. 16 — 20. In Acts i. i — 13 we find them in close relation to the risen Saviour : and they seem to have been with Him at His ascension. At once they occupy in the infant Church a place of supreme authority: Acts i. 26, ii. 14, 42, vi. 2, 6. A pressing need suggested, as recorded in Acts vi. 6, the appoint- ment of men to take charge of certain financial matters. They were chosen by the church-members, but were appointed to their work by laying on of the Apostles' hands. That they were not appointed till the need arose, and that no directions about their appointment are recorded as having been given by Christ, marks a conspicuous difference between the New and Old Covenants. It teaches that Christianity is primarily not an organization but a life, and that Christ designed the necessar}'' organization to arise not by verbal prescription but from a felt need under the guidance of His ever- present Spirit. , In Acts xi. 30 we find in authority at Jerusalem a body of ciders. To them, in association with the Apostles, was submitted by the Church at Antioch an important doctrinal question : ch. xv. 2. The delegates from Antioch were received in open session by the whole Church, in which however the Apostles and ciders were conspicuous : V. 4. But the doctrinal question was discussed only by the Apostles and elders : v. 6, And although their decision was accepted by (7/. 22) the whole Church, the formal decree came only (?'. 23) from the Apostles and elders. This proves that in the Church of Jerusalem was a definite order of men to whom, in conjunction with the Apostles, were committed the highest interests of the Church. From Acts xiv. 23 we learn that Paul appointed ciders in each of the Churches founded on his first missionary journey. And in Diss. 2.] OF THE CHURCH. 393 ch. XX. 17 we read of the elders of the Church at Ephesus. Of these Paul speaks in v. 28 as bishops^ as shepherds of the Church, and as appointed bishops by the Holy Spirit. In Ph. i. i we have two definite orders of officers : bishops and deacons. Comparison with Acts XX. 23, 28 assures us that the former is only another title for elders. In close harmony with Acts xiv. 23, to a Church just founded, from which he had been suddenly torn away, Paul writes (i Th. v. 12) about those who labour among, and rule over, and admonish, his readers. This imphes that, on the founding of the Church, officers were appointed for its spiritual oversight. Still further light is cast upon the officers of the Apostolic Churches by the Pastoral Epistles. Each of these was accepted with complete confidence as a genuine work of Paul by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian, in the latter part of the second century. And the absence of any reference in them to bishops as superior to elders, in conspicuous contrast to the Epistles attributed to Ignatius, is complete proof of their very early date, and is a strong presump- tion of their genuineness. In I Tim. iii. i — 13 we find stated the qualifications needed by bishops and by deacons : a close coincidence with Ph. i. i. Light is cast^ipon the work of a bishop by Paul's remark in i Tim. iii. 5 : * If any one knows not how to rule his own Iiouse, how will he care for the Church of God ?' In ch. v. 17 we read of elders who * rule weir and of some 'who labour in word and teaching.' Titus is bidden (Tit. i. 5) to ' appoint elders in every city.' In v. 7 the elder is called ' a steward of God,' and must be able to exhort with healthy teaching and to disprove the words of those who contradict. That there were elders in the various Churches, is assumed in I Pet. V. I — 4. They are also called shepherds of the flock of God. Similarly in Heb. xiii. 17 we find ' rulers' who will give account, and whom Christians are bidden to obey. All this proves beyond doubt that in the Apostolic Churches were men called elders or bishops who exercised an authority for which they were responsible to God. At Philippi, at Ephesus, and at Jerusalem we find a plurality of men sharing this authority. On the other hand, in the Church at Jerusalem James seems to have held a place of unique honour: see note on Jajnes under Gal. ii. 21. This slight indication is the only trace in the N. T. of authority in any Church exercised only by one man. In the Churches thus constituted we find Paul exercising Apostolic authority. Writing to a Church in which discipline had become 394 PAULS CONCEPTION [Diss. 2. lax, he asks (i Cor. iv, 21) whether he is to come 'with a rod,' a conspicuous badge of authority. Touching one notorious offender in the same Church he has already (ch. v. 3) pronounced judgment ; and gives what is practically a command to the Church to carry out his decision. In 2 Cor. xiii. 2 he threatens further punishment unless the unfaithful ones repent ; and speaks in v. 10 of severe action in accord with the authority given to him by Christ He forbids (i Cor. xiv. 34) women to speak in the Churches ; and gives {vv. 27 — 30) directions about the conduct of joint worship. About public contribution (ch. xvi. i) he gave directions to the Churches of Galatia and to that at Corinth. Other matters needing regulation, he leaves (ch. xi. 34) till his own arrival. All this proves that Paul did not look on the Churches he founded as independent of external control. He never forgets that in them Christ dwells as the Supreme Lord. But this spiritual presence of Christ by no means makes the Church infallible ; and therefore does not render superfluous the guidance and authority of superior human wisdom. Such then were the Churches founded by Paul ; organized com- munities of professed and real servants of Christ, each governed by its own officers, and all under the direction of the great Apostle. About the other Churches of the Apostolic age, we have no information. 10. Very little is said in the N. T, about the mode of appointment of these church-officers. In Acts xiv. 23 we read that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in the Churches founded on their first missionary journey. Timothy is said in i Tim. iv. 14 to have received a gift by laying on of the hands of the presbytery ; and in 2 Tim. i. 6, by the hands of Paul. In Tit. i. 5, wc learn that Paul had charged Titus to appoint elders in each Church in Crete. But the complete silence of the N. T. until this late Epistle about any Chmch there suggests that Paul is writing to Titus, to whom (e.g. 2 Cor. viii. 6) he had already entrusted other important missions, about the organization of new Clnirches, committing to him a work which he had himself done (e.g. Acts xiv. 23) in other newly-founded Churches but was unable through lack of time to do in Crete. We have no hint whatever that Titus possessed any abiding prerogative of ordaining elders. To Timothy at Ephesus similar authority seems to have been delegated, as we infer from i Tim. i. 3, iii. 14, 15, v. 9 — 11, 19. But these directions by no means imply that he held a permanent posi- tion in the Churcli there. He and Titus seem rather to have been Diss. 2.] OF THE CHURCH. 