Division ,i3S^/^50 
 
 Section ' ' ^^ — ' 
 
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THE EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL TO THE 
 
 COLOSSIANS, THESSALONIANS, 
 
 AND TIMOTHY. 
 
GEORGE BELL & SONS, 
 
 LONDON : YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN 
 NEW YORK: 66, FIFTH AVENUE, AND 
 BOMBAY : 53, ESPLANADE" ROAD 
 CAMBRIDGE : DEIGHTON, BELL & CO. 
 
THE EPISTLES OP ST. PAUL 
 
 TO THE 
 
 COLOSSIANS, TJIESSALONIANS 
 
 AND 
 
 TIMOTHY 
 
 WITH NOTES CRITICAL AND PRACTICAL 
 BY THE REV. M. F. SADLER 
 
 LATE RKCTOR OF HOMTON AND PREBENDARY OF WELLS 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE BELL AND SONS 
 
 .1898 
 
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 8>IAr/50JA88aHT ,8^AI880JOO 
 YHTOMIT 
 
 JAOITOAH*! ayiA JA0ITI5I0 83TOy[ HTIW 
 
 First published February, 1890. 
 ^ M J (Mpi5nteaDe<Miiber/ 1^1 ISpJ ] T Y H 
 
 
 'c-Kos a^A jj3a ?ioHoao 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSI A NS. 
 
 B 
 
INTRODUCTIOM. 
 
 THE authenticity of the Epistle to the Colossians as being the 
 writing of St. Paul, and received from the first as Canonical, 
 has never been doubted in the Christian Church till the present 
 century. It has latterly been pronounced by some German critics 
 to contain references to Gnostical heresies which were not de- 
 veloped till a later period. We shall show, however, that the 
 germs of Gnosticism were abroad in the world long before this. 
 
 There are apparent allusions to some of its statements in 
 Clement of Kome and the longer recension of Ignatius, but the 
 first undeniable reference is in — 
 
 Justin Martyr, ch. Ixxxv. : *' For every demon, when exorcised 
 in the name of this very Son of God — Who is the firstborn of every 
 creature." (Dial. Ixxxv.) "We have been taught that Christ is 
 the firstborn of God." (Apol. xlvi.) 
 
 In the Muratorian Fragment of the Canon it is reckoned as 
 fourth among the Pauline Epistles. "Ad Corinthios (prima), 
 ad Ephesios (secunda) ad Philippenses (tertia) ad Colossienses 
 (quarta)," &c. 
 
 ■ Irenaeus quotes the Epistle to the Colossians nearly twenty 
 times. Thus Book iii. 14 : " And again he says in the Epistle to 
 the Colossians, Luke the beloved Physician greets you." 
 
 Clement of Alexandria quotes this Epistle about twenty-five 
 times. In the Stromata, i. 1, he mentions it by name : " Also in 
 the Epistle to the Colossians he writes, admonishing every man, 
 and teaching every man in all wisdom " (i. 28). 
 
 TertuUian quotes the Epistle frequently ; sometimes by name, 
 thus : — " He testifieth of philosophy by name that it ought to be 
 shunned : writing to the Colossians, ' Beware lest any one be- 
 guile you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition 
 of men,' " &c. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CITY OF COLOSSE. 
 
 Colossae (or Colosse) was formerly a large city of Phrygia, within 
 a short distance (twelve miles) of two others, Laodicea and Hiera- 
 polifi, and situated in the valley of the Lycus, a tributary of the 
 Meander, which it joins a few miles further down to the west. In 
 the time of St. Paul it was a dechning city, and the ruins which 
 remain are of no architectural importance. Xenophon describes 
 Colossae in his time as a great city, populous and flourishing ; and 
 Pliny classes it amongst the op^ida celeherrima of Phrygia; and 
 so it continued for some centuries after the Christian era, decaying, 
 however, gradually, and Chonas, three miles to the south, at the 
 foot of the mountain, grew up in its place. It is now absolutely 
 uninhabited. 
 
 A most interesting account of the cities of the Lycus is given by 
 Bishop Lightfoot in the preface to his volume on the Epistle to 
 the Colossians, but it seems to throw no light whatsoever on the 
 contents of the Epistle. A remarkable circumstance, however^ 
 mentioned by Theodoret, seems to show that the cultus of angels 
 reached far into Christian times. " Those who upheld the law also 
 induced them to worship angels, saying that the law had been 
 given through their intervention. This evil custom remained long 
 in Phrygia and Pisidia. Hence a synod, which met in Laodicea 
 of Phrygia, prohibited by law the worship of angels, and to this 
 very day an oratory, dedicated to St. Michael, is to be seen in these 
 parts." 
 
 The Byzantine writer, Nicetas Choniates, who was a native of 
 Chonas, also makes mention of it. The neighbourhood (visited by 
 Pococke) was explored by Mr. Arundell (" Seven Churches," p. 158 ; 
 " Asia Minor," ii., p. 160), but Mr. Hamilton was the first to de- 
 termine the actual site of the ancient city, which appears to be at 
 some little distance from the modern village of Chonas. (" Re- 
 searches in Asia Minor," i., p. 508, abridged from Smith's "Bible 
 Dictionary.") 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 BY WHOM WAS COLOSSE FIRST EVANGELIZED ? 
 
 We should gather from i. 7, " As ye have (" also " to be omitted) 
 learned of Epaphras," &c., that Epaphras was the first preacher of 
 the Gospel to them.. 
 
 Alford and Bishop Lightfoot, and most expositors, consider that 
 St. Paul includes the Colossians, to whom he was writing, when 
 he speaks of " as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." The 
 remarks of the latter are, " this is a purely grammatical question ; 
 therefore it is uncertain whether St. Paul's language here implies 
 his personal acquaintance with his correspondents, or the contrary. 
 But in all such cases the sense of the context must be our guide. 
 In the present instance, kuI oaoi is quite out of place, unless the 
 Colossians and Laodiceans also were personally unknown to the 
 Apostle. There would be no meaning in singling out individuals 
 who were unknown to him, and then mentioning comprehensively 
 all who were unknown to him. Hence we may infer from the 
 expression here that St. Paul had never visited Colosse." 
 
 On the other hand, Theodoret amongst the ancients, and Dr. 
 Lardner amongst the modems, have contended that St. Paul first 
 evangelized this and the two neighbouring cities. Alford, in his 
 Prolegomena to this Epistle, gives sixteen reasons from Lardner 
 why St. Paul should have been their Evangehst. The great point 
 which seems to turn the scale in favour of Epaphras having been 
 the founder of the Church, is that the Apostle never claims to be 
 their spiritual father as he does in the cases of the Thessalonian, 
 Corinthian, Galatian, and Philippian Churches (1 Thess. i. 5 ; 
 ii. i-4; Gal. i. 6; 1 Cor. iii. 6-10; Phil. ii. 16). If he had been 
 theu' father in Christ, much referred to in the Epistle would have 
 led him to claim their obedience on that score. 
 
 FOR WHAT PURPOSE WAS THIS EPISTLE WRITTEN ? 
 
 A large portion of this Epistle is directly controversial or po- 
 lemic. The whole of the second chapter is written to warn his 
 converts against (apparently) two forms of false teaching, the one 
 JuJaizing, the other Gnosticism. He sometimes has the one prin- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cipally before him, as when he writes : " Let no man judge you in 
 meat or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, 
 or of the Sabbath days " (ii. 16). And he looks apparently to the 
 other as a distinct form of evil teaching when he writes : " Let no 
 man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and wor- 
 shipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not 
 seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind " (ii. 18). This latter 
 certainly, at first sight, does not seem to present any features of a 
 perverted Judaism, and yet there is an almost general consensus 
 of authorities that St. Paul contended against one heresy — the 
 Colossian heresy — so called because it seems at that time to be 
 peculiar to this and perhaps the two neighbouring cities ; and not 
 to have been so rife at Ephesus, inasmuch as in the Epistle to the 
 Ephesians the Apostle seems to take no notice of it. 
 
 The following account of it is given by Dollinger: " The wonted 
 Judaism in its Pharasaic form, to which nothing was so dear as 
 the universal force of the law, and the perpetual prerogatives of 
 the Jewish Nationality — the Judaism St. Paul attacked so sharply 
 — never succeeded in forming separate congregations, at least for 
 any time, and in the later Apostolic period this danger seems to 
 have been no longer important. On the other hand, a doctrine of 
 far more seductive tendency crept increasingly into the com- 
 munities — a Gnostic Judaism— producing serious disorders, and 
 entailing on the Apostles and their first successors a difficult con- 
 test. It is uncertain when, and under what influences, this Gnostic 
 tendency and admixture of Jewish and Gentile teaching found en- 
 trance among the Jews of the dispersion. In Palestine it only 
 appeared among the Essenes, and there is no trace of their spreading 
 or having influence out of Palestine. We can only say that the 
 old Orphic Pythagorean ideas, and the notion long before brought 
 into the West by the Babylonian Magicians of various classes of 
 Demons, both higher and ministering spirits, and the conditions of 
 their action, had gained admission also amongst the Jews of Asia 
 Minor." 
 
 •• The false teachers against whom Paul warned the believers of 
 Colossse were Jewish converts, who held to the law and circum- 
 cision, and required an observance of the Old Testament rules 
 about meats, and the Jewish feasts and moons, and Sabbaths. To 
 this they added, against the body as the defiling prison of the soul, 
 a violent and tmmeasured Asceticism, and an angel worship 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 founded, as the Apostle says, on a false humility. They make the 
 angels , according to the heathen idea, mediators whom men must 
 apply to because the Supreme God was incomprehensible and out 
 of reach. Without doubt they thus degraded the dignity of Christ as 
 being a Prophet to whom only one of these cosmic angels, and an 
 angel of a lower order, had revealed himself, whence Paul here 
 insists so emphatically on the majesty of the Only born. The 
 Apostle's warning, ' Beware that none rob you of your reward 
 through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men * 
 proves that the doctrine was drawn from an heathen philosophy as 
 it was with the Essenes." 
 
 The consideration of this early form of Gnosticism is important 
 as bearing upon the genuineness of this Epistle. It (or at least parts 
 of it) have been pronounced by German rationalizing critics to be 
 of later date than the times of St. Paul, because the Gnosticism is 
 in their view more developed than it could have been at the time 
 of the writing of this Epistle. But this is said without due con- 
 sideration of the fact that the Gnosticism alluded to in the Epistle 
 is as undeveloped as it can well be. It is all contained in the sen- 
 tence "worshipping of angels": "Let no man beguile you of 
 your reward, in a voluntary humility and worship'ping of angels'^ 
 This is the only direct reference to that feature common to all 
 Gnosticism, of the interposition of a series of supernatural ex- 
 istences between God and man. There is no reference whatsoever 
 to the Dual idea, by which the origin of evil is attempted to be 
 accounted for : and the rigorous asceticism reprobated, is quite as 
 much Essene as Gnostic. 
 
 Now it is allowed on all hands that the fountain-head of 
 Gnosticism is in the ancient Persian or Zoroastrian religious 
 speculation, and this undoubtedly contains the invocation of inter- 
 mediate beings. Mr. LI. Davies, at the end of his commentary on 
 the Colossians, gives the beginning of the first of the Yacnas or 
 Liturgical Invocations. Thus: "I invoke Ahura Mazda .... 
 who created us, who formed us, who keeps us, the noblest among 
 the heavenly," and then the worshipper is directed to call upon 
 six intermediate beings, whose names are Vohumano, Asha-vahista, 
 Kshathra-vairya, Spenta armaiti, Hauwut, and Ameretat, and a 
 seventh, Seroch, appears to have not yet been revealed, and is said 
 to answer to the Messiah, so that Gnosticism would be no Gnos- 
 ticism at all, unless it recognized these intermediate beings. 
 
S INTEODUCTION. 
 
 Besides this, we find in the two most ancient accounts of Simon 
 Magus (considered by all ancient writers to be the founder of the 
 Gnosticism which affected Christianity), that his doctrine is de- 
 scribed as being, in its leading features, Angelology. Thus Irenaeus, 
 Book i. ch. 23, " Declaring that this woman, Ennaea, leaping forth 
 from him, and comprehending the will of her father, descended to the 
 lower regions of space, and generated angels and powers by whom 
 also he declares this world was formed." Again, " He confen-ed 
 salvation upon men by making himself (Simon Magus) known to 
 them. For since the angels ruled the world ill, because each one of 
 them coveted the principal power for himself, he had come to amend 
 matters, and had descended, transfigured and assimilated to powers, 
 and principalities, and angels, so that he might appear among men 
 to be a man, while he was yet not a man, and that thus he was 
 thought to have suffered in Judaea when he had not suffered," 
 &c. 
 
 Again, we gather from Hippolytus, that Simon's creed, if such 
 it can be called, was largely tinctured with angelology, even 
 ascribing the creation of the world to angels. " For the angels 
 who created the world," he said, " made whatever enactments 
 they pleased, thinking by suoh word^ to enslave those who lis- 
 tened to them," &c. Hippolytus, " Eefutation of all Heresies," 
 book vi. ch. xiv. 
 
 These angels, or successions of angelic intermediate beings 
 developed into the aeons of the gnostical systems of the conclusion 
 of the first century and the beginning of the next, but St. Paul's 
 allusion to them is the simplest possible, and it seems to me equally 
 applicable to a rudimentary, or to a more fully developed Gnosti- 
 cism. He avoided saying a syllable about them, except that the 
 recognition of them was incompatible with loyalty to the eternal 
 Son. 
 
 TIME AND PLACE OF WEITING. 
 
 The Epistle to the Colossians was written about the same time 
 as those to the Ephesians and Philemon during the last part of 
 St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, and was sent from Rome 
 to Asia Minor by Tychicus, with whom was associated Onesimus 
 (Coloss. iv. 7, 8, 9 ; Ephes. vi. 21, 22). 
 
 The verbal coincidences between it and the Epistle to the Ephe- 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 sians are such, that that they must have been written when the 
 great truths, and the expression of those truths, which are common 
 to both, were fresh in the Apostle's mind, and yet each has its 
 separate dominant truth — that in the Epistle to the Ephesians 
 being the unity of the Church as one Body under Christ as its 
 Head, and that to the Colossians being the unity of Christian 
 truth in the same Christ, the Eternal Son of God Incarnate. 
 
 So that in the Ephesian letter the Apostle dwells upon the 
 election of Jew and Gentile in Christ, and both being raised up in 
 Christ, and made to sit together at God's right hand in Christ, and 
 being built up as one holy temple in Christ, and being united and 
 increasing under one Apostolic ministry in Christ, whilst in the 
 Colossian Epistle the Godhead and Divine Sonship of the Lord and 
 His creation of all things visible and invisible, is the root of all 
 Christian truth, from which men fall if they are captivated by either 
 Judaistic or Gnostic teaching, or by both combined. 
 
 In considering the distinctive teaching of the Epistle to the 
 Colossians, we must remember that though written by the Apostle 
 with the view of combating certain errors of the times, it was 
 designed by the inspiring Spirit to be for the instruction of the 
 Church in all ages and generations, and the dogmatic truths as- 
 serted in it are just as much lost sight of in England in the nine- 
 teenth century, as in Colosse in the first. We have in our popular 
 theology nothing like the position which is ascribed in the first 
 chapter to the Eternal Son, as the Creator of all things visible and 
 invisible, and the Head of His mystical Body, or in the second 
 chapter to the fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in Him. I 
 do not deny for a moment that these truths are confessed by us 
 in our creeds, but in this Epistle the loftiest truths are made the 
 foundation for the performance of the lowliest every-day duties. 
 One instance will abundantly suffice. The most mysterious 
 truth that we are risen with Christ — that we are dead in Him, 
 and that our life is hid with Christ in God, is assigned as the 
 reason that we should mortify such sins as fornication, unclean- 
 ness, inordinate affection, and evil concupiscence — that we should 
 put off anger, wrath, malice, and blasphemy, and that as the elec 
 of God we should put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness 
 of mind, meekness, long-suffering, and forbearance. So that 
 dogma and duty are in this Epistle inseparably connected. There 
 cannot be deeper truths than that Christ is the image of the in- 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 visible God— that He is the author of Creation visible and in- 
 visible, that in Him dwelleth the fulness of Godhead bodily, and 
 yet these deepest of truths are to be the root of a daily life of purity, 
 truthfulness, mutual forgiveness, and charity. 
 
A COMMENTARY. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 PAUL, * an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, 
 and Timotheus our brother, » Eph. 1. 1. 
 
 2 To the saints ^ and faithful brethren in Christ ^l^""^.^ 'gl'/^* 
 
 1. " Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and 
 Timotheus our brother." " An apostle of Jesus Christ by the will 
 of God." If there was a strong Jewish element in the city, and 
 probably in the Church, it was well for St. Paul to assert that his 
 apostleship was as much as that of the first-called apostles " by the 
 will of God." 
 
 "By the will of God." Christ says of the twelve, "thine they 
 were and thou gavest them me," and the calling of St. Paul indu- 
 bitably set forth that he was a vessel of election, " separated from his 
 mother's womb and called by God's grace." 
 
 " And Timotheus our brother." In seven epistles, those to the 
 Corinthians, the Philippians, this and the Epistle to Philemon, and 
 in those to the Thessalonians, St. Paul joins Timothy with himself 
 as joint senders of the letters, and yet each letter is wholly St. 
 Paul's, written in the first person singular, and evidently every 
 word of it the production of one mind and will. This could only be 
 for one purpose, viz., that others should be associated with the Apostle 
 in his peculiar apostolical authority, so that when God should re- 
 move him from the scene, the apostolic ministry should not cease 
 to be continued in the Church. 
 
 2. "To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at 
 
12 GRACE AND PEACE. [Colossi ans. 
 
 whicli are at Colosse : " G-race he "unto you, and peace, from 
 c Gal. i. 3. Grod our Fatlier and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 2. " From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." So S, A., C, F., G,, most 
 Cursives, f, g. Copt., Arm., JEth.; but B., D., E., K., L., 17, 39. 46, 109, 115, 177, 178, 
 219, 238, d, e, Vulg. (Cod. Amiat.), Sjriac, omit "and the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Colosse." T^he " saints " marks out Christians as persons dedicated 
 to God and set apart for His service ; the " faithful brethren " 
 seems to indicate their joint belief in the Son of God, and brotherly 
 love amongst themselves. Wesley says, " ' Saints ' — this word ex- 
 presses their union with God, ' and brethren,' this their union with 
 their fellow Christians." 
 
 " From God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." The 
 reader, by referring to the critical note, will see that the words 
 "from the Lord Jesus Christ " are not contained in five of the principal 
 Uncials, B, D, E, K, L, but are contained in t<. A, C, F, G. Origen 
 notices the omission. " To the Colossians indeed, (he says) ' Grace 
 to you and peace from God our Father,' and does not add, ' and 
 from our Lord Jesus Christ.' " And Chrysostom also, " Whence 
 Cometh grace to you ? Whence peace ? Fro7n God, he says, our 
 Father, although he useth not in this place the Name of Christ." 
 
 Seeing that in every other epistle grace is invoked conjointly from 
 Christ and God, this omission gives a singularly unfinished 
 character to the prayer here. Theological reasons have been 
 assigned for this omission, one being expressed as follows : " Could 
 it have been suggested to St. Paul's mind in connection with his 
 special desire to emphasize the true Godhead of Christ, so obvious 
 in this epistle, by an instinctive reluctance to use in this case any 
 phrase, however customary with him, which might even seem to 
 distinguish His nature from the Godhead? " (Bishop Barry.) But 
 may not a simpler reason be assigned ? We are told by almost 
 every commentator on this Epistle, that compared with others it 
 presents decided marks of roughness and want of finish in the style, 
 as if it had been written in greater haste. May not this most unique 
 omission be a case in point ? 
 
 3. "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, praying," &c. St. Paul in this, and at the beginning of 
 every epistle, puts thanksgiving before prayer, and the reason is 
 obvious. In every epistle he writes to churches which had been 
 
Chap. I.] PRAYING ALWAYS FOR YOU. 
 
 3 '^ We give thanks to Grod and the Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 
 
 4 ^ Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, 
 and of ^ the love which ye have to all the saints, 
 
 d 1 Cor. i, 
 Eph. i. 16 
 Phil. i. 3. 
 iv. 6. 
 
 . '1. 
 
 e ver. 9. Eph. 
 i.l5. Philem.5. 
 
 f Heb. vi. 
 
 10. 
 
 ,A.,E., K 
 
 ., L- 
 
 3. " To God and the Father of," i.e. " To the God and Father of." So H, 
 P., all Cursives, f, Vulg., Arm. ; but B., C, D., F., G., d, e, g, Syriae, Copt., ^th., read, 
 " To God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 4. " Which ye have." So H, A., C, D., E., F., G., P., most Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., 
 Copt. ; but B. omits. 
 
 feathered out from among the heathen by astonishing S-cts of grace, 
 and had, to the time of his writing, more or less steadfastly held 
 fast their profession, and exhibited the reality of that profession by 
 good works. He must consequently first give thanks for these 
 tokens of grace in the past, as being pledges of help for the 
 future. 
 
 *' Praying always for you." Not merely mentioning hurriedly 
 the names of each Church, but entering into particulars respecting 
 the distinct spiritual requirements of each. Thus we have in each 
 Epistle different prayers, and if we knew their spiritual state as God 
 knew it, we should find that in the case of each particular Church 
 its spiritual state was known to the Apostle, and he was led to plead 
 with God accordingly. 
 
 4. " Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love 
 which," &c. " Your faith in Christ Jesus." We are told that the 
 preposition here denotes the sphere in which their faith moves, 
 rather than the object to which it is directed ; but surely the work- 
 ing of faith in the Person of Christ as the Eternal Son of the 
 Euler of the Universe, is an astonishing miracle when we consider 
 what the state of mind of any Colossian or any other heathen was 
 before the Gospel came to him. He embraced the belief that the 
 world was redeemed by the Blood of a crucified Jew, and the Ee- 
 surrection from the dead of the same Jew was the pledge that not 
 only was the Eedemption complete, but that instead of at the best 
 a dreamy surmise respecting the immortality of his soul, he was 
 assured that he should live for ever in a spirit united to a glorified 
 body, raised up in the likeness of the Body of the Son of God. 
 
 It seems a miracle of power and grace that an ordinary heathen 
 mind should have been able to entertain such an idea, much more 
 to embrace it, and conform his outer and inner life to its spirit. 
 
14 THE HOPE LAID UP FOR YOU. [Colossians. 
 
 5 For the liope ^whicli is laid up for you in lieaven, 
 
 K 2 Tim. iv. 8. whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth 
 lPet.i. 4. ^ , -^ , 
 
 of the gospel ; 
 
 And so St. Paul may well give thanks that the Colossian Christians 
 should have laid aside heathenism, and acknowledged Jesus Christ 
 crucified, risen, and ascended, to be the Son of God, the Saviour of 
 the world. 
 
 "And of the love which ye have to all the saints." Next to the 
 astonishing miracle of the implantation in heathen minds of such 
 a faith was the appearance in the world of the new brotherhood, 
 knitted together in the bonds of a love never before known or even 
 imagined in this world of hate and lust. This love was first of all 
 love to the Crucified — without this it could not have existed — and 
 then love to those who loved Him ; so that discipleship was mani- 
 fested by love. " By this shall all men know that ye are my 
 disciples, if ye have love one towards another " (John xiii. 35). 
 
 5. " For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven." Some 
 interpret this as if the faith and the love were the products of the 
 hope : but surely this is inverting the order of things : there must 
 first come the faith of the Gospel, or the hope which rises directly 
 out of the facts of the Gospel (especially the Kesurrection) could 
 have no root. Christians hope for that future blessedness which the 
 Gospel assures to them, because the Gospel is the Revelation of 
 that Risen Lord Who said, " Because I live, ye shall live also." 
 We think then, notwithstanding great names, that the hope must 
 follow upon " We give thanks ; " it is as if he said, " Hearing of your 
 faith and love, we thank God that these graces will not be ineffec- 
 tual, but that you have the assured hope that you will be rewarded 
 for what ye do and endure." 
 
 But what is " the hope laid up for you in heaven " ? It is the 
 hope of the resurrection of your bodies, changed after the likeness 
 of Christ's glorious Body. This hope is laid up in heaven because 
 Christ is there, and *' our hfe is hid with Christ in God," so that 
 *' when He shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in 
 glory " (iii. 3, 4). The hope can be no other than this, for this is, 
 in its very nature, the highest hope that any human being can 
 have. 
 
 " Whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel." 
 
CuAP. I.] THE GRACE OF GOD IN TRUTH. 15 
 
 6 Which is come unto you, ^ as it is in all the J/^^m^S^xvj 
 world ; and ' brin^eth forth fruit, as it doth also in ]l- ^-°™- .'^^ 
 you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew ^ the * Mark iv. s. 
 
 •^ '-„,./ ', "^ John XV. 16. 
 
 grace of Grod in truth: Phu. i. ii. 
 
 k 2 Cor. vi. 1. 
 Eph. iii. 2. 
 
 Tit. ii. 11. 
 
 1 Pet. V. 12. 
 
 6. "Unto yon, as it is in all the world, and bringeth forth frnit." So E**, F,, G., K., 
 L., most Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Syriac ; but N, A., B., C, D., E*, P., a few Cursives 
 (10), Copt., Arm., ^Eth. (omitting xal), read, " Coming unto you as it is in all the world, 
 bringing forth fruit." After " bringing forth fruit," H, A., B., C, D., E., F., G., L., P., 
 and eighty Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., &c,, read, " and increasing." 
 
 " Ye heard of this hope when the Gospel was first preached to you, 
 for the Gospel which Epaphras preached was the same as mine, 
 that Christ died, and was buried, and rose again, and if Christ be 
 risen from the dead, He is risen as the first-fruits, and so ' as in 
 Adam all die, even in Christ shall all be made alive.' " 
 
 This was the first form in which the Gospel was preached, as 
 We learn from 1 Corinth, xv. 1-10. 
 
 6. " Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world ; and 
 bringeth forth fruit." The more probable reading is followed by 
 the Revisers, *' which is come unto you, even as it is also in all the 
 world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the 
 day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth." If so rendered, 
 the hyperbole is avoided, or at least softened, for what the Apostle 
 seems to assert is not the absolute presence of the Gospel every- 
 where, but that wherever it is present it bears fruit and increases. 
 
 We are to remember that the Apostle never speaks of all the 
 world as meaning the whole habitable globe as known to us ; but 
 if the Gospel was preached as far south as Ethiopia by the eunuch, 
 the treasurer of Candace, and north by himseK at the shores of the 
 Black Sea and Illyricum, and also at Rome and Gaul, and in Meso- 
 potamia, he would look upon it as no exaggeration to say that it 
 was preached to the whole world. 
 
 And wherever it is preached it bears fruit and increases. It 
 bears the fruits of righteousness and holiness amongst those who 
 have received it, and it adds to its number by making converts of 
 the surrounding heathen. 
 
 " Since the day ye heard of it and knew the grace of God in 
 truth." It would seem from this, that as soon as they heard the 
 preaching of the Gospel they received it in sincere belief. 
 
1 ^ EPAPHRAS. [CoLossiANS. 
 
 7 As ye also learned of ^ Epaphras our dear fellowservant, 
 1 ch iv. 12. who is for you "" a faithful minister of Christ ; 
 
 Philem. 23. '' ' 
 
 m 2 Cor. xi. 23. 8 Who also declared unto us your "love in the 
 
 1 Tim. h-. 6. o • -j. 
 
 n Rom. XV. 30. ^PU'lt- 
 
 oEph.i.i5, 9 oFor this cause we also, since the day we 
 
 16. ver. 3, 4. . '' 
 
 heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to de- 
 q Rorxn^2 ^^^^ ^*^^* ^® might be filled with "^ the knowledge 
 
 Eph . V*. 10," 1 7. 
 
 7. "Also " (xai) omitted by \, A., B., C, D., F., G., P., d, e, f, g, Vulg., Goth., Syriac; 
 retained by E., K., L., and most Cursives. 
 
 " For you." So C, E., K., L., P., most Cursives, d, e, f, Vulg., Goth,, Syriac. Copt., 
 Arm., .Eth. ; but N, A., B., D., F., G., 3, 13, 33, 43, 52, 80, 91, 1C9, read " for us." 
 
 7. " As ye also learned of Epaphras." Epaphras appears, from 
 this notice of him, to have been the first Evangelist of Colosse. 
 St. Paul here calls him his fellow-servant ; the only instance in 
 which he uses the word. He is mentioned elsewhere in Col. iv. 12, 
 and in Philemon 23, as St. Paul's fellow-prisoner in Jesus Christ. 
 Antiquity represents him as Bishop of Colosse. This is denied, or 
 at least doubted, by modern writers ; but after the Apostle's death 
 he would, if he had continued connected with the Church, have 
 undoubtedly been its chief governor, for how could another have 
 been put over the head of this fellow -servant and fellow-prisoner of 
 the Apostle, his intimate friend, who knew all his mind ? Such an 
 one could be trusted to carry on the Apostolic government. 
 
 8. " Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit." He 
 declared the Gospel to you, and brought me back the welcome 
 news of its success, in that it bore within you the fruit of love, the 
 first grace of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 9. " For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not 
 cease to pray," &c. He now begins to tell them what his prayer 
 was on their behalf, but first he lets them know that it was no new 
 thing that he should pray for them. He had done this from his 
 first hearing of their faith and love. " Since the day we heard it " 
 — he had prayed for them during many years, and that without 
 ceasing. 
 
 *'And to desire." Eather to ask, to entreat. His desire ex- 
 pressed itself in the words which follow. 
 
 " That ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all 
 wisdom," &c. ** With the knowledge," rather, with the thorough, or 
 
Chap. 1.] FRUITFUL IN EVERY GOOD WORK. 17 
 
 of his will "■ in all wisdom and spiritual under- ' Eph. i. 8. 
 standing ; 
 
 10 'That ye might walk worthy of the Lord p^fY27*/' 
 
 * unto all pleasing, " being fruitful in every good ^ t^^^^^- »• i^. 
 
 work, and increasing in the knowledge of Grod: u john xv. le.' 
 
 2 Cor. ix. 8. 
 Phil. i. 11. 
 
 Tit. iii. 1. 
 
 Heb. xiii, 21. 
 10. "In the knowledge of God." So E**, K., L., most Cnrsives; but N, A., B., C, D., 
 E*, F., Gr., P., 17, 71, 73, Vulg. (Amiat.) read, " by the knowledge." 
 
 perfect knowledge, l7riyvu)(ng, something far beyond the'yvuxng, to 
 which the Gnostic falsely pretended. 
 
 " The knowledge of his will." Not merely of the speculative 
 knowledge of the beings betwixt Himself and us, but of the know- 
 ledge of His will concerning us, how it is to regulate our hearts and 
 lives. 
 
 " In all wisdom and spiritual understanding." Wisdom in the 
 Bible is always of the highest moral nature, and regulates the 
 heart and life ; spiritual understanding is the faculty by which we 
 enter into the exceeding depth and length of the meaning of what 
 God reveals. Wisdom is mentioned first because the heavenly 
 wisdom which makes us truly apprehend God and His will makes 
 us also understand its perfection. Chrysostom makes this wisdom 
 to be divine wisdom in contrast to human wisdom. His comment 
 is a very good introduction to what follows : " ' That je might be 
 filled with the knowledge of his will.' That is, ye must be brought 
 unto Him by the Son, and no more by angels. Now that ye must 
 be brought unto Him ye have learnt, but it remains for you yet to 
 learn further why He sent the Son. For had it been that we were 
 to have been saved by angels, He would not have sent the Son, He 
 would not have given Him up. * In aU wisdom,' he saith, * and 
 spiritual understanding.' For since the philosophers deceived 
 them, ' I wish you,' he saith, 'to be in spiritual wisdom, not after 
 the wisdom of men.' " 
 
 10. " That ye might walk woi-thy of the Lord unto all pleasing." 
 The Lord is here the Lord Jesus. Walking worthy of Him is walk- 
 ing in His footsteps, after His example. In some places it is 
 *' walking worthy of God, who hath called us unto his kingdom and 
 glory." In other places it is "being imitators of God, as dear 
 children." 
 
 
 
18 GIVING THANKS. [Colossians. 
 
 »Eph.iii. 16, 11 ^Strengthened with all might, according to 
 
 y Eph. iv. 2. his glorious power, ^ unto all patience and long- 
 
 R^m.V.'.s'*^' suffering ^with joyfulness ; 
 
 \^P^-7- 20. 12 ^ G-iving thanks unto the Father, which hath 
 
 ch. 111. 15. ^ 
 
 *' Unto all pleasing." Walking worthy of the Lord is so to walk 
 as to please Him in all things. And how, as Chrysostom asks, 
 " unto all pleasing " ? The answer is — 
 
 *' Being fruitful in every good work, and increasing," &c., i.e.y 
 doing and progressing. If we are fruitful in good works we shall 
 increase in the knowledge of God — that is, thorough knowledge — 
 the same word {t-rriyvwaig) as before. Some, however, render it, " in- 
 creasing hy the knowledge of God." 
 
 11. " Strengthened with aU might, according to his glorious 
 power." Literally, " strength with all strength, according to the 
 might of His glory." What is the might of His glory ? The most 
 probable way of understanding it is as the Authorized, " according 
 to his glorious power." The glory, however, may here mean the 
 Holy Spirit, the finger of God, by Whom even the Lord, in the days 
 of His humiliation, did His miracles. Thus Chrysostom, in ex- 
 plaining Eom. viii. 30, " Whom he justified, them he also glorified," 
 says, " by His Spirit." 
 
 " Unto all patience and longsufiTering with joyfulness." From 
 this it would seem that they were then under persecution. The 
 difference between patience and long-suffering is explained by 
 Archbishop Trench as being, that patience is bearing the ill-will of 
 persons ; long-suffering is bearing the evil things, such as pain or 
 distress, with which God may chastise us. 
 