395 sent as special commissioners to various Churches. So i Cor. iv. 17, 2 Cor. viii. 6, ElHcott speaks of Timothy as " overseer and bishop of the important Church of Ephesus ; " but without adducing any proof except the passages noted above. Lightfoot says {Philip- piajts p. 197) that "it is the conception of a later age which represents Timothy as bishop of Ephesus and Titus as bishop of Crete. St. Paul's own language implies that the position which they held was temporary." Still less have we any hint that the elders of the various Churches were unable to appoint others to fill up vacancies or if needful to increase the number of their elders. Of an order of men possessing an exclusive right to ordain elders we find throughout the N. T. no trace. The direction to Timothy in i Tim. v. 22, ' Lay hands quickly on no one,' refers probably to reception of new church-members ; and therefore has no bearing on the ordination of church-officers. In short, the N. T., while revealing plainly the existence of an order of men to whom were entrusted the most sacred interests of the Church, gives no specific directions about the mode of their appointment. 11. As in the Epistles of Paul so in that of Clement of Rome and in the lately discovered Teaching of the Apostles we find only two orders of ordinary church-officers. In marked contrast to all these, the letters attributed to Ignatius reserve the title bishop for one man exercising supreme authority in his own Church, wdth whom are associated a lower order of elders. So Ep. to Ephesians ch. iv. : "the presbyter is joined to the bishop as the strings to the harp." This use of the word bishop reveals the firm establishment of a higher order in the Churches, one not mentioned in the New Testa- mxcnt. And apparently, as we infer from the large number of bishops in the early Church, there was a bishop in each congregation. The origin of these congregational bishops is easily explained. The needs and the dangers of the Churches made needful in each Church a single head. Perhaps imperceptibly in each presbytery the ablest man became its virtual leader. The manifest advantage of having a leader would suggest the appointment of a successor when he was removed. And thus the practice would become universal. This explanation is given by Jerome in his commentary on Tit. i. 5, vol. vii. p. 562, ed. Migne. " The Churches were governed by a common council of elders. But after that each one reckoned that those whom he had baptized were his own, not Christ's, through- out the whole world it was decreed that one elected from the elders should be put over the others, to whom should belong the care of 396 PAULS CONCEPTION [Diss. 2. the Church." Possibly this monarchical and congregational episco- pac}^ was suggested or stimulated by the removal of the Apostles by death. They were, while they lived, a bond of union to the v-arious Churches under their charge. Their departure would create a new need. And, guided by what to me seems to have been a divine instinct, the various Churches endeavoured to strengthen themselves by concentration of authority in each Church in the hands of one man. Diocesan episcopacy was a further and later development in the same direction. 12. The Churches founded by the Apostles were united by common faith, by loyalty to one Master in heaven, and by common perils. This inward unity naturally expressed itself, with increasing definite- ness, in one outward organization. The lineal descendants of the Churches founded by the Apostles held together and held in the main the same doctrines, which last were in substantial agreement with the teaching of the Apostles. Around them grew up in the second century the chaos of Gnostic sects, contradicting each other and rejecting the teaching of the Apostles. The discord outside gave emphasis to the unity within. Thus arose the conception of the Catholic Church, the one lineal descendant of the many Churches founded by the Apostles. This conception found conspicuous and appropriate embodiment in the Ecumenical Councils which after the conversion of Constantine assembled from time to time to formulate the belief, and regulate the discipline, of the universal Church. This outward and organic unity exists no longer. Instead of One Catholic and Apostolic Church we see to-day many Churches bearing various names and with distinct organizations. The complete differ- ence between past and present is illustrated by the difference between modern Councils and Synods and that which assembled at Niciiea. However some may try to conceal it, the old order has given place to new, the Church of Christ has entered a new stage of its development. These divisions are an outworking of forces which none could hinder. The German reformers could not and dared not refrain from proclaiming the Gos|)el which had made them free. And they who accepted it could do no other than unite in Christian fellowship in order to nourish and develop the new life they had found. In so doing they were imitating the example of the early Christians. Their fellowship was necessarily outside the historic Ciiurch of Germany. For the officers of that Ciuirch with all the ecclesiastical and secular authority at their disposal rejected the teaching of the Reformers and persecuted the teaclicrs. Luther had no thought, at Diss. 2.] OF THE CHURCH. 397 the beginning of his work, of founding a new Church. But the pressing spiritual need of those whom his word, re-echoed from many Hps, had saved gave him no alternative. The necessities of the case compelled him and his companions to organize the Christian life springing up around them. Thus arose the Protestant Churches of Germany. And, when once the Christian life had begun to organize itself outside the historic Church, return was impossible. For that Church was unable to suppl}^ the spiritual need of the Protestants ; and required as a condition of return an assertion as true of that which they believed to be false. Thus in Germany, through influences bad and good which none could hinder, the followers of Christ have been divided into different Christian com- munions. And this revolt against spiritual despotism has been, I cannot doubt, an immense gain to the nation. In England political causes gave another direction to the develop- ment of the Church. For immoral reasons the monarch thought fit to set aside the spiritual authority of the pope, which for ages the Church in England had recognised ; and appointed bishops who supported him in this rejection. Elizabeth at her accession swept clear the bench of bishops, except one bishop who bowed to her will, and appointed others ready to obey her. Under thi violent com- pulsion the national Church, retaining in some part its ancient forms, was forced along a new path. The result is a Church possessing a sort of lineal continuity with the historic Church of England, yet broken off, under lay compulsion, from the historic Church of the West, with which previously it had been closely connected. And I cannot doubt that this great separation has been an immense gain to England and to th world. Other inevitable divisions followed. The Act of Uniformity left to a large body of Christian pastors no alternative except to abandon their pastorate or take a solemn oath which they believed to be false. To their lasting honour they refused to be false to the truth and to themselves. We wonder not that multitudes to whom their word had been the word of life still gathered around them begging for spiritual food. That cry they could not refuse. Nor could they refuse to build folds for the sheep of Christ left without shelter. Thus arose the Nonconformist Churches of England, Similarly, in time of great spiritual torpor, the Wesleys and their companions could not but proclaim the Gospel which had given them peace. Nor could they refuse to the many souls saved by their preaching the spiritual oversight they so greatly needed. Thus arose the Methodist Societies, Wesley had no thought of founding a 398 PAULS CONCEPTION [Diss. 2. community outside the Anglican Church ; and strongly urged his followers to remain in the ancient fold. But to that Church their spiritual life owed nothing directly : to his ministry they owed every- thing. In the Anglican Church they could not find the spiritual nourishment they needed. And the spiritual life of many thousands to-day, throughout the world, proves that their separation from the historic Church of England has not separated them from Christ ; just as the spiritual life of the AngUcan Church proves that separation from the historic Church of the West has not placed it outside the Covenant of God. Thus an irresistible course of events has led the outward forms of modern Christianity away from the Apostolic ideal. 13. We have various recommendations for restoring to the Church visible and organic unity. Some would sweep away the historic Christianity of nearly nineteen centuries and begin to re-erect the Church, taking the New Testa- ment as a ground-plan and endeavouring to reproduce exactly the forms of life there pourtrayed. But the growth and experience of the centuries are far too precious to be thus set aside. To the Christian life existing at our birth and before we were born we owe our knowledge of God and our spiritual life. And the outward forms of the Apostolic Churches are as unfit for present needs as are the clothes of childhood to a full-grown man. The Gospel is not a written prescription but a life : and life ever reveals itself in the development of new forms. To ignore the developments of the past, is to throw away the hope of healthy development in the future. 14. Others suggest, as a means of restoring visible unity, that all Christians should join their own communion ; that the members of all other Churches should forsake the home in which they have found spiritual life and nourishment and enter the speakers' own Church. Of those who advocate this suggestion, most or all assert that there is and can be only one legitimate visible Church, the lineal descendant of the Churches founded by the Apostles, that to this alone belongs the Covenant of God, and that to this one Church we are bound at all costs to return. Let us trace this suggestion to its logical and practical results. In Germany, if there is only one legitimate Church, that must be the Roman Catholic Church, the only existing communion there older than the Reformation. Consequently, the assertion before us would compel every German to join that Church. But the Roman Church requires, as a condition of admission, a profession of faith (set forth Diss. 2.] OF THE CHURCH. 399 in the bull of Pius IV., Injmictum nobis) which almost all Protestants believe to contain serious error. This belief they cannot surrender till it is disproved. Therefore, in the absence of such disproof, they are compelled to remain outside the one historic Church of Germany, And, if so, their spiritual needs require a church-organization. Even in our own day, inability to accept a new dogma of the Roman Church has compelled many of its most scholarly members to forsake their spiritual birthplace and to organize outside it another com- munion. If the Old Catholics and Protestants of Germany were right in so doing, there may be in one country more than one legitimate Church. Not a few AngHcans claim that in England their own is the one and only legitimate Church, on the ground that it is the lineal descendant of the pre-Reformation Church, But, on this ground, it is difficult to deny the legitimacy, even in England, of the Roman Church, which is certainly the lineal descendant in the West of the Churches founded by the Apostles. Nor is it easy to prove that the helpless submission of the Church in England to the violence of Henry and Elizabeth was anything less than a surrender of all ecclesiastical prerogative and monopoly. Strange to say, many who claim that the Anglican Church is the only legitimate Church in England fraternise with the Old Catholics, who have set up and now maintain another organization alongside the historic Church of Germany. Look where we will, similar perplexity surrounds all claims to ecclesiastical monopoly. No one, making such claims, can say which is the one legitimate Church in Scotland, or Ireland, or America, or Madagascar, All claims to be the one, visible, legiti- mate Church are disproved by the facts of modern Christendom. The above claim is sometimes stated in another form, viz. that Christ ordained in His Church a priesthood to be handed dowm by episcopal ordination to all generations, and that the assured posses- sion of the blessings of the New Covenant is conditioned by the ministration of this priesthood. So Gore, The CJm7-ch and the Mi?nstry p, 71 : " But their authority to minister in whatever capacity, their qualifying consecration, was to come from above, in such sense that no ministerial act could be regarded as valid — that is, as having the security of the divine covenant about it — unless it v/as performed under the shelter of a commission, received by the transmission of the original pastoral authority which had been delegated b}^ Christ Himself to His Apostles." The writer is prepared for the logical results of this assertion. So on p. 345 he says: "It follows then— 400 PAULS CONCEPTION [Diss. 2. not that God's grace has not worked, and worked iargel}', through many an irregular ministry where it was exercised or used in good faith — but that a ministry not episcopally received is invalid, that is to say, falls outside the conditions of covenanted security and cannot justify its existence in terms of the covenant." For this limitation of the New Covenant we may fairly demand proof. We expect to find it in the Book of the Covenant, i.e. in the New Testament, our only reliable authority