 " With joyfulness." What the Apostle inculcated he practised 
 himself. Thus he says in this chapter (verse 24), "Who now re- 
 joice in my sufferings for you." Again, 2 Cor. vii. 4, " I am ex- 
 ceeding joyful in all our tribulation." On this verse Wesley says, 
 " This is the highest point. Not only to know, to do, to suffer the 
 whole will of God ; but to suffer it to the end, not barely with 
 patience, but with thankfulness." It is difficult to believe that 
 every evil thing which we suffer for Christ's sake will be recom- 
 pensed, but it assuredly will be so. 
 
 12. " Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet." 
 The Father, as that person in the Godhead Who is the ultimate 
 
Chap. I.] THE SAINTS IN LIGHT. 19 
 
 made us meet to be partakers of ^ the inheritance ^ Acts xxyi. 
 
 of the saints in light : c Eph. vi. 12. 
 
 13 Who hath delivered us from ^ the power of 1 Pe't."ii. 9! 
 
 darkness, '^ and hath translated us into the king- Jg^ ^2^Pet 1' 
 
 dom of t his dear Son : i^- 
 
 t Gr. the Son 
 
 of his love, 
 
 ~ Matt. iii. 17. 
 
 Eph. i. 6. 
 
 12. "Made as meet." So A., C, D., E„ F., G., K., L., P., most Cursives, d, e, f, g, 
 Syriac; but N, B., 4, 23, 80, 15, Vulg. (Amiat.), &c., read, "made you meet." 
 
 fountain of all blessings ; even those which we receive through the 
 Son and Spirit come from Him, because the Son is "of" the 
 Father, and the Spirit " of" the Father and " of" the Son. 
 
 " Who hath made us meet." Who hath made us fit, or compe- 
 tent. Here the Apostle speaks of an action of God in past time, so 
 that he does not mean that all to whom he writes are absolutely 
 now fit in all respects for their heavenly inheritance, but that God has 
 on His part done all that is needful. He hath provided an atone- 
 ment for all sin. He hath shed abroad abundantly His Spirit. He 
 hath baptized men into His Son's Body. He hath given His Word 
 and His Sacraments, and He has begun a good work in all those 
 who now believe. 
 
 " To be partakers of the inheritance," — rather, "for the part of the 
 lot of the Saints," seemingly having reference to the division by 
 lot of the promised land amongst the Israelites. Chrysostom makes 
 use of this allusion to show that the inheritance is not by works. 
 " Why doth he call it inheritance (or lot ?) To show that by his own 
 good works no one obtains the Kingdom, but as a lot is rather the 
 result of good fortune, so, in truth, it is here also. For a life so 
 good as to be counted worthy of the Kingdom doth no one shew 
 forth, but the whole is of His free gift." ^ 
 
 " In light." See Eevel. xxi. 23 : "And the city had no need of 
 the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God did 
 lighten it, and the lamb is the Hght thereof." 
 
 13. " Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness." The 
 power of darkness was at its height when it was on the eve of being 
 destroyed. Our Lord said, " this is your hour and the power of 
 
 1 The tranilator of Chrysostom (C. Marriot) here appends a note : " The whole passage 
 shows that he uses this word merely to imply man's insufficiency, and not at all to iutro- 
 duce the notion of chance as opposed to Divine Agency." 
 
20 THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. [Colossians. 
 
 14 ® In wlioin we have redemption through his blood, even 
 • Eph. i. 7. the forgiveness of sins : 
 
 f 2 Cor. iv. 4. 15 Who is ^ the image of the invisible Grod, * the 
 g Rev. iii. 14. firstbom of every creature : 
 
 14. "Through his blood" omitted by H, A., B„ C, D., E., F,, G., K., L., P., most 
 Cursives, Vulg. (Amiat.), Syriac, Copt. ; retained by only a few Cursives. 
 
 darkness " (the same words as here), Thus " through death He 
 destroyed him that had the power of death " (Heb. ii. 14). Thus, 
 having utterly broken the power of evil, He introduced a contrary 
 state of things in the shape of a kingdom, and this no other than 
 the Kingdom of His dear Son, the kingdom of grace into which we 
 have been transferred, so completely transferred, that to us belongs 
 the promise, " Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are 
 not under the law, but under grace " (Eom. vi. 14). 
 
 14. " In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the 
 forgiveness of sins." The words " through his blood," are not in 
 the oldest authorities, and are probably an interpolation from 
 Ephes. i. 7. 
 
 " Redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.'* 
 Here Redemption seems limited to forgiveness, and the first benefit 
 in point of time which*the sinner receives is forgiveness ; but Redemp- 
 tion, in its fulness, is our being brought into Christ, and being made 
 members of Himself, and in Him we have not only forgiveness, but 
 a new life ; and a new life, not only to enable us to hve the life of 
 Christ in the world, but which will survive death, and will raise up 
 our bodies in the likeness of His glorious Body : and so this Apostle 
 speaks in Rom. viii. 23, of "looking for the adoption, to wit, the 
 redemption of our bodies." 
 
 15. " Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every 
 creature." *' Image " signifies such perfection in the likeness as is 
 opposed to shadow (Heb. x. 1), which is mere outline. More 
 especially is this true as respects the Son of God, if we compare the 
 places in which it is said that the Father reveals Himself through 
 Him. Thus " No man hath seen God at any time ; the only be- 
 gotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared 
 Him " (John i. 18). This implies such a setting forth of the hidden 
 nature of the Father as no mere creature is capable of. Again, " He 
 that seeth me seeth him that sent me," and, " He that hath seen me 
 
Chap. I.] BY HIM ALL THINGS CREATED. 21 
 
 16 For ^ by liim were all things created, that •» John i. 
 
 *^ ° ICor. viii. 6. 
 
 Eph. iii. 9. 
 Heb. i. 2. 
 
 hath seen the Father " (John xii. 45 ; xiv. 9), seem to carry out 
 the idea of perfect Divine likeness, as far as it is possible to be ap- 
 prehended by us creatures. Again, this leads up to " the brightness 
 of His glory and the express image of His person " of Heb. i. 3, 
 which should more properly be rendered, "shining forth of His 
 Glory," and express image of His person should be rather, " express 
 image of His substance," not ol His exterior manifestations, but of 
 His substance — of what He really is in Himself. 
 
 Putting these together as the words ot the Spirit of God, it is 
 clear that we must give the Highest Divine Significance to this 
 expression, " Image of the Invisible God." But is He the image of 
 the Invisible God with respect to His Divine or His Human Nature ? 
 Now His title of Logos implies that He represents, or shows forth, 
 what is in God to all intelligences ; but that He did not cease to be 
 the perfect image of God when He was made in the likeness of 
 men, is evident from the fcict that, in the dsijs of His flesh He said 
 oi Himself, " He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." 
 
 " The first-born of every creature." Does St. Paul mean by this 
 that the Eternal Son is included in God's creation as a creature — 
 the first of creatures ; or does it mean that the Son is as regards 
 His divine and eternal existence prior to all creation ? Unques- 
 tionably the latter. For he proceeds to say, "by him were all 
 things created that are in heaven and that are in earth." He could 
 not give as a reason for His being the first of creatures that He was 
 the author of creation. Creation is the work of the supreme Un- 
 created Being, and, as far as we can see, cannot belong to any crea- 
 ture. It is the sole prerogative of God to create. 
 
 Perhaps, if it be lawful to coin a word, first-born ought to be 
 rendered pre-begotten, and instead ot " oi " (of every creature), we 
 ought to substitute fore-begotten before all creatures ; in fact, 
 anticipating the words ol the creed, " begotten of His Father before 
 all worlds." 
 
 For further elucidation of this phrase (" first begotten of aU crea- 
 tures "), I would refer the reader to a note ot Bishop Lightfoot on 
 this verse, which seems for all practical purposes to exhaust this 
 subject. 
 
 16. " For by him were all things created." " For," that is be- 
 
22 BY HIM AND FOR HIM. [Colossians. 
 
 are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, 
 
 i Rom. viii. 38. whether they he thrones, or ' dominions, or princi- 
 
 ch'! ii.'io, 15. palities, or powers : all things were created ^ by 
 
 1 Pet. hi. 22. f . n £ \- 
 
 k Rom. xi. 36. him, and tor him : 
 
 Heb. ii. 10. 
 
 cause He is the fore-begotten before all things, " by him were all 
 things created." Thrice is this asserted: once here, once in Johni. 
 3 (" All things were made by him, and without him was not any- 
 thing made that was made "), once in Heb. i. 2 (" By whom alsa 
 he made the worlds "). And to this we may add, Prov. viii. 22, 
 " The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his 
 
 works of old When he prepared the heavens I was there : when 
 
 be set a compass upon the face of the depth : then I was by him as 
 one brought up with him, and I was daily his dehglit, rejoicing 
 always before him." Every word of this most sublime passage im- 
 plies that the uncreated, the God-begotten Wisdom was infinitely 
 above the sphere of the creature, and was in the sphere of the 
 Creator. 
 
 " By him," literally, " in Him." In Him as compassing all things^ 
 penetrating all space, nay the author of space itself as a condition 
 of the creature, were «,11 things created. 
 
 " In the heavens and upon the earth, visible and invisible, 
 whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or 
 powers." Does the Apostle mention these orders of spirits be- 
 cause he desired to show that the angelic beings or aeons which 
 formed so prominent a part of the gnostical speculations were, if 
 they had any existence at all, subordinate to the Son, or Logos, and 
 created by Him ? I do not think so. He mentioned them because 
 it was a part of his idea of the unseen world that it w?s not one 
 vast solitude, but that it was peopled by spiritual existences abso- 
 lutely innumerable. Thus Heb. xii. 22, and also Matth. xviii. 10, 
 And in the next place he assuredly believed that this mighty host 
 of intelligences was under government ; it had gradations and 
 ranks, so that there were " principalities and powers in heavenly 
 
 Now putting aside all reference to gnostical speculations, which 
 he might or he might not have entertained, it seems clear that it 
 would from his point of view immeasurably enhance the glory of 
 the Eternal Son if He was the Creator of this unseen spiritual 
 
Chap. I.] BY HIM ALL THINGS CONSIST. 23 
 
 17 ^ And he is before all thinsrs, and by him all ' John i. i, 3. 
 
 things consist. 1 Cor. liii. 6. 
 
 18 And •" he is the head of the body, the church : Eph.^rio' 22 ' 
 
 &iv.'l5. & V.' 
 23. 
 
 universe, and so believing in its existence, and believing in its 
 order and subordination, he writes this sublime act of faith and 
 praise. " By Him were all things created that are in heaven and 
 that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or 
 dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by 
 Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all 
 things consist." ^ 
 
 " All things were created by him and for him." By Him as the 
 instrument or agent of the Father, &c. " By whom he (the Father) 
 made the world," " for Him," i.e. for His glory as well as for the 
 glory of the Father. 
 
 17. " And he is before all things." Not He was, but He is. 
 Thus He says of Himself, " Before Abraham was I am." 
 
 " And by him all things consist," i.e. cohere, hold together, not 
 merely physically, but as part of a system or plan which was in His 
 Mind and Will when He created them, and which He continues to 
 carry out. 
 
 18. *' And he is the head of the body, the chm'ch : who is the 
 beginning," &c. Having glorified the Lord Jesus as the author 
 and upholder of all creation, visible and invisible, he now goes on 
 to speak of Him as the author or originator of the Church : " He 
 is the head of the body, the church : Who is the beginning." This 
 title of beginning, or arche, is one which He takes to Himself in 
 His message to the churches. He is the beginning (apxi) ) of the 
 creation of God : and He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
 and the end. And so being the apx/?, He is, if one may so say, 
 naturally the Head of the Church, for the head being the seat of 
 intelligence and direction is beyond comparison the principal part 
 
 1 The reader may be glad to be reminded that several of the most ancient Liturgies 
 mention these orders of spiritual existences in those parts which correspond to our 
 Tersanctns. Thus the Clementine, "Thee, the innumerable hosts of angels, archangels, 
 thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, powers, thine everlasting armies, adore. 
 The Cherubim and Seraphim with six wings ... let all the people say with them, Holy, 
 Holy, Holy is the Lord of Sabaoth." So also the Liturgies of St. James, St. Mark, and 
 the Roman. 
 
24 THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD. [Colossians. 
 
 " Acts xxvi. who is the beffinniiiff, ^ the firstborn from the 
 
 23. 1 Cor. XV. ° ° 
 
 20,23. Rev. dead ; that || in all things he might have the pre- 
 
 II Or, among eminence. 
 
 o John i. 16. -^^ ^^^ ^^ pleased the Father that ° in him should 
 
 u. f&ii. n! all fulness dwell ; 
 
 of the body : so that the beginning of creation and the beginning 
 of redemption, as it exists in one Kedeemed and glorified Body, is 
 one and the same. 
 
 It has been said, even by some of the fathers, that as God He is 
 the dpx^'i of the old creation, and as man the apxt] of the new ; but 
 are we justified altogether in making this distinction ? For the re- 
 lations of Christ to the Church as its Head in heaven, whilst the 
 Church is militant on earth, require a substratum of Divine all- 
 sufficiency to sustain them. He is Head over all things to the 
 Church, which is His Body, which seems to require an omnipotence, 
 omniscience, and omnipresence absolutely divine and infinite. 
 
 " The first born from the dead." As He is the first-begotten of 
 all creations, so He is first-begotten of the dead. This means far 
 more than that He is the first-fruits of them that slept. Just as He 
 is th« fore-begotten of creation, because in Him. all things were 
 created, so He is fore-Begotten of the dead, because in Him the 
 dead rise again : " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
 made alive" (1 Cor. xv.). 
 
 " That in all things he might have the pre-eminence." That is, 
 in both worlds, in the natural and in the spiritual. The state of 
 things which followed upon, and had its roots in the Death and 
 Eesurrection of the Son of God was the New Creation, a new 
 spiritual and eternal world of which He was the Beginning, and of 
 which He is the Head and Completion. It was fitting that He 
 should be the dpxr) of the seen and the unseen, the old and the new, 
 because the physical and the spiritual are reconciled and made 
 one in Him. 
 
 19. " For it pleased the Father that in him should aU fulness 
 dwell." " In him," that is in His human nature ; for in the next 
 chapter (verse 9), we have, " in him dwelleth all the fulness of the 
 Godhead bodily.". 
 
 The word Father is in italics, and is not in the original, but it 
 must be suppHed, for the Son by taking human nature became a 
 
Chap. I.] THE BLOOD OF HIS CROSS. 25 
 
 20 And, II P having made peace through the blood of his 
 
 cross, thj him to reconcile '"all things unto him- ii Or, making 
 
 seK ; by him, I say, whether they he things in earth, p Eph. ii. u, 
 
 or things in heaven. ■^^'^^• 
 
 ° q 2 Cor. V. 18. 
 «• Eph. i. 10. 
 
 creature of God, so that He could say, " I ascend unto my Father 
 and your Father, and to my God and your God." He consequently 
 received from His Father in His human nature what it became a 
 creature to receive from God. Thus He prayed, " Now, Father, 
 glorify me with thine own self, with the glory which t had with 
 thee before the world was " (John xvii.), and He said, " All power 
 is given unto me in heaven and in earth." 
 
 The pleroma or fulness here is, I think, not to be considered to 
 refer to any Gnostical pleroma, but simply to this, that in His 
 human nature His Father Lad accorded that there should dwell 
 the fulness of Deity with all its divine attributes : in Him dwell 
 all power, all wisdom, all knowledge, all grace : " all things that 
 the Father hath are his " (John xvi. 15). 
 
 20. " And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by 
 him to reconcile," &c. This place seems to teach that the effects 
 of the Atonement wrought upon the Cross are not confined to this 
 world, but are as wide as the universe. We must have a double 
 care respecting this verse, that we do not unduly narrow it, as well 
 as that we do not unduly extend it. Many places in Scripture for- 
 bid us to build upon it any hope respecting the restoration of evil 
 spirits, and yet it is clear that " things in heaven " are included in 
 the reconciUation, and things in heaven can only be angelic exis- 
 tences. 
 
 It is impossible to suppose that the " things in heaven " are souls 
 in paradise, for respecting one of the greatest of these it is said, 
 *' David is not ascended into the heavens " (Acts ii. 34) ; but 
 is it not possible to suppose that the power and virtue oi the Blood 
 of Christ extends to them so as to bring them nearer to God. so as 
 to purchase for them perseverance in the love and service of God ? 
 Created natures which have not sinned may yet require further 
 union with God, and this may be called reconciliation. 
 
 But upon this it is useless, perhaps wrong, to speculate, because 
 it is unrevealed, but what is revealed is that the Sacrifice of Christ 
 affects all intelligence, and this we must hold as an article of faith. 
 
26 NOW HATH HE RECONCILED. [Colossians. 
 
 » Eph. ii. 1,2, 21 And you, ^ that were sometime alienated and 
 u Or. by your enemies || in your mind ^ by wicked works, yet now 
 rmndinroicked ^ath he reconcilcd 
 
 ^ Tit.j. 15. 16. 22 " In the body of his flesh through death, "^ to 
 16. • ■ ' present you holy and unblameable and unreprove- 
 E^h.^i?4.&v. able in his sight : 
 
 27. 1 Thess. 
 
 iv. 7. Tit. ii. 
 
 14. Jude 24. 
 
 21. "Hath he reconciled." So all authorities except B., 17, which read, "ye were 
 reconciled." 
 
 It is set forth to us as reconciliation in the sense that we are 
 citizens of one city. (Hebr. xii. 22, 23), " Ye are come unto Mount 
 Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 
 and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly 
 and church of the first-born which are written in heaven, and to 
 God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect." 
 
 21. " And you that were some time alienated and enemies in 
 your mind by wicked works." There is first alienation or estrange- 
 ment in heart through original sin, and then this alienation is in- 
 creased and strengthened by actual deeds of wickedness in our 
 lives. We have injured God so far as such a Being can be injured 
 by disobedience, and so we hate, and turn away from Him Whom 
 we have injured. The scene in the garden of Eden is reproduced 
 in each soul. "And Adam and his wife hid themselves from 
 the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." 
 (Gen. iii. 8.) 
 
 21, 22. " Now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh 
 through death, to present you holy," &c. How is it that the 
 Apostle here so specifically mentions that the sphere of reconciha- 
 tion was " in the body of his flesh, through death " ? We have to 
 connect together three passages to arrive at some approach to a 
 conclusion ; first, " It pleased the Father that in Him should all 
 fulness dwell ; " secondly, this place, " you hath he reconciled, in 
 the body of his flesh through death," and again, ii. 9, " In him 
 dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." We are not then 
 to look upon His Eeconciliation as a mere mental or even spiritual 
 matter, but as a life through death, and that the death of His 
 Body. There is first of all the Son taking our flesh and assuming 
 a human body ; then there is God granting to this Body that in it 
 
Chap. L] IF YE CONTINUE IN THE FAITH. 27 
 
 23 If ye continue in the faith ^ grounded and y Eph. jii. 17. 
 settled, and he ^ not moved away from the hope of z john xv. e. 
 
 should dwell the fulness of the Godhead : then, following on this, 
 this Body was given for the life of the world ; then it resumed the 
 Life it had surrendered, and became the source of Life to the New 
 Creation — the Church. 
 
 So that we are not merely to look upon this place as an implied 
 protest against certain docetic errors, which it may be, for the idea 
 of regarding the flesh, the body, the material substance, as intrinsi- 
 cally evil, was very early in the Gnostical forms of error, but we are 
 to look upon it as God bringing Life and Immortality through 
 Death — through the death of the Body of the God-man. 
 
 This is one of those passages in which the extraordinary power 
 and virtue of the crucified and risen Flesh of the Lord is brought 
 into exceeding prominence, so that not only His Mental or Spiritual 
 Sufferings, but His Bodily Sufferings terminating in death are to be 
 regarded as inseparable from the Atonement. 
 
 " To present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his 
 sight." All sacrificial Atonement is to the end that our bodies, 
 souls and spirits may be made at one— at-one-d to God. Through 
 His Sacrifice of His Body, we have to present our bodies living sacri- 
 fices, holy, acceptable to God, our reasonable service. (Rom. xii. 1.) 
 
 23. " If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled." This faith 
 is beyond doubt the faith of Ephes. iv., " One Lord, one faith, one 
 Baptism." It is the word respecting the Son of God Incarnate, Cruci- 
 fied, Eisen and Ascended. It is th&t faith into the unity of which 
 we pray all may come (Ephes. iv. 13). If the Colossians entertained 
 the Gnostical errors by which they were then seduced by false 
 teachers this faith was made void, for there was a series of angelic 
 existences or aeons betwixt the Supreme Being and Christ which 
 destroyed the truth of His Godhead, Incarnation, and Atoning 
 Sacrifice — in fact, would deprive Him of that Body, that Flesh by 
 which He was one of us. 
 
 " And be not moved away from the hope of the gospel." The 
 hope of the gospel is more particularly the hope of the Lord's 
 Second Advent, and the Resurrection of the Body. This is the one 
 hope of our calling. We know that a few years later than the 
 writing of this Epistle false teachers moved away disciples from 
 
28 I PAUL AM MADE A MINISTER. [Colossians. 
 
 * Rom. X. 18. i]^Q gospel, whicli ye have heard, ^ and which was 
 
 c Acts i. 17. preached " to every creature which is under heaven ; 
 
 iv. T.'&v. 18. *^ whereof I Paul am made a minister ; 
 ver. 25?"/Tim. 24 ** "V^Tio uow rcjoicc in my sufferings ^ for you, 
 
 dRom V 3 ^^^ ^^^ ^P ^that which is behind of afflictions of 
 
 2 Cor. vii. 4. Christ in my flesh for « his body's sake, which is the 
 
 e Eph. iii. 1, , , -^ J ' 
 
 13. church ; 
 
 f 2 Cor. i. 5, 6. 
 Phil. iii. 10. 
 
 2 Tim. i. 8. 
 
 &Ai. 10. 
 
 g Ephes. i. 23. 
 
 this hope by saying that the Eesurrection is past already, "and 
 overthrew the faith of some." (2 Tim. ii. 18.) 
 
 *' Which ye have heard, and which was preached to every crea- 
 ture which is under heaven." This ol course is an hyperbole. 
 St. Paul meant nothing more by it than to assert a preaching of 
 the Gospel throughout the then known world, but he probably 
 means to assert rather the sameness of the Gospel which was every- 
 where preached, as contrasted with the errors and false gospels 
 which, being the production of human minds, were everywhere 
 manifold, and differed from the true Gospel, and from one 
 another. 
 
 24, 25. "Whereof I Paul am made a minister; who now 
 rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind." 
 The Sufferings of Christ are always set forth in the Scriptures as all- 
 sufficient in atoning virtue, but they were not so ordered by God 
 as to relieve the Church from taking part with Him in suffering, 
 and so taking pai*t with Him in reigning, according to the well- 
 known words, " If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with 
 him " (2 Tim. ii. 12). These words have been pronounced to be 
 startling, but we are only startled by them because we do not 
 reaUze, as the Apostle did, the oneness betwixt Christ and His 
 Church, so in Him that it should be as it were one being — one 
 organization. In the great conflict between good and evil, there is 
 in the counsels of God a certain amount of suffering required to 
 fulfil His all-«vise purposes. Christ drank most fully of the cup, 
 and yet He said to two faithful disciples, and if to two, to all, "Ye 
 shall drink indeed of my cup." 
 
 But why does the Apostle proceed to say, " For his body's sake"? 
 Because all the sufferings, both of Christ and of His saints, arc 
 
Chap. I.] THE GLORY OF THE MYSTERY. 29 
 
 25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to ^the 
 dispensation of Grod which is given to me for you, ^ i cor. ix. 17. 
 
 o ,/ Gal. ii. 7. l^ph. 
 
 II to fulfil the word of God ; m. 2. ver. 23. 
 
 26 Even ^ the mystery which hath been hid from preach the *" 
 ages and from generations, ''but now is made Sm.'^xv^'isf' 
 manifest to his saints : \ ^"™-3'*:i- 25» 
 
 1 Cor. 11. 7. 
 
 27 ' To whom God would make known what is J^p^- "i- 9- 
 "the riches of the glory of this mystery among 2 Tim. 'i. 16. 
 the Gentiles ; which is Christ || in you, '^ the hope 'J^^ t.^i, 
 of glory : ?.p^- i- ^- ^ 
 
 ■ |l Or, among 
 
 you. 
 
 n 1 Tim. i. 1. 
 
 for the sake of the Church, not by way of atoning sacrifice, but 
 still by way of sacrificial devotion. The free-will offerings on the 
 part of St. Paul and other saints, are like the *' offerings to God of a 
 sweet-smelling savour" which call down blessings on the whole 
 mystical Body. The oft-repeated saying, "The blood of the 
 martyrs is the seed of the Church," gives us the key of the whol& 
 matter. 
 
 25. " "Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispen- 
 sation," &c. This place is strictly parallel to Ephes. iii. 1-10, and 
 both should be studied together. The place in the Epistle to the 
 Ephesians is much fuller. It speaks of the mystery as being that 
 the Gentiles should be " fellow heirs, and of the same body, and par- 
 takers of God's promise in Christ." It speaks of the mystery as- 
 being " hid in God." It speaks of the working out of the mystery 
 being so ordered that " to the principalities and powers in heavenly 
 places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of 
 God." 
 
 *• To fulfil the word of God." This may be taken in one of two' 
 ways, either that the dispensation or stewardship was given to St. 
 Paul as the chief instrument by which the call of the Gentiles, and 
 their incorporation into the Church of Christ was fulfilled ; or that 
 the word or Gospel of God, including those features of it which 
 were so contrary to the wishes of the Jews, should be fulfilled. Th& 
 former seems much more in accordance with the context. 
 
 26, 27. " Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and 
 from generations . . . which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." 
 
30 EVERY MAN PERFECT. [Colossians. 
 
 o Acts XX. 20, 28 Whom we preach, ° warning every man, and 
 p 2 Cor. xi. 2. teaching every man in all wisdom ; ^ that we may 
 present every man perfect in Christ Jesus : 
 
 Eph. V. 27. 
 
 Wliat is this mystery ? It is Christ in us. Christ so in us, that it 
 can be said of us sinful creatures, " We are members of His Body, 
 of His jflesh, and of His bones." It is the mystery set forth in 
 John vi. and in John xv. " I am the vine," &c. 
 
 I do not think that this mystery, once hidden, now revealed, is 
 merely the free admission of the Gentiles on equal terms to the 
 privileges of the Covenant. It is rather the mode of that admis- 
 sion, that God has sent His Son into the world as the Second 
 Adam, the Second Head of the race, so that men, without distinc- 
 tion of race or condition, should be engrafted into Him and become 
 members of His Body, "He in them, and they in Him, that they 
 all should be made perfect in one." The fact that the Gospel 
 should be preached to the Gentiles and that they should receive it, 
 is many times asserted or implied in the Old Testament, as for 
 instance, where God says to Abraham, " In thee shall all the 
 nations of the earth be blessed," and in Psalm ii. 8, and in all the 
 latter part of Psalm xxii., and in Isaiah xlix. 6 ; but the mode of 
 admission, that all should be alike grafted into one organized Body, 
 and that the Body of the Son of God, is, even now that it is re- 
 vealed, the deepest of all mysteries, and the one which even now 
 very many excellent Christians have the greatest difficulty in 
 realizing. 
 
 28. "Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every 
 man in all wisdom." This seems to tell us that the Apostle's 
 ministry was not a ministry to bodies of men, but to individuals. 
 Thus he says to the elders of Ephesus, " I have taught you publicly 
 and from house to house . . . and by the space of three years, I 
 ceased not to warn every man night and day with tears.^' (Acts xx. 
 20, 31.) 
 
 " That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." So 
 that the aim of the Apostle in his teaching was not to save souls 
 only, but to present each soul perfect at the last, at the day of 
 Christ. So in the office for the ordering of priests, *' Wherefore 
 consider with yourselves the end of your ministry towards the 
 children of God, towards the Spouse and Body of Christ ; and see 
 
Chap. II.] WHEREUNTO I LABOUR. 31 
 
 29 q Whereunto I also labour, "" striving * accord- « i Cor. xv. lo. 
 ing to his working, which worketh in me mightily. [ Eph! i.^19. 
 
 & iii. 7, 20. * 
 
 that you never cease your labour, your care and diligence, until 
 you have done all that lieth in you, according to your bounden 
 duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to your charge, 
 unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to 
 that ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there be no 
 place left among you either for error in religion, or for viciousness 
 in life." 
 
 29. " "Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his work- 
 ing," &c. Here he reverts again to the first person singular. In 
 the last verse he joins with himself all his fellow labourers in an 
 emphatic " we ;" now he reverts to himself as one with many, " I 
 also labour." 
 
 " Striving according to his working, which worketh in me 
 mightily." As he says of the individual Christian, " It is God that 
 worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure," so 
 he now says the same' of himself as a minister, " I labour according 
 to his working, which worketh in me mightily." Did God con- 
 tend mightily in him, he with aU his might seconded this Divine 
 Energy. 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 FOE. I would that ye knew what great || * conflict I have 
 for you, and for them at Laodicea, and II Or, fear, 
 
 .or, care. 
 
 for as many as have not seen my face m the aphu. i. 30. 
 
 n 1 * ch. i. 29. 
 
 nesn ; 1 Thess. ii. 2. 
 
 1. " For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for 
 you." " Great conflict," i.e. conflict in prayer, wrestling with God as 
 did Jacob, If they knew the deep anxiety he had respecting them 
 they might have more anxiety about themselves. 
 
 "For you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have 
 not seen," &c. Does this imply that the Apostle had never preached 
 the Gospel at Colosse or Laodicea? Modem commentators, as par- 
 
32 KNIT TOGETHER IN LOVE. [Colossians. 
 
 2 ^ That their hearts might be comforted, '^ being knit to- 
 b 2 Cor. i. 6. gether in love, and unto all riches of the full 
 dphii"iii.\ assurance of understanding, '^ to the acknow- 
 
 ch. i. 9. 
 
 ticularly Bishop Lightfoot, contends that it does. Chrysostom 
 seems not to speak certainly. His comment is, "He shews here 
 after a divine manner that they saw him constantly in the spirit." 
 Theodoret writes : " Some argue from these words that the divine 
 Apostle had never been at Colosse. But they ought to have 
 examined the general tenour of the words. His meaning is, ' I 
 have much anxiety not only for you, but also for those who have 
 never seen me.' For he cannot be supposed to imply that he has 
 no soHcitude for those who have seen him. Accordingly the blessed 
 Luke has informed us that the Apostle went through the region of 
 Galatia and Phrygia, in which Colosse is situated." 
 
 2. " That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together 
 in love." " Comforted " — strengthened, perhaps, or encouraged as 
 well as comforted. " Knit together in love " — if they were all united 
 in love the enemy would have the less power against them. 
 
 " Unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding," &c. 
 God has so made the various Christian graces to depend upon one 
 another, that if one is wanting the others are incomplete, or even 
 wanting also. Here the " understanding," which we should suppose 
 was in the domain of the intellect, is brought under the influence 
 of the heart ; thus St. John : " He that loveth his brother abideth 
 in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he 
 that hateth his brother is in darkness," &c. (1 John ii. 10, 11). 
 
 "Assurance "in this and many other places seems to mean " cer- 
 tainty " ; the "full assurance of understanding" seems to mean that 
 we surely and certainly understand what is revealed, i.e. so far as 
 regards ourselves. 
 
 " To the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the 
 Father," &c. The true reading of the latter part of this verse must, 
 in our present state of critical knowledge, be a matter of conjec- 
 ture.'^ We must, first of all, endeavour to ascertain from the con- 
 text what is the mystery to which the Apostle alludes. Beginning 
 
 1 At the end of this chapter I give an extract from Scrivener's "Introduction "examining 
 the varions readings. 
 
CiiAP. II.] THE MYSTERY OF GOD. 33 
 
 ledgment of the mystery of God, and of tlie Father, and 
 of Christ ; 
 
 2. "Mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ" (toS 0eou xai irir^f xai tou 
 yjtrrov). So E., K., L., most Cursives; but N, A., C, 4, "Of God, father of Christ," and 
 B. reads (with Hilary), tou ©eoD yjurrov, which Bishop Lightfoot seems to prefer, putting, 
 however, a comma after 0fou, and paraphrasing, " Of God's mystery, which is nothing 
 else than Christ." Db, P., 37, 67, 71**, 80, 116, " of God " simply. 
 
 with verse 26 of the last chapter, where it is j&rst mentioned, and 
 going on till we come to verse 19 of this chapter, the mystery is 
 evidently the fact that human beings are capable of being " in 
 Christ," so that, being in Him, they should partake, so far as crea- 
 tures are able, of all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and so 
 should be above the reach of Gnosticism ; then that they should be 
 rooted and built up in Him, and be complete in Him and have been 
 circumcised, so as to need no circumcision made with hands, having 
 been buried with Him in baptism, and be quickened together with 
 Him, and so account all Judaizing rites and ceremonies as shadows, 
 utterly out of place in such a system of realities as the Christian ; 
 and be no longer in danger of being beguiled by Gnostic angelolo- 
 gies, which never can have place in the minds of those who hold 
 the Head. 
 
 Such is the mystery, and if it exists at all, it is the mystery of 
 the universe — nothing in regard of mystery can come near to it. 
 
 Now this is the mystery of God. It was first determined by God 
 the Father. He committed it to the Son, Who, in order to receive 
 it and act it out, must have been the full partaker of the Divine 
 Nature, and must have the fulness of the Divine Nature in His very 
 Body ; for the mystery is a Mystery of Body as well as of Spirit, 
 insomuch as His Kisen and ascended Body is the root of all — His 
 Body, raised from the dead, is endowed with Divine Life to be com- 
 municated to those whom He chooses to be His members, so that 
 they should be baptized into Him, feed eucharistically upon Him, 
 live in Him, be holy and without blame in Him, and at last be 
 raised up in Him. Now the contemplation of all this minimizes 
 the importance of the difi'erence of readings. It is the mystery of 
 God because hid in Him from eternity. It is the mystery of God 
 (even) Christ, for Christ must have dwelling in Him the fulness of 
 God to be its recipient and divine agent in carrying it out. It is 
 the mystery of God the Father and of Christ, because it equally 
 
 D 
 
34 YOUR ORDER. [Colossians. 
 
 3 II *" In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and 
 
 II Or, Wherein, knowledge. 
 