for the actual teaching of Christ and His Apostles. Instead of such proof we have in the book just quoted a very scanty and unsatisfactory argument on pp. 70, 71, three proofs on pp. 76 — 82 "that the existence of an Apostolic succession serves several important ends ; " and on pp. 83 — III answers to five objections. But throughout the New Testa- ment, as already seen, we hav'e no reliable trace of anything like Anglican episcopacy. In the many statements of the conditions of salvation, the ministration of an episcopally ordained order of men is never suggested. Faith is the unique condition of salvation : ' He that believes has everlasting life.' As commanded by Christ, Baptism and the Lord's Supper are obligatory. But we have no hint that their validity depends on the episcopal ordination of the ministrant. An Apostle reminds (Gal. iii. 15) some who were leading his converts astray that even to a man's confirmed covenant no one adds further conditions. Who is it that dares to add conditions to the Covenant of God ? It is wortliy of note that the limitation just combated would not, if maintained, restore unity to the Church. For in many countries, e.g. England and America, are two or more Churches, each claiming Apostolic succession. Many practical difficulties forbid the sudden removal of the dis- tinguishing and separating features of our modern Churches. For these are forms in which spiritual life has clothed itself. Now life has needs : and these needs determine its outward forms. Roughly to remove the outward forms would greatly endanger the inward life. In all attempts at union the needs of the spiritual life must be care- fully kept in view. 15. Another method of reunion, involving no danger, and fruitful of blessing, is open to us. Let us have ever in view Paul's ideal of One Church and One Lord ; and let us work towards it in all practical ways. To do this, is not difficult. For, in spite of its many divisions, the Church is in a very real sense One ; and has one interest as it has one life and One Lord. Let us then in the interior working of each denominational Church keep ever in view the Diss. 2.] OF THE CHURCH. 401 interests of the Church Universal. Let no one try to advance his own Church at the cost of another ; and let us embrace every oppor- tunity of asserting the universal brotherhood of the people of God and of helping other Churches. Such co-operation will reveal the essential unity underlying the variety of modern Church life. And it is the best possible way to organic unity. Only through One Spirit can the Churches grow into One Body. The above suggestion will forbid, as contrary to the ideal, the needless multiplication of separate Churches, or the division of existing Churches except in the very rare cases in which such division is necessary to avoid some greater evil. Such an emergency arose not long ago in Scotland. And I cannot doubt that the Disruption of the Established Church and the formation of the Free Church were an outflow of spiritual life and a great gain to the highest interests of the Kingdom of God. Another emergency was caused by the result of the Vatican Council. But such are very rare. It is our happiness to see Christian thought everywhere tending towards reunion of separated Churches. It is often said that the divisions of the Church are a great hin- drance to Christian work and progress. Certainly the rivalry of contending Churches has done much harm. But, as suggested above, there may be plurality and variety without contention. And the needless multiplication of Churches is undesirable. But the main divisions of the Church have been an immense gain to the Churrh as a whole. This is well shown in reference to the great separation in England caused by the Act of Uniformity, on p. 610 of Green's Sho7't History of the English People. No Church in modern times has prospered spiritually with undivided sway. Again and again rivalry has provoked spiritual activity.. Different Churches embody different types of Christian hfe : and the types thus embodied are a lesson and an enrichment to the whole. This manifest gain reveals the hand of God even in the divisions of the one Church of Christ. These divisions, caused or made needful by man's imperfection and sin, are God's own mode of purifying and perfecting His Church and thus leading it to a higher unity. The sectional Churches may be compared to the chapels of a great cathedral. If at night we examine one of these by candlelight, it may seem to be an independent structure yet a fit and beautiful place in which to worship God. But when daylight floods the sanctuary, the little chapel is seen to be but a part of a more glorious whole. Its distinctive beauty remains and is more clearly seen. But our chief wonder is evoked by the grandeur of the vast structure 26 402 PAULS CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. [Diss. 3. of which it forms a part. In the rising Church of God, at present the scaffolding obscures to some eyes the work of others. But already from the workers goes up to God a grand harmony of praise and Christian life. Let us maintain it. Soon the building will be complete, the scaffolding removed, and the one great Temple will appear, the realised conception of the eternal thought of God, radiant in His light, the everlasting and glorious home of the one family of God. DISSERTATION III. PAULS CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. 1. From the Church we now pass to its Head and Lord. I shall endeavour to reproduce in scanty outline Paul's conception of Christ as portrayed in his Epistles, and then compare it with that of the other writers of the New Testament, in order thus to reproduce the impression actually made by Christ on the most intelligent of His early followers. This will supplement the short sketch given in Diss. i. of my Romans. 2. We notice that Paul never compares Christ with other men, even as superior to them. Throughout his letters we have no trace of that sense of human equality which no difference of rank or worth can ever altogether efface. To be Christ's servant or slave, is to Paul a title of honour ; and frees him from the need of seeking the favour of men : Rom. i. i. Ph. i. i, i Cor. vii. 22, Gal. i. 10. Every mention of Christ breathes profound reverence as for one infinitely greater than man and infinitely near to God. In Rom. i. 3, 4, 9, v. 10, viii. 3, 29, 32, i Cor. i. 9, xv. 28, 2 Cor. i. 19, Gal. i. 16, ii. 20, iv. 4, 6, Eph. iv. 13, Col. i. 13, i Th. i. 10, Christ is called the Son of God, evidently in a sense implying a unique relation to God. That He who died for us is God's own Son, is appealed to in Rom. viii. 32 as a proof of God's love to man. This suggests the case of a man who gives up his own son to save others, and thus confirms our inference that this title notes a relation different in kind from man's relation to God. The same title is found, in an Epistle closely related to those of Paul, in Heb. i. 2, 5, 8, iii. 6, iv. 14, v. 5, 8, vi. 6, vii. 3, 28, x. 29. And in Heb. iii. 6 Christ as the Son is contrasted with Moses who was but a faithful servant. In Rom. viii. 3 we read that God sent Diss. 3-] PAULS CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. 