 &ii. 6,^7!"Eph. 4 And this I say, Hest any man should beguile 
 
 fRom.^'xvi.^is. y^^ ^i*^ enticing words. 
 
 Epr'iv.' i4^& ^ ^^^ ^ though I be absent in the flesh, yet am 
 
 V. tj. ver. 8, 18. J -yvith you in the spirit, joying and beholding 
 
 1 Thesa". ii'. 17. ^ jouY Order, and the ' stedfastness of your faith in 
 
 h ICor. xiv.40. /-^i . , 
 
 ilPet.v.9. Christ. 
 
 pertains to the Father and the Son. It cannot be without the 
 Father, and it cannot be without the Son. 
 
 3. " In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- 
 ledge." They must be if He is the Wisdom as well as the Power of 
 God ; they must be if He is the Truth ; they must be if He is the 
 Word by Whom all things were created. 
 
 "Hid," not that they should continue to be hid, but that they 
 should be sought for from Him, and from Him alone : for He alone 
 can dispense them. If we seek them from Him, He will be to us 
 wisdom (1 Cor. i. 30). This wisdom and knowledge reaches 
 even to the Father, for '* no man knoweth the Father save the 
 Son and he to whonisoever the Son shall revea? him " (Matt. xi. 
 27, &c.). 
 
 4. "And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with en- 
 ticing words." What are these enticing words, except those which 
 would entice men to seek Gnosis from anyone except Christ ? 
 
 5. "For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in 
 the spirit." *' In the spirit." This may mean that his spirit was 
 present with them, joying, and beholding their order, because he 
 had learnt it from Epaphras, and so beheld it in his imagination, 
 which he knew did not exceed the reality ; or it may be that the 
 Spirit of God for his consolation revealed it to him supernaturally ; 
 but the former sense is more probable. 
 
 And he said not " faith," but " steadfastness," as to soldiers stand- 
 ing in good order but firmly. Now that which is steadfast, neither 
 deceit nor trial shall shake asunder. " Not only, he saith, have ye 
 not fallen, but no one hath so much as thrown you into disorder. 
 He hath set himself over them, that they may fear him as though 
 present, for thus is order preserved." (Chrysostom.) 
 
'CiiAP. II.] WALK YE IN HIM. 35 
 
 6 ''As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, 
 so walk ye in him : ^ i Thess. iv. i. 
 
 •' Jude 3. 
 
 7 ' Eooted and built up in him, and stablished i Eph. ii. 21, 
 the faith, as ye l 
 therein with thanks. 
 
 in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding ll[ 1 23. ^^* 
 
 Some (as Blunt) have noticed that " this is the language of one 
 ^ho was personally known to those whom he was addressing, and 
 who himself had sometimes witnessed conduct on which his words 
 were grounded." 
 
 6. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk 
 je," &c. This does not mean the true doctrine of Christ Jesus, 
 though that of course is comprehended in it ; but as ye have re- 
 ceived Himself as the God-man, the Head of the mystical Body, 
 the Second Man, the ti-ue Adam, "as ye have been grafted into 
 Iiim, so walk ye in him." 
 
 7. " Rooted," that is, as a tree rooted in the best soil, or rather, 
 perhaps, as a branch rooted in the stem (compare John xv. 1-10, 
 .and Romans xi. 17). 
 
 " Built up," as a building is erected on its foundation (compare 
 Ephes. ii. 19). Here are apparently, from a critic's point of view, 
 three incompatible figures : Wal^igg as in a way^^r ooted as in 
 groundj_b uilt up as a temple on its foundati o ns ; and yet tj ie true 
 ■Ch ristian has to realize all thre e. He has to walk in Christ as the 
 way, he h as to b e_ rooted in Christ as in the true Vin e, hejiasjp 
 hTbjii it^p upon or in Him as a li vely or living stone (1 Peter ii. 
 4,5). 
 
 " Stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught," i.e. as ye have 
 been taught at the first, perhaps by Epaphras, perhaps by the 
 Apostle himself. They were taught the one true Gospel when they 
 were first converted. Any other Gospel which they were in some 
 danger of receiving would be not another Gosiiel. 
 
 " Abounding therein with thanks." The blessings comprehended 
 under the words " being in Christ " are such, that if realized they 
 must make the recipient abound in thanksgiving. 
 
 8. *' Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain 
 deceit." '"Spoil you," i.e. "lead you captive." By having been 
 brought into the kingdom of God's dear Son, ye are translated into 
 
36 NOT AFTER CHRIST. [Colossi ans, 
 
 m jer. xxix, 6. 8 ™Beware lest any man spoil you through philo- 
 Eph.v. 6. ' sophy and vain deceit, after the ^ tradition of men, 
 
 ver It. Heb. 
 
 xiii! 9.* * after || the ° rudiments of the world, and not after 
 
 nMatt. XV. 2. r«T, •„+ 
 Gal.i.4. ver. Chnst. 
 
 ?^- , , 9 For P in him dwelleth all the fulness of th& 
 
 I Or, elements. 
 
 o Gal. iv. 3-9. Godhead bodily. 
 
 ver. 20. "^ 
 
 P John i. 14. 
 
 ch. i. 19. 
 
 a kingdom of liberty : ye partake of the liberty wherewith Christ^ 
 makes free. Beware lest you be taken captive again. 
 
 "Through philosophy and vain deceit." "Through his philo- 
 sophy and vain deceit," so Alford and Revisers. The absence of 
 both preposition and article in the second clause shows that vain 
 deceit describes and qualifies philosophy (Lightfoot), so that St. 
 Paul does not here denounce all philosophy, but that philosophy^ 
 falsely so called, which neutralized the Gospel. 
 
 "After the tradition of men." These traditions may not have 
 been Jewish traditions, for we must remember that in Apostolie 
 language traditions simply meant knowledge delivered from the- 
 teacher to the taught. Thus St. Paul praises the Corinthian Chris- 
 tians that they kept the traditions as he delivered them unto them 
 (1 Cor. xi. 2); and he bids the Thessalonians hold the traditions- 
 which they have been taught, whether by word or by his Epistle 
 (2 Thess. ii. 15). If, then, any Gnostical teachers delivered to those 
 who listened to them a system of aeons, this would then be called 
 " tradition " as much as any doctrine handed down by the Jewish 
 elders could be called tradition. 
 
 " After the rudiments of the world." These are the same words 
 as in Gal. iv. 3: "Even so when we were children, we were in 
 bondage under the elements of the world," in which the Apostle 
 evidently refers to Judaism. The immediate context, especially 
 the following two verses of this place, seem to refer to Gnostical 
 speculations respecting the Pleroma. But is it not most probable 
 that the words immediately following, " not after Christ," teach us 
 that the Apostle here refers to all worldly rudimentary knowledge^ 
 Jewish, or Gnostical, or heathen, apart from Christ ? 
 
 9. " For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.'*' 
 This is one of the most mysterious as well as one of the most sug- 
 gestive passages in the New Testament. It is the counterpart of 
 
CiiAP. II.] COMPLETE IN HIM. 37 
 
 10 'i And ye are complete in him, ^ which is the ^ J»hn i. i6. 
 liead of all ' principality and power : i pJt'iii.^22?^* 
 
 » ch. i. 16. 
 
 John i. 14 : " And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us, 
 and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the 
 Father, full of grace and truth." ^ Parallel places are, " He that hath 
 seen me hath seen the Father." " I and the Father are one." 
 •*' The Father that dwelleth in me He doeth the works." If the 
 reader will consider a moment, he will see that the wondrous dis- 
 course in John vi. respecting Christ's flesh being for the life of the 
 world, postulates the doctrine here revealed to Christ's Apostle by 
 the Holy Ghost. It puts out of court, as it were, all that mere 
 iiuman reasoning which insists upon limiting the attributes or 
 powers of the Flesh of Christ by the qualities of our flesh. His Flesh 
 is human Flesh, His Body is a human Body, but in it dwells the 
 fulness of the Godhead. How can we profess to measure the pro- 
 perties, to lay down the limitations of such a body ? ^ We hope 
 ourselves, when we are raised again, to possess bodies which will 
 have quahties far above those of our present natural bodies : what 
 must, then, be the attributes of the glorified Body of the Lord, of 
 Him in Whom dwells corporeally the fulness of Godhead ? 
 
 10. " And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all prin- 
 ■cipality and power." Ye have no need of any pleroma, any fulness 
 in angelic powers, for ye are complete in Him. Ye have all fulness 
 in Him Who, if there be angelic power, no matter how exalted, is 
 its Creator. Ye have in Him the supply of all need, both for the 
 life of holiness here, and the life of glory hereafter. 
 
 11. "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision 
 
 1 If the Word was made flesh and became incarnate, so that Jesus Christ was Very 
 ■Goi and Verj Man, then the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Jesus Christ; for the 
 Persons of the Adorable Godhead have not the Godhead parted amongst Them, but each 
 
 •One has the whole Godhead. In Christ the Son of God, then, there dwells the fulness of 
 the Godhead bodily. 
 
 2 Thus Cyril of Alexandria : "If the nature of flesh be looked at in itself, it is not 
 life-giving. It will give life to nothing, but rather needs a power to give life to itself. 
 But if you take the mystery of the Incarnation into account, and learn Who it is Who 
 
 •dwells in this flesh, you will by all means be disposed to allow, unless you speak against 
 the Divine Spirit Itself, that It is able to give life, even though the flesh by itself profit 
 nothing. For when it is united to the Lile-proiucing Word, It becomes of Itseli' wholly 
 Life-producing. Mounting up to the level of that which is better than Itself, and not 
 bringing down to Itself that which cannot be debased." On John vi. 64. 
 
38 BURIED WITH HIM IN BAPTISM. [Colossiaxs. 
 
 *Dent. X. 16. H In whom also ye are * circumcised with the- 
 
 & XXX, 6. Jer. tit- • /«p- 
 
 iv. 4. Rom.ii. circuiQcisioii made without hands, m " putting ofr 
 
 u Rom. vi. 6. the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumci- 
 
 ch! iiil's, 9. ^^^^ ^^ Christ : 
 
 * B-om. vi. 4. 12 "" Buried with him in baptism, wherein also- 
 
 11. "Ye are circumcised." "Were circumcised." 
 
 " The body of the sins of the flesh." N, A., B., C, E., F., G., P., 17, 71, 73, 116, 118» 
 120, 178, Vulg., Ital., Copt., omit "of the sins;" but K., L., most Cursives, and Syr.ac- 
 retain the words. 
 
 12. Revisers translate more correctly, " Having been buried with him in baptism,, 
 'wherein ye were also raised with him, through faith ia the working of God." 
 
 made without hands." The words " made without hands," are 
 frequently used in the New Testament to signify what is heavenly 
 and spiritual in contradiction to what is earthly and carnal. ThuR 
 (2 Cor. V. i.), " We have a building of God, an house not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens." And again, the sphere of redemption 
 by Christ's Blood is called " a greater and more perfect tabernacle^ 
 not made with hands." (Heb. ix. 11), " Ye are circumcised with the- 
 circumcision made without hands," signifies the spiritual circum- 
 cision ; and this, in the next verse, is explained as being buried 
 with Christ in Baptism, which is the circumcision of Christ. 
 
 But what is the signification of "putting off the body (oftha 
 sins) of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ " ? The allusion is- 
 probably to the fact that in the Jewish circumcision only a part 
 pertaining to one member of the body, the foreskin, was cut off,, 
 whereas in Christian Baptism the whole body is (or is assumed t> 
 be), submerged ; so that not one form of carnal lust, but the whole 
 body of the old man, in which sin resides, is mystically destroyed, 
 and this is clear from what follows. 
 
 12. " Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with 
 him." The whole body is assumed to die and to be buried ; and 
 the whole body is assumed to emerge out of the water in a renewed 
 state. The connection with the past is severed, for the body, the 
 man, is buried, and the future which opens out is a state of being 
 '• in Christ," partaking of His fulness or completeness in all that is 
 against sin, and on the side of righteousness, or rather newness of 
 life. 
 
 " Wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the^ 
 operation of God, who," &c. Perhaps this would be clearer if it was. 
 
Cii.Ap. II.] YE ARE RISEi^ WITH HIM. 39 
 
 ^ ye are risen with him through * the faith of the y ch. iii. i. 
 
 2 Eph. i. 19. 
 & iii. 7. 
 
 translated as the Revisers render it, " Wherein ye were also raised 
 with him through faith in the working of God." The parallel pas- 
 sage in Eom. vi. will assist us materially to realize the idea of the 
 Apostle. *' Knowing this (Rom. vi. 6), that our old man is crucified 
 with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth 
 we should not serve sin." This is parallel to " putting off the body 
 of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Buried with 
 him in Baptism." But though buried in the Holy Rite, we are not 
 to continue buried, but are to be raised again out of the water as He 
 was raised out of the tomb, or state of death, and this being raised 
 again is a Resurrection to a new state, a state of grace, a state in 
 which the virtue of Christ's Resurrection is ours, if we will believe 
 it and plead it. Baptism has a double significance. It represents 
 a Death and a Resurrection, both of Christ — a death to sin by 
 mystical union with His Death in our being put under the water, 
 and a Resurrection to newness of life by mystical union with His 
 Resurrection to a life to God ("in that he liveth, he liveth unto 
 God "). Unless the Christian Church held fast to the Resurrection 
 of Christ it could not observe Baptism, and so all who are baptized 
 by and into the Christian Church, are so baptized because they 
 believe in the working of God in having raised Him from the 
 dead. 
 
 So that, according to the Apostle's reasoning, there is an extra- 
 • ordinary supernatural working of God in the spiritual world taking 
 place at the ministration of every Baptism. The man (or the child), 
 baptized, is united to Christ in His Death and Resurrection — in 
 His Death, so that he may partake of the virtue of that Death in 
 receiving forgiveness for the sins for which Christ died ; and in His 
 Resm'rection, so that he may partake of that new life against the 
 power of sin, and for the service of God, which Christ received 
 when He rose by the power of God. 
 
 This extraordinary work of God in Baptism the Apostle himself 
 firmly beheved, or he could not possibly have written this passage 
 in this Epistle, and the parallel one in Rom. vi., for they are pre- 
 cisely the same in meaning. And their meaning is that every bap- 
 tized person at his baptism receives what we now should call an 
 interest in the Death and also in the Resurrection of Christ ; an 
 interest in the Death of Christ so that he may have the forgiveness 
 
40 THE OPERATION OF GOD. [Colo^sians. 
 
 a Acts ii. 24. operation of God, * who hath raised him from the 
 dead. 
 
 which is the result of that Death, and an interest in the Kesurrec- 
 tion so that he may have a part in that Life which Christ received 
 at His Eesurrection. 
 
 Only the Apostle uses a much stronger term than " receiving an 
 interest" in these things of Christ. He speaks as if the tomb of 
 Christ was always open, so that we might descend into it and 
 leave our sinful flesh there, and emerge out of it with a renewed 
 nature. 
 
 The question for us is not, how can this be? for, if we believe in 
 God at all, we must believe that He can bring about anything ; but 
 how can we believe it in our own case ? If we can believe it, it 
 will be a most blessed thing for us, giving us a power against sin, 
 and a confident reliance on the ever present grace of the New^ 
 Covenant, which grace is being " in Christ." 
 
 Now the first step to believing it is belief in the Divine Nature 
 of the Lord — that the Head of the Church and the Ordainer of 
 Sacraments is the God- Man, Wlio is ever present in the Church 
 and in all parts of it, to make each administration of the Sacrament 
 one and the same, so that in every case, no matter how unfavour- 
 able, or mean, or commonplace the surroundings are, He is present 
 to make it a Death, Burial, and Eesurrection with Himself. 
 
 If the effect of Baptism is described in extraordinary terms, we 
 have to remember that the whole dispensation is extraordinary. 
 Its beginning in the Incarnation of the Lord, its continuance by 
 the power of His Eesurrection, and its conclusion by the resurrec- 
 tion of our own bodies are alike extraordinary. 
 
 But here we are met by the objection that this Death, Burial, and 
 Eesurrection in the Sacrament is only ascribed to the Baptism of 
 believers, called so for the purpose of excluding children from the 
 operation of the Lord's mercy in this respect. But looking at my 
 own experience as a parish priest, I feel obliged to say that the 
 Baptism of those of riper years has been one of the most difficult 
 parts of it. For those who have demanded this ministration at my 
 hands have been always either spiritual or unspiritual. If spiritual, 
 then all that men commonly account regeneration had taken place 
 before, perhaps long before, and there seemed to be no place for 
 such a thing as a Death and Eesurrection with Christ. If, how- 
 
Chap. II.] DEAD IN YOUR SINS. 41 
 
 b Eph. ii 
 5, 6, 11. 
 
 13 ^ And you, being dead in your sins and the ^ ^p'^- "• ^' 
 
 13. "la your sins." So A., C, D., E., F., G., K., P., most Cursives; but N, B,, L., 
 some Cursives, read, " through " or " on account of." 
 
 ever, they came in an unspiritual, not to say sinful state, then they 
 certainly were not converted, or rendered spiritual by the adminis- 
 tration. Whereas in the case of the Baptism of Infants there 
 seems to be no difficulty. They receive Incorporation into the New 
 or Second Adam {i.e., a Burial and Kesurrection in Him), in the 
 same state of helpless unconsciousness as they received-Union with 
 the Old at their fleshly conception, or birth : and those who have 
 the charge of their yet pliant minds have to see to it that they are 
 reminded that they have received a blessing from Christ, and that 
 this has to be believed by them, and they have to make it good and 
 to retain it, and to yield their wills to it. 
 
 Now nothing can be a better guide in this respect than the use 
 which is made in our own Baptismal Service of the conduct of 
 Christ towards infants. " Doubt ye not therefore, but earnestly 
 believe that He will likewise favourably receive this present Infant," 
 &c. Here we appeal to the unchangeableness of the God-man — 
 that He will act towards all infants now as He did in the days of 
 His Flesh — that, in spite of their tender years. He will give them 
 all that they can then receive, and assuredly, if they have received 
 evil from Adam they can equally receive good from Him, which 
 good thing is the being buried and raised again in Him. 
 
 I have dwelt upon this before, in my notes on Kom. vi., but have 
 now considered it fully a second time, as it is the key to enable us 
 to apprehend somewhat St. Paul's view of Union with Christ. It is 
 also necessary to be understood if we would rightly apprehend the 
 definition of the grace of Baptism in our Catechism — " a death 
 unto sin and anew birth unto righteousness." A death unto sin by 
 Sacramental Union with Christ's Death, and a New Birth, or, to 
 use the words of the Apostle, a Resurrection in Christ unto Righ- 
 teousness. The reader will also find the comparison of the two 
 Adams very fully treated in Bishop Jeremy Taylor's " Liberty of 
 Prophesying," vol. v. pp. 540-590, Eden's edition. 
 
 13. " And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision 
 of your flesh." "Dead," i.e., dead to God, and to all hopes of a 
 glorious immortality. 
 
42 NAILING IT TO HIS CROSS. [Colossians. 
 
 uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together 
 
 ■with him, having forgiven you all trespasses : 
 
 c Eph. ii. 15, 14 ^ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 
 that was against us, which was contrary to us, and 
 took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross ; 
 
 "Having forgiven you." L., P., and a few Cursives; but tt. A., B., C, D., E,, F., G., 
 K., most Cursives, Goth., Syriac, read, " us." 
 
 " And the uncircumcision of your flesh." The uncircumcision 
 here denotes that they were without that type of a purity hereafter 
 to be bestowed, which was given to the chosen people ; they had 
 not even the figure of something better than their then degraded 
 state. There was not even that mark in the flesh which was the 
 token of God's regard. 
 
 " Hath he quickened together with him," i.e., with Christ. A 
 repetition of the same idea of Resurrection in Christ to a new and 
 better life, which was in the previous verse. 
 
 "Having forgiven you," rather "us." So all the older MSS. 
 The change in the person from you to us emphasizes the sharing 
 alike of both Jews and Gentiles in the Redemptton. 
 
 14. "Blottingoutthehandwritingofordinances.that was against 
 us, which was contrary to us." This apparently can only mean 
 the Jewish ordinances of exclusion which before the Death and 
 Resurrection of Christ were " against us," this " us" being rather 
 the Gentile Body with which St. Paul, for the time, identifies him- 
 self here ; or it may mean that the law, or handwriting, or ordi- 
 nance was against the Jews themselves to whom it was given, as it 
 clearly taught that the way to God was not yet made manifest till 
 a new and better state of things was introduced. The figure of 
 a handwriting against us seems to be the same as " the law of com- 
 mandments contained in ordinances " of Ephes. ii. 15, and which 
 was the same in its separating effect as the middle wall of partition 
 of the previous verse. 
 
 May not the Apostle have meant that any ordinances of exclu- 
 sion in a religion ordained by the Father of all, must betoken yerj 
 imperfect reconciliation, so that the very existence of the hand- 
 writing of ordinances was against — was contrary to — the chosen 
 people themselves, as well as against the Gentiles, who were more 
 formally and pointedly excluded ? 
 
Chap. II.] TRIUMPHING OVER THEM. 4^ 
 
 15 And ''having spoiled ^principalities and dGen.Hi.io. 
 
 Is. liii. 12. 
 Matt. xii. 29. 
 
 powers, lie made a shew of them openly, triumph- 
 ing over them II in it. Luke x. is. & 
 
 ° " xi.22. John 
 
 xii. 3I.&xvi. 
 
 11. Eph. iv. &. 
 Heb. ii. 14. 
 
 " And took it out of the way, nailing it to his « Eph. vi. 12. 
 cross." I confess that I do not understand the allu- l^I'^^^^"^' 
 sion here. It seems to refer to some ancient custom 
 which was connected with release from debt, the memory of which 
 is forgotten. It seems as if, when Christ was on the Cross, He 
 satisfied the claims against us on account of our sins, and so, in 
 a figure, He took the bill or bond which was against us, and 
 nailed it to His Cross with our sign-manual erased, so that all 
 might see, if they looked to the Cross, that the debt was cancelled. 
 Blunt interprets it thus : " The idea here is that of Christ 
 Himself bearing away the bond, and making it part of Himself^ 
 when being made sin for us. Who knew no sin, He was nailed 
 to the Cross." This appears to be mainly the interpretation of 
 Theodoret. 
 
 15. " And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a. 
 shew of them openly," &c. The meaning of this extremely difiS- 
 cult verse seems to be this : Christ put off from Himself principa- 
 lities and powers, i.e., the powers of evil, when He divested Himself 
 of His Body, for it was only through His Body that the spirits of 
 evil had power over Him. [This is your hour and the power of 
 darkness.] By submitting to the Death of the body He put off 
 (not spoiled) the powers of evil, and apparently He did more than 
 this, for when His disembodied Spirit descended into the unseen 
 world He enjoyed a triumph (the circumstances of which are not 
 revealed) over the powers of darkness, of which all the dwellers in 
 Hades were witnesses. 
 
 Such seems to be the idea which Chrysostom had of the mean- 
 ing of the passage, " ' Having stripped off principalities and powers.' 
 He means the diabolical powers, either because human nature had 
 arrayed itself in these, or because they had, as it were, a hold (on 
 it); when He became man He put away from Himself that hold. 
 This is the meaning of ' He made a shew of them.' And well 
 said He so, for never yet was the devil in so shameful a plight. 
 For whilst expecting to have Him, he lost even those he had, and 
 when that Body was nailed to the Cross, the dead arose. Then 
 
44 A SHADOW OF THINGS TO COME. [Colosstans. 
 
 f Rom. xiv. 3, 16 Let 110 man therefore ' judge you || ^ in meat, 
 \\ Or, for errting OY in drink, or II in respect ''of an holyday, or of 
 fi"Rom."xiv^2, *^^ ^^"^ moon, or of the sabbath days : 
 
 17 * Which are a shadow of things to come ; but 
 
 17. 1 Cor. 
 Yiii. 
 
 II Or, in part, the bodj IS of Christ. 
 
 h Rom. xiv. 5. 
 
 Gi.l. iv. 10. 
 
 t Heb. viii. ,5. 
 
 & ix. 9. & X. 1. 16. "Or in drink." B. alone of authorities reads "and" in drink. 
 
 the devil received his wound having met his death-stroke from a 
 dead body." 
 
 " Triumphing over them in it," i.e., " by the Cross." So Ho 
 triumphed over them by the symbol of that extremity of shame 
 and death which they brought upon Him. 
 
 16. " Let no man therefore judge you." Suffer no man to blame 
 you, or to call you to account. 
 
 " Therefore." Here in what he is about to gay he seems to 
 revert to verses 8-10, and the intervening verses seem to be some- 
 wljat parenthetical. 
 
 " In meat or in drink." That is in the matter of eating and 
 drinking unclean meats or abstinence from wine. Ye are complete 
 in Him and are emancipated from the bondage ; see that ye are 
 not again ensnared by it. 
 
 " Or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sab- 
 bath days." This is said with respect to the Jewish side of the 
 errors or heresies into which the Colossian Christians were tempted 
 to fall, just as verse 18 looks to the Gnostical side of such errors. 
 
 " Of the sabbath days." This of course Ji'efers to the keeping of 
 the seventh day of the week rather than of the first. The first day 
 of the week, the Lord's day, had not at that time been enforced by 
 Church authority as a day of rest, though it was recognized as the 
 day for the celebration of the Eucharist. See notes on Gal. iv. 10. 
 It is now enforced, and if professing Christians habitually disre- 
 gard it they deprive their fellow Christians of that day of rest and 
 refreshment, and opportunity to attend the service of God, which 
 Christ has emphatically declared to be theirs when He said, " The 
 Sabbath was made for man." 
 
 17. *' Which are a shadow of things to come ; but the body is of 
 Christ." The very sabbath itself was a shadow. It shadowed 
 forth " the rest which remaineth to the people of God," as we are 
 
Chap. IL] WORSHIPPING OF ANGELS. 45 
 
 18 ^ Let no man || beguile you of your reward ^ ver. 4. 
 
 11 Or, judge 
 against you. 
 t Gk. being a 
 vobintary m 
 humility, ver. 
 
 fin a voluntary humility and worshipping of 
 angels, intruding into those things ^ which he hath 
 not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. 
 
 1 Ezek. xili. 3. 
 
 1 Tim. i. 7. 
 
 18. "Which he hath not seen." So K., L., P., most Cursives, f, g, Vulg,, Goth., 
 Syriac, &c. ; but H, A., B., D., and several references in Fathers read, " Which he hath 
 seen." 
 
 taught by the remarkable reasoning of Hebrews iv. For the prin- 
 ciple which underlies the rejection by the Church of Jewish fes- 
 tivals, and the religious keeping of Christian ones, I must refer the 
 reader to my notes on the Epistle to the Galatians, especially on 
 Chap. iv. 10. Sufl&ce it to say here that the keeping of a Jewish 
 festival as such was in a converted Gentile a sign of deep-seated 
 unbelief — unbelief in the all-sufficiency of Christ as the Head of the 
 Christian system — whereas the keeping of a Christian festival was 
 a sign of faith, that Christ as Incarnate, Born, Crucified, Risen and 
 Ascended, should be glorified to the uttermost not only in the 
 recesses of the Christian soul, but in the very lapse of time itself — 
 so that there should not be only earthly but Christian seasons, the 
 very course of the year proclaiming the Gospel of the grace of 
 God. 
 
 18. " Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary 
 humility and worshipping of angels, intruding," &c. The Eevisers 
 translate this " Let no man rob you of your prize," &c. 
 
 The meaning seems to be somewhat of this sort : You are in 
 danger of losing your eternal reward by these teachers imbuing 
 you with a false humility, making you think that you are not 
 worthy to be joined directly to the supreme God through Christ, 
 but that there must be a series of eeons or angels whom you must 
 invoke who are the links between God and Christ, and between 
 Christ and you. He who thus teaches you intrudes into those 
 things which he hath not seen,^ and upon the truth of which neither 
 
 1 " Which he hath not seen." Some ancient authorities read, "which he hath seen," 
 and this being the more unlikely reading is preferred by some. But what sense can be 
 made of the words, '-'intruding into tho3e things which he hath seen " ? It is explained 
 by importing the words "in vision." The persons alluded to profess to have seen the 
 unseen world of aeons or angels in visions or revelations; but still it seems a strange sense, 
 "intruding into those things which he hath seen in his visions and trauces," but ina? 
 
46 NOT HOLDING THE HEAD. [Colosstans. 
 
 19 And not holding "^ the Head, from which all the body 
 bj joints and bs 
 tered, and knit 
 increase of God. 
 
 '" Eph. iv. 15, bj joints and bands having nourishment minis- 
 tered, and knit together, increaseth with the 
 
 he nor any other human being can pronounce. Such an one is 
 vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind — it is not the spiritual but tha 
 fleshly mind which dwells upon speculations of this sort. The 
 "truly spiritual mind, that is the mind informed and enlightened by 
 the Spirit of God, will rather dwell upon the things of Christ, espe- 
 •cially the great truth that He is the Head and Saviour of the 
 body. 
 
 19. " And not holding the Head ;" i.e., not holding fast or firmly 
 i;o the Head. If a man firmly holds to the Head, he firmly holds to 
 the truth that Christ is the Son of God, and the Head of the 
 <3hnrch (" Head over all things to the Church which is His Body," 
 Ephes. i. 22, 23). Now if his faith has anything like a firm grasp 
 of this truth, there is no room for any system of ajons or angels 
 mediating anywhere in the spiritual universe. There can be no 
 system of geons between the Father and the Son, for the Son and 
 the Father are one ; neither is there room for any angelic system, 
 or system of Gnostical geoms betwixt Christ and the Christian, for 
 the Christian is a member of the mystical body of which Christ is 
 the Head. In this Body Christ is the Head, and the ministers of 
 the word and sacraments, and not angelic natures, are the joints 
 and bands. 
 
 " From which all the body by joints and bands having nourish- 
 ment ministered, and knit together." Ephes. iv. 16 is a strictly 
 parallel passage, " The head, even Christ : from whom all the body 
 fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint sup- 
 plieth (or through every joint of the supply), according to the 
 working in due me isure of each several part," &c. 
 
 I have shown by a comparison of this passage in the Ephesians, 
 with the context which leads up to it, that " every joint of supply " 
 
 much as it cannot be allowed that he has really seen these things in visions, another word 
 «till lias to be interpolated, which he professes to hare seen. So that in order not to 
 violate the Canon which enjoins us to choose the most unlikely and difficult reading, we 
 have to render " which he hath seen," by, " which he pi'olesses or supposes himself to have 
 -eeea in his visions." 
 
Chap. II.] IF YE BE DEAD WITH CHRIST. 47 
 
 20 Wherefore if ye be " dead with Christ from. " Rom. vi. 3. 
 
 5. & vii. 4, 6. 
 
 ^'the II rudiments of the world, ^why, as though Gai. ii.19. 
 living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, „ ver. s. 
 
 P Or, elements. 
 
 P Gal. iv. 3, 9. 
 
 20. " Wherefore " omitted by A., B., C, D., E., F.. G,, K., L., P.. twenty-five Cursives, 
 <J, e, f, g, Vulg. (Amiat.), Goth,, Copt., Arm., Mth.; but retained by H and most Cur- 
 sives, &c. 
 
 means the ministerial system, and so it must be here. The body is 
 not a piece of formless or inorganic flesh, but a number of members 
 related to one another, joined together and made one living organi- 
 sation by the nerves running from the guiding and intelligent head, 
 and conveying life and powers of fitting action to all the limbs of 
 the body. This system of "joints and bands" which knits the 
 body unto one organization and at the same time contributes to its 
 power of growth, is the apostolic ministry of bishops, priests, and 
 deacons, existing throughout the Catholic Church, unifying it, not 
 by teaching merely, but by the administration of Sacraments, as it 
 is said respecting Baptism. " By one Spirit are we all baptized into 
 ■one body " ; and there is " one Lord, one faith, one Baptism." And 
 it is said respecting the Holy Eucharist, " We being many are 
 •one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one 
 Bread"(lCor. X. 16, 17). 
 
 20. "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of 
 the world," &c. They who were baptized into Christ, and so par- 
 took of His Death, not only died to sin, but to the old state of 
 things (whatever that might have been) in which they had been 
 brought up. They died to the whole Jewish system, legal and cere- 
 monial. The ordinances to which they were once under subjection 
 were shadows ; the substance had now come in Christ, and so it 
 was apostasy from Him to revert to the shadows (Gal. v. 2-5). The 
 same equally applied to any heathen, or philosophical, or Gnostical, 
 or Essene elements in which they had once lived. To whatever 
 might be called elements or rudiments of this present state of things 
 they had died, and they had entered into a new kingdom in which 
 Christ was all in all. 
 
 " Why, as though living in the world ? " Why, as though the 
 old world, the old state of things, had not passed away, and ye 
 -were yet living in it ? 
 
 "Are ye subject to ordinances?" Do ye subject yourselves to 
 
48 A SHEW OF WISDOM. [Colossians. 
 
 q 1 Tim. iv. 3. 21 ("^ Touch not ; taste not ; handle not ; 
 
 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) 
 Matt' XV 'g ^^' ' ^^^^^ ^^^ commandments and doctrines of men? 
 Tit. i. 14. 23 * Which things have indeed a shew of wis- 
 
 ■ 1 Tim. iv. 8. ° 
 
 ordinances? (Eevisers.) "Are ye having prescribed to you?'* 
 (Alford.) Ye are not in the world, he saith, and how is it that ye 
 are subject to its elements ? how to its observances ? 
 
 21, 22. *' (Touch not ; taste not ; handle not ; which all are to 
 perish with the using)." The "touch not; taste not; handle not," 
 I need scarcely tell the well-informed reader, are not the words of 
 the Apostle, but of the Judaizing or Gnostical teacher. Thus we 
 have in 1 Tim. iv. 3, " commanding to abstain from meats " — pro- 
 nouncing things unclean which the Lord hath cleansed (Mark vii. 
 19, notes ; Acts x. 15). 
 
 " Which all are to perish with the using." These are evidently 
 the words of the Apostle, and have the same signification as the 
 words of the Lord: "Are ye so without understanding also ? Do ye 
 not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the 
 man cannot defile him, because it entereth not into his heart, but 
 into the belly, and goeth out into the draught? " (Mark vii. 18-19). 
 
 Augustine, however, supposes that he refers to Gnostical teach- 
 ing, rather than to Jewish ; and so Tertullian, quoted in Cornelius 
 k Lapide : " Taxat, inquit, eos qui ex visionibus angelicis, quasi 
 de angelica superstitione docebant certis cibis abstinendum esse." 
 Et Clemens III. Stromata "solentibus, inquit angelos et de- 
 mones, curse est vino, esu carnis, et venere abstinere." 
 
 "After the commandments and doctrines of men." The Gnos- 
 tical prohibitions, of course, were purely human, but so also were, 
 in truth, the Judaizing ones, for after the Lord had freed men 
 from their yoke, the re-imposing of them was through the self-will 
 and perversity of man, and had no Divine authority whatsoever. 
 
 23. " Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will-wor- 
 ship, and humility, and neglecting of the body," &c. The very 
 different interpretations of this verse show that it is one of very 
 great dif&culty. 
 
 "Which things have a shew" (XSyog) lit., a word or reason, a 
 talk ; the expression, being a contemptuous one signifies that it is 
 in word only — that is, in shew or appearance — that there is wisdom. 
 
Chap. II.] WILL WORSHIP. 49 
 
 dom in * will worship, and humilitj, and || neglecting of the 
 body ; not in any honour to the satisfying of the ' ^er. is. 
 
 "■^^'^' ivg, or, not 
 
 sparing. 
 
 '• In will-worship " — religious service, not according to the reve- 
 lation of God, but according to the mere will, or wilfulness of man. 
 "And humility," i.e., of course, false or feigned humility, used, 
 as in verse 18, in a bad sense. According to Bishop Lightfoot, the 
 word WeXo should be understood before it, signifying voluntary 
 humility — humility, the appearance of which is put on at will. 
 
 [And] "neglecting of the body." Neglecting of the body, not 
 sparing of the body, hard treatment of the body through ascetic 
 practices. 
 
 "Not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." The greatest 
 possible difference prevails in the interpretation of this clause. 
 Bishop Lightfoot takes honour (rifw)) to mean pay and then value, 
 and interprets the clause, " yet not really of any value to remedy 
 indulgence of the flesh." This yields an excellent sense, and one 
 strictly in accordance with the whole context ; but still to give to 
 the words " satisfying or indulgence of the flesh " an exactly oppo- 
 site meaning by violently importing into them the idea of remedying 
 indulgence of the flesh, seems unwarrantable. 
 
 Others, as Bishop Wordsworth, take " not in any honour " with 
 the preceding words, and paraphrase " which things have a shew 
 of wisdom in will-worship .... and in mortification of the body, 
 not held in any honour, and tending to the pampering of the flesh." 
 But how can mortification of the body tend to the pampering of the 
 flesh? 
 
 A tolerable meaning viay be given to this by keeping to the 
 word in the Authorized "satisfying," and by having regard to the 
 undoubted fact that there is a satisfaction in the most rigid and cruel 
 ascetic practices (witness the fakeers of India), which satisfaction 
 is not of the Spirit, but of the flesh — feeding pride, self-sufiiciency, 
 and self satisfaction, all which are works of the flesh. 
 
 Then there is another turn of meaning which is not unworthy of 
 notice, which is that God intends the flesh to be honoured by being 
 not harshly treated, but by being kept under due restraint ; and 
 that if we dishonour the flesh by neglecting it, and taking no notice 
 of it, our contempt of it turns shortly into the indulgence of it, as 
 was the case with some of the Gnostic sects. The best way of 
 
 £ 
 
50 OF NO VALUE. [Colossians. 
 
 honouring the flesh is by such subjugation of it to the spirit that 
 we may obey the Spirit's godly motions in righteousness and true 
 hoUness. 
 
 I cannot say that I can give any satisfactory meaning. The 
 real meaning of the Apostle, whatever may be the translation of 
 his words, must be that self-imposed, self-willed asceticism is of no 
 value, either in preventing the indulgence of the flesh, or in morti- 
 fying that pride which is in reality as much a work of the flesh as 
 self-indulgence. 
 
 Gkitical Note on the Eeadings of ii. 2. 
 
 Tou /u.uTT>ip(OLi rov @co\j xai irarpif xai rov yjurroZ, " Of the mystery of God the Father, and 
 of Christ." The reading of B. (approved by Lachmann, by Tischendorf in his eighth 
 edition, by Tregelles, Westcott and Hort, Bp. Chr. Wordsworth, and Bp. Eliicott), tou 
 fxva-mpiov TOU ©tou y/irrou (" ita. cod. nihil interponens inter ©eou et yfirrov," Mai, 2nd ed.). 
 [Tischendorf, however, boldly interposes a comma between the words (see p. 605, note) 
 and is followed by Westcott and Hort and by Bp. Lightfoot, whose note on this passage 
 is very elaborate. This mode of punctuation would set "Xfurrov in apposition to /u-vio-rrp/og, 
 in support of which construction ch. i. 27, 1 Tim. iii. 16 are alleged. This is not, how- 
 ever, the sense favoured by Hilary (" in agnitionem sacramenti Dei Christi," and again, 
 " Deus Christus Sacramentum est"), and would almost call for the article before y^jurroZ. 
 In meaning it would be equivalent to D*, &c. (o Imv x,5"')]» ^*s every appearance of 
 being the original reading, and that from which the many perplexing variations have 
 arisen. At present it stands in great need of confirmation, since Hilary (de Trin. ix.) 
 alone supports it (but xai yjninoZ, Cyril), though the Scriptural character of the expres- 
 sion is upheld by the language of ch. i. 27, just preceding, and by the Received Text in 
 1 Tim iii. 16. Some who feel a difficulty in understanding how yjxinoZ was removed from 
 the text, if it ever had a place there, conceive that the verse should end with ©jo-j, all 
 additions, including x/kttou, the simplest, being accretions to the genuine passage. These 
 alleged accretions are, tou ©eou o J<rTi yjKrroq, manifestly an expansion of x^JKrroij, and 
 derived from ch. i. 27 ; too ©sou iratTpoj too y^p^rroZ ; tou ©sou xai -rronpoi; xai tou x^kttou, the 
 final form of the Received Text. Now of these four readings, tou ©sou, the shortest, and 
 according to Griesbach, Scholz, Tischendorf in his seventh edition, Alford, and Dr. Green, 
 the true one, is found only in the late Uncial P, and in a few, though professedly good 
 Cursives — 37, 71, 80, 116 (xai ©eou, 23), and the important Second-hand of 67, witnesses 
 too few and feeble. ... Of the longer readings, o J<mv x.P'O'^of '^ favoured by D. (though 
 obelized by the Second-hand, which thus would read only tou ©eou), d, e, whose parallel 
 Greek speaks differently, by Angustine and Vigilius of Thapsus, but apparently by no 
 Cursives. The form best vouched for appears to be that of N, A., C, 4, of the Thebaic 
 according to Griesbach. . . . and of an Arabic Codex of Tischendorf, tou ©sou iraTpof tou (X* 
 omits tou) xpt<r7oZ. To these words " ihu " is simply added by f (F, G, g are unfortunately 
 lost here), and by other MSS. of the Vulgate (Amiat. fuld., &c.), though the Clementine 
 edition has "Deipatriset Christi Jesu," the Complutensian " Deiet Patris etC. I." With 
 the Clementine Vulgate agree the Memphitic and (omittingl^o-ou) the PeshitoSjTiac, Arabic, 
 47, 73, Chrysostom ; while 41, 115, 213, 221, 253* (tou ©sou xa< ir. tou yj) so far strengthen 
 the case of N, A., C. The Received Text is fouud in (apparently) the great mass of 
 Cursives, in D. (tertia manu), E., K., L., the Philoxenian Syriac (but the xai after 
 vaTpof marked with the asterisk), Theodoret, John Damascene, and others. ... On 
 
Chap. III.] IF YE BE RISEN. 51 
 
 (reviewing the whole mass of conflicting evidence, we may nnhesitatingly reject the 
 shortest form, tou ©sou, some of whose maintainers do not usnally found their text oq 
 •Cursive MSS. almost exclusively. We would gladly adopt toS ©fov XP^rrou, so powerfully 
 do internal considerations plead in its favour, were it but a little better supported ; the 
 important doctrine which it declares. Scriptural and Catholic as that is, will naturally 
 make us only the more cautious in receiving it unreservedly. Yet the more we think 
 over this reading, the more it grows upon us as the source from which all the rest are 
 derived. At present, perhaps, tou ©eou Trarpof tou y^f^rroZ may be looked upon as the most 
 strongly attested, but in the presence of so many opposing probabilities, a very small 
 ■weight might suffice to turn the critical scale. (From Scrivener's " Introduction to 
 Criticism of the New Testament," third edition, p. 634.) 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 IF ye tlien *be risen with Christ, seek those » Rom. vi. 5. 
 
 •^ Eph. ii. 6. 
 
 things which are above, where ^ Christ sitteth eh. ii. 13. 
 
 ou the right hand of Cod. Eph."!.' 20"' 
 
 1. " If ye then be risen with Christ." Rather, as Revisers, " If ye were raised together 
 with Christ," &c. 
 
 1. *' If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are 
 above." This is the fourth time he recurs to the idea of a super- 
 natural hfe received from above, by reason of union with a 
 Crucified and Kisen Lord in the matter of His Death and Eesur- 
 rection. 
 
 (1) In ii. 6 : "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so 
 walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him." (2) In ii. 10 : " Ye 
 are complete in him." (3) In ii. 12: "Buried with him in Baptism, 
 wherein also ye are risen with him." (4) Inii. 13: "You being 
 dead in your sins hath he quickened together with him." (5) In 
 ii. 20 : " Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ," &c. 
 
 The words in the original point more distinctly to the particular 
 time of the first reception of this supernatural life. They are not, 
 *' if ye then be risen," but rather " if ye then were raised." " If ye 
 be risen " gives a wrong meaning — in this respect, that it implies 
 that they were then in a risen state, which they might not be if they 
 had wilfully returned to their former sinful state ; whereas "if ye 
 were raised " implies that the fact of their being raised had taken 
 place, and that they were responsible for it, and must live to it. 
 
52 THINGS ABOVE. [Colossians. 
 
 2 Set your |l affection on things above, not on things on 
 Or, mi7id. the earth. 
 
 " If ye then be risen with Christ," imphes much more than if ye 
 were converted from idolatry, and began to serve God. It means 
 that after ye were converted, so as to see the vanity of idols, ye 
 embraced or put yourselves under a supernatural system, at the^ 
 very commencement of which ye partook of the Death and of the 
 Eesurrection of One Who is now at the right hand of God, at the 
 head of the universe. And this participation in His Death and 
 Eesurrection took place in order that you might have your tres- 
 passes forgiven you, by virtue of Union with His Death, and 
 have a new life wherewith to live before God in righteousness and 
 holiness by virtue of Union with Him in His Eesurrection. 
 
 " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are 
 above, where Christ sitteth," &c. Christ, when He rose again,, 
 rose not to live in this world, but to ascend, up to heaven, and to- 
 live at the right hand of God. And so must ye, in heart and mind^ 
 thither ascend, and with Him continually dwell. 
 
 But what are the things which we are continually to seek ? 
 Evidently the life, the power, the goodness, and grace which are 
 in Him, and are treasured up in Him, in order that they may be 
 given to us. Thus he prays for the Ephesians, when he wrote :; 
 " I make mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ may give you . . . that ye may know what is the ex- 
 ceeding greatness of his power . . . according to the working of 
 his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when ... lie set- 
 him on bis own right hand in heavenly places" (Eplies. i. 16-20). 
 
 2. " Set your affection on things above, not on things on the 
 earth." Set your affection — rather "think of," "mind," by con* 
 stantly meditating or dwelling upon them. 
 
 " On things above " — that is, on Christ and the things belonging to- 
 Him, not on things on the earth, i.e., its riches, pleasures, honours,, 
 rewards: but has not the world become Christian, and have not 
 Christians, professing ones at least, to rule the world, to manage it, tO' 
 conduct its business, to administer justice in its courts, to command 
 its soldiery, to guide, if possible, its opinions so that they may flow 
 in right channels ? Yes, this is that outer life which all must live ; 
 but all this is to be done with the distinct consciousness that there 
 is an inner life, which is not yet fully revealed, but which waits to 
 
Chap. III.] CHRIST OUR LIFE. 53 
 
 3 ^ For ye are dead, ^ and your life is hid with <= Rom. vi. 2. 
 ^, . , . ;; - Gal. ii 20. 
 Christ 111 Grod. ch. a. 20. 
 
 4 ''When Christ, who is ^our life, shall appear, chA.7.'''''^' 
 ihen shall ye also appear with him ^ in srlory. * ^ ''^^'^ '"• ^• 
 
 & xiv. 6. 
 
 . 6 1 Cor. XV. 
 
 43. Phil. iii. 
 21. 
 
 4. K, C, D., F., G., P., 17, 47, 52, 73, 109, 116, d. e, f, g, Vnlg., Goth., Arm., ALth., 
 read, "yonr life"; but "our life " in B., K., L., most Cursives, Syriac, Copt. 
 
 be revealed. The world is not only to be benefited but to be 
 served, but in serving the world we must see to it that we serve not 
 ourselves, but God ; and to do this most efi'ectually, we must see to 
 it that we realize the apostolic words, " All that is in the world, 
 the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is 
 not of the Father, but of the world, and the world passeth away and 
 the lust thereof" (1 John ii. 16). If we are to benefit the world we 
 must live above it with the hidden life. 
 
 3. " For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." 
 Not "ye are dead," but " ye died when ye were buried and raised 
 in Him." The Apostle's argument is this, "when ye sank under 
 the Baptismal water, ye disappeared for ever to the world. You 
 rose again, it is true, but you rose only to God. The world hence- 
 forth knows nothing of your new life, and as a consequence your 
 new life must know nothing of the world." — (Bp. Lightfoot.) 
 
 There is no special mystery about this assertion beyond this, that 
 Christ is our veritable Head, and we the members of His Body ; 
 for, on this hypothesis, the life dwells in the head, and as the 
 Head is in heaven so is our life. We have it not as a gift to our- 
 selves, so that it should be permanently in us apart from our con- 
 nection with the Head. From moment to moment we depend 
 upon the life residing in the Head, which flows down into us 
 through " the joints and bands " before mentioned by the 
 Apostle. 
 
 4. " When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also 
 appear," &c. Christ and His people will be glorified together. 
 When He appears He will appear in glory, and we shall then 
 be glorified, for as St. John writes, *' It doth not yet appear what 
 we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like 
 Him for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John iii. 2.) 
 
54 MORTIFY YOUR MEMBERS. [Colossians. 
 
 »» Rom. viii. 5 ** Mortifv therefore ^ your members which are 
 
 13. Gal. V. , , V ^ . . 
 
 24. upon the earth ; " fornication, uncleanness, inor- 
 
 > Rom. vi. 13. 
 
 k Ephes. V. 3. 
 
 5. " Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth ;. 
 fornication, uncleanness," &c. The sins which he enumerates are 
 not the actual members of our bodies and yet he says " mortify your 
 members." This has been explained as if sin itself was a body, and 
 the particular sins members of this body : but he means, I thinks 
 something plainer, we are to mortify our members wbich are upon 
 the earth, i.e., the members of our unrenewed bodies in which sin 
 resides, by denying — indeed, if possible, by extirpating the evil 
 motions of those sins which dwell in them. As he says elsewhere^ 
 " They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its affections, 
 and lusts." (Gal. v. 24.) 
 
 "Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concu- 
 piscence," &c. It is to be noted bow that. in every case where St.. 
 Paul mentions the sins which Christians must avoid on peril of in- 
 curring the wrath of God and forfeiting their right to their eternal 
 inheritance, fornication and other breaches of the Seventh Com- 
 mandment are mentioned first. Thus in the first of all his Epistles,, 
 that to the Thessalonians, he commences the practical part with 
 *' This is the will of God even your sanctification, that ye should) 
 abstain from fornication." Again he commences his list of the 
 works of the flesh in Gal. v. 19, with " Adultery, fornication, un- 
 cleanness, lasciviousness." Again, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, 
 " Fornication and all uncleanness .... let it not be once named 
 among you," &c., v. 3. And in the Epistles to the Corinthians, he 
 evidently has more anxiety about this sin than about any other. 
 (1 Cor. V. vi. 15, 20.) 
 
 Now what inference are we to draw from this ? Are we to infer 
 that fornication and kindred vices were the especial sins of that age, 
 because that his converts having been converted to Christ from 
 a state in which these evil tbings were not accounted sins, they 
 were not delivered from the habits contracted in their heathen 
 state ; or are these sins of the flesh thebesetments of human nature 
 itself, constantly reappearing in times when the Gospel is preached 
 with all possible plainness and fervour, so that this nineteentli 
 century, with all its education and refinement, seems as much 
 a prey to these sins as any before it ? Certainly, in answer, we must 
 
Chap. III.] EVIL CONCUPISCENCE. 55 
 
 dinate affection, ^ evil concupiscence, and covetous- i Thess. iv. 5. 
 ness, ™ which is idolatry : «» p es. v. . 
 
 say that these Apostolic warnings are written for all time, and for 
 every age. The statistics of prostitution, so far as they can be got 
 at — the statistics of illigitimacy in all the great cities of Europe — 
 Protestant as well as Komanist — in Amsterdam, Berlin, Berne, 
 Brussels, seem to teach that the population of these cities have as 
 little sense of the sinfulness of such sins as the great cities of old, 
 Ephesus, Colosse, and the country towns of Galatia seem to have 
 had. 
 
 It is then the plain duty of ministers of Christ, when speaking of 
 sin, to put these sins as St. Paul did, in the first place. Prudence 
 and common sense, of course, must rule our conduct In this, as in 
 all other respects, but not false delicacy, nor the fear of certain 
 respectables who may be listeners. 
 
 But says one to me. " What you have to do is to preach conver- 
 sion. If people are converted they will naturally avoid such sins." 
 No, I rejoin, this is not apostolic procedure- If any one was 
 successful in converting to Christ men of all ranks and classes and 
 characters it was St. Paul, and yet he puts these sins in the fore- 
 ground, always in the foreground, and you had better do so, if you 
 would be free from men's blood. The preaching of conversion is 
 not sufficient unless there be joined with it the preaching of the 
 holiness of the body. 
 
 And again, if you preach conversion ever so strongly, you are not 
 likely to convert more than a part of your hearers, and how about 
 the remainder ? They are certainly baptized, and in that baptism 
 they were certainly dedicated to God. St. Paul would have said that 
 they had been made therein members of Christ. Well, dare you 
 say that their baptism was so empty a form that they will be little 
 or none the worse if they are overcome by such sins ? You scarcely 
 dare say this. You would shrink with horror if such teaching was 
 to be appHed to the members of your own family, would you not ? 
 
 Again, you must remember that you are the pastor of the poor as 
 well as of the rich, and if you know anything about the poor, you 
 well know that they have nothing like th? feeling against the com- 
 mission of these sins that the so called respectable classes have : 
 very, very few, as far as my experience goes, shun those of their 
 neighbours who lead immoral lives. 
 
56 THE WRATH OF GOD. [Colossians. 
 
 n Rom. i. 18. 6 ^ For which tbiDffs' sake the wrath of God 
 
 Ephes. V. 6. ... 
 
 Rev. xxii. 15. cometh on ° the children of disobedience : 
 
 Ephes. ii.2. 
 
 6. "Cometh on the children of disobedience." So S, A., C, D., E., F., G., H„ K., 
 L., P., all Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Syriac; bat "on the children of disobedience** 
 omitted in B. and Sahidic. 
 
 So that the apostolic reprobation of these sins is to be very dili- 
 gently and prayerfully laid to heart by the members of Christ's 
 body, the Church. 
 
 " Fornication." Adultery is not mentioned because it was an 
 ac'knowledged crime. 
 
 " Uncleanness." That is, every sort or form of impurity. 
 
 " Inordinate affection." One word, " pathos." By the Eevisers 
 it is translated "passion," by Alford, " hurtful passion." 
 
 "Evil concupiscence," that is, lust and dwelling complacently on 
 evil and impure objects of desire. Both these, " passion " and 
 " evil concupiscence," are the sinful dispositions in the heart which 
 have their gratification, in the two first forms of evil, fornication and 
 uncleanness. 
 
 " And covetousness which is idolatry." The use of the article 
 " and the covetousness which is idolatry " seems to stamp wbat the 
 Apostle now mentions as a separate sort of sin, not to be identified 
 with lust in its usual signification, but as meaning greed or greedi- 
 ness of any worldly advantage, whether riches, money, lands, glory, 
 honours, power ; for all these things become masters of the spirit, 
 and so really occupy the throne in each man's heart which is by 
 right reserved for God only. In the parallel place in the Epistle to 
 the Ephesians it is " covetous man who is an idolater." 
 
 It seems a severe thing to say that covetousness is idolatry, but 
 the Apostle must be believed as saying this in the Spirit. He 
 seems to imply that the inordinate desire of any earthly thing may 
 as effectually interpose between God and the soul as the worship of 
 a false god. 
 
 6. " For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the 
 children of disobedience." In the Epistle to the Ephesians the 
 Apostle adds, "Let no man deceive you with vain words." Such 
 vain words as that your passions are strong, the flesh is weak, 
 such temptations are natural, almost all are more or less involved 
 in them, and so forth. All such words are vain, for we are 
 
Chap. III.] PUT OFF ALL THESE. 57 
 
 7 P In the which ye also walked some time, p Rom. vi. 19. 
 
 •^ 20. & rii. 5. 
 
 when ye lived in them. 1 cor. vi. u. 
 
 V. T r^ -i-i 1 Ephes, ii. 2. 
 
 8 ** But now ye also put off all these ; anger, Tit. iii. 3. 
 wrath, malice, blasphemy, 'filthy communication nfbr'^xii.' 1'^* 
 out of your mouth. [^Z" ii.'iV 
 
 ' Ephes. iv. 
 29. & V. 4. 
 
 apsumed to be partakers of a new life against sin, even the life of 
 Christ's Kesurrection. 
 
 " The wrath of God upon the children (or sons) of disobedience." 
 One MS., B., and some versions omit "upon the children of dis- 
 obedience ; " but the vast majority of authorities, are in favour of 
 retaining it. And, indeed, it seems necessary, for the wrath of 
 God Cometh not upon any single transgression, yielded to through 
 stress of severe temptation, and immediately confessed and re- 
 pented of, but on those who go on sinning wilfully and delibe- 
 rately — for such only are the children or sons of disobedience. 
 
 7. " In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in 
 them." They lived in religions and states of society which were 
 impure to the very core, and to this state of things they freely 
 conformed, and walked in the commission of these abominations. 
 (Compare Gal. v. 25.) 
 
 8. " But now ye also put off all these ; anger, wrath, malice, 
 blasphemy," &c. Having spoken against sins of uncleanness and 
 avarice, he now proceeds to speak of sins of temper — breaches of 
 the spirit of the sixth commandment. 
 
 " Anger, wrath." The one seems to be the sudden outbreak ; 
 the other, the settled continuance of the passion. 
 
 " Malice.*' Malicious, envious, revengeful disposition. Blas- 
 phemy means violent, abusive language against our fellow-creatures, 
 as well as against God. The parallel place is Ephes. iv. 31 : " Let 
 all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil-speaking 
 be put away from you, with all malice," which suggests that the 
 filthy communication should be rather understood as base slander 
 and detraction, or, as some interpret, coarse railing; but the arrows 
 of polished wit are often dipped in far more deadly venom than the 
 coarse abuse. 
 
 9. " Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old 
 man," &c. In the words of the Catechism, "Seeing that ye have re- 
 nounced the devil, and all his works ; " and of the devil the Lord 
 
58 LIE NOT ONE TO ANOTHER. [Colosbians. 
 
 • Lev. xix. 11. 9 ■ Lie not one to another, * seeing that ye have 
 
 Ephes. iv. 25. ' & J 
 
 t Ephes. iv. put oft the old man with his deeds ; 
 n Rom. xii. 2 ^^ ^^^ h&vB put on the new man, which " is 
 
 2 Ephes. iv. renewed in knowledge ^ after the image of him that 
 
 y Eph. ii. 10. ^ created him : 
 
 says, " He was a mm-derer from the beginning, and abode not in 
 the truth. When he speaketh a He, he speaketh of his own, for ho 
 is a Har, and the father of it " (John viii. 44). 
 
 The old man is, of com-se, the old nature, which we have not only 
 undertaken to renounce, but which we have sacramentally put off 
 in Holy Baptism. 
 
 10. "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in. 
 knowledge." I have interpreted (in Ephes. iv.) this New Man of 
 Christ Himself, in Whom we were buried, and raised again, thereby 
 putting off the Old Man and putting on the New. And the Apostle 
 speaks, in Eom. xiii. 14, of a continuous putting on of the Lord Jesus. 
 The meaning is, that we have put Him on by having been united ta 
 Him, and made His members ; and we must constantly, by acts of 
 faith, renew and cement our union. 
 
 But the reader will .observe that the Apostle changes the words, 
 " which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness,'* 
 which appear in Ephes. iv. 24, into " which is renewed in knowledge 
 after the image of him that created him." This seemingly refers 
 to ii. 3, '• In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- 
 ledge." The mind of the Apostle is now full of the false gnosis, and 
 that those for whose benefit he writes, have, if they will realize it, 
 the true gnosis : and so he speaks of the Lord Whom we are to put 
 on, the Second Adam, as being renewed in knowledge after the image 
 of Him Who, with regard to His human nature, created Him.^ 
 
 1 It has been denied by some (as by Bishop Lightfoot) that this '* new man " is Christ, 
 but that it is rather the regenerate man formed after Christ. The matter is exceedingly- 
 mysterious, but the interpretation that the "new man "is Christ is borne out by smh 
 decisive places in the writings of this Apostle, that I cannot see how we can have two 
 opinions about the matter. First we have the Apostle saying, '* As many of you as have 
 been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. iii. 27). This is at the very com- 
 mencement, every Christian's new life being supposed to begin at his baptism. Now at 
 his baptism he is supposed to put on Christ, not by the putting on of the profession of the 
 faith of Christ, nor, as we might have supposed, by the putting before him the example uf 
 
Chap. III.] NEITHER GREEK NOR JEW. 51) 
 
 11 Where there is neither ^ Greek nor Jew, cir- ^ R^m. x. 12. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 13. 
 Gal. iii. 28, 
 
 &v. 6. Ephes. 
 
 vi. 8. 
 
 11. " Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor 
 ■uneircumcision, Barbarian," &c. " Where " — that is, in Christ the 
 New Man. This following close upon the clause, "put on the 
 New Man," is an additional proof that that New Man is Christ: for 
 after the Apostle, in his Epistle to the Galatians, had written, " as 
 many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," 
 he proceeds, *' There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither 
 bond nor free, there is neither male nor female " — an exactly 
 parallel assertion. 
 
 We have wonderful proofs of this in the journals of our present 
 missionaries. In the accounts which I have heard from the lips of 
 Bishop Horden, of Moosonee, it seems that, so far as the fulness of 
 the reception of Christ is concerned, it makes no difference whether 
 a man be an inheritor of centuries of the most cruel and degraded 
 barbarism, or whether he be an inheritor of centuries of Chris- 
 tianity and civilization. When the power of the grace of God 
 overcomes and converts a Ked Indian, he exhibits the same power 
 of the same regenerating and enlightening grace as the inhabitant of 
 an English town or village who is turned from a life of sin to God 
 and Christ ; so that it is an absolute fact that in Christ Jesus there 
 is neither Englishman nor Hindoo, Ked Indian, or Japanese, or 
 Malay. The lineaments of the same Divine Character are patent in 
 each. If it is pointed out to us that sin is not extirpated in the 
 
 Chiist, but by being united with Christ as one Who died to sia, was buried, and rose 
 again to newness of life. This is mentioned twice in the Pauline Epistles — once in Rom 
 vi., once in this Epistle (ch. ii. 12). This is the root or origin of that expression, " iu 
 Christ," with which some of the Pauline Epistles abound. If we are in Christ we must 
 have been i-eceived into Him, which I take it is equivalent to our having put Him on— at 
 least it belongs to a class of analogous expressions. But can it be said that there can be 
 a continuous putting on of Christ ? Now we have this in Rom. xiii. 14, " Put ye on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ ; " and the same idea is expressed in another form in the Epistle to the 
 Galatians (iv. 19), "My little children, of whom I tra\ail in birth again, till Christ be 
 formed in you." And again to the Corinthians, " Know ye not how that Christ is in you " 
 (2 Cor. xiii. 5). Again, Adam and Christ are opposites — Adam as the Old Man, Christ 
 as the New. If we put ofiF the old, with its sins and infirmities, we put away the Old 
 Adam within us, but we put him ofiF that we may put on that which is his opposite— the 
 New Man, even Christ. 
 
 There is a very deep reason for the use of this mysterious language — which is that our 
 new, our better self, is not a creation in ourselves apart from Christ, but in Him. We 
 can but feel after this truth, but it is assuredly what the Apostle teaches. 
 
CO CHEIST IS ALL, AND IN ALL. [Colossians. 
 
 cumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor 
 
 • Eph. i. 23. free : ^ but Christ is all, and in all. 
 
 D Eph. iv. 24. 12 ^ Put on therefore, " as the elect of G-od, holy 
 
 c 1 Thess. i. 4. 
 
 IPet. i. 2. 
 
 2 Pet. i. 10. 
 
 heathen convert, but that much of the Old Adam remains, we re- 
 join that it is precisely the same with the Englishman. He, too, 
 has daily to put off the Old Man, and daily to put on the New. 
 
 " Barbarian " is the word which the Greeks apply to all who 
 have not inherited their civilization. A Scythian was the lowest type 
 of Barbarian. 
 
 *' Bond nor free." Of this there were continual proofs before 
 their eyes in the transformation wrought by the Gospel among 
 slaves — so much so that the slave was frequently a pattern to the 
 household. 
 
 " But Christ is all, and in all." This is a further proof that the 
 New Man which they have put on is not a. regenerate nature, 
 merely after the pattern of Christ's, but Christ Himself. 
 
 " Christ is all." He is all to the true believer — His wisdom, 
 righteousness, sanctification — the way, the truth, and the life — the 
 Mediator, Kedeemer, and Judge. 
 
 "And in all." It was then one of the first truths of Christianity 
 {certainly with St. Paul), that Christ was in all Christians, and yet 
 it was a matter of self-examination for each one to ascertain that 
 Christ was in him. "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the 
 faith ; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how 
 that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates ? " (2 Cor. xiii.5). 
 *' But Christ, saith he, is all, and in all — that is, Christ will be all 
 things to you, both rank and descent, and Himself in you all. Or 
 he says another thing — to wit, that ye all are become one Christ, 
 being His Body " (Chrysostom). 
 
 12. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, 
 bowels of mercies, kindness," &c. How are ye to put on Christ ? 
 It is not a matter of imagination, of mysticism, of spiritual exalta- 
 tion — not a matter of mere faith, even. It is a matter of charity 
 rather than of anything else. If ye seek to be imbued with mercy, 
 kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, through the grace of 
 the Spirit, then ye put on Christ, for these graces are His, and He 
 accompanies them ; and so He is formed within you. 
 
 " As the elect of God." It is a very singular fact that this is the 
 
Chap. III.] AS CHRIST FORGAVE YOU. 61 
 
 and beloved, ^ bowels of mercies, kindness, humble- ^ Qai. -. 22. 
 
 pp . Ephes. IV. 2, 
 
 ness of mind, meekness, longsuftermg ; 32. Phii. ii. 1. 
 
 13 ^Forbearinsr one another, and forerivinff one * Mark xi. 25. 
 
 , , . Ephes. iv. 2, 
 
 another, if any man have a || quarrel against any : 32. 
 
 even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. piamtr^' 
 
 13. "As Christ forgave you." So C, E., K., L., P., most Cursives, Syriac, Sah.» 
 Copt., ^ih., Goth. ; but S, A., B., D., F., G., d, e, f, g, Vulg., read, " the Lord," and 
 »{* reads, "God." 
 
 only allusion to God's election or choice in this Epistle, whereas in 
 that Epistle which is, one might say, its twin sister, that to the 
 Ephesians, the election of God occupies the most prominent place. 
 Did the Spirit reveal to St. Paul that the Ephesian Christians 
 needed the truth respecting God's choice of men, and the Colossian 
 Christians did not ? There must be a reason, one would think, 
 why the Apostle should dwell on this mysterious truth in the one 
 case, and not in the other. 
 
 " Holy and beloved." Holy, because consecrated to God ; be- 
 loved, because they must have been first loved of God if He made 
 them partakers of His grace. 
 
 " Bowels of mercies." An Old Testament expression. Thus it 
 is said of Joseph that his bowels yearned over his brethren ; and, 
 in Isaiah, Israel is supposed to remonstrate with the Lord in such 
 words as, " Where is the sounding of thy bowels, and of thy mercies, 
 toward me? " (Ixiii. 15). And our Apostle, " I long after you all 
 in the bowels of Jesus Christ " (Phil. i. 8). 
 
 "Kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." 
 These are all closely connected. Nothing hinders kindness so 
 much as pride, because pride is self-contemplating, and, therefore, 
 in its very essence, selfish ; and so meekness cannot but be long- 
 suffering. The true Christian never forgets that he deserves 
 discipline, and that what others inflict upon him may be a chasten- 
 ing of his Father's hand. 
 
 13. " Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another ... if 
 any have," &c. Some MSS. read " the Lord," but the Son of God 
 is meant. 
 
 " Even as Christ forgave you." When Christ prayed for the 
 soldiers who crucified Him, it is not to be supposed that His 
 prayer reached only to them. They were in one sense the most 
 
€2 THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. [Colossians. 
 
 1 1 Pet. iv. 8. 14 ^ And above all these things ^put on charity, 
 
 Rom. xHi'.'s. ' which is the ^ bond of perfectness. 
 