403 ' His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin.' This can refer only to the incarnation of Christ. And it implies that before His birth He was already Son of God ; or in other words that before His incarnation He occupied a unique relation to God. Similarly, 2 Cor. viii. 9 and Ph. ii. 6 imply the pre-existence of Him who ' emptied Himself and 'became poor.' Col. i. 15—17 asserts that the Son was earlier than the angels and the universe, and Himself created them ; that whereas they were created He is * Earliest-Born ; ' and that even the angels and the universe were created not only by His agency but for Him. In Rom. V. 12 — 19 (cp. i Cor. xv. 22) Christ is compared with Adam in his relation to the race. Now Adam's relation is unique. Not only was he the first man but from him sprang all others. That the later-born Son of man holds a relation to the race superior to that of its one human father, reveals His unique and superhuman dignity. Christ, who made the world, will judge it : 2 Cor. v. 10. And He will at the great day change the bodies of His dead servants into the likeness of His own glorious body. 3. A similar but more definite conception of Christ is embodied in the Gospel and First Epistle of John. In Jno. iii. 31 the Baptist says that whereas he is from the earth Christ is from above, thus asserting a radical difference. Christ calls conspicuous attention to Himself as the Bread of life, the Light of the world, the Good Shep- herd, the one Way by which men may come to God, as the Resurrec- tion and the Life: Jno. vi. 35, viii. 12, x. 11, xiv. 6, xi. 25. And, while ever distinguishing Himself from His disciples. He unites Himself with the Father under one personal pronoun : ch. xvii. 21 22. Christ calls Himself and is called by John ' the Son of God.' And this title was understood by His enemies to imply equality with God: Jno. v. 18, x. 33. Yet no hint is added suggesting that the inference was incorrect. In Jno. iii. 16, i Jno. iv. 9 (cp. Jno. i. 14, 18) we read of ' the Only-begotten Son,' a term asserting conspicu- ously a relation to God shared by none else. All judgment has been committed to the Son ; and at His voice the dead will leave their graves and go forth to just retribution : Jno. v. 22, 29, 30, vi. 39, 40, 44, 54. Christ claims to be earlier than Abraham and the world : Jno. viii. 58, xvii. 5. By His agency was made whatever has been made : ch. i. 3. His own existence is traced to the beginning, with- out any hint, where we most expect it, that He then began to be : v.i. In Jno. XX. 28 He accepts from Thomas with evident approval 404 PAULS CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. [Diss. 3. the august title ' My Lord and my God.' In ch. i. i we have an expUcit assertion that 'the Word was God.' Verse 14 leaves no doubt that ' the Word ' is the Person afterwards known to John as his beloved Master. And the usage of the entire New Testament, confirmed by the assertion in v. 3, assures us that the predicate • God ' denotes that in which the Creator differs from His creatures. In the three Synoptist Gospels we have a type of teaching differ- ing widely from tlie teaching both of Paul and of John. But this difference only emphasises the one conception of Christ common to all these documents. In Mt. xi. 27 Christ claims that He alone and those taught by Him know God. Again we have the title ' Son of God' as an assertion of unique dignity : Mt. iii. 17, iv. 3, 6, viii. 29, xiv. 33, xvi. *i6, xvii. 5. In a parable recorded by all three Synoptists Christ represents Himself as the ' Son ' in contrast to all His pre- decessors who were only ' servants : ' especially Mk. xii. 6, ' one beloved son.' Again and again Christ announces Himself as the Judge of the world, with angels as His attendants, thus asserting His superiority to them: e.g. Mt. xiii. 30, 41, xvi. 27, xxv. 31, 32. To sum up. All the various writers of the New Testament agree to claim for Christ, or to represent Him as claiming for Himself, a relation to God as much above the greatest men of the Old Covenant as the position of the king's son is above that of the noblest and highest of the king's servants. They teach that in the great day, when the best of men will stand guilty before God, Christ will sit on the throne of God and pronounce judgment on all. Even the angels are His servants. Paul and John assert that the carpenter of Nazareth existed before the earliest archangel, the Creator of angels and of the universe. And John gives to Him, and records His acceptance of, the jealously-guarded title, ' God.' Such honour to a contemporary is unique in the history and literature of the world. 4. The above quotations imply a Person distinct from the Father yet sharing with Him those infinite attributes which mark off the Creator from even the greatest of His creatures. For the solemn assertion in Col. i. 16 that the universe was created by the agency of the Son cannot mean that it was created by the Father, or by some special attribute of the Father. Moreover, He who created is imme- diately afterwards described as the Head of the Church and the Firstborn from the dead, terms evidently revealing a Person distinct from the Father. Nor can J no. i. 3. For the Word is said in v. 14 to have 'become flesh' and to have dwelt visibly among men- These passages thus differ from Prov. viii. 22 — 31 where we have no indication of anything beyond a bold personification. The same Diss. 3.] PAULS CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. 405 personal and eternal distinction is implied in Jno. xvii. 5, 'the glory which I had with Thee before the world was ; ' and in v. 24, ' Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.' This agreement of writers so different as Paul and John is complete proof that the ablest of the early Christians believed in an eternal Person distinct from the Father. We notice that the titles * God ' and ' the only God ' are often given by Paul to the Father even to distinguish Him from the Son. This is explained by the subordinate relation to the Father which with Paul the Son ever occupies. So i Cor. iii. 23, ' Ye are Christ's : and Christ is God's ; ' ch. xi. 3, ' Of every man Christ is Head . . . the Head of Christ is God ; ' ch. xv. 28, ' Then shall the Son Himself be made subject to Him that subjected all things to Him, that God may be All in all.' Thus even in relation to the Eternal Son the Father is supreme. This teaching of Paul receives explanation and supplement in other teaching attributed to Christ in the Fourth Gospel, and especially in Jno. v. 19 — 30, vi. 38, 39. Christ here asserts most plainly that His being is derived from, and His