 Eph! \\'2.' eh. 15 And let ' the peace of God rule in your hearts, 
 
 ii. 2. 1 Thess. 
 
 iv. 9. 1 Tim. 
 
 i. 5. 1 John 
 
 iii. 23. &. iv. 21. 
 
 h Eoh iv 3 ^^' " "^^^ peace of God." So E., K., L., 17, most Cursives, Goth. ; 
 
 i jjjjj^' jjj^ [j^ but ti. A., B., C, D., F., G., P., six Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Syriac, 
 
 Phil, iv, 7.* * Sah., Copt., read, " Peace of Christ." 
 
 innocent, because they were mere tools. He must have prayed for 
 Pilate, for the chief priests, for the multitude ; and all these were 
 but the instruments of sinful man. Our sins drove the nails through 
 His hands and feet, and pierced His side. 
 
 This place also proves the Lord's Godhead. "All power is 
 given to me," includes all power of forgiveness. But there is that 
 within us which may limit Christ's power of forgiveness, and that 
 is our implacability. " Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
 them that trespass against us." If ye forgive not men their 
 trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your 
 trespasses. 
 
 14, •' And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond 
 of perfectness." '* For since it is possible for one who forgives, not 
 to love : yea, he saith, thou must love him too, and he points out 
 •a way whereby it becomes possible to forgive. For it is possible 
 for one to be kind, and meek, and humble-minded, and long-suf- 
 fering, and yet not affectionate, and therefore he said at the first, 
 bowels of mercies, both love and pity. And above all these things 
 •charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Now what he wishes to 
 say is this, that there is no profit in these things, for all these 
 things fall asunder except they be done with love ; this is it which 
 clenches them all together : whatsoever good thing it be thou 
 mentionest, if charity be away it is nothing, it melts away" 
 €hrysostom. The idea of St. Paul is expressed in 1 Cor. xiii. 3, 
 " Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor .... and have 
 not charity, it profiteth me nothing." 
 
 15. "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which 
 •also ye are called in one body." The oldest MSS. and versions 
 read "the peace of Christ," and the Christian peace is emphati- 
 cally the peace of Him Who said, " Peace I leave with you, my 
 peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you " 
 ^John xiv. 27). But the peace of God and of Christ is the same, 
 
Chap. III.J BE YE THANKFUL. G3 
 
 *' to the whicli also ye are called ^ in one body ; ^ i cor. vti. 15. 
 
 *" and be ye thankful. 17, & iv!'4!^' 
 
 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly ver.^?!'^' 
 
 and so he says in the Epistle to the Philippians, " The peace of 
 Ood which passeth all understanding " (iv. 7). 
 
 " Eule in your hearts." This is the best translation for English 
 readers, being the most intelligible ; but the Greek verb signifies 
 to act as umpire, and is so explained by Chrysostom. " Let the 
 peace of God act as umpire in your hearts. If two thoughts are 
 fighting together, set not anger, set not spitefulness to hold the 
 prize, but peace : for instance, suppose one to have been insulted 
 unjustly, of the insult are born two thoughts, the one bidding 
 him to revenge, the other to endure ; and these wrestle with one 
 another ; if the Peace of God stands as umpire, it bestows the prize 
 on that which bids endure, and puts the other to shame. How ? 
 By persuading him that God is peace, in that He hath made peace 
 with us." 
 
 " To the which also ye are called in one body." We are called 
 to peace — to the peace of God, because we are called not as sepa- 
 rate stones in a heap, but as members of one body, which must act 
 together and no member have separate interests, if the body is to 
 be in a healthy state and act as one body. 
 
 " Be ye thankful." This is the second time this precept " to be 
 thankful " occurs in this letter. We had it in ii. 7, " Abounding 
 therein with thanksgiving," and we shall have it again inverse 17. 
 
 16. *' L6t the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom," 
 &c. This is explained as meaning Christ Himself in the heart, 
 and not any definite truths respecting Him, but why then does 
 the Apostle not say the presence of Christ instead of the word of 
 Christ ? A reference to a very important part of the written word, 
 the Psalms, follows immediately upon this. 
 
 The Apostle began to preach the word in Asia seven years before 
 this, and the Gospel of St. Matthew, particularly rich in the words 
 of Christ, had been published many years before, and it is pro- 
 bable that St. Luke's Gospel had also been finished and begun to be 
 copied and put in the hands of the disciples. Either of these 
 Gospels would furnish the Church with a rich store of the very 
 words of Christ. Surely if our missionaries take care that their 
 
64 TEACHING AND ADMONISHING. [Colossiaxs. 
 
 in all wisdom ; teaching and admonishing one another 
 
 converts shonld be furnished with New Testaments in their own 
 languages, St. Paul would not have been behindhand in so obvious 
 a duty. And if it be objected that books then required to be copied 
 out, the reader must remember that either of the Gospels I have 
 mentioned could have been fairly written out in less than a month 
 by a person of ordinary industry. If St. Paul had not furnished 
 his churches with some written Gospel he would have, in a great 
 measure, left them at the mercy of the Judaizers, whose great 
 strength was the letter of the Old Testament. 
 
 About the present application of the Apostle's language to Chris- 
 tians there can be no doubt. Brahminical teachers are, I have 
 heard, required to spend many years in committing to memory 
 their Vedas in the Sanscrit, now a dead language, and some effort 
 should be made by Christian students not to he put to shame by 
 the adherents of false religions. Bishop Ridley speaks of having 
 committed to memory the whole of the Epistles during the time he 
 was an undergraduate at Cambridge, and it is no impossible task. 
 It only requires perseverance for three or four years in learnings 
 say, three verses a day. . 
 
 " Hearken ye, as many as are in the world and have charge of 
 wife and children ; how to you too he commits especially the 
 reading of Scripture, and that not to be done lightly, or in any 
 sort of way, but with much earnestness." 
 
 "And tarry not for another to teach thee, for thou hast the 
 oracles of God. No man teacheth thee as they, for he indeed (the 
 preacher) oft concealeth much for vain glory's sake and envy» 
 Hearken, I entreat you, all ye that are careful for this life, procure 
 books that will be medicines for the soul. If ye will not any other, 
 yet get you at least the New Testament .... if grief befal thee, 
 dive into them as into a chest of medicines ; take thence comforts 
 for thy trouble, be it loss, or death, or bereavement of relations ; 
 or rather dive not into them merely, but take them wholly to 
 thee, keep them in thy mind. This is the cause of all evils, the 
 not knowing the Scriptures. We go into battle without arms, and 
 how should we come off safe ?" (Chrysostom.) 
 
 " Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns."" 
 Psalms are most probably the psalms of the Old Testament, which 
 
Chap. III.] SINGING WITH GRACE. G5 
 
 ° in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, " i Cor. xiv. 26. 
 singing ° with grace in your hearts to the Lord. o ch. iv. e." 
 17 And P whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do p i cor. x. 31. 
 
 16. " To the Lord." So E., K., L., most Cursives, Goth., Copt. ; but K, A., B., C, D., 
 F., G., 17, 47, 67**, 73, 179, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Sah., Syriac, read, " to God." 
 
 formed a large portion of the synagogue worship, and naturally 
 passed from the Jews to the Christians. Hymns would be forms 
 of adoration and praise to God and Christ. Pliny speaks of the 
 worship of the Christians in his time, that " They sang among them- 
 selves alternately a hymn to Christ as God." 
 
 " Spiritual songs," as distinguished from psalms and hymns 
 may be odes of a didactic character; but all distinctions between 
 these three acts of praise are purely conjectural. Chrysostom 
 treats them as if there were no difference. 
 
 " Teaching and admonishing one another." It is too much lost 
 sight of how Christians, in singing psalms and hymns which are 
 really scriptural and spiritual, teach and admonish one another at 
 the very time they praise and bless God. Each one who joins in 
 these acts of praise praises God, edifies himself, and admonishes 
 his neighbour. (See my notes on Ephes. v. 19.) 
 
 "Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." There is to 
 be singing, i.e., the utterance of words in musical tones, with the 
 organs of the human voice ; and yet this singing, if it is to be 
 acceptable to God, must be from hearts instinct with the grace of 
 God. 
 
 17. " And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name 
 of the Lord Jesus," &c. This is not meant to be taken in the strict 
 literal meaning, which would be if we said audibly before doing 
 anything, "In the name of Jesus, "for St. Paul, from all that we can 
 gather from his life in the book of the Acts and from his Epistles, 
 did not do this. But we are to do all things relying upon the grace 
 of Christ, Who is our Head, and remembering that His Eyes are 
 upon us, so that we must do all things as in His sight. We must, 
 in fact, constantly set before us Christ in heaven ; as we are told 
 in the first verse of this chapter, " Seek those things which are 
 above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God." The Chris- 
 tians of Tertullian's time sought to obey this precept as literally as 
 possible by making the sign of the cross whenever they did any- 
 thing. *' In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in 
 
 P 
 
GQ DO ALL IN HIS XAME. [Colossiaks. 
 
 q Rom. i. 8. all in the name of the Lord Jesus, '^ giving thanks 
 
 Eph. V. 20. ^ ^ ^ , ^ , , , . 
 
 ch. i. 12. & ii. to Grod and the Father by him. 
 
 7. 1 Thess v. 
 
 18. Heb. xiii! 18 '^ Wives, submit yourselves unto your own 
 
 15. . . . "^ 
 
 r Eph. V. 22. husbauds, ® as it is fit in the Lord. 
 
 Tit. ii, 5. 
 
 1 Pet. iii. 1. 
 
 ■ Eph. V. 3. 
 
 17. "The Lord Jesus." So B., E., K., 17, 37, most Cnrsives ; but A., C, D., F., G., 
 read, " Jesus Christ." 
 
 "And the Father." "And" omitted by .V, A., B., C, Sah., Copt., Syriae ; but re- 
 tained by D., E., F., G„ K., L., most Cursives, Vulg., &c 
 
 13. " Your own husband," *' Own " omitted by N, A., B., C, E'*., K. 
 
 and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in 
 lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever 
 employment occupieth us, we mark our forehead with the sign of 
 the cross" (" De Corona," v. 3). And again Cyril of Jerusalem: 
 " Let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the 
 Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and 
 on every thing ; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink, in 
 our comings in and goings out, before our sleep, when we lie down 
 and when we are awake." Let those who blame this ask them- 
 selves whether they employ any means of reminding themselves of 
 the Saviour in all that they do. Would St. Paul, do they think, 
 blame this practice because the remembrance was of His Cross and 
 not literally of His Name? 
 
 " Giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." As prayer 
 is to be ofi"ered to the Father through Christ, so is thanksgiving. 
 He is the Medium through Whom God's blessings come down to 
 us and our praises ascend to Him. 
 
 18. " Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is 
 fit in the Lord." We have now the same precepts respecting love 
 and subjection in the family which we had in the Epistle to the 
 Ephesians, but with a very marked difi"erence in the way in which 
 they are enforced. St. Paul dismisses the duties of husbands to 
 their wives, and wives to their husbands, in two short verses, whereas 
 in the parallel places in the Ephesian Epistle, he brings forward the 
 headship of Jesus Christ to the Church as the reason why the wife 
 should submit to the husband, and the husband love and cherish 
 the wife. How is it that in this Epistle there is no dwelling upon, 
 or even mention made, of so very extraordinaiy an illustration of 
 the duty in either case ? It can, I think, only be accounted for in 
 
€iiAP. III.] BE NOT BITTER AGAINST THEM. 67 
 
 19 * Husbands, love your wives, and be not "bitter against 
 them. ' Eph. V. 25, 
 
 28 -33 1 Pet 
 
 20 * CMldren, obey your parents ^ in all tilings : Tii'?. ' 
 for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. ^ j^^i^' *''■ ^^' 
 
 vi. 1. 
 V. 24. 
 9. 
 
 lest they be discouraged. z Eph ^'i 4. 
 
 21 ^ Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, ^ Eph. v. 24. 
 
 20. "Unto the Lord." So some Cursives, Copt., ^th.; but a. A., B., C, D., E., F., 
 <5., K., L., most Cursives, It., Vulg., Goth., read, "in the Lord." Syriac has in con- 
 spectu Domini nostri. 
 
 21. "Provoke not." So H, A., C, D., E., F., G., K., L. ; but B., K., most Cursives, 
 ^Syriac, &c., read, *' irritate not" (ipsfli^sre). 
 
 "this way. If we understand that Col. iv. 16, refers to the Epistle 
 to the Ephesians, a copy of which was brought to the Laodiceans, 
 then St. Paul intended that on this point at least, the one Epistle 
 •should be supplemented by the other ; and in far greater matters 
 than this these Epistles supplement one another, for in that to the 
 Uphesians we have the election of Christians in Christ, their exal- 
 tation in Him, and their oneness under Him as their Head, and 
 in the other, that to the Colossians, the eternal power and Godhead 
 of Him of Whose Body we are members, and His absolutely unique 
 place as the Head of the Unseen Universe. 
 
 "As it is fit in the Lord." In the Epistle to the Ephesians the 
 reasons for this fitness are given, in that " the husband is the head 
 of the wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church and he is the 
 Saviour of the Body. Therefore as the Church is subject to Christ, 
 ■so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." 
 
 19. " Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against 
 them." This precept also is treated very briefly by the Apostle 
 here, because he had handled it at much greater length in the 
 Ephesian letter. " Be not bitter," " Behave not harshly," — in the 
 words of St. Peter (himself a married man), "give honour to the wife 
 as to the weaker vessel," — put up with weaknesses and even folHes. 
 
 20. " Children, obey your parents in all things : for this is well 
 pleasing unto the Lord." In the sister Epistle the Apostle gives the 
 Scripture proof that obedience to parents is well pleasing to God in 
 the promise " that thou mayest live long upon the earth " appended 
 to the Fifth Commandment. 
 
 21. *' Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they 
 1)6 discouraged." " Discouraged," lose heart, go about their task in 
 
68 YE SEKVE THE LORD CHRIST. [Colossians. 
 
 22 * Servants, obey " in all things your masters ^ according- 
 » Eph. vi. 5, to the flesh ; not with eye-service, as menpleasers i 
 
 &i'. 1 Tim. vi, , , 
 
 1. Tit. ii. 9. but in singleness of heart, fearing God : 
 
 b ver. 20. ' 23 ^ And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to 
 
 c Phiiem. 16. i^Q ]^oj.(j and not unto men ; 
 
 d Eph, VI. 6, 7. 
 
 e Eph. vi. 8. 24 ^ Kuowing that of the Lord ye shall receive 
 
 1 1 Cor. vii. 22. the reward of the inheritance : ^ for ye serve the 
 Lord Christ. 
 
 22. " Fearing God," So K., most Cursives ; but H, A„ B., C, D., E., F., G,, I„ f, g^ 
 
 Vulg, (Amiat.), Syriac, read, *' the Lord," 
 
 24. " For ye serve." " For" omitted by a, A„ B., C, D., E., 17, 47, 71, Vulg., Copt.f. 
 but retained by K., L., most Cursives, Syr., Arm., Goth. 
 
 a listless, moody, sullen frame of mind. (Lightfoot.) But may it not 
 rather mean discouraged in their Christian course, or even dis- 
 couraged in embracing the religion which their fathers have em- 
 braced, seeing that as yet it has not improved their temper or made 
 them more considerate and forbearing with their own flesh and 
 blood? 
 
 22. "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the 
 flesh, not with eye-service," &c. The Apostle dwells more upon 
 the duties of slaves than he does upon those of husbands, wives, and 
 children. This (by Bp. Lightfoot and Bp. Alexander following 
 him) has been attributed to the fact that about this time he wrote 
 the Epistle to Philemon respecting his slave Onesimus ; so that his 
 mind may be supposed to be full of the subject ; but may it not have 
 been because of the extreme importance of the matter at that time ? 
 for nothing could have gone more against the spread of Christianity 
 among the classes who possessed slaves than any suspicion that the 
 liberty which it proclaimed was one which released slaves from their 
 obligations to their masters. 
 
 To this it may be added that from all accounts the Church was 
 largely recruited from the slave class, so that it was doubly impor- 
 tant to impress upon slaves that Christ was their true master and 
 that in all their service towards their earthly masters they must set 
 Him before their eyes. 
 
 23, 24. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily ye serve 
 
 the Lord Christ." The reader will thank me for giving the follow- 
 ing extract from a sermon of Bp. Latimer on The Lord's Prayer: 
 
Chap. Iir.] HE THAT DOETH WRONG. 69 
 
 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong 
 
 25. "But he that doeth wrong." So E., K., L., most Cursives, Syriac; but N, A., B., 
 "C., D., F., G., five Cursives, Ital., Vulg , Copt., reaJ, " for" (yap). 
 
 *' St. Paul would have them (slaves) so live that they may adorn and 
 sanctify the name of God : For that servant that doth the thing 
 whereunto he is called, he doth adorn his estate. That servant is 
 «. good gospeller that will not be an eye-servant. There be some 
 servants, who do their duties as long as their master is in sight ; 
 but as soon as their master is gone they play the lubbers. Unto 
 such fellows I say 'beware.' For though your bodily master see 
 you not, yet your great Master God seeth you and will punish 
 you." 
 
 •' ' Quod agis, toto pectore agito.' What thou doest, do it from 
 the bottom of thine heart, with a good will. Go not away with the 
 Devil's Paternoster as some do. Do all things with a good mind. 
 For I tell you, you be not forgotten in Scripture ; you are much 
 commended in the same. St. Paul speaketh very honourably of you 
 saying, * Domino Christo servitis,' you serve the Lord Christ. It 
 becometh not you to put a difference what business ye be com- 
 manded to do. For whatsoever it be, do it with a good will, and it 
 is God's service. Therefore you ought to do it, in respect that God 
 would have you to do so ; for I am no more assured in my preach- 
 ing that I serve God, than the servant is in doing such business as 
 he is commanded to do ; scouring the candlesticks or whatever it 
 be. Therefore for God's sake consider the matter. Some of you 
 ihink, if Christ were here, you would go with Him and serve Him. 
 I tell you when you follow your service, and do such things as your 
 master and mistress shall command you, you serve Him as well as 
 if He were here bodily." 
 
 25. " But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which 
 he hath done," &c. This does not appear in the corresponding 
 part of the Epistle to the Ephesians. In the parallel passage there 
 is one of promise, "Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man 
 •doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord." 
 
 St. Paul here seems to correct himself: he had written as if there 
 ^as nothing but promise, now he shews the reverse side. " He 
 -that doeth wrong," &c. This is written of servants or slaves, and 
 shews that as long as tiiey were in a state of servitude their time 
 «iid labour belonged to their masters, and if they did not honestly 
 
70 NO RESPECT OF PERSONS. [Colossians. 
 
 g Rom. ii. 11. which he hath done : and ^ there is no respect of 
 
 Enh.vi.9. ^ 
 
 1 Pet. i. 17. persons. 
 
 See Deut. x. ^ 
 
 17. 
 
 render it they were guilty of injustice ; but it applies with even 
 greater force to masters, for the slaves, if ill-treated, were compara- 
 tively helpless, but they would assuredly be some day righted. The 
 words of the wise man apply to all who suffer wrong as well as to- 
 the fatherless, " Their Redeemer is mighty, he shall plead their 
 cause with thee." (Prov. xxiii. 11.) 
 
 CHAP. lY. 
 
 MASTEES *, give nnto your servants that which is just 
 and equal ; knowing that ye also have a Master in 
 a Eph. vi. 9. heaven. 
 b Lukexviii.i. 2 ^ Continue in prayer, and watch in the same^ 
 
 Rom. xii. 12. r J ' 
 
 Eph. vi. 18. c ^[jj^ thankserivinff ; 
 
 1 Thess. V. 17, & & > 
 
 18. 
 
 c ch. ii. 7. & 
 
 iii. 15. 
 
 1. " Masters give unto your servants that which is just and 
 equal," &c. Some have understood this " equal " (lit. the equality) 
 as if the Apostle meant by it that they should recognize the principle 
 of the equality of all men in their dealings with their slaves, but it 
 seems rather to mean that they should be impartial, not harsh to 
 one and kind to another. 
 
 " That ye also have a master in heaven." This, which masters 
 should remember in their dealings with their slaves, we should all 
 remember. God is not only our Father, our Creator, our God, but 
 our Master. " If I then be a Father where is mine honour ? and if 
 I be a Master, where is my fear? " (Mai. i. 6.) He has called us 
 unto liberty, but in doing this He has not parted with His claim to- 
 our constant service. 
 
 2. " Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanks- 
 giving." Continue in prayer, means cleave unto prayer. It is the- 
 same word as in Acts ii. 42, "And they continued stedfastly irt 
 
Chap. IV.] PRAYING ALSO FOR US. 71 
 
 3 *^ Withal prayins: also for us, that God would * Eph. vi. 19. 
 
 ^ J ^ . f 2 Thess. iii. I. 
 
 •open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the e icor.xvi.9. 
 
 mystery of Christ, ^ for which I am also in bonds : f M°att!'xiir. 11. 
 
 1 Cor. iv. 1. 
 
 — Eph. vi. 19. 
 
 ch. i. 26. &ii.2.- 
 3. "For which also." B., F. (Gr.), G., 9, 71, read, "for whom." g Eph. vi. 20. 
 tt, A., C, D., E., K., L., all Cursives, &c., read, " for which." Phil. i. 7. 
 
 the Apostle's doctrine and fellowship." Alford renders it "per- 
 severe in prayer." 
 
 "Watch in the same." " "Watch " may be taken literally. In 
 the early ages of the Church they prayed constantly whilst others 
 were asleep : Thus, in the jail at Philippi, Paul and Silas prayed 
 and sang praises at midnight. Anyhow, it means that prayer 
 is not to be performed listlessly, but after the manner of men who 
 are on the watch to engage the ear of God. Chrysostom (and fol- 
 lowing him many commentators, as Cornelius a Lapide) gives a 
 prayer of marvellous force and piety : " I know a certain holy man 
 who prayeth thus : he used to say nothing before these words, but 
 thus, * We give thee thanks for all thy benefits shewn forth upon us 
 the unworthy, from the first day until the present, for what we 
 know, and what we know not, for the seen, for the unseen, for those 
 in deed, those in word, those with our wills, those against our wills, 
 for all that have been bestowed upon the unworthy, even us ; for 
 tribulations, for refreshments, for hell,^ for punishment, for the 
 kingdom of heaven. We beseech thee to keep our soul holy, having 
 a pure conscience ; an end worthy of thy loving-kindness. Thou 
 that lovedst us so as to give Thy Only-Begotten for us, grant 
 us to become worthy of Thy love ; give us wisdom in Thy word, and 
 in Thy fear, Only-begotten Christ, inspire the strength that is from 
 Thee. Thou that gavest thy Only-Begotten Son for us, and hast 
 sent Thy Holy Spirit for the remission of our sins, if in aught we 
 have wilfully or unwillingly transgressed, pardon and impute it not ; 
 remember all that call upon Thy Name in truth ; remember all that 
 wish us well, or the contrary, for we are all men.' Then having 
 added the prayer of the faithful he there ended." 
 
 3. "Withal praying also for us that God would open unto us a door 
 of utterance." " Praying for us,"— St. Paul, as if he were the merest 
 
 1 This may seem strange ; but if the man who prayed thus had a firm belief in God as 
 a perfect moral governor, and that even hell was indispensable to the moral order of the 
 universe, it may not seem so strange. 
 
72 WALK IN WISDOM. [Colossians. 
 
 4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak, 
 h Eph. V. 15. 5 ** Walk in wisdom toward them that are with- 
 
 1 Tbess. iv. 12. , , n • -i x- 
 
 1 Eph. V. 16. out, ^ redeeming the time. 
 
 novice in the ministry, asks the prayers of those to whom he wrote. 
 Most of them must have been very inferior to himself in faith and 
 holiness. 
 
 "A door of utterance" (lit. "adoor of theword "). The correspond- 
 ing passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians is : " And for me, that 
 utterance (Xoyog) may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth 
 boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an 
 ambassador in bonds." The meaning of each passage, notwithstand- 
 ing verbal differences, must be the same ; and St. Paul must ask 
 these prayers that he may, with all boldness, proclaim that parti- 
 cular mystery which he was especially called to set forth, and 
 which was so unpopular with his countrymen — that the Gentiles 
 should be fellow-heirs and members of the same body (Eph. iii. 
 6). The door of utterance must be the gift of utterance united with 
 the needful courage. It cannot be the mere opportunity, because he 
 had that (Phil. i. 12-18). If we take it as the door of the word, it 
 corresponds with the door of faith (Acts xiv. 27), and seems to mean 
 a door into the hearts of those that heard the word. 
 
 4. " That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak." 
 
 St. Paul seems oppressed with the difficulty of preaching that all 
 men, Jew and Gentile alike, are called to be fellow-heirs and mem- 
 bers of the same body. He desired to speak it with all boldness and 
 yet to give no offence — that is, no needless offence in anything. How 
 unlike those who have not the smallest misgivings about themselves 
 lest by their own lack of wisdom and needless offensiveness they 
 hinder the truth. 
 
 5. "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without," &c. Say 
 and do what, without compromising the truth, will win the heathen 
 and unconverted Jews to the Gospel rather than drive them from it. 
 Chrysostom adduces as an instance of doing this St. Paul himself, 
 who said to Agrippa, " I think myself happy, because I shall answer 
 
 for myself this day before thee, especially because I know 
 
 thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the 
 Jews " (Acts xxvi. 2, 3). But had he thought it his duty to insult the 
 ruler, he would have spoiled everything. Some have thought that 
 
CnAP. IV.] SEASONED WITH SALT. 73 
 
 6 Let your speech he alway ^ with grace, ^ sea- ^ Eecies. x. la. 
 
 soned with salt, ™ that ye may know how ye ought i Mark ix. 50. 
 
 to answer every man. "* ^ Pet.iii.i5. 
 
 men should walk in wisdom that they may avoid needless per- 
 secution ; but must it not rather be, that no obstacles may be thrown 
 in the way of the heathen embracing the Gospel ? 
 
 *' Redeeming the time," making the most of it with the view of 
 employing it for the honour of Christ and for the good of our 
 brethren. 
 
 "Redeeming the time," from needless slumber, from vain 
 frivolous conversation, from excess of amusement, from time spent 
 in reading trashy and frivolous books. 
 
 In the parallel passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians the 
 Apostle adds "because the days are evil," and the same holds good 
 here. We have so to pass through things temporal that we gaia, 
 and lose not, the things eternal. 
 
 6. " Let your speech be always with grace." Some consider this 
 to be kindness and pleasantness ; others that it is the grace of God 
 which in their intercouse with unbelievers they must constantly in- 
 voke from God. 
 
 " Seasoned with salt." The same difference of opinion appl-'esto 
 the explanation of what this salt is : some suppose that it is allied to 
 wit and readiness ; but it is hard to see how St. Paul can enjoin 
 wit and readiness upon those who by nature have not these 
 things in them. Bishop Alexander, in the " Speaker's Commen- 
 tary " conceives that it alludes to Sacrificial Salt, "every sacrifice 
 was salted with salt." It was unlawful to offer any sacrifice with- 
 out it. It signified the purity and incorruption which should 
 attend all offerings to God, " With all thine offerings thou shalt 
 offer salt." (Levit. ii. 13.) The verse is in some respects a difficult 
 one, but it evidently means that their speech should be always 
 attended with that which they can always themselves procure 
 by prayer to God at the moment. The latter clause, " that ye may 
 know how ye ought to answer every man," seems to teach that it 
 refers to intercourse with " them that are without." Solomon says, 
 *' Aword spoken in due season, how good it is." And again he says, 
 *' A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." 
 (Prov. XV. 23, XXV. 11.) I have known men who never had a con- 
 
74 TYCHICUS. [CoLossiANS., 
 
 7 ° All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a. 
 u ii;phes. VI. beloved brother, and a faithful minister and 
 
 fellowservant in the Lord : 
 22. ^ ^^* '"' 8 "* Whom I have sent unto you for the same 
 purpose, that he might know jour estate, and comfort your 
 hearts ; 
 
 8. "That He might know your estate, and comfort your hearts." So C, E., K., L., 
 most Cursives, f, Vulg., Goth., Syriac ; but N, A., B., D*., F. (Gr.), G., P., some eleven 
 Cujsives, o, e, g. Arm., ^th., read, " that ye might know our estate, and that he might 
 <omtort," &c. 
 
 ^'ersation with one of their fellow- creatures without offering up a 
 silent prayer to God to order their words. 
 
 7, 8. " All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a 
 beloved brother, &c. . . . comfort your hearts." This Tychicus 
 was one of that large band of faithful disciples and companions of 
 St. Paul, by whose instrumentality he governed the Churches. 
 They were vicars apostolic or archdeacons, whom he was con- 
 stantly sending about, that they might deliver his letters or tradi- 
 tions to the various Churches, and that through them he might 
 hear of their spiritual state. We first hear of him in Acts xx. 4 ("Of 
 Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus"), then here and in the parallel pas- 
 sage in Ephes. vi. 21 ;* and lastly in the Epistle to Titus, iii. 12 
 ("When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to 
 come to me," &c.) 
 
 " A faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord." " Minister." 
 To whom did he minister ? To the Lord or to St. Paul ? To both. 
 In serving the one as his fellow -labourer and messenger, he served 
 the Other. For it was the will of God that St. Paul during his life 
 here should not part with his Apostolic authority in the case of 
 any Church, but should rule each one, and watch over it through 
 his disciples or companions. 
 
 8. "Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose . . . com- 
 fort your hearts." In our Authorized there seems to be a difference 
 in the purpose for which St. Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus and to 
 Colosse. To Ephesus he sent him that the Ephesians might know 
 St. Paul's affairs — to the Colossians, that he might know their 
 affairs ; but in all the oldest and best MSS. the words to the Colos- 
 sians are the same as those to the Ephesians, " thai ye might know 
 our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts." 
 
Chap. IV.] ARISTARCHUS. 75 
 
 9 With P Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who- 
 is one of you. They shall make known unto p Phiiem. lo, 
 
 q Acts xix 2^ 
 
 you all things which are done here. & xx. 4. &" 
 
 10 "J Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth phliem.'si. 
 you, and ' Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touch- g tIS w' ii! 
 ing whom ye received commandments : if he come 
 
 unto you, receive him ;) 
 
 9. "With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one- 
 of you." This was the former runaway slave of Philemon, to whom 
 he wrote the short, but most instructive and deHghtful Epistla 
 respecting his reconciUation. This verse shews how completely 
 he had been absolved, and also proves how radically he had been 
 changed. 
 
 •' They shall make known unto you all things which are done 
 here." That is, all the progress of the Gospel, notwithstanding 
 the hindrances ; all the afflictions endured by St. Paul and his com- 
 panions, and their consolations under them. 
 
 10. "Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner, saluteth you." Aristar 
 chus is first mentioned as the companion of St. Paul in Acts xix 
 29. "And having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Mace 
 donia, Paul's companions in travel," &c. Then in Acts xx. 4 
 " And these accompanied him ... of the Thessalonians, Aristar 
 chus, and Secundus." Then when he was sent to Kome as a pri 
 soner, it is said that one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica 
 was with him. And now he is with St. Paul as his fellow-prisoner, 
 meaning by this that he was put under some restraint, as being so 
 special a friend and companion of the Apostle, or that he volun- 
 tarily put himself under the same restraint, dwelling probably in 
 the same lodging, that he might the better minister unto him. 
 
 " And Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas (touching whom ye "), 
 &c. The word avi-<^ibQ seems properly to mean cousin. The in- 
 sertion of the direction that they were to receive him is generally 
 taken to mean that notwithstanding his defection at the com- 
 mencement of the first missionary journey, they were to hold him 
 as having been restored, and therefore as the friend and minister 
 of St. Paul, but the length of time which had elapsed (nearly twenty 
 years) seems to render this meaning unlikely. 
 
76 EPAPHRAS. [CoLOSsiAKS. 
 
 11 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the 
 circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the 
 kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. 
 ' ch. i. 7. 12 * Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of 
 
 Philem. 23. . -^ ^ J ' 
 
 II Or, striving. Clirist, salutcth you, always || labouring fervently 
 « M°aTt T^T ^^^ y^^ "^ prayers, that ye may stand " perfect and 
 1 Cor. ii. 6. II complete in all the will of Grod. 
 
 & XIV. 20, " ^ 
 
 Phil. iii. 15. 
 
 Hebr. v. 14. 
 
 1 Or, filled. 
 
 12. "And complete." Rather "fully assured," or "fully persuaded" (Rev.), So W, 
 A., B., C, D., F„ G., and six Cursives ; but E., K,, L., P., most Cursives, Syriac, Arm., 
 xeaJ, "complete." 
 
 11. " And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circum- 
 cision." The words, *' who are of the circumcision," seem only 
 to refer to Mark and Jesus, called Justus. It is possible that they 
 also refer to Aristarchus, but the fact that he is three times said 
 to belong to Macedonia or Thessalonica, seems to render it 
 unlikely, 
 
 '• These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God." 
 This refers only to thos§ of the circumcision. The majority of the 
 converted Jews in the Eoman Church very probably stood aloof 
 from St. Paul, owing to his treating the Gentiles as on an equality 
 with the Jews — perhaps opposed him (Phil. i. 15). 
 
 12. " Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth 
 you, always," &c. In the Epistle to Philemon, written at the 
 same time, Epaphras is called by St. Paul his fellow-prisoner in 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 " One of you," that is, of the same city. 
 
 ** Always labouring fervently for you in prayers." He was 
 likely to do so, because he had been their Evangelist, but it was 
 well that St. Paul should put in this proof that his devotion to 
 their spiritual interests had not slackened. 
 
 The oldest and best MSS. read " fully persuaded," rather than 
 ** complete," which is perhaps the more likely reading, implying 
 that he prayed earnestly that they might not be moved, or shaken 
 in mind by the false doctrine of the heretical teachers. 
 
 13. "For I bear him record that he hath a great zeal for you, 
 and them," &c. Much zeal — perhaps it should be read "much 
 
Chap IV.] THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN". 77 
 
 13 For I bear Mm record, that he hath a great zeal for 
 you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. 
 
 14 * Luke, the beloved physician, and ^ Demas, ^ 2 Tim. iv. 
 greet you. y 2 Tim. iv. 
 
 15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, 11' P^iiem. 
 and Nymphas, and ' the church which is in his ^ R'>ni. xvi. .5. 
 
 •^ ^ I Cor. xvi 19. 
 
 house. 
 
 13. "A preat zeal." So K., L., most Cursives, and Syriac ; but K, A., B., C, P., read, 
 
 " labour " (ttovov), and D., F., G., xowov. 
 
 1.5. "Nymphas." B. reads, " Nympha," a female name ; and " her house." 
 
 " Their" (aurSv) read in S, A., C, P. "his; " D., E., F., Q., K., L., most Cursives, 
 
 Syriac, &c. 
 
 labour," i.e. in prayer. There may be as much labour thrown into 
 prayer, as into the performance of any spiritual duty. It was 
 said by the late Bishop Hamilton, of Salisbury, that no man prays 
 well except he makes a business of it. The cities mentioned here 
 were no great distance from one another, and might well at the 
 first have been evangehzed by the same man. 
 
 14. " Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.'* 
 Luke the physician, the beloved one, or " my beloved." This is 
 the only place in the New Testament which speaks of Luke as a 
 physician. The Gospel which bears his name, and the book of 
 the Acts of the Apostles, contain many indications of this in the 
 use of medical terms, which are not employed elsewhere in the New 
 Testament. The reader will find a number of the principal in- 
 stances in an excursus at the end of my volume on the Acts of the 
 Apostles. 
 
 The fact that there was a physician amongst the companions of 
 St. Paul, and one who is here specially recognized as one, seems 
 to shew that the miraculous healing of diseases in the early Church 
 was occasional, and after some clear indication from God that 
 certain persons should be healed apart from human means. 
 
 "Demas." His desertion took place some time after this. 
 Bishop Lightfoot notices that St. Paul has no affectionate word 
 for him as he has for Luke. He probably exhibited coldness and 
 slackness in the work long before his desertion of the Apostle. 
 
 15. " Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas,' 
 (fee. This can hardly be the whole Church of Laodicea, for they 
 
78 THE EPISTLE FROM LAODICEA. [Colossians. 
 
 16 And when ^ this epistle is read among you, cause that 
 » 1 Thes. V. it be read also in the church of the Laodi- 
 
 27. 
 
 ceans ; and that ye likewise read the epistle from 
 Laodicea. 
 
 had an epistle sent to them, as we learn from the next verse. 
 Bishop Lightfoot supposes it to be some colony or family of Co- 
 lossian Christians residing in Laodicea, who assembled in the house 
 of this Nymphas. 
 
 As there were no public buildings yet erected for worship, the 
 Christians assembled in large rooms, which could be procured in 
 private houses, and Nymphas had such an assembly in his house. 
 But this is all conjecture. There are various readings: "his," 
 *' her," " their," which will be seen in the critical notes. 
 
 16. " And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be 
 read also .... ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." In 
 all human probability this epistle from Laodicea was the Epistle 
 to the Ephesians. The words " from Laodicea " cannot mean that 
 it was written by the Laodicean Church, but that it was, or would 
 be, sent from Laodicea to Colosse, i.e., received by them from 
 Laodicea,^ when they sent for it. 
 
 The reader will find- this matter discussed at great length in 
 
 J As it is nnflt that I should assume that the readers of this volume possess that ia 
 ■which I have commentated on the Epistle to the Ephesians, the reader will pardon me 
 if I transcribe from the preface to the Ephesians what follows. " Upon the whole, giving 
 the most ample significance to the difference of reading (the omission of h 'E<pi(rw), 
 the fact seems to have been that he undoubtedly sent the first letter to the Ephesian 
 Church, inscribed to * the Saiuts which are in Ephesus,' but that he gave directions that 
 copies should be sent to the Churches in the neighbourhood ; and that from these copies 
 the words Jv 'E<ps<ru) were omitted, as supposed to be unsuitable; and from some of these 
 copies the omission in the MS. S, and in the copies mentioned by Basil, had its origin. 
 It seems extremely improbable that he should send a letter with so many personal 
 references in it without an inscription, and yet containing the participle toT? ou<riv (" which 
 are "), which seems to demand the name of a place, which place could originally be no 
 other than Ephesus. Another question before we conclude ; the Colossian Churches are 
 directed to send the Epistle which St. Paul wrote to them to the Laodiceans, and to 
 receive in turn and read some letter from Laodicea. This could not properly be a letter 
 ■written by the Laodicean Church, but must have been some letter of St. Paul's. Was it 
 then some letter which has been lost, or was it this Epistle to the Ephesians which had 
 been sent to the Laodicean Church? I believe the latter ; Laodicea was comparatively 
 near to Colosse, and both at a consit^erable distance from Ephesus. It was natural then 
 that if a copy of the Ephesian Epistle had been sent to Laodicea by St. Paul's direction, 
 that he should order the Colossians to send for it, and send theirs to LaoJicea." 
 
<;hap. lY.] TAKE HEED TO THE MINISTRY. 79 
 
 17 And say to ^Archippus, Take lieed to *= the mimstry 
 "whicli thou hast received in the Lord, that thou '' Phiiem. 2. 
 
 /. Tf,, ., c 1 Tim. iv.6. 
 
 fulfil it. d 1 Cor. xvi. 
 
 18 ^The salutation by the hand of me Paul, fu.'n^'^^"'- 
 "* Eemember my bonds. ^ Grrace he with you. ^ Heb. xUi. 3. 
 
 A f Heb. xiii. 25. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 ^ Written from Rome to the Colossians by Tychicus 
 and Onesimus. 
 
 17. " Thou hast receired." " Thou didst receive." 
 
 Bishop Lightfoot's Notes on the Ephesians, in which he examines 
 the various interpretations of this verse, particularly the theory 
 that an Epistle to the Laodiceans, found in some Latin MSS., is 
 the document alluded to. This theory is dismissed by Jerome in 
 the words, " ab omnibus exploditur." ('* De Vir. lUus," 5.) 
 
 17. " And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which 
 thou hast received," &c. What this particular ministry was must 
 be left to conjecture. It must have been one of importance, or it 
 would not have had such special notice here. Some suppose that 
 it was the Episcopate of the Colossian Church, which Epaphras, 
 their original Evangelist, being a prisoner at Eome, was unable to 
 exercise. From the earnest — indeed, peremptory — way in which 
 the charge is expressed, it has been conjectured that the Apostle 
 had heard that Archippus had become slack in the exercise of this 
 ministry, and this has been supposed to be the beginning of the 
 exhibition of that lukewarmness for which the angel of the Church 
 of the Laodiceans is so sternly rebuked by the Lord in the Apoca- 
 lypse. 
 
 18. *' The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Eemember my 
 bonds," &c. St. Paul wrote his letters through an amanuensis, 
 and signed them himself at the end. Thus 2 Thess. iii. 17 : " The 
 salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in 
 every Epistle " (also 1 Cor. xvi. 21). 
 
 Remember what I do and suffer for the sake of Christ, and be 
 of the same mind. I do not exhort you without having first set 
 you an example. 
 
THE 
 EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONlANS. 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE TWO EPISTLES. 
 
 THE genuineness and authenticity of the Epistles to the Thessa- 
 lonians have never been doubted in the Church of Christ. 
 They are mentioned as St. Paul's in the fragment called the 
 Muratorian Canon. The first Epistle is alluded to or quoted more 
 than once in the Epistle of Polycarp. Thus chap. xi. : "Abstain 
 from every form of evil ; " and 2 Thess. iii. 15, in chap, xi. : " Do 
 not count such as enemies, but call them back as suffering and 
 straying members." Justin Martyr clearly alludes to 2 Thess. ii. 3. 
 *' The other [advent] in which He shall come from heaven with 
 glory, when the man of apostasy who speaketh strange things 
 against the most High," &c. (Dial ex.). 
 
 Both Epistles are quoted by Irenaeus. Thus, Against Heresies, 
 V. 6-1 : " And for this cause does the Apostle, explaining himself, 
 make it clear that the saved man is a complete man as well as a 
 spiritual man ; saying this in the First Epistle to the Thessa- 
 lonians : ' Now the God of peace sanctify you perfect, and may 
 your spirit, soul, and body,' &c. (1 Thess. v. 23)." 
 
 Also Clement of Alexandria : " To this point, says the Divine 
 Apostle. ' For this is the will of God, even your Sanctification,' " 
 &c. (Miscellanies, iv. 12). Also: "Let us not then sleep as do 
 others," &c. (iv. 22). And TertuUian : " The character of these 
 times learn, along with the Thessalonians. For we read * how 
 ye turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and 
 to wait for his Son,' " &c. On the Eesurrection of the Flesh, chap. 
 24. 
 
 CHARACTEE OF THE EPISTLE. 
 
 The first matter connected with these Epistles which the careful 
 reader of Scripture has to realize is that they are the earliest of the 
 Epistles. But though they are, in point of time, the first of the 
 
84 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 books of the New Testament written for the instruction of Gentile 
 Christians, they assume that the Church to which St. Paul 
 addressed them was already in the possession of all Christian 
 truth. St. Paul does not teach them, as ah initio, one article of the 
 Christian faith. They were acquainted with the fundamentals of 
 all Christian doctrine, either through his own personal instruction, 
 or through that of his companions, Sylvanus, Timotheus, and 
 others. 
 
 Glancing over the Epistle, we gather from the very first verse 
 that St. Paul had taught them that they could be " in " God, and 
 " in " Christ. This remarkable way of speaking postulates all that 
 doctrine which pervades such Epistles as those to the Ephesians 
 and Corinthians, that Christians are now in Christ by grace as all 
 men by nature are in Adam. 
 
 From the third verse we find that he had taught them the 
 election of God — that they could not have become what they were 
 unless God had chosen them — and the sign of this choice on God's 
 part was that the Gospel came to them " not in word only, but in 
 power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." It came 
 to them not with outward miracle only, but. in the inward trans- 
 formation wrought in them by the Spirit of God. This transfor- 
 mation is described in verses 9 and 10 as " turning from idols to 
 serve the living and true God ; and waiting for His Son from 
 heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Who delivered 
 us from the wrath to come." Those two verses, it will be seen, 
 imply instruction in five articles of the creed — in the living and 
 true God, Who is a Father because He has a Son, Whom He gave 
 for us, to deliver us by His Death from the wrath to come. This 
 Son He raised from the dead, and this Son we have to wait for, for 
 He will come again " to judge the quick and the dead." The 
 Thessalonian Church, then, was instructed in those articles of the 
 faith respecting the Son of God incarnate, crucified, risen, ascended, 
 and returning, which we find St. Paul taught everywhere as his 
 Gospel (Eom. i. 1 ; 1 Cor. xv. 1-15). It was the one faith, of the 
 one Lord, professed at the one Baptism. 
 
 Furthermore we learn that they had from the first been in- 
 structed in all precepts of goodness and holiness. They had 
 " received of him how they ought to walk and to please God," and 
 all that they required was to be urged to " abound more and more " 
 (1 Epistle, iv. 1-2). Again he appeals to their perfect knowledge of 
 
INTKODUCTION. 85 
 
 their duty when he writes, " Ye yourselves know how ye ought to 
 follow us." 
 
 They were instructed then at the first in all faith and duty. Now 
 it is interesting to note the word by which St. Paul designates this 
 instruction which at the first he delivered to them to keep and 
 observe. He calls it tradition {Trapadoms). *' Therefore, brethren, 
 stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, 
 whether by word, or our Epistle " (2, ii. 15). " We command 
 you, brethren, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye 
 withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, 
 and not after the tradition which he received of us " (2. iii. 6). 
 This word tradition {paradosis) is the same which is applied to the 
 false glosses by which the Scribes and Pharisees had evaded the 
 true meaning of the word of God, and shows us that traditions may 
 be good or bad — good if they are in accordance with the revealed 
 will of God, or bad if they make void that will. 
 
 There is another matter of great importance connected with the 
 earliness of the writing of these letters. They contain no allusion 
 to Justification by faith as opposed to Justification by the works 
 of the law, or by circumcision, as in the Epistle to the Galatians. 
 They contain no allusion to the Election of the Gentiles, or the 
 Eeprobation, or casting away of the Jews with which the Epistle 
 to the Komans is so much occupied. There is, as I have noticed, a 
 reference to the election of the Thessalonian Christians, and to the 
 wrath having come upon the Jews to the uttermost ; but the first 
 is rather personal election, and the second is the impending doom 
 on their country and chief city. This shows a very early stage in 
 the conflict with which so much of the life of St. Paul was occupied. 
 Though he was every where persecuted by the Jews, yet the Judaizers, 
 i.e., those who desired to bring the Gentiles under the yoke of the 
 law for Justification, had apparently not opposed or thwarted his 
 work as they had done when he wrote his letters to the Galatians 
 and Philippians. Neither had he had yet to contend with those 
 incipient forms of Gnosticism (philosophy and vain deceit) which 
 he refers to in the Epistle to the Colossians. 
 
86 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 DATE. 
 
 With respect to the date of the first Epistle, we are ahle to 
 approximate to it tolerably closely by taking into account that it 
 must have been written shortly after the return of Timotheus to St. 
 Paul with good tidings respecting the Church at Thessalonica 
 (1 Thess. iii. 6). St. Paul having departed from Philippi came to 
 Thessalonica (Acts xvii. 1) where he planted a Church. Driven 
 from Thessalonica by the persecution of the Jews, he came to 
 Berea, to which place also the enmity of his countiymen pursued 
 him, and so the brethren there sent him away by sea, and brought 
 him to Athens. The persons who had brought him there received 
 a command to bring to him with all speed Silas and Timotheus, 
 and no doubt they shortly rejoined him at Athens, But whilst at 
 Athens he was in such anxiety respecting the state of the 
 Thessalonian Church that he sent Timothy back again to Thessa- 
 lonica to bring him word respecting their true state (1 Thess. iii. 1). 
 The first Epistle must have been written very shortly after he 
 received this good account, and as his stay appears to have been 
 very short, probably the first Epistle was written soon after his 
 arrival in Corinth, where Timothy and Silas had rejoined him 
 (Acts xviii. 5) and about 52 or 53 after Christ. There seems to 
 have been no special occasion which caused him to write it, except 
 to remind them of what he had taught them. 
 
 It seems to be generally agreed that the Second Epistle was 
 written shortly after the first. It seems to have been written for 
 a special purpose — to warn the Thessalonians that they should not 
 be so "moved " or "shaken in mind " by what he had taught them 
 respecting the nearness of the Second Advent, as to neglect the 
 duties of daily life, which some among them had begun to do. 
 
 THE CITY OF THESSALONICA. 
 
 It remains to say a word respecting Thessalonica itself. It was 
 anciently known as Therma, and received the name of Thessa- 
 lonica from Cassander, the son of Antipater, who rebuilt and 
 enlarged it, and named it after his wife Thessalonica, the sister of 
 Alexander the Great. The harbour was well suited for commerce, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 87 
 
 and under the Romans it had the additional advantage of lying on 
 the Via Egnatia, which led from the western shores of Greece to 
 Byzantium, and the East. Its magistrates were named TroXirapx^h 
 a peculiar title, and the accuracy of St. Luke in calling them by 
 this name is confirmed by an inscription on an arch of the time of 
 the early Emperors, in which this unique title is given to them. 
 It appears to have had in all times of its history a large population 
 of Jews, and a small number could scarcely have persecuted the 
 Apostles, and made their animosity felt in other cities in the way 
 described by St. Luke. 
 
THE 
 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 PAUL, and *Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church 
 of the Thessalonians, whicJi is in Grod the *^p°^-Vi^- 
 
 2 Tbess. 1. 1. 
 
 Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: '' G-race i Pet. v. 12. 
 
 b Eph. i. 2. 
 
 1. *• Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the 
 Thessalonians," &c. How is it that Silvanus and Timotheus are 
 joined with the Apostle in writing this his first letter ? Because, as 
 I have before said, he desired to associate his companions and 
 fellow-helpers with himself, as in some degree sharing his autho- 
 rity. The Epistle is entirely his own, not one word contributed 
 by either of them, and yet as they had frequently to occupy his 
 place in his absence, or when he sent them on messages to the 
 Church, he wished, as far as i)ossible, to invest them with some- 
 thing of Apostolical authority. 
 
 Both Silvanus and Timotheus were his fellow- helpers in plant- 
 ing the Church of Thessalonica after his departure from Philippi. 
 Timotheus seems to have joined him at Thessalonica, and when 
 he departed to Athens they were left there (Acts xvii. 14). 
 
 Silvanus is always called by St. Luke Silas, but by the Apostle 
 always with the full name. He is mentioned before Timotheus, 
 most probably because he was before him in the Gospel, being a 
 prominent person in the Mother Church of Jerusalem before 
 Timothy became a Christian (Acts xv. 32). 
 
 " The church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father 
 and in the Lord Jesus Christ." This is the first sentence of St. 
 Paul's writing which has come down to us, and in it we have the 
 
90 WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD. [I. Thess. 
 
 he unto you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 c Rom. i. 8. 2 ^ We give thanks to Grod always for you all, 
 
 Phiiem. 4.' making mention of you in our j^rayers ; 
 
 1. " From God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ," So H, A., C, D., E., 
 K., L., P.. most Cursives, d, e, &c. ; but B., F., G., 47, 73, 115, f, g, Vulg., Syriac, &c., 
 omit. 
 
 assertion of that which may be called his characteristic doctrine — 
 that as Christians can be in God, so they can be in Christ. They are 
 *' in " a Man Who is at the right hand of God, just as they are " in '* 
 the God, in Whom we hve and move and have our being. That 
 Christ should be thus set forth as containing the Church, just as 
 God contains it, is a very deep mystery, but it is one which the 
 Apostle was raised up to set forth (Ephes. iii. 6). It may be said 
 to underlie the teaching of every Epistle, particularly those to the 
 Eomans, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, and the Colossians. 
 " Ye in me, and I in you" " I am the vine, ye are the branches. He 
 that abideth in me and I in him, the same hringeth forth much 
 fruit." This is the way in which the Lord sets forth the mystery, 
 and this Apostle was especially commissioned to take uj) and dwell 
 upon it, and show how it bears upon all Christian life. So that 
 the Apostle strikes the key note of his teaching in his very first 
 Epistle, and in its first verse. 
 
 " Grace be unto you, and peace." " Grace," that is, the power 
 to apprehend God and subdue sin and live holily. "Peace" has 
 especially to do with their dwelling together in unity ; and this was, 
 in the eyes of the Apostle, of supreme necessity, for the grace of 
 God could not continue with those who did not love one another, 
 as another Apostle said, " He that loveth his brother abideth in 
 the light " (1 John ii. 10). 
 
 2. " We give thanks to God always .... making mention," 
 &c. St. Paul almost invariably begins his Epistles with thanks to 
 God for the grace of God manifested in them ; thus in Eomans i. 8, 
 "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all." 1 Corinthians, 
 i. 4, " I thank my God always on your behalf." The only instance to 
 the contrary is that to the Galatians,. of whom he has to say, " I 
 am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain " 
 (iv. 11). This is a proof quite as clear and cogent as any dogmatic 
 
Chap. I.] YOUR WORK OF FAITH. 91 
 
 3 ''Remembering without ceasing ^your work dch.u. i.s. 
 of faith, ^and labour of love, and patience of Gai° ^^ e!" eh. 
 
 iii. 6. 2 Thess. 
 i. 3, 11. James 
 
 ii. 17. 
 
 f Rom. xvi. 6. 
 Heb. vi. 10. 
 
 assertion that he recognizes all Christian living as entirely the 
 work of the grace of God. 
 
 3. "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and 
 labour of love, and patience of hope," &c. Here we have the three 
 great abiding graces mentioned also at the beginning of his teach- 
 ing : and mentioned in such wise as to show that they never could 
 be alone. Faith, if it be true, must work ; love, if it be sincere, must 
 labour ; hope, if it is not to be ashamed, must endure with patience. 
 Chrysostom, in expounding this passage, carries the Apostle's re- 
 membrances back to the first preaching of the Gospel among them, 
 and the sufferings they then endured: "What is the voorh of 
 faith ? That nothing has turned aside your steadfastness. For 
 this is the work of faith. If thou believest, suffer all things: if 
 thou dost not suffer thou dost not believe. For are not the things 
 promised such, that he who believes would choose to suffer even 
 ten thousand deaths. The kingdom of heaven is set before him 
 and immortality and eternal life. He, therefore, that believes will 
 suffer all things. Faith then is shown through his works." 
 
 "And your labour of love. "Why? what labour is it to love? 
 Merely to love is none at all. But to love sincerely is great labour. 
 For tell me, when many things are stirred up that would draw us 
 from love and we hold out against them all, is it not labour ? For 
 what did not these men suffer, that they might not revolt from 
 their love ? Did not they that warred on the Gospel go to Paul's 
 host (Acts xvii. 5, 6), and not having found him, drag Jason before 
 the rulers of the city ? Tell me is this a slight labour when the 
 seed is not yet taken root to endm-e so great a storm — so many 
 trials. 
 
 "And patience (he says) of hope. For that persecution was 
 not confined to one time, but was continual ; and they warred not 
 only with Paul the master, but with his disciples also. For if they 
 were thus affected towards those who wrought miracles, these 
 venerable men, what, think ye, were their feelings towards those 
 who dwelt among them, their fellow-citizens, who had all of a 
 sudden revolted from them ? " 
 
92 YOUR ELECTION OF GOD. [I. Thess. 
 
 hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of G-od and 
 
 our Father ; 
 
 II Or, beloved 4 Knowiuff, brethren 11 beloved, ^ vour election 
 
 election. 01 GrOd. 
 
 2 Thess"'ii. 13. 5 For ^ our Gospcl came not unto you in word 
 
 1 ^or\rl'&' <^^lj> ^^* ^^^^ i^ power, and ^ in the Holy Ghost, 
 
 iv. 2o! 
 
 t 2 Cor. vi, 6. 
 
 4. " Knowing, brethren beloved, yonr election of God." Some translate this, " Know 
 ing, brethren beloved of God, your election." 
 
 " Patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." What happened 
 to them showed not their fortitude only, but that they believed 
 with full assurance in the rewards laid up for them. It was not 
 human persecution but the power of God that persuaded the souls 
 of the believers. 
 
 " In the sight of God and our Father." Their warfare was not 
 before men, but before the heart-searching God. A thing so before 
 unknown in the world, that a man should thus sacrifice life and all 
 things for the love of a crucified and risen Saviour, was not a thing 
 done before men only, but under the eye of God Who had given 
 them grace thus to contend. 
 
 4, 5. " Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For 
 our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power," 
 &c. There must have been some deep mysterious reason why the 
 few members of the Church of the Thessalonians had embraced 
 the Gospel, and the surrounding multitude, their neighbours and 
 friends and relations, had not. What was this reason ? It was the 
 election, or choice of God, and this was evidenced by the fact that 
 the Gospel had not been to them a mere word, as it was to many 
 around them, but it came to them " in power." It has been made 
 a question whether this power was in the preacher, in his tongue 
 or in his heart, or in the hearers whose hearts were opened by the 
 power of God. In both, we should answer, but especially the latter, 
 for the power of enunciating the truths of the Gospel, and the Holy 
 Ghost enforcing the word spoken with miracles, were outwardly 
 the same to all whose ears heard the word ; but that which made 
 the difference was the power of God working in the heart, and 
 drawing them on to belief in Christ (John vi. 44). 
 
 Was this election then irreversible, or, as we should say, Calvin- 
 
Chap. L] IN MUCH ASSURANCE. 93 
 
 ^ and in mucli assurance : as ^ ye know what ^ Coi. a. 2. 
 
 ' "^ Heb. ii. 3. 
 
 manner of men we were among jou for youi- 
 sake. 
 
 1 ch. ii, 1, 5, 
 10,11. 2Thes3. 
 
 5. "Among yon" (Jv). So B., D., E., F., G., K., L., most Cursives, d, e, f, g. N, A., 
 C, P., Vulg. Amiat., omit Jv. 
 
 istic? No. It was not an election to a place in heaven, without 
 reference to the after-conduct of him whose heart was touched by 
 the Gospel, but an election to be a member of the Church of Christ 
 and to glorify God as such. If a man, from among .many appli- 
 cants, chooses a servant, it is a great thing for that servant to know 
 it, a great incentive for him to do his duty to think that his master 
 has certainly chosen him, and that he must justify his master's 
 choice. And so with the election of God. It postulates two 
 things, outward circumstances as well as inward drawing — the 
 outward calling and all its circumstances, birth in a Christian 
 land, Baptism, Christian training, the Church administering and 
 enforcing the Sacraments. This is the outward calling, but it 
 is as much brought about by the good providence of God as the 
 inward, which is the opening of the man's heart to see the state of 
 grace in which he is, and to recognize in the Church and its minis- 
 trations the very kingdom of God which the Eedeemer came down 
 to establish. 
 
 St. Paul knew then that the persons to whom he wrote could 
 not have embraced the Gospel of themselves, but that God had 
 moved them so to do, and this was a sign not that each and every 
 one would eventually be saved, but that God required their services 
 in His Church. Whether they would answer, or persevere in 
 answering, to this God's call, was another matter (see my Excursus 
 on Election at the end of Notes on the Eomans, and also Notes on 
 Ephes. iii.) ; but each soul must unceasingly commit itself unto 
 God's Holy keeping. 
 
 "And in the Holy Ghost." The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of 
 power, both in the heart and out of it. His is the converting 
 power, and His is the power of miracles, and of evidence to show 
 that the doctrine put forth for acceptance is not of man's devising, 
 but by the will of the unseen Father of all. 
 
 *' As ye know what manner of men we were among you for your 
 sake." If we had preached the Gospel to you, and not exhibited 
 the hohness of the Gospel, ye could hardly have believed our 
 
94 JOY OF THE HOLY GHOST. [I. Thess. 
 
 6 And ™ ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having 
 
 m 1 Cor.iv. 16. received the word in much affliction, ^ with iov of 
 
 &xi. 1. Phil. , T-r , ^, 
 
 iii. 17. eh. ii. the Holy Grhost : 
 
 14 2 Thess 
 
 iii.' 9. 7 So that ye were en samples to all that believe 
 
 iifh.'i.^M.^' in Macedonia and Achaia. 
 
 7. "Ensamples," ao S, A., C„ F., G-., K., L., P., most Cursives; but D. D.*, a few 
 Cursives, d, e, f, v, Vulg,, Sah., Copt., Syriac, Arm., .^th., read, "an ensample." 
 
 message, for our lives would have belied its power ; but so far from 
 this, we exhibited among you that transformation which we pressed 
 upon you. As he says, " Ye are witnesses how holily, and justly, 
 and unblamably we behaved ourselves among you that believe " 
 (ii. 10). 
 
 6. "And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having 
 received," &c. " Followers," that is, " imitators." 
 
 *' Of us, and of the Lord." If it seem presumptuous for any mere 
 man to put his own example and that of Christ's side by side, it is 
 to be remembered that the very object of the preaching of the 
 Gospel and of the gift of the Spirit was to produce in men the 
 character and life of Christ, and this could hardly be brought about 
 unless the disciples of Christ so manifested the lineaments of His 
 Divine Character that men might not only hear the word of Christ 
 from their lips, but see His Life in their lives. 
 
 But in this case they became " followers," or " imitators " of the 
 Lord in the two matters of receiving the word with much affliction, 
 and with joy of the Holy Ghost. Joy in the midst of suffering was 
 one of the .especial marks of the new state of things. In the old 
 state of things, if men obeyed God, "blessed should be their basket 
 and their store." " Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed 
 shalt thou be in the field; " but in the new it is : " Rejoice inas- 
 much as ye are partakers of the sufferings of Christ, that when his 
 glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy " 
 (1 Pet. iv. 13). 
 
 7. *' So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia," 
 &c. Rather "an ensample" — from the readiness with which 
 they received the Gospel, and perhaps from their freedom from the 
 divisions and false doctrine which had disturbed other Churches. 
 The next verse shows how it came to pass that they were so early 
 an ensample. 
 
Chap. I.] WHAT MANNER OF ENTERING IN. 95 
 
 8 For from jou ° sounded out the word of the Lord not 
 only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also ^ in every ° Rom. x. is. 
 place your faith to Grodward is spread abroad; 2Thess.^i. 4. 
 so that we need not to speak any thing. 
 
 9 For they themselves shew of us '' what manner 1 ^h. li. 1. 
 of entering in we had unto you, "" and how ye "", 1 Cor. xii. 2. 
 turned to God from idols to serve the living and 
 
 true Grod ; 
 
 9. "Of us." So B., nearly twenty Cursives, d, e, Sah., Copt.; but all other autho- 
 ritiHS, " of you." 
 
 8. " For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in 
 Macedonia," &c. Thessalonica was a great commercial centre and 
 a seaport, and the report of the extraordinary fact that, at the 
 preaching of a handful of unknown men, a considerable number 
 of its inhabitants gave up all belief in their ancestral religion, and 
 embraced a life of self-denial and persecution, spread (to use the 
 vulgar saying) like wild-fire, and paved the way for all Greece— for 
 Macedonia and Achaia comprehended all Greece — at least to 
 listen to the Gospel. 
 
 " In every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad ; so 
 that," &c. Instead of having to cite you as an example of readi- 
 ness in receiving the faith we are ourselves told of it by those who 
 have already heard it by common report. 
 
 This place is an example of the way in which the report of the 
 success of the Gospel was spread far beyond the range of direct 
 preaching. We are by no means to judge of its effect even on the 
 outside world, by the few and scanty notices in such authors as 
 Tacitus and Suetonius. A parallel instance is to be found in 
 Joshua ii. 9. 
 
 9. " For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering 
 in," &c. That is, the inhabitants of the places to which the report 
 of your conversion has reached ; so that dwellers in strange cities 
 were the more ready to receive the Gospel. 
 
 " What manner of entering in," i.e., what success we had not- 
 withstanding opposition and persecution. 
 
 " How ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true 
 God, and to wait," &c. This is the first account which we have in 
 his own words of what the Apostle preached, and of what his con« 
 
96 TO WAIT FOR HIS SON. [I. Thess. 
 
 • Rom. ii. 7. 10 And Ho wait for his Son *from heaven, 
 
 Phil. iii. 20. , n • t p , n •, 
 
 Tit. ii. 13. ^ whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which 
 
 2 Pet iii 12 
 
 Rev. i. 1. ' delivered us "^ from the wrath to come. 
 
 t Acts i. 11. 
 
 ch. iv. 16. 
 
 2 Thess. i. 7. 
 
 w Acts ii. 24. verts received. It comprises by sure implication eveiy 
 R^*"'. 9'.* ^" article of the Creed of Christendom. That there is one 
 ch. V. 9. God — that the unity of His Godhead does not pre- 
 
 clude His having a Son — that He raised this Son from the dead, 
 which demands that He should have come in the flesh in a body 
 capable of death, and should have actually died, or He could not 
 have been raised from the dead — that this Son has deUvered us 
 from the wrath to come, which in accordance with all the rest 
 of Scripture He effected by His Death in the first place — in which 
 Death He died to sin and delivered us from the wrath to come, that 
 is, death eternal, by uniting us with Himself in His Death — and 
 for the second coming of this Jesus we have to look, for, " From 
 thence — from the place to which He was raised — He shall come 
 to judge the quick and the dead." 
 
 This is the first preaching — the first receiving of the Gospel. It 
 is the Gospel of God — the Gospel of the Son of God — the Gospel of 
 the Death, the Eesurrection and the Second Advent — the Gospel of 
 the Supernatural — the Gospel of the deepest mysteries of God. 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 • ch. i, 6, 9. T^OR ^ yourselves, brethren, know our entrance 
 X in unto you, that it was not in vain : 
 
 1. *' For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, 
 that it was not in vain." But we need not dwell upon the testi- 
 mony of others. Ye yourselves know the extraordinary success 
 which attended our first ministry among you. 
 
 2. " But even after that we had suffered before, and were shame- 
 fully entreated." When they arrived from Philippi they had the 
 
CiiAP. II.] WE WERE BOLD IN OUR GOD. 97 
 
 2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were 
 shamefully entreated, as ye know, at * Philippi, ^ Acts xvi. 22. 
 ''we were bold in our G-od ''to speak unto you dActlxvii. 2. 
 the G-ospel of G-od ^ with much contention. ^ p^U- '• 30. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ Col. 11. 1. 
 
 3 ^ For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of f 2 cor. vii. 2. 
 
 , . ., ver. 5. 2 Pet. 
 
 uncleanness, nor in guile : i. le. 
 
 2. "But even after that." S, A., B., C, D., E., F., G„ K., L., P., most Cursives, f, 
 g, Vulg., &c., omit. " Even " found only in some Cursives. 
 
 marks of their ill-treatment upon them, but were not for a moment 
 deterred from at once preaching the Gospel in Thessalonica. 
 
 This their boldness was not mere human obstinacy and deter- 
 mination ; but it was " in our God; " inspired by Him, and sus- 
 tained by His help. 
 
 " With much contention," i.e., in vehement striving {dyuivi). 
 The Kevisers render, " in much conflict." It refers to the conflict 
 described in Acts xvii. 5, "But the Jews which believed not, 
 moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser 
 sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, 
 and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to 
 the people." Such outward opposition must be attended with 
 great inward struggle and conflict of mind that they should not 
 yield in the least, but that they should contend manfully for 
 that which they knew to be a matter of life and death to all who 
 heard it. 
 
 3. " For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, 
 nor in guile." Here the Apostle is supposed to allude to slanders 
 which were spread respecting him. 
 
 "Not of deceit," rather, perhaps, of error. 
 
 " Nor of uncleanness." It is difficult to suppose how the 
 Apostle could be accused of impurity. Jowett in his paraphrase 
 interprets it, " of impure motives," and Chrysostom, " It is not 
 for things abominable, as the tricks of jugglers and sorcerers ; for 
 this is the meaning of uncleanness." 
 
 "Nor in guile." He seems to have been charged in another 
 Church with having made a gain of his converts (2 Cor. xii. 
 16, 17). Wordsworth supposes that it alludes to adulterating th« 
 Gospel. 
 