action guided by, the Father ; and that His entire activity is unreserved devotion to the Father. And the context forbids us to limit this teaching to the human nature of the Son. Rather the whole picture suggests that, v.'hatever the Son became in time and in visible human form. He already was in His eternal relation to the Father. While asserting the existence of a divine Person other than the Father, Paul and John speak ever of one God. And this one God is distinctively the Father. So i Cor. viii. 6 ' One God, the Father . . . and one Lord : ' and ch. xi. 3, xii. 5, 6. Similarly Jno. xvii. 3, * The only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.' Yet in Jno. X. 30, xvii. 1 1, 22 the Father and Son are said to be ' one thing.' [The Greek neuter suggests very clearly unity of nature and relation, not of person. It may be illustrated by i Cor. iii. 8, ' He that plants and he that waters are " one thing." '] And this unity of the Father and Son is held up as a pattern for the mutual unity of believers. This suggests that the unity of Father and Son manifests itself in absolute harmony of character and aim. But this harmony is no mere agreement of two persons. It is manifestly an outflow of an essential relation of the Father and Son ; especially of the Son's eternal derivation from, and devotion to, the Father. We may con- ceive each Person of the Godhead as being alone in His own sphere : not three supreme Persons, but One, viz. the Father ; not three Lords in the Church, but One, our Lord Jesus Christ; not three 4o6 PAULS CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. [Diss. 3. animating principles guiding men from witliin, but One, viz. the Holy Spirit, Himself a divine Person distinct from the Father and the Son, bearer of the presence and activity of the Father and the Son. Consequently, in our dealings with these three divine Persons we have to do with only One God. The above conception of God, although profoundly mysterious, is yet intelligible. And it is involved in the actual words of Paul and John and in Mat. xxviii. 19. To the thought and faith of the writers of the N. T. were present three distinct Persons existing from eternity in closest relation and in mutual intercourse and love : the Father supreme, existing and being what He is because He wills so to be and for no other reason, eternal and underived ; the Son sharing to the full all that the Father has and is except only His Fatherhood i.e. His underived and absolute supremacy, being such as He is because the Father wills Him so to be ; and the Spirit possessing all the attributes derived by the Son from the Father and going forth from the Father and the Son to be in the servants of God the divine source of a life of unreserved devotion to God. That this conception of God was actually held by the foremost of the immediate followers of Christ and was by them attributed to Christ, the Christian docu- ments compel us to believe. 5. Not very much is said by Paul about tlic incarnation of the Son of God. But it is plainly referred to in 2 Cor. viii. 9, ' Because of you He became poor, though He was rich, that ye by His poverty might become rich.' For only in reference to the abundance of His divine prerogatives could the Son be spoken of as rich. And this divine wealth is the only counterpart of the wealth with which Christ will enrich His people. This passage, therefore, asserts that at His incarnation the Son laid aside something which He previously possessed. The same is asserted in Ph. ii. 7, ' He emptied Himself,' under which passage I have ventured to suggest that for a time and for our salvation the Eternal Son, by a definite act, gave up the full exercise of His divine powers. This suggestion is in harmony with the above passages ; and with the teaching that the miracles of Christ were wrought in the strength of the Spirit of God, that He knew not the day of His return, and tliat the Word not only put on flesh but ' became flesh.' 6. Paul's teaching about the death of Christ has been expounded on pages 224 — 228 of my Galatia?is. But very remarkable teaching, peculiar to Paul, about the relation (){ Christ to our salvation now demands careful attention. Christ is constantly said to be the means or Agent, as of creation. Diss. 3-] PAULS CONCEPTION OF CHRIST. 407 so of our sanation. We are 'justified through the redemption which is in Christ,' and ' reconciled to God through the death of His Son : ' Rom. iii. 24, \. 10. And our salvation is i7i Him, and He dwells in us. So Eph. i. 3, 4, ' who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in Christ, according as He has chosen us in Him ; ' and ch. ii. 13, 'In Christ Jesus ye . , . have been made near,' and else- where frequently. In ch. iii. 17 we read, 'that Christ may dwell in your hearts ; ' in Gal. ii. 20, ' Christ lives in me.' This language implies that Christ is both the encompassing element in which His people live and move and are safe and an animating principle moving them from within. The new life is also a sharing with Christ all that He has and is. So Rom. viii. 17, 'fellow-heirs with Christ; ' and Eph. ii. 5, 'risen and enthroned with Him.' This being so, Christ is the pattern of the new life and of our future glory. So Rom. vi. II, 'in like manner (as Christ died to sin) reckon yourselves also to be dead to sin and living for God ; ' ch. viii. 29, ' predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son ; ' Ph. iii. 21, ' conformed to the body of His glory.' Lastly, Christ is the aim and goal, as ot creation, so of the new life. So 2 Cor. v. 15, 'He died that they who live may live/^?;- Him.' And Col. i. 16, ' all things have been created through Him and/i?;' Him.' In short, the new life is through Him, and in Him, and with Him, and like Him, and for Him. This remarkable teaching runs through the Epistles of Paul. That the new life is iti Christ, is almost as conspicuous with John as with Paul ; but in the peculiar phrase ' abide in Him.' And this phrase is traced to the lips of Christ. So Jno. vi. 56, xv. i — 7, x\ai. 21, 23, I Jno. ii. 5, 6, etc. This remarkable expression and the teaching underlying it are a conspicuous element in the two chief writers of the New Testament. Equally conspicuous, and peculiar to Paul, is his teaching that the great closing events of the life of Christ are reproduced in His people. And this in two ways. In Rom. vi. 2 — 1 1, Gal. ii. 19, 20, vi. 14, Col. ii. 12, 20, iii. i, 3 believers are said to be dead with Christ to sin, to the Law, to the world ; buried with Him, and risen with Him. This can only mean that through the death of Christ they have escaped from the penalty and bondage of sin, from the curse pro- nounced by the Law, and from the despotism of the present world ; and that their new life is a result of His resurrection. On the other hand, in Col. ii, 13 and Eph. ii. i — 6 they are said to have been at one time dead by reason of their sins but now made alive