98 NOR OF MEN SOUGHT WE GLORY. [I. Thess. 
 
 e 1 cor.vii.25. 4 But as * we were allowed of God *" to be put 
 
 1 Tim. i. 11, . • T -1 /->* 1 1 i I 
 
 ]2. in trust with the Grospel, even so we speak; 'not 
 
 Gai^^ir?"''^^' a.s pleasing men, but G-od, ^ which trieth our 
 '^'^i'^' hearts. 
 
 I Gal. 1. 10. 
 
 k Prov.xvii. 3. 5 For ^neither at any time used we flattering 
 
 1 Acts xx' 33. words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness ; 
 
 V^f&ln. "" (>od is witness : 
 
 2. & xii. 17. Q n -^Qj. ^f j^Qj^ souffht we glorv, neither of you, 
 
 m Rom. 1. 9. & o ^' J ' 
 
 n John V. 41, nor yet of others, when ° we might have || been 
 
 1 Tim. v". 17. P burdensome, "^ as the apostles of Christ. 
 
 o 1 Cor. ix. 4, 
 
 6,12,18. 2 Cor. 
 
 X. 1,2,10,11. 
 & xiii. 10. 
 
 2 Thess. iii 9. 7 "Gentle" (^irto.). So A., E., K., L., P., most Cursives, Syriac, 
 Ph.lem. 8 9. g^^^ ^^^^^ ^^. . ^^^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^^ p^ ^^ ^^^^ Cursives, d, e, f, g. 
 
 mdhorUy. '^"^g" ^opt., ^th., read, " babes " (vii,r,o.). 
 
 p 2 Cor. xi. 9. 
 
 2 Thess. 'iii. 8. 4. " But as We Were allowed' of God to be put in 
 q 1 Cor. ix. 1, trust with the Gospel," &c. "Allowed," rather " ap- 
 ' ■ proved" of God. As God has entrusted us, for we 
 
 have not undertaken this commission at our own will, but by the 
 direct designation of God, and so we speak as those who have to 
 answer to God ; not as pleasing men, for, if so, we should not 
 be the servants of God (Gal. i. 10), but as pleasing God, Who above 
 all things requires sincerity in His servants. 
 
 5. " For neither at any time used we flattering words as ye 
 know, nor a cloke of covetousness," &c. Chrysostom understands 
 it, •' No one can say that we flattered in order to rule, nor that we 
 had recourse to it for the sake of wealth." Of this, wbich was 
 manifest, he afterwards calls them to be witnesses. Whether we 
 flattered, he said, " ye know." But as to wbat was uncertain, 
 viz., whether it were in a spirit of covetousness, he calls God to 
 witness. 
 
 "Cloke of covetousness." The meaning being that he did not 
 conceal covetousness under a show of better motives. 
 
 6. " Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of 
 others . . . apostles of Christ." Glory here seems to be the glory 
 of Apostleship, which also included the right of maintenance. 
 This is specifically mentioned in the next verse but two. 
 
 " We might," &c. Silvanus and Timotheus seem to be included 
 
Chap. IT.] WE WERE GENTLE AMONG YOU. 99 
 
 7 But ""we were gentle among you, even as a nurse 
 ■cherislieth her children : "• i Cor. ii. 3. 
 
 8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we xiii.4"! 2 Tim.* 
 were willing ^ to have imparted unto you, not the » Rom. i. n. 
 Oospel of God only, but also * our own souls, be- f 2 00^x11 15 
 <?ause ye were dear unto us. 
 
 9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and 
 ■travail: for "labouring night and day, ''because ico?iv!V2!' 
 we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we 2 Thess.'ii?' 8. 
 preached unto you the GTospel of G-od. ■'^ 2 cor. xh. 
 
 9. *' For labouring." So E., K., L., most Cursives, Arm. ; but V, A„ B., D., F., Q., 
 H., P., twenty Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Sah., Copt., Syriac, omit " for." 
 
 here as sharing the honour or right, but all through this part of 
 the Epistle St. Paul uses the first person plural even where the 
 words are only strictly apphcable to himself ; and of course the 
 Tight of maintenance of his companions in travail and necessary 
 fellow-helpers would be as much asserted, if needful, as his own 
 <see 1 Cor. ix. i, 2, 5, 6). 
 
 7. " But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth," 
 Ac. " We exhibited nothing that was offensive, or troublesome, or 
 ■displeasing, or boastful. And the expression * among you ' is as if 
 he should say, we were as one of you, not taking the higher place. 
 Does the nurse flatter that she may obtain glory ? Does she ask 
 money of her little children ? Is she offensive or burdensome to 
 them ? Are they not more indulgent to them than mothers ? " 
 (Chrysostom). 
 
 8. "So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to 
 have imparted," &c. Eom. ix. 3 is sometimes cited as a parallel, but 
 it seems too strong ; " our own souls " need not, and most probably 
 does not, mean more than our lives. We were ready to die for 
 jou, such was our affection. 
 
 9. " For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail." Bishop 
 Wordsworth notices that these words are not synonyms though 
 often joined together. Labour, Koirog, signifies the hewing of 
 wood, from kStttu) ; but travail, iJ.6x9og, the carrying it after being 
 hewn. The former indicates energy of action, the latter patience 
 
100 YE ARE WITNESSES. [I. Tuess. 
 
 10 ^ Ye are witnesses, and God also, 'how holily and justly 
 7 ch, i. 5. and unblameably we behaved ourselves among 
 
 « 2 Cor. vii. 2. xu ^ i T 
 
 2 ihess. iii. 7. you that oeiieve : 
 
 11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and 
 charged every one of you, as a father doth his children. 
 
 in bearing night and clay. St. Paul observes the Hebrew sequence 
 (" the evening and the morning were the first day "). 
 
 " Because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we- 
 preached," &c. Thus early did the Apostle commence labouring 
 on his own account. For what reason ? He tells us in 2 Cor. xi^ 
 12 : " What I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from 
 them which desire occasion ; that wherein they glory they may be 
 found even as we." St. Paul felt that the charge most detri- 
 mental to the Gospel which could be made against him was that 
 he preached for gain, and so to repel effectually any such a slander 
 he worked with his own hands for his maintenance (see note on 
 2 Cor. xi. 9). 
 
 It might be objected to this conduct on the part of the Apostle 
 that time was lost in manual labour which might have been spent 
 in the far more precious work of making known the salvation of 
 God ; but we are not to take into account in this matter the time 
 only, but the removal of hindrances and the extent to which the 
 example of pure disinterestedness would go in ensuring the accep- 
 tance of the message. 
 
 10. *' Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly, and 
 unblameably," &c. There are times when men must assert what 
 God by His grace hath enabled them to do and to suffer. The 
 Thessalonians knew well enough that there was not one particle of 
 the spirit of boasting in these words, but that they were said to 
 magnify the grace of God which had enabled Paul and his com- 
 panions to adorn and commend the Gospel which they preached. 
 
 " Holily " looks to purity of heart and life ; "justly " looks to- 
 righteousness and uprightness in our conduct towards our neigh 
 hours ; " unblameably " looks to our giving no offence, which even 
 holy and just men may do by want of carefulness, of sympathy^ 
 and of consideration. 
 
 11. " As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged,'*" 
 «jio. Literally " we were exhorting," a verb such as "we were'* 
 
Chap. II.] WALK WORTHY OF GOD. 101 
 
 12 * That ye would walk worthy of God, ^ who » Eph. iv. i. 
 liath called you unto his kingdom and glory. Coi.i.'io. " 
 
 13 For this cause also thank we Grod ^ without b i cor. i. 9. 
 •ceasing, because, when ye received the word of a^xhe.^^'ii. 14. 
 
 2 Tim. i'. 9". 
 
 12. "Who hath called." So H, A., a few Cursives (six), Vulg., Goth., Syriac, &c. ; 
 but B., D., E., F., G., H., K., L., P., most Cursives, read, "who calleth you." 
 
 having to be supplied before the three participles. • The use of 
 the participles should be noticed, as it denotes the continuous 
 action. The Eevisers render it, " As ye know how we dealt with 
 each one of you .... exhorting you, and encouraging," &c. 
 *' Exhorted," i.e., " urged upon you," *' comforted," i.e., *' bid you 
 bear up against all opposition, knowing that it would be but for a 
 little time," in fact, " encouraging you." *' Charged," i.e., *' wit- 
 nessed, bore testimony to the power of God's grace." Sometimes 
 the Apostle compares himself, as here, to a father ; sometimes to a 
 mother, as in Gal. iv. 19. 
 
 "Every one of you." Thus he appeals to the Ephesian elders. 
 Acts XX. 20, " publicly and from house to house." 
 
 12. " That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you 
 •unto his kingdom," &c. Is the kingdom here the present state of 
 grace, and the glory the future glory ? It may be so, but we must 
 remember that the present state of grace is, compared to every 
 other state existing in this world, a state of glory. Thus St. Paul, 
 speaking of his kinsmen according to the flesh, says that to them per- 
 tained " the glory and the covenants " (Kom. ix. 4), and in compar- 
 ing the two dispensations in 2 Corinth, iii., he says that the present 
 glory of flie new dispensation is such that it altogether eclipsed 
 that of the former one. Though not in the eyes of the world, yet 
 in the sight of God and good angels the present state of Christians — 
 their adoption, their union in the Mystical Body, their possession 
 of the Spirit, their knowledge of Divine things — is all of it glory, so 
 that the calling here on God's part is to a glory as well as to a 
 kingdom. 
 
 " Worthy of God," by imitating Him (Ephes. v. 1), by shtowing 
 forth in yourselves the power of His Spirit. 
 
 13. " For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, 
 "when ye received," &c. This is a repetition or acknowledgment 
 
102 NOT AS THE WORD OF MEN. [I. Thess. 
 
 God whicli ye heard of us, ye received it ^ not as the word 
 d Matt. X. 40. of men, but as it is in truth, the word of Grod^ 
 
 Gal. iv. 14. 
 
 2 Pet, iii. 2. which effectually worketh also in you that believe, 
 e Gal. i. 22. 14 For yc, brethren, became followers ^ of the- 
 
 churches of Grod which in Judsea are in Christ 
 f ^Acts xvii. 5, Jesus: for 'ye also have suffered like things of 
 6 Heb. X. 33, your owu couutrymeu, ^ even as they have of the 
 
 Jews : 
 hActsii.23. 15 hWho both killed the Lord Jesus, and 
 
 & 111. 15. & V. ' 
 
 30. & vii. 52. 
 
 of i. 5 ("our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also iii 
 power)." 
 
 "We thank God without ceasing." We must remember that 
 this was written shortly after the extraordinary putting forth of 
 God's power in the conversion of the Thessalonians, when it was 
 yet fresh in the Apostle's mind. 
 
 " The word of men . . . the word of God." This word was tha 
 word preached by the Apostle. If the utterances of St. Paul were 
 thus the word of God, much more that which he wrote with deli- 
 beration and purpose and which has been preserved in the Church- 
 as her standard of doctrine. 
 
 "Which effectually worketh also in you that believe." When 
 they received it, it proved itself to be the word of the living God. 
 by the transformation which it wrought in them, 
 
 14. " For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of ... ► 
 Judaea,"- &c. Why does the Apostle single out the churches of 
 Judsea as those which the Church of Thessalonica so closely fol- 
 lowed ? Because their persecution was really owing to the Jews ; 
 the heathen Thessalonians were incited to harass them, not of 
 themselves, but by the Jews, and they must not expect treatment 
 different from what the Jews accorded to their own flesh and 
 blood in Judaea. 
 
 15. " Who both killed the Lord Jesus," &c. " If they have per- 
 secuted me, they will also persecute you." 
 
 " And their own prophets " (perhaps " the prophets"). The Lord. 
 Himself especially designates Jerusalem as the slayer of the pro- 
 phets. " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets- 
 and stonest them which are sent unto thee " (Matth. xxiii. 37). 
 
Chap. II.] TO FILL UP THEIR SINS ALWAY. 103 
 
 Hheir own prophets, and have 11 persecuted us; ^Matt. v. 12. 
 -11 -./-.-, V -. & xxiii. 34, ;h7. 
 
 and they please not Grod, ^ and are contrary to Luke xiii. us. 
 
 ^, 34. Actsvii 52. 
 
 all men : H or, chased 
 
 16 ^Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that ^Esth iii 8 
 thev might be saved, "^ to fill up their sins alway : ^ Luke xi. 52. 
 
 - ° . ' ^ '' Acts xiii. 50. & 
 
 ° for the wrath is come upon them to the utter- xiv. 5, 19, & 
 
 ■^ xvii. 5, 13. & 
 
 most. xviii. 12. &xix. 
 
 Ti-r-i-», 11 i-ji r> «9& xxii. 21, 
 
 17 iiut we, brethren, being taken irom you for 22. 
 
 ,.,.„. i • 1 i ^ Gen. XV. 1(3. 
 
 a snort time ° m presence, not m heart, en- Matt, xxiii. 32. 
 
 1 Matt. xxiv. 
 
 6, 14. 
 
 o 1 Cor. V. 3. 
 Col. ii. 5. 
 
 15. "Their own prophets." So K., L., most Cursives, Syriac, Goth. ; but H, A., B., 
 D., E., F., G., P., eight Cursives, Ital., Vulg., Sah., Copt., Arm., .Eth., read, " the 
 prophets." 
 
 " And they please not God." Though He had chosen them to 
 Himself as especially His own people, though He had given them 
 the law, and the prophets, and sent His Son as one of themselves 
 to win them back to Him. 
 
 " And are contrary to all men." How ? Because if we ought to 
 speak to the world, and they forbid us, they are the common 
 enemies of mankind. A heathen writer, Tacitus, notices their 
 sullen alienation from the rest of mankind (" ad versus omnes alios 
 hostile odium "). 
 
 16. " Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles .... for the wrath 
 is come," &c. 
 
 *' To fill up their sins alway." Eemember the Lord's withering 
 denunciation, *' Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers " 
 (Matth. xxiii. 32). 
 
 '* The wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." This must 
 be said in anticipation of the Komans coming and taking away 
 their place and nation. The prophecies of our Lord respecting the 
 destruction of Jerusalem must have been well known to St. Paul, 
 and were so circumstantial that he would consider them as history, 
 and regard what the Lord predicted as already fulfilled. 
 
 17. " But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time, 
 in presence, not in heart," &c. " Taken from you." The original 
 word is much more tender and affectionate, it is " bereaved from 
 you,'' bereaved in being separated from you, retm*ning as it were 
 
104 SATAN HINDERED US. [I. Thess. 
 
 deavoured tlie more abundantly p to see your face with great 
 p ih. iii. 10. desire. 
 
 18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, 
 
 & XV ™*2^' ^ ^' ®^^^ ■'■ ^^^^' ^^^^ ^^^ again ; but "^ Satan hin- 
 dered us. 
 p2.Cor. i.^14. 19 YoY "^ what IS owc hopc, or joy, or ^ crown of 
 'v-i- II reioicinff? Are not even ye in the presence of 
 
 sProv.xvi.31. " J \ m.'^t ^-U' ' 
 
 I Or, glorying? our Lord Jcsus Christ at ms commg : 
 eh-Sas^Rev. ^0 For ye are our glory and joy. 
 
 i. 7. & xxii. 12. 
 
 to the idea of the father and his children, only he invests the 
 parent with the feelings of bereavement. 
 
 *' Endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great 
 desire." 
 
 18. " Wherefore we would have come .... but Satan hindered 
 us." In what way ? By what external circumstances Satan or 
 the adversary hindered the accomplishment of his desire we know 
 not. Ancient commentators, as Cbrysostom, who lived so much 
 nearer to tbe time of the Apostles, know nothing of it. 
 
 It teaches, however, this important lesson, tbat God for the fur- 
 therance of His aU-wise purposes, allows Satan to have some power 
 in controlling events, just as He allows men to work their own will 
 whilst they bring about the furtherance of His designs. The hin- 
 drance of Satan is evil, but it is ordered by God to bring about a 
 greater good, just as the very existence of evil itself is. 
 
 19, 20. " For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing . . . 
 ye are our glory and joy." He might well desire earnestly to come 
 and see them again. For they were his hope — the hope that he 
 had not run in vain or spent his strength for nought ; his joy, that 
 God had made him the honoured instrument of so successful a 
 work — ^his crown of rejoicing, the summit, the very acme of his joy 
 or glory. Thus Cornelia said of her children, when another had 
 been displaying her jewels, " These are my jewels." Looking at 
 them as his spiritual children he might have had in his mind 
 Proverbs xvii. 6, " Children's children are the crown of old men, 
 and the glory of children are their fathers." 
 
Chap. III.] LEFT AT ATHENS ALONE. 105 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 WHEEEFORE ^ when we could no longer forbear, ^ we 
 thought it good to be left at Athens » ver. 5. 
 
 1 b Acts x^ii. 15. 
 
 alone ; 
 
 2 And sent *^ Timotheus, our brother, and c Rom.xvi.21. 
 
 1 Cor. xvi. 10. 
 ■ 2 Cor. i. 19. 
 
 1, 2. " Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought 
 it good .... to comfort you concerning your faith." " "We thought 
 it good to be left at Athens alone." St. Paul yearned to know 
 whether their faith stood firm ; and yet he yearned for the com- 
 pany of his disciples and fellow labourers ; for no one could endure 
 to wage such a warfare as his was alone and single handed. 
 
 This passage tells us of a circumstance which we do not gather 
 from the history in the Acts, that is, of a journey of Timotheus to 
 Thessalonica whilst St. Paul was at Athens. The account of St. 
 Paul leaving Macedonia and arriving at Athens is given in Acta 
 xvii. 13, &c. : " When the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that 
 the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither 
 also, and stirred up the people. And then immediately the 
 brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea : but Silas and 
 Timotheus abode there still. And they that conducted Paul 
 brought him unto Athens : and receiving a commandment unto Silas 
 and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed." 
 If we had only the account in the Acts, we should have supposed 
 that his two companions did not join him till he had been some 
 time at Corinth (Acts xviii. 5), but this is quite inconsistent with 
 the earnest wish that they should come to him at Athens *' with 
 all speed." Now from this Epistle we gather that they did so join 
 him in Athens as he wished, but the desire to know the spiritual 
 state of the Thessalonians was uppermost in the Apostle's mind, 
 and he sent Timothy back that he might bring him an exact ac- 
 count of matters. It has been asked why did the Apostle say that 
 he thought it good to be left alone when apparently Silas was with 
 him ? To which we answer that very probably he had sent Silas 
 away on some other mission. 
 
106 WE ARE APPOINTED THEREUNTO. [I. Thess. 
 
 minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the Gospel of 
 Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your 
 faith : 
 
 d Eph. iii. 13. 3 ^ That no man should be moved by these 
 e Aitsix. 16. & afflictions: for yourselves know that ^ we are ap- 
 
 xiv. 22. & XX. -^ ^ 
 
 23. & xxi. 11. pointed thereunto. 
 
 1 Cor. iv. 9. ■*• 
 
 2 Tim", iii. 12. 4 'For verily, when we were with you, we told 
 t Acts XX. 24. you before that we should suffer tribulation ; even 
 
 as it came to pass, and ye know. 
 
 2. "And minister of God." So S, B„ P., four Cursives, Vulg., Goth., Copt. 
 " Our fellow labourer." So K., L., most Cursives, Syriac. D. reads " fellow worker 
 with God." 
 4. " We should suffer." Properly, " we are to suffer." 
 
 " Our brother and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the 
 Gospel of Christ." He very probably bears this testimony to 
 Timothy, to show that he has sent one who could, if any one 
 could, supply his place to them. 
 
 " To establish you and to oomfort you concerning your faith.'* 
 No one could do this so well as Timothy, of whom shortly after the 
 Apostle wrote, "My beloved son and faithful in the Lord, who 
 shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, 
 as I teach every where in every church " (1 Cor. iv. 17). Nothing 
 would so tend to conj&rm the Thessalonians as the repetition of St. 
 Paul's teaching. 
 
 " To comfort you concerning (or in the matter of) your faith." 
 
 3. " That no man should be moved by these affliptions ; for your- 
 selves," &c. It was almost an article of faith in that age that 
 Christians must partake of the sufferings of Christ. It was part of 
 the faithful saying, " If we sufifer we shall also reign with him " 
 (2 Tim. ii. 12). And when Ananias was sent to restore St. Paul at 
 his conversion, the Lord said, " I will show him how great things 
 he must suffer for my name's sake " (Acts ix. 16). Thus also Acts 
 xiv; 32, *' confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them 
 to continue in the faith, and that we must, through much tribula- 
 tion, enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 4. *' For veril}'-, when we were with you, we told you before that 
 we should sufifer," &c. This does not mean that he foretold to the 
 Thessalonians the particular shape which this tribulation would 
 
m vain. 
 
 6 "^But now when Timotheus came from you 
 
 Chap. III.] I SENT TO KNOW YOUR FAITH. 10? 
 
 5 For this cause, ^ when I could no longer forbear, I sent 
 to know your faith, ^ lest by some means the « ver. i. 
 tempter have tempted you, and ' our labour be 2 cor^xiys'. ^' 
 
 i Gal. ii. 2. & 
 iv. 11. Puil. 
 ii. 16. 
 k Acts xviii, 
 
 unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith 1, s. 
 and charity, and that ye have good remembrance 
 of us always, desiring greatly to see us, ^ as we ^ ^^11. i. 8. 
 also to see you : 
 
 assume, but that he forewarned them that " all that will live godly 
 in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution." They witness against the 
 world and the world will retaliate. Almost, one might say, in the> 
 natural order of things, the suffering came to pass. 
 
 5. " For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to« 
 know your faith," &c. How was it that the Apostle was so ex- 
 ceedingly anxious, and thus dwells upon his anxiety? Most likely 
 because he was compelled to leave Thessalonica in such haste and 
 upon a sojourn so comparatively short that he had no experience 
 of the steadfastness of the Thessalonians. 
 
 " The tempter have tempted you." To fall from the faith through 
 persecution was, in the eyes of the Apostle, treason against Christ. 
 How was it that he said, " and our labour be in vain," when he \^ a 5 
 sure of his reward ? Because he laboured not for reward, but to 
 save souls whom he loved because Christ had loved them so as to 
 give Himself for them. 
 
 6. "But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and 
 brought us good tidings .... to see us, as we also to see you." 
 " Of your faith and love." " In Jesus Christ neither circumcision 
 availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by 
 love " (Gal. v. 6). 
 
 "And that ye have good remembrance of us," &c. Herethe Apostle 
 recognizes the ministerial tie — the mutual love of pastor and flock. 
 The Thessalonians could scarcely have been credited with truo 
 faith, unless they had good remembrance of him who, under the 
 pressure of extreme danger and toil, had communicated to them this 
 faith by which they had obtained God and Christ and eternal hfe. 
 
 7. " Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our 
 affliction," &c. If this Epistle was written shortly after the coming 
 
] 08 WE LIVE IF YE STAND FAST. [I. Thess. 
 
 7 Therefore, brethren, ^ we were comforted over you in all 
 « 2 Cor. i. 4. our affliction and distress by your faith : 
 
 & vii. 6, 7, 13, -^ *' 
 
 ti Phil. iv. 1. 8 For now we live, if ye ° stand fast in the 
 
 Lord. 
 
 * ch. i. 2. 90 For what thanks can we render to God 
 
 again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for 
 your sakes before our G-od ; 
 
 I Tim' r?" ^' 1^ ^ ^igl^* ^^^ ^^7 '^ Pi'aying exceedingly ' that 
 <i Rom. i. 10, we might see your face, "and might perfect that 
 «• ch. ii. 17, which is lacking in your faith ? 
 
 • 2 Cor. xiii, 9, 
 
 11. Col. iv. 12. 
 
 of Silas and Timotheus to the Apostle at Corinth, then the afflic- 
 tion and distress was probably that which he endured through the 
 persecution of his countrymen as related in Acts xviii. 5, 6, 7. 
 
 8. " For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." This is a very 
 strong expression indeed. It is not "we are comforted" or "are 
 rejoiced," but "we live" and indeed the success of the cause of 
 Christ, i.e., the winning of souls to Him, and the continuance of such 
 souls in Him, was St. Paul's very life. He lived for it his outward 
 life. He was sustained by it in his inner life. He looked upon 
 it as the chief joy, next to the sight of Christ, of his eternal life. 
 
 9. " For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for 
 all the joy," &c. Notice these thanks and this joy. He thanked 
 God not only for them, but for the exceeding joy with which he 
 rejoiced at the thought of their faith, their love, their steadfastness, 
 and this " before our God." 
 
 No words can express how, whilst on earth, his soul was in 
 heaven. He dwelt in a heaven contemplating the love of God to 
 souls, and the eternal life of these souls, and God's having made 
 him the instrument in bringing down such blessings on his fellow 
 creatures. 
 
 10. "Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see . . . 
 lacking in your faith." He prayed so earnestly to see them in 
 order that he might perfect that which was lacking in them. Per- 
 sonal intercourse goes farther than letters in establishing the weak 
 and wavering. 
 
 " That which is lacking." Some have thought that what they 
 particularly lacked was a right view of the state of the departed, 
 
Chap. III.] UNBLAMEABLE IN HOLINESS. 109 
 
 11 Now Grod himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, II * direct our way unto you. O Or, guide. 
 
 12 And the Lord "make you to increase and ueh^'it.'io' 
 abound in love ^ one toward another, and toward ^ fh. iv. 9. & 
 all men, even as we do toward you : i. 7. ' 
 
 13 To the end he may ^ stablish your hearts phif r'lo ^' 
 unblameable in holiness before God, even our !;^^k"^'^ • ^^r 
 
 ' 2 Thess. u. 17» 
 
 Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ i^Joiin'i'-^^. 
 * with all his saints. ^ Zech. xiv. 5. 
 
 . Jude U. 
 
 13. " Lord Jesus Christ." " Christ " omitted by S, A., B., D., E., K. 
 "With all his saints," N, A., D., E., five Cursives, d, e, Vulg., Copt., ^th. 
 
 but it is very probable that the Apostle alluded to the whole body 
 of their faith, that it required strengthening and settling. 
 
 11. " Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus 
 Christ," &c. Here Jesus Christ is invoked along with the Father 
 to direct St. Paul's way to his converts ; implying that the Son of 
 God had along with His Father all the dispensations of providence 
 at His disposal. 
 
 12. " And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love 
 one toward," &c. This seems to be an invocation of grace from 
 the Lord Jesus Himself. In every place in this Epistle in which 
 the word " Lord " occurs, it means the Second Person of the 
 Trinity, and in this place especially are we bound so to understand 
 it, because the Lord is invoked to stablish our hearts unblameable 
 before God, even our Father, evidently implying two Persons. 
 
 Some suppose that as two of the Three adorable Persons are 
 mentioned afterwards, that by the God of verse 11 (God Himself 
 and our Father), the Holy Ghost is intended, but this is doubtful. 
 
 Notice this prayer of the Apostle's. In it he asks for two things, 
 that they may increase in love, and this the love of the brethren ; 
 and that they may be established in holiness in the sight of the 
 Searcher of hearts. St. Paul would not allow an unloving man 
 to be a holy man, and so, according to his view, a man to be estab- 
 lished in holiness must abound in Christian love. 
 
 It is not an association which is commonly inculcated among us 
 in these last days, but it is assuredly deep in the mind of the 
 Apostle, that love cannot be dissevered from holiness, nor holiness 
 from love. 
 
110 WE BESEECH AND EXHORT YOU. [I. Thess. 
 
 CHAP. lY. 
 
 FIJRTHEEMOEE then we || beseech you, brethren, and 
 II exhort you by the Lord Jesus, * that as ye have 
 II Or, request, received of us ^ how ye ought to walk ^ and to 
 1 Phii.t^27. please G-od, so ye would abound more and more. 
 
 €ol. ii. 6. 
 
 * eh. ii. 12. 
 
 « Col. i. 10. 
 
 1. "How ye ought to walk and to please God." To this >{, A., B., D., E., F., G., 
 ■eight Corsives, d, e, f, g, Vulg. (Amial.), Goth., Copt., Arm., ^th., add, "as also ye 
 ■are walking;" bat K., L., most Cursives, and Syriac omit. 
 
 1. " Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort 
 you," &c. Here the hortatory part of the Epistle begins. 
 
 Through the whole of this chapter the Apostle seems to have in 
 his mind the prayer which he has just addressed to God on their 
 behalf. That they may abound in love one toward another oc- 
 <}upies from the ninth to the twelfth verses. Sanctifi cation is en- 
 forced upon them in verses 3 to 8, and the coming of the Lord with 
 the view to which he desires that their hearts should be established 
 in holiness, comes on at verse 8, and occupies the remainder of this 
 chapter and much of the next chapter. 
 
 " By the Lord Jesus " — it is rather " in the Lord Jesus." He and 
 they are members of one Body, and he exhorts them not as a 
 philosopher or teacher of general ethical truths, but as one whose 
 place in the mystical Body is to teach and exhort his fellow 
 members. 
 
 ** As ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please 
 •God." They received this — they had it delivered to them in the 
 tradition or body of Christian truth which they received at the 
 £rst. (See 2 Thess. ii. 15 and iii. 6.) 
 
 " How ye ought to walk and to please God." To this the oldest 
 Uncials append the sentence, "As ye also do walk." This is 
 thoroughly in St. Paul's manner, to acknowledge the progress they 
 had already made, and to bid them proceed further in the same 
 ^ood way, that is, that " ye would abound more and more." 
 
 2. " For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord 
 
Chap. IV.] THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD. Ill 
 
 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the 
 Lord Jesus. 
 
 3 For this is Hhe will of God, even «your ip^^^v il ^* 
 sanctification, ^ that ye should abstain from forni- « Eph. v. 27. 
 
 f L Cor.vi. 15, 
 
 cation : is. Eph. v. 3. 
 
 4 ^ That every one of you should know how to g '^^■,,'^* ^.^ ^g 
 possess his vessel in sanctification and honour ; ^^"^^^ "*'i- ^^' 
 
 4. "To possess his vessel." See below. Jowett, "Should know how to get himself 
 his own vessel." 
 
 Jesus." " Ye know," &c. Ye must have them perfectly in remem- 
 brance, they were so distinct, so earnestly deHvered, and respecting 
 such obvious duties of daily life. 
 
 3. "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification," «&c. 
 That each one of you should abstain from having intercourse, not 
 only with harlots, but with any woman who is not his lawful wife. 
 This was not considered a sin amongst the heathen, and so the 
 <lecree ordained of the Apostles and elders at Jerusalem was that 
 the converted Gentile should abstain from " meats offered to idols 
 and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication " 
 {Acts XV. 29). 
 
 " This is the will of God, even your sanctification," seems to be 
 a reproduction of '* Be ye holy, for I am holy," — the abstinence 
 from fornication being a chief and necessary part of this. 
 
 4. " That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel 
 in sanctification," &c. A singular difference prevails amongst 
 ■commentators respecting the meaning of this word " vessel." 
 Some (as Professor Jowett) understand vessel to mean " wife," and 
 appeal to some Eabbinical passages, and to 1 Peter iii. 7 (" the 
 weaker vessel "). Also to the primary meaning of possess (KTaaQai) 
 which is rather to acquire or get possession of than to use ; so that 
 in fact this place really makes celibacy unlawful, and binds strictly 
 upon all men that to avoid fornication each man should acquire 
 and keep his own wife. Others, on the contrary, understand by 
 it the body, which is the instrument of debasing lusts, and appeal 
 to 1 Saml. xxi. 5, " The vessels of the young men are holy." ^ 
 
 1 "With respect to the sense of xrao-Sai, even if it be allowed that it must mean 'to 
 «cr^uire,' yet it includes the meaning of ' having,' as is evident from the boast of the 
 
112 THE LORD THE AVENGER. [I. Thess. 
 
 h Rom. i. 24. 6 ^ Not ill the lust of concupiscence, * even as 
 
 26. Col. iii. 5. . ^ •■, v t . i i ^ t 
 
 i Eph. iv. 17, the Gentiles " which know not (rod : 
 k^icor.xv.31. ^ 'That no ma?i go beyond and || defraud his 
 
 i?*i2''&^'v^f8'' l^J^otlier II in any matter : because that the Lord 
 
 2 Thess. i. 8. m ^^ ^j^^ aveuger of all such, as we also have fore- 
 
 I Lev. xix. 11, _ ° _ . ,. ^ 
 
 13. 1 Cor. vi. 8. warned you and testmed. 
 
 II Or, oppress, 
 
 or, overreach. ■ 
 
 II Or, in the 
 
 matter. Upon the whole it seems best to understand it of 
 
 m 2 Thess. 1.8. ^^^ body. Compare Kom. xii. 1, " That ye present 
 your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God." 
 
 5. "Not in the last of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which 
 know not God." The not knowing God, the not retaining Him in 
 men's knowledge, was the occasion of the fi-ightful lusts of unclean- 
 ness reprobated in Rom. i. 26, sq. 
 
 6. "That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any 
 matter," &c. Here the Apostle forbids, not- simple impurity or 
 fornication only, but adultery. The adulterer defiles his own body, 
 defiles his neighbour's wife, and grievously, we may say irre- 
 parably, injures his neighbour. 
 
 " In any matter," is a wrong translation. It should be rendered 
 "in the matter," i.e., tha matter of injuring a neighbour by com- 
 mitting adultery with his wife. 
 
 '• The Lord is the avenger of all such." The Lord, i.e., the Lord 
 Jesus at His coming is not only the Judge, but the Avenger, the 
 Redresser of all wrong. Here it is expressly asserted that He will 
 avenge those who have suffered in this way. Nothing, we may be 
 sure, will be allowed to stand in the way of the exercise of retribu- 
 tive justice. Even if the wrong-doer has been converted, and has 
 repented, means will be found even in the next world, by Him 
 Who has ail the resources of the Universe at His disposal, that the 
 wronged one shall be righted, and shall have abundant satisfaction 
 for the wrong done to him. 
 
 " As we have also forewarned you and testified." " When we 
 first preached the Gospel to you," for an integral part of the Gospel 
 
 Pharisee, 'I give tithes of aU that I possess' (oVa xTtt/u.a»). It is also well said by 
 Theophylact that the Apostle here calls a man's body his vessel, which, when it is 
 tainted by uncleanness, sin takes possession of, and enslaves it, but when it is purified, 
 W9 ourselves make it our own." (Note in Wordsworth.) 
 