and risen and enthroned with Christ. This phraseology teaches the utter and hopeless ruin of sinners ; and teaches that through the life which 4o8 PAUL'S CONCEPTIOX OF CHRIST. [Diss. 3. entered into the dead body of Christ a new life has entered into those who believe in Him. This conspicuons and peculiar teaching of Paul has no parallel in the literature of the world. And it reveals the deep impression made upon him by the death and resurrection of Christ. Evidently, he believed that in some special sense our salvation comes through Christ's death upon the cross, that He who died had in very truth risen from the dead, that of His resurrection our new life is a result, and that our life is a sharing of His life and is conditioned by inward union with Him. No one could speak thus in reference to a man. Ever\' line of Paul's teaching about Christ assumes His divinity. The foregoing exposition of doctrine lias historic worth. For the Christian documents prove that the early followers of Christ, the men who gained for Him the homage of all succeeding ages, agreed in a belief that their Master occupies a relation to God different in kind from, and higher than, that of even the loftiest and earliest creatures. And, as we have seen, this conception of Christ involves a new conception of God, a conception unknown to the speculations of heathen philosophy and to the definite teaching of the Old Testa- ment. Tiiis new conception survived the chaos of Gnostic teaching so prevalent in the second century: it was formulated in the fourth century in the Niccne Creed, the great historic creed of the Church of Christ : and in all ages it has been held firmly by an overwhelm- ing majority of the followers of Christ. With scarcely an exception those who during the last eighteen centuries have done most for the highest welfare of men have held firmly the remarkable belief about Christ which we have now traced to the unanimous agreement of His earliest followers. Whence came this new and strange and persistent belief about ('hrist and about God ? Certainly not from contemporary thought, Jewish or Gentile. For contemporary literature, even the writings of Philo, contains nothing which has more tlian a slight outward resemblance to it. Its source must be sought elsewhere. We have only one alternative. Either the conception before us came actually from the lips of Christ, or we are compelled to believe that His earliest disciples, the chief agents of a spiritual revolution which has changed and saved the world, made for Him a claim which He would Himself have rejected with horror as awful blas- phemy, and set forth most serious error about the nature of God. This latter suggestion is absurd. We are therefore compelled to believe that Christ actually claimed to be the Eternal Son of God. Thus the Cliristian documents contain, apart from any special Diss. 4.] THE GOSPEL OF PAUL. 409 authority of Holy Scripture, complete historical proof that Christ actually claimed the august dignity given to Him by the writers of the New Testament. And the moral grandeur of the picture of Christ therein pourtrayed, together with the effect of Christianity upon the world, forbid the thought that the Great Teacher was Him- self in serious error, or knowingly taught error, touching His own relation to God. Decisive as is this argument, it is by no means the whole his- torical proof of the divinity of Christ. For the homage paid to Him by Paul and his companions can be traced to their confident belief that their Master had risen from the dead. If this belief was false, His disciples were in error not only about His nature but about a matter of fact said to have taken place in their own day and in the city in which the Gospel gained its first great victories. The unlike- liness of this supposition, I have already in my Credentials of the Gospel endeavoured to show. Our only alternative is to believe either that a complicated tissue of delusions without parallel among the errors of mankind has saved the world or to believe that with God in eternity is One who shares to the full, by derivation from Him, and with unreserved devotion to Him, whatever He has and is, the Eternal Son of an Eternal Father. Difficult as is this latter belief, it is much less difficult than the historic impossibilities involved in its denial. We therefore accept it with confidence and with ador- ing gratitude as an assured result of our study of the writings of Paul compared with the rest of the New Testament and read in the light of the present state and the past history of the world. DISSERTATION IV. THE GOSPEL OF PAUL.. 1. In Diss, i, of my Commentmy 07i Romans I endeavoured to show that that Epistle was a systematic exposition of the Gospel as Paul understood it, comprising five great doctrines, viz. (i) That God accepts as righteous all who believe the Gospel, this doctrine being put prominently forward as the foundation-stone of the teach- ing of Paul ; and (2) That this salvation comes to us through the death of the Son of God : also (3) That God designed us to be, by union with Christ, sharers of the life of Christ, a life devoted to God ; 4IO THE GOSPEL OF PAUL. [Diss. 4. and (4) That this design is realised in each one through faith and in proportion to his faith, (5) Through the agency of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we have here Justification through faith, and through the death of Christ; Sanctification in Christ, through faith, and through the Holy Spirit. I also tried to show that the confidence with which Paul asserted these doctrines, taken in connection with the deep underlying harmony between them and the teaching of the other very dissimilar documents of the New Testament, affords com- plete historical proof that each of these doctrines was actually taught by Christ. We will now look at them again for a moment in the light cast upon them by the Epistles annotated in this volume ; and thus supplement the notes on these several doctrines under Rom. iii. 22, 26, vi. 10, II, viii. 4, 39. 2. A remarkable re-echo of Rom. i. 17, iii. 21, 22 is found in Ph. iii. 9, ' not having a righteousness of my own, that which is from law, but that whicii is through faith of Christ, the righteousness from God on the condition of faith.' We have here Paul's foundation doctrine of Justification through Faith expressed in his favourite phraseology. That faith is a condition of salvation, is impHed in Ph. i. 27, ' contend together for the faith of the Gospel ; ' and in v. 29, ' to you it is given not only to believe in Him but also to suffer on His behalf.' Paul had heard of the ' faith ' of the Colossian Christians : Col. i. 4. A present and conscious salvation, which is involved in the doctrine of Justification through Faith, is implied in Col. i. 13, 14: 'who rescued us out of the authority of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.' Similarly, v. 11^ 'you who were formerly alienated and enemies in your mind in wicked works, now He has reconciled.' Salvation through Faith is plainly stated in ch. ii. 12, 'in whom ye were also raised through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead ; ' and a present salvation in v. 13, 'having forgiven us all our trespasses.' Assured salvation speaks again in Eph. i. 7, ' in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses ; ' and in ch. ii. 8, ' by grace ye are saved through faith.' Faith as a condition of salvation is implied also in ch. i. 13, ' having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit ; ' and in v. 19, 'the exceeding greatness of His power towards you that believe.' These incidental and unexpected references to faith as a condition and means of salvation are in remarkable agreement with the unicpie place given to faith in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. And the mention of forgive- ness of sins in Col. i. 14, ii. 13, Eph. i. 7 is a close coincidence with Diss. 4-] THE GOSPEL OF PAUL. 411 Acts xiii. 38, 39, where in a recorded address of Paul the same words are used as an equivalent to Justification through Faith. Under Rom. iii. 22 and in Dissertations iv. — vi. of my Galatians I have shown that this last doctrine, expressed however in phraseology ver}'' different from that of Paul, underlies or is in close agreement with all the various types of teaching found in the New Testament, in a manner which affords complete historical proof that it came from the lips of Christ. 3. The second great doctrine of Paul, viz. that salvation comes to us through the death of Christ, that for this end He died, and that the need for this costly means of salvation lay in our sins looked upon in the light of the justice of God, finds abundant expression in the Epistles now before us. It explains Ph. iii. 10, 'fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death.' It is plainly stated in Col. i. 22, ' now He has reconciled us in the body of His flesh through death ; ' and is suggested by v. 24, ' the sufferings of Christ ... on behalf of His body, the Church.' The same doctrine finds conspicuous and remarkable expression in Col. ii. 14, 'having blotted out the handwriting against us by the decrees ; and He took it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.' These words imply clearly that the death of Christ removed an obstacle to salvation which had its root in the Law. Still more clear is Eph. i. 7, ' in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses ;' also ch. ii. 13, 'ye who formerly were far off became near in the blood of Christ ; ' and v. 16, ' that He might reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.' These quotations may supplement my note under Rom. iii. 26, and Diss. vii. of my Galatians, where I have shown that the same doctrine in almost the same words runs through the New Testament. And from the Apostles' days to our own day it has been firmly believed by almost all Christians. This remarkable agreement in so remark- able a doctrine points to a common source. And this can be no other than the Great Teacher whom all Christians worship. 4. That God designs all who are justified through faith to live a new hfe of unreserved loyalty to Himself like the loyalty of Christ, is plainly taught in Ph. i. 20, 21, ii. 5 — 8, Col. i. 22, ii. 6, 7, iii. 10 — 15, Eph. i. 4, ii, 10, iv. 20 — 24, v. i, 2, 27 ; and is implied throughout these Epistles. That this new life is conditioned by faith, we read in Ph. i. 25, 29, Col. ii. 7, Eph. i. 19, iii. 17 ; and that the Spirit of God is its immediate superhuman source, in Ph. iii. 3, Col. i. 8, Eph. i. 13, 17, ii. 22, iii. 16, iv. 30. These three doctrines I have further expounded under Rom. vi. 10, 11, viii. 4. 412 THE GOSPEL OF PAUL. [Diss. 4. 5. We have now, by consecutive study of most of his Epistles, reproduced in outline the Gospel as Paul understood and preached it. And so clearly marked are its main features that we cannot doubt the substantial correctness of the picture. Tliis Gospel, thus reproduced, we have at various points compared with the teaching ol other documents of the New Testament. And our comparison, scanty though it has been, has revealed to us a substantial harmony underlying these various types of teaching. This harmony is an historical fact of the utmost importance ; and demands explanation. Its importance is increased by the universal reception of these doctrines, almost unknown as they were before the time of Christ, wherever there are Christians ; and by the effect of Christianity upon the world, as attested by comparison of Christian and non-Christian nations. The facts just adduced greatly strengthen the argument at the close of Diss. iii. For this Gospel and the unique and superhuman dignity of Christ must stand or fall together. Practically, all who accept or reject the one accept or reject tlie other. Consequently, either these doctrines are true and Christ is the Eternal Son of God or all His early followers whose writings have come down to us have utterly misrepresented both the Teacher and His teaching and have buried them under a thick tissue of most serious error. Yet these men have rescued their Master's name from comparative oblivion, have gained for llim the homage of the world, and have initiated a movement which has turned back from tlie ruin to which it was hastening the entire current of human history and has saved the world. Results so glorious are not born of error. And if not, the Gospel preached and expounded by Paul is indeed good news from God. Such are the results, up to this point, of our study of the Epistles of Paul. We have found in them a full and harmonious account of his teaching, and of his conception of the dignity of the Great Master from whom he learnt it. This religious teaching and this conception of Christ we have compared with the other documents preserved for us in the New Testament. And this comparison, viewed in the light of the effect of Christianity upon the world, has convinced us that Paul rightly interpreted the teacliing and the claims of Christ, and has convinced us that His teaching is true and His claims just. Thus Paul has led us to Christ ; and in Christ we have found Eternal Lif(^ The only K|)istles of Paul not yet annotated by mo are two short letters, the earliest extant, written ow iiis second missionary journey Diss. 4.] THE GOSPEL OF PAUL. 413 to the lately founded Church at Thessalonica, and three short letters to two of his most valued companions, written apparently after liberation from his first imprisonment at Rome. Of these, the former group contains the fullest account we have of Paul's teaching about the Second Coming of Christ, and the latter our most complete picture of the organization of the Churches founded by the Apostles. But they do not in any way modify the results we have derived from the Epistles already annotated. Printed by Hazell, IVatson, <§» Vi?iey, Ld., London and Aylesbury. Date Due