Chap. IV.] HE THAT DESPISETH. 113 
 
 7 For Grod hath not called us unto uncleanness, "hut 
 unto holiness. "" Lev. xi. 44. 
 
 & xix. 2. 1 Cor. 
 
 8 " He therefore that || despiseth, despiseth not i. 2. Heb. xii. 
 man, but Grod, ^ who hath also given unto us u, 15. 
 
 1 • 1 1 ct • -x ° Luke X. 16. 
 
 his holy Spirit. II ^j,^ ^^j^^,^^^^ 
 
 P 1 Cor. ii. 10. 
 & vii. 40. 
 8. " Who hath also given." So A., K., L., most Cursives, Vulg., &c. ; i John iii. 24. 
 but «, B., J)., E., F., G., seven Cursives, read, " who also giveth." 
 
 of St. Paul is that a day is coming when God will judge the secrets 
 of men (Rom. ii. 16). 
 
 7. "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto 
 holiness." The literal rendering is " For God hath not called us 
 for uncleanness but in holiness." God hath not called us that we 
 should live after the flesh, indulging sinful, and worldly lusts ; 
 but in holiness — in fact, in Christ, in Whom we have sanctification.^ 
 
 8. " He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God 
 who hath also," &c. " He therefore that despiseth," i.e., despiseth 
 the precepts of holiness, or the state of holiness in which we are 
 called ; or rather despiseth and maketh naught of the purity of 
 family life ; despiseth not man, i.e., the being for whose moral wel- 
 fare marriage was ordained, or perhaps the man whom he liaa 
 wronged or desires to wrongs 
 
 " But God." God has ordained chastity to be the principle of 
 the relations between the sexes. He has ordained marriage, with- 
 out which social purity is impossible. 
 
 "Who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit," i.e., as the 
 Sanctifier. Some translate this as in the Authorized, " Who hath 
 also given to us," in which case it forms one of those many passages 
 in which God is supposed to give some portion of the Holy Spirit to 
 all in His Church. Thus, 1 Cormth. vi. 19-20 ; xii. 7-11 ; Gal. v. 
 
 1 "The preposition eiri in such expressions wavers between the senses of object and 
 condition; iv signifies the state in which men are called (comp. Gal. i. 6) or which 
 results from their calling. It often happens that modes of thought vary without corre- 
 sponding variations of meaning ; the same Christian grace may be represented indiffe- 
 rently as a condition, or an object, or a state, or a result. There is no need, therefore, 
 to make an antithesis between im and Jv, the inversion of which wou'd not have involved 
 any change in the sense. The appearance of antithesis arises partly from the love of 
 variety natural to all language, partly from an awkwardness in the use of language, in a 
 late and rhetorical age, by a writer who was imperfectly master of it." (Jowett, in loco.) 
 
 I 
 
114 TOUCHING BROTHERLY LOVE. [I. Tiiess. 
 
 q rh. V. 1. 9 But as touching brotherly love "^ye need not 
 
 johTvr45.&* that I write unto you: for ""ye yourselves are 
 
 via.iL i^oohn taught of God Ho love one another. 
 
 i' Matf 'xxii 1^ * -^^^ indeed ye do it toward all the brethren 
 
 39. John xiii. -^hich are in all Macedonia : but we beseech you, 
 
 34. & XV. 12. •' 
 
 Eph. V. 2. brethren, " that ye increase more and more : 
 
 1 Pet. IV. 8. ' *' ' 
 
 1 John iii. 11, 
 
 23, & iv, 21. 
 
 t ch. i. 7. 
 « i-h. iii. 12. 
 
 25 ; Tit. iii. 6. It may be rendered in the present " Who giveth 
 us," " Who constantly gives the Holy Spirit." 
 
 In resisting or despising the presence of the Holy Spirit we despise 
 God, Who is in the Church by the Spirit. Thus Ananias and 
 Sapphira, in lying to the Apostles, the organs of the Spirit, lied 
 not unto men, but unto God. 
 
 9. " But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto 
 you: for ye yourselves," &c. Brotherly love here is philadelphia» 
 not the same word as the charity of 1 Cor. xiii., but Philadelphia 
 leads to love or charity, the highest and best of Christian graces. 
 Thus the Apostle writes, " add to you brotherly kindness (Phila- 
 delphia), charity." 
 
 These words, "Ye are taught of God," imply that the most 
 prominent teaching of the words of Christ is the love of one another, 
 for if men are taught the words of Christ at all, they must be taught 
 some such words as "A new commandment I give unto you, 
 that ye love one another as I have loved you." The sermon on the 
 Mount, the precepts of forgiveness, the parable of the unmerciful 
 servant, the visions of Judgment of Matth. xxv., the whole example 
 of the Saviour, and every miracle teach us that we are to love one 
 another. And it is equally so if we understand the words " taught of 
 God " as meaning " taught inwardly by His Spirit," for the first sign 
 of spiritual life is the love of the brethren. " We know that we have 
 passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." 
 (1 John iii. 14.) 
 
 10. " And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in 
 all Macedonia." This implies that the Gospel had spread with 
 great rapidity, and that churches had been formed, or were being 
 formed, everywhere, and also that these churches received material 
 assistance from the members of the mother Church of Thessalonica. 
 
CJuAP. IV.] STUDY TO BE QUIET. 115 
 
 11 And that ye study to be quiet, and "^ to do * 2 xhess. m. 
 
 . , 1 • 1 11-1 I'et. iv. 
 
 your own business, and ^ to work with your own 15. 
 hands, as we commanded you ; Eph!*fv*^8. ' 
 
 12 *That ye may walk honestly toward them l/igf'"' '"' ^* 
 that are without, and that ye may have lack || of ^ cor™vTH^'2?' 
 nothinor. coi iv 5. 
 
 o 1 Pet. 11. 12, 
 
 II Or, 0/ no 
 man. 
 
 "That ye increase more and more." There is no end of pro- 
 gress in the Divine Life, for it is the life of Christ and of God, and 
 as the Divine Life is made up of different virtues and graces, so, if 
 we increase in the whole life of God, we increase in each particular 
 grace or virtue. 
 
 11. " And that ye study to be quiet, and to do you own business," 
 &c. The word translated " study " is remarkable. It is that ye " be 
 -ambitious," that ye " contend to be quiet," as if there were some 
 unwonted difficulty in the way of their being so, and from several 
 intimations in the Second Epistle we gather that there must have 
 been such. (See 2 Thess. iii. 6-12.) 
 
 " And to do your own business, and to work with your own 
 hands," &c. The phrase " to do your own business," both in Greek 
 and English, implies that the persons to whom it is spoken yielded 
 to the temptation of meddling in the concerns of others. 
 
 The temptation to be busybodies and to neglect their own proper 
 employments is supposed to have arisen from the fact that the 
 -whole Church was unhinged by the impression which had got hold 
 of them of the immediate appearance of the Lord, and there is 
 much in the Second Epistle which would lead us to believe this : 
 l)ut each community of Christians would have its special idiosyn- 
 ■crasies. 
 
 12. " That ye may walk honestly towards them that are with- 
 out," &c. We should gather from this that the restlessness and 
 meddlesomeness of some in the Thessalonian Church had been a 
 •cause of scandal to the surrounding heathen. 
 
 " And that ye may have lack of nothing." Comparing this with 
 ihe somewhat similar precept in Ephes. iv. 28, it comprises under 
 the head of " lack " ability to give to the relief of others, " rather let 
 him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that 
 he may have to give to him that needeth." 
 
 13. " But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- 
 
116 THAT YE SORROW NOT. [I. Tuess. 
 
 13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren^ 
 concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, "^ even 
 a See Lev. xix. as othcrs ^ which have no hope. 
 
 28. Deut. XIV. ^ 
 
 1, 2. 2 Sam. 
 
 xii, 20. 
 
 b Eph. ii. 12. 
 
 13. " But I would not." So a few Cursives, Syriac ; bat H, A., B., 1)., E., F., G., K.^ 
 L., most Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Goth., ^41th., read, "we would not." 
 
 cerning," &c. It seems that they had sent him a question respect- 
 ing the state of the departed, or that Timothy, or some one, had 
 told him that they were in some perplexity respecting the state of 
 those who had fallen asleep before the coming of Christ, whether 
 they would be in an inferior state to those who would be alive and. 
 would be transformed when Christ should come. 
 
 *' Concerning them which are asleep " (or are falling asleep)^ 
 After Lazarus was dead the Lord said, " Our friend Lazarus 
 sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep," John xi. 11. 
 And of St. Stephen it is said that when he had prayed, " Lord, lay 
 not this sin to their charge," he fell asleep ^ (Acts vii. 60). 
 
 " That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope," i.e.y 
 as the heathen, who had no well-grounded hope of a. life beyond the 
 grave. Nature is not allowed by God to teach this directly. She 
 is only permitted to give us parables or suggestive illustrations. 
 The great spirits among the heathen could not be said to believe it ; 
 and a series of passages are quoted by Bishop Wordsworth and by 
 Jowett, in which it is denied. As, for instance, Theocritus : *' Th© 
 living have hopes, but the dead are without hope." Catullus : 
 " When once our brief time of light has failed us we have to sleep 
 in one perpetual night ; " and Lucretius, *' No one awakes and lives 
 who has once been overtaken by the chilling end of life." It is 
 Christ alone Who has abolished death, and brought life and immor- 
 tality to light through the Gospel. (2 Tim. i. 10.) 
 
 But the Apostle forbids not sorrowing on the prospect of a dear 
 friend being taken away. He says, respecting Epaphroditus, *' God 
 had mercy upon him, and not on him only, but on me also, lest I 
 should have sorrow upon sorrow." (Phil. ii. 27.) But our sorrow 
 is to be the lawful sorrow over those who have gone a journey, and. 
 
 1 See also Matth. xxvii. 52 ; Acts xiii. 36 ; 1 Cor. xi. 30, xv. 6, 18, 20, 51. 
 
Chap. IV.] THEM WHICH SLEEP IN JESUS. 117 
 
 14 For '^ if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even 
 «o '^ them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring <= i Cor. xv, 13. 
 
 . , , , . d 1 Cor. XV. 18, 
 
 ivitn mm. 23. ch. iii. 13. 
 
 15 For this we say unto you ^bj the word of ^,^ J1^°P ''•''• 
 
 lip io. oC XX. 
 
 "the Lord, that ^we which are alive and remain 35. 
 xinto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent 
 them which are asleep. 
 
 are parted from us for a time, not as for those who are parted from 
 us for ever. 
 
 14. " For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so 
 them also," &c. The Resurrection of Jesus and of the members of 
 His Body is inseparable. " If there be no resurrection of the dead 
 then is Christ not risen." " If Christ be not raised your faith is 
 vain." " If the dead rise not then Christ is not raised." *' By man 
 came the Resurrection of the dead." " Now is Christ risen from 
 the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept " (1 Cor. xv.), 
 
 " Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with 
 him." Some render this " through " Jesus, as through the power 
 of Jesus. By the Death and Resurrection of Jesus their death is 
 aboUshed and become a sleep from which they must awake. Jesus 
 has composed them to sleep. " As all things are said to be in Christ, 
 so they may also be said to be through Christ." Jowett. 
 
 "Will God bring with him." Chrysostom explains it. "But the 
 expression, * He shall bring with him,' shows that they are brought 
 from many places." " Bring," a tender word used of the living. 
 It denotes bringing with one as a companion. It is remarkable 
 that this coming of the Lord with his saints is the subject of the 
 very first prophecy uttered after those at the Fall. "And Enoch also, 
 the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the 
 Lord cometh with ten thousand of His Saints." (Jude 14.) 
 
 15. " For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we 
 which," &c. By the word of inspiration ; not by any words which 
 •Christ spake when on earth, but as the Prophets were wont to 
 begin their prophecies with " Thus saith the Lord," so I, in the 
 .Spirit of God, say " that we which are alive and remain," &c. 
 
 " We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord," 
 i.e., we who are the quick or living when the Lord comes. 
 
 " Shall not prevent them which are asleep." This is rendered 
 
118 THE VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL. [I. Thess, 
 
 16 For ^the Lord himself shall descend from heaven witk 
 
 B Matt. xxiv. a shont, with the voice of the archanefel, and with 
 
 30, 31. Actsi. . ^ 
 
 ii.2Thess.i.7. ''the trump of God : ' and the dead in Christ shall 
 
 t 1 Cor. XV. 52. . n , 
 
 J 1 Cor. XV. 23, ^^^® i^.YSXJ : 
 62. 
 
 by the Kevisers " Shall in no wise precede them that are fallen 
 asleep." This was probably the cause of distress to the Thessalo- 
 nian Christians. They believed that the Lord would come quickly* 
 and that they should see Him and be with Him ; but they were- 
 not so assured of the condition of those who died in the interim 
 between the Gospel being first preached to them and the Second 
 Advent. 
 
 16. " For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a 
 shout," &c. The shout as of one giving command. Is it the voice 
 of the Archangel summoning the hosts of heaven to attend the 
 assize of the Son of man ? or is it that of the Son of man accord- 
 ing to His word, " All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
 and shall come forth " (John v. 28) ? We know not. Only we know- 
 that we shall hear it. 
 
 " "With the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.'*' 
 This is the reminiscence of the Lord's words, Matth. xxiv. 31, 
 "And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of 
 heaven with power and gi-eat glory. And he shall send his angels 
 with a great sound of a trumpet," &c. In this place only is the- 
 presence of the Archangel mentioned. It is probable from this- 
 that St. Paul received an independent revelation of the circum- 
 stances of the coming of the Lord from the Lord Himself, as he did 
 respecting the institution of the Eucharist. 
 
 "And the dead in Christ shall rise first." This evidently 
 means that the Eesurrection of the dead in Christ will precede the 
 change in the bodies of those who are caught up to meet the Lord.. 
 
 A question arises on these words, " the dead in Christ shall rise 
 first." Does St. Paul, or does the Holy Spirit, mean by this 
 the first resurrection of Revel, xx. 5, 6 ? It is to be remarked that 
 both here and in 1 Corinth, xv., St. Paul speaks only of the Ee- 
 surrection of those in Christ, and ignores altogether ih.e Resur- 
 rection of the whole body of the dead, or of the wicked. It is im- 
 possible to say ; for prophecy very seldom so reveals the sequence 
 of events, that we can treat it as if it were history. If this be the- 
 
CiiAP. IV.] EVER WITH THE LORD. 1 1 9 
 
 17 ''Then we which are alive and remain shall ^ i cor. xv.si. 
 be caught up together with them ' in the clouds, r^v! xl'. 12. 
 to meet the Lord in the air : and so °' shall we ^ John xii. 26. 
 ever be with the Lord. ' xvii. 24." 
 
 18 "^ Wherefore || comfort one another with mh. v. 11. 
 
 these words. ^Or, exhort. 
 
 first resurrection of Eev. xx., then a thousand years (or an indefi- 
 nite time), may intervene between the two: but. what is this 
 when we have St. Peter writing respecting the last things, telling 
 us that " one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thou- 
 sand years as one day" (2 Pet. iii. 8) ? 
 
 17. " Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up 
 together with them in the clouds," &c. " The wicked will remain 
 beneath (perhaps not raised till afterwards) while the righteous 
 being absolved shall be assessors with their Lord in the judgment" 
 (Wesley). 
 
 " In the air." Not in heaven, not in some sphere infinitely re- 
 mote from the world, but into the upper rpgions of this lower at- 
 I mosphere, whence His Saints, according to the prophecy of Enoch, 
 will return with Him. As they ascend to meet Him their bodies 
 will be changed from natural into spiritual bodies, which being 
 fashioned after the likeness of His glorious body will be able to en^ 
 dure the brightness of His presence, which those yet in flesh and 
 blood could not (Eev. i. 17). 
 
 "And so shall we ever be with the Lord." " Where I am there 
 shall also my servant be." And again, " I wiU come again and 
 receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also " 
 (John xiv. 3). And again He prays, " Father, I will that those 
 whom thou hast given me be with me where I am " (John xvii. 24). 
 
 " With the Lord." Where ? If in an infinitely distant heaven 
 beyond the furthest star, if He be there so shall we be. If in the 
 New Jerusalem which descends out of heaven from God we shall 
 be there. 
 
 18. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Lay 
 aside all fears respecting those that have fallen asleep in Christ, 
 and comfort one another with the thought that not one soul in 
 Christ is lost, not one is missing, not one is not clearly discerned 
 by Him now, and its place in His presence appointed. 
 
120 THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS. [I. Thess. 
 
 CHAP. Y. 
 
 BUT of * the times and the seasons, brethren, 
 •^ ye have no need that I write unto you. 
 2 For yourselves know perfectly that ^ the day 
 of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 
 
 « ■ 
 
 Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 3, 
 
 W. Acts i. 7. 
 
 b < 
 
 L-h. iv 
 
 .9. 
 
 c ; 
 
 Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 43 
 
 , 44. & XXV. 
 
 13 
 
 . Luke xii. 
 
 39 
 
 ,40. 
 
 2 Pet. 
 
 iii 
 
 .10. 
 
 Rev. 
 
 iii 
 
 . 3.& 
 
 xvi. 15. 
 
 1, 2. " But of the times and the seasons .... yourselves know 
 perfectly that," &c. He has no need to write to them, because it 
 would be folly to prophesy the exact time of events which God has 
 hidden from us for the very intent that not knowing when they 
 shall happen we are ever to be looking for them. 
 
 The words of the Lord Himself, just before He was taken up, are 
 nearly the same : *' It is not for you to know the times or the 
 seasons which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 
 i. 7). 
 
 " For yourselves know perfectly." This seems to imply that they 
 knew it independently of his own teaching, and it would be so, if 
 they had some accounts of the words of the Lord such as the Logia 
 of St. Matthew. St. Paul could scarcely be said to preach Christ 
 unto them unless he spoke to them of the words and mu*acles of 
 Christ, and in any account which they had of the words of Christ 
 there must have been some report of His great prophecy respecting 
 things to come which the first preachers would refer to and enforce 
 upon them ; so that they must know it perfectly. 
 
 " That the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." 
 On two separate occasions the Lord likeneth His coming to that 
 of a thief. Once as recorded in Luke xii. 39, ** And this know, that 
 if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would 
 come, he would have watched, &c. ... Be ye therefore ready also, 
 for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." And 
 again in His last prophetical discourse, Matth. xxiv. 43, 44. Six 
 times in the New Testament is the Second Advent likened unto 
 the coming of a thief ^ 
 
 1 Matth. jcxiv. 43 ; Luke xii. 39; IThess. v. 2; 2 Pet. iii, 10 ; Rev. iii. 3, and xvi. 15, 
 
CiiAP. v.] THEY SHALL NOT ESCAPE. 121 
 
 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety ; then ** sudden 
 destruction cometh upon them, ^ as travail upon •^ is^. xiii. e-9. 
 
 ^ ^ Luke xvii. 27, 
 
 a woman with child ; and they shall not escape. 2s, 29. & xxi. 
 
 . . . T , 34. 35. 2 Thess. 
 
 4 ^ But ye, brethren, are not m darkness, that i. 9. 
 
 that day should overtake you as a thief. HorxHrb^. ' 
 
 5 Ye are all ^ the children of light, and the "^"[-Ji;^^ ^^• 
 children of the day : we are not of the niejht, nor "• ^• 
 
 •^ ^ g Eph. V. 8. 
 
 of darkness. 
 
 3. " For when they shall say." So K., L., P., Vulg. ; but W, A., F., G., 17, 44, 47, 
 179, d, e, f, g, Goth., Syriac, omit "for." B., D., E., Copt., read, "but" (Je)- 
 
 4. "As a thief." A., B., Copt., read, "as thieves." 
 
 5. "Ye are all." K, A., B., D., E., F., G., L., P., more than twenty Cursives, Ital., 
 Vulg., Goth., Syriac, read, "for ye are all." K. omits "for." 
 
 3. " When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruc- 
 tion," &c. Our Lord represents the ungodly as saying to them- 
 selves " Peace and safety," when He describes their carelessness 
 in such terms as, " As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also 
 in the daj'^s of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they 
 married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that 
 Noe entered into the ark." (Luke xvii. 26, 27.) 
 
 4. " But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should 
 overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the 
 children of the day." They were not in darkness, they were all 
 the children of light because they had the light of the Apostolic 
 teaching, which reproduced to them, as in this case, the words of 
 Christ. They had the light of the Spirit inwardly and vividly 
 bringing home such truths as that of the Advent to their hearts. 
 They had also a more sure word of prophecy, 2 Pet. i. 19, for the old 
 Testament Scriptures had many and striking predictions of the 
 glories and terrors of the Second Coming. 
 
 This is one of those many places in the Pauline Epistles which 
 assume that all in the Church have received enlightening grace. 
 Not "some of you may be enlightened," but "ye are all the children 
 of light." They all had something from God on which St. Paul 
 desired to build. Similar places are 1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 15-19 ; xiL 
 7-14 ; Gal. iii. 26, 27 ; Ephes. iv. 7. I need not say tliat in all her 
 offices the Church of England proceeds on this assumption. 
 
 6. " Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; but let us watch 
 
122 LET US WATCH AND BE SOBER. [I. TiiEsa. 
 
 h Matt. XXV. 5. 6 ^ Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; but 
 
 42. &^'xv?73. ^ let us watch and be sober. 
 
 fgHs.'^'i'pit. 7 For Hhey that sleep sleep in the night; 
 
 l'f\ and they that be drunken ^are drunken in the 
 
 k Luke XXI. *' 
 
 ^i'.^% ^r- ni^ht. 
 
 xiii. 13. 1 Cor. ^ 
 
 XV. 34. Eph. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, 
 
 1 Acts ii. 15. 
 
 and be sober." This sleep is, of course, the sleep of sin, which is 
 the image of death, and which, if men are not awakened from it^ 
 will end in death. Ephes. v. 14. The " others " may be the heathen, 
 or fallen Christians, who have slidden back into the condition of the 
 heathen. 
 
 " Let us watch and be sober." The same words are used by St. 
 Peter with respect to being on the watch against Satan. 1 Pet. v. 
 8. Let us watch for the coming of our Lord, and against our ex- 
 ternal adversary, and our internal corruptions. Let us be sober, 
 not only in the matter of eating and drinking, but of the gratifica- 
 tion of all lawful desires. Let us be sober minded, not led away by 
 every new thing, by every blast of false doctrine. Our Lord Him- 
 self constantly enjoins this " watching " and " being sober." " Watch 
 ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to 
 escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand be- 
 fore the Son of Man." (Luke xxi. 36.) And again, as to being 
 sober, Luke xxi. 34, "Take heed unto yourselves, lest at any 
 time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunken- 
 ness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you 
 unawares." 
 
 7. " For they that sleep sleep in the night ; and they that be 
 drunken," &c. Here we must understand the Apostle as using the 
 habits of the men of the world as a parable. The night is their 
 time for both sleep and debauchery. But we are not of the world, 
 we are enhghtened by the light of the Sun of righteousness, so we 
 must be awake, and live in the light of the true Life ; we must be 
 sober, as having no night in which to shroud evil deeds. 
 
 8. " But let us, who are of the day, be sober." Sober in every 
 gratification and in every pursuit. Let us not be fanatical in our 
 religion even, but serve God with a quiet and even, and yet with a. 
 resolute and courageous mind. 
 
CnAP. v.] THE HOPE OF SALVATION. 123 
 
 '^ putting on the breastplate of faith and love ; and for an 
 helmet, the hope of salvation. ^ isa. lix. 17. 
 
 9 For ° Grod hath not appointed us to wrath, le, iV. ' 
 °but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus ch.LTo'Tpfi. 
 Christ. oV't/""'**' 
 
 o 2 Thess. u. 
 
 10 P Who died for us, that, whether we wake ^3- ^*- 
 
 1 1 1 1 T 1 -IT. ^ Rom. xiv. 8, 
 
 or sleep, we should live together with him. ». 2 Cor. v. 15. 
 
 " Putting on the breastplate of faith and love ; knd for an 
 helmet," &e. Here, in this part of his Epistle, we have the figura- 
 tive use of the soldier's equipment, which culminates in the passage 
 in the last chapter of the Ephesians, one of the latest of the Apostle's 
 letters. There is a difference, however, which it is important to 
 note. In the letter to the Ephesians it is the breastplate of righ- 
 teousness, and love is not mentioned as apart of the armour : here 
 we have the breastplate of faith and love. This shows us that the 
 exact figurative meaning of each part of the armour is not to be 
 pressed. The parts are all defensive, and in the spiritual equip- 
 ment may be interchanged. 
 
 9. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain 
 salvation," &c. This is an outcome of the last piece of Christian 
 armour alluded to, " For an helmet the hope of salvation." We 
 ought, indeed, to have a well-assured hope of salvation, seeing that 
 God has done so much to purchase it for us, and to make it our?. 
 He desires all men to be saved. May nothing hinder Him having 
 His desire in each one of us.^ 
 
 10. " Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should 
 live." "Whether we wake," i.e., whether we live this present 
 life ; " or sleep," i.e., whether we rest in our graves, we should 
 live together with Him. This is the salvation of which we are to 
 put on the helmet, that, whether alive or dead, we should live with 
 Christ. If we live in the flesh we are to live by the faith of the 
 Son of God; we are to live by His grace, under His protection, 
 in His Body. If we die, we die unto Him, and in some way He 
 
 1 It is one of the most singular things in the history of Christian opinion, that the 
 exact contrary to this statement of the Apostle's— viz., that God hath appointed th« 
 greater part of mankind to vrath — should have been actually erected into a dogma. 3 
 shall have more to say upon this when I come to consider 1 Tim. ii. 4. 
 
]24 EDIFY ONE ANOTHER. [I. TuesS: 
 
 11 ''Wherefore || comfort yourselves together, and edify 
 q ch. iv. 18. one another, even as also ye do. 
 Iicor^xvi. 12 -^^^ "^^ beseech yon, brethren, ""to know 
 
 rxim^v'"'?'^' them whicli labour among you, and are over you 
 Heb. xiii. 7, 17. i^ the Lord, a.nd admonish you ; 
 
 13 And to esteem them very highly in love for 
 
 reveals Himself as nearer to us than when we live here. Thus the 
 Apostle says, " To depart and to be with Christ is far better." 
 (Phil. i. 23. See also Rom. xiv. 8-9.) 
 
 11. "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one an- 
 other, even as also ye do." This enjoins mutual comfort and 
 odification over and above the mere ministerial teaching and 
 exhortation of the next verse. 
 
 12. "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour 
 among you." Those who are over them are the ministers of the 
 Church, the elders whom, at a previous period, they had ordained 
 in every city, the bishops or overseers of Phil. i. 1. Three duties 
 of these elders, or overseers, are given. "Labours," no doubt house 
 to house visitation, of which the Apostle himself set them an example 
 (Acts XX. 20) — superintendence, "over you," but "in the Lord," 
 having no secular authority, and teaching and admonishing you. 
 
 Let the reader remember that this exhortation to the flock to 
 know, i.e., to respect their ministers, is in the first Epistle which 
 the Apostle wrote. This shows that ministerial oversight is not an 
 accident, but of the very essence of a Church ; and, in fact, no 
 community can exist as a community without it. The angels in 
 heaven, the heavenly hosts, are not an unofficered army, but under 
 "principalities and powers." (Ephes. i. 21 ; iii. 10, &c.) If it be 
 asked is this oversight presbyterian or episcopal, we answer, both. 
 The oversight of the faithful in each city was in the presbyters, but 
 the oversight over these presbyters and the whole flock was always 
 kept by the Apostle in his own hands. 
 
 13. "And to esteem them veryhighlyin love for their work's sake." 
 Chrysostom has some most pertinent remarks upon the difficulty 
 of this passage : " He who is convicted and reproved, be he 
 what he may, is sure to cease from being thankful, and to become 
 an enemy. In like manner he will act who is admonished and 
 exhorted. If, therefore, I should say, empty out wealth on the 
 
Chap, v.] BE AT PEACE. 125 
 
 tlieir work's sake. ^ And be at peace among " Mark ix. 50. 
 yourselves. 
 
 14 Now we II exhort you, brethren, * warn them n Or, beseech. 
 
 ' 2 Thess. iii. 
 11, 12. 
 
 needy, I say what is offensive and burdensome. If I say, chasten 
 thine anger, quench thy wrath, check thine inordinate desire, cut 
 off a small portion of thy luxury, all is offensive and burdensome. 
 And if I should punisli one who is slothful (or wilful), or should 
 remove him from the Church, or exclude him from, the public 
 prayers, he grieves, not because he is deprived of these things, but 
 because of the public disgrace." 
 
 And again, hinting at the word "standing up for" (rendered in our 
 translation, " over you ") : " If a man stand up for thee before a man, 
 thou doest anything, thou confessest thyself much indebted ; but 
 he stands up for thee before God, and thou dost not own the favour. 
 And how does he stand up for me ? thou askest. Because he prays 
 for thee, because he ministers to thee the Spiritual gift that is by 
 Baptism, he visits, he admonishes, he warns thee, he comes at 
 midnight if thou callest for him. . . . Again, he who loves Christ, 
 whatever the priest may be, will love him, because through him he 
 has obtained the awful mysteries." 
 
 " For their work's sake " means, not merely for the way in which 
 they have performed their work, but for the work itself, which is 
 always the setting forth of Christ, whether in preaching or in the 
 Eucharist. 
 
 " Be at peace among yourselves." This follows naturally upon 
 the exhortation to esteem these ministers for their work. The 
 ministry is ordained to bind the whole mystical body together in 
 one. See Ephes. iv. 11, 12, 13. So that it should be not only in 
 peace, but in unity. 
 
 14. "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are un- 
 ruly." Some suppose that this, following upon the two verses re- 
 specting ministers, is a precept for the rulers of the Church ; but 
 though it is for the rulers to exercise Godly discipline, it is for the 
 whole Church, and for each member in particular, as far as lies in 
 him, to repress disorders. By this the restraining power of the 
 ministry is indefinitely increased. Each man, then, should warn 
 his neighbour if he acts disorderly, i.e., if he sets at naught the rules 
 which must bind every community, if it is to live and progress harmo- 
 
12G SUPPORT THE WEAK. [I. Thbss. 
 
 w Or, dis- that are 11 unruly, ° comfort the feeble-minded, 
 
 orderly. 
 
 « Heb. xii. 12. ^ support the Weak, ^ be patient towards all men. 
 
 * Rom. xiv. 1. 
 
 & XV. 1. Gal. 
 
 vi.l, 2. 
 
 \.^h.\y'2'!' niously. The "unruly" are in all probability those 
 c.a. ii:. 12. alluded to in chap. iv. 11, 12, and in the Second 
 
 2Tim. iv. 2. ^ . ^ ... ^ 
 
 Epistle, 111. 6. 
 
 '* Comfort the feeble-minded." This also pertains to each 
 member of the Church, that with the comfort wherewith God hath 
 comforted him he also should comfort his brother (2 Cor. i. 4-6). 
 
 *' Feeble-minded." Literally, those of small souls as distin- 
 guished from the great souls, or great hearts — those who are fuU of 
 complaints, distressed with trifles, inverting the order of things, 
 making much of that which is in comparison little, making little 
 of that which is in comparison much. 
 
 " Support the weak." St. Paul elsewhere speaks of the weak as 
 the over-scrupulous (Eom. xiv. 2), but he evidently means here those 
 who are weak in all Christian grace, especially in faith. Chrysos- 
 tom has some most pertinent remarks on this verse : " ' Comfort 
 the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient towards all 
 men.' For he who is rebuked with harshness, despairing of 
 himself, becomes more bold in contempt. On this account it 
 is necessary by gentle warning to render the medicine sweet. 
 But who are the disorderly? Those, surely, who do what is con- 
 trary to the will of God. For this order of the Church is more 
 harmonious than the order of an army, so that the reviler is dis- 
 orderly, and the drunkard is disorderly, and the covetous, and all 
 who sin. . For they walk not orderly in their rank, but out of the 
 line, wherefore also they are overthrown. But there is also an- 
 other kind of evil, not such as this indeed, but itself a vice. And 
 what is this ? Little-mindedness. For this is destructive equally 
 with sloth. He who cannot bear an insult is feeble-minded. Ha 
 who cannot endure trial is feeble-minded. This is he who is sown 
 upon a rock. There is also another sort, that of weakness. ' Sup- 
 port the weak,' he says, speaking of those who are weak in faith. 
 For with respect to that also there is a weakness. But observe 
 bow he does not permit them to be despised. And elsewhere in 
 his Epistles he says, ' Those that are weak in the faith receive ye.' 
 For in our bodies too we do not suffer the weak member to perish. 
 ■* Be patient toward all men,' he says. What, then, even to tho 
 
Chap, v.] REJOICE EVERMORE. 127 
 
 15 ^ See that none render evil for evil unto any ^ Lev. xix. is. 
 man ; but ever ^ follow that which is ffood, both xxiv. 29. Matt. 
 
 , n , 11 v.39,44. Rom. 
 
 among yourselves, and to all men. xii. 17. 1 tor. 
 
 16 ° Kejoice evermore. iii. 9. 
 
 » Gal. vi. 10. 
 ch. iii. 12. 
 
 l> 2 Cor. vi. 10. 
 
 Phil. iv. 4. 
 
 disorderly? Yes, certainly. For there is no medicine equal to 
 this, especially for the teacher, none so suitable to those who are 
 under rule. It can quite shame and put out of countenance him 
 that is fiercer and more impudent than all men." (Chrysostom.) 
 
 15. " See that none render evil for evil unto any man," &c. 
 Some suppose that this is a direction for ministers ; but this is im- 
 possible, for it is in the most general language — see that no one — to 
 ■any man. Our Lord's words are stronger, " Resist not evil." " Do 
 good to them that hate you." *' Pray for them that despitefully 
 use you." 
 
 It is remarkable that St. Paul, and the same is true of his brother 
 Apostles, never reproduces the Lord's words, " Love your enemies." 
 He comes very near it in Romans xii., but the words of the Lord 
 r.re very short. They are the most decisive words, one may say, in 
 Scripture. If St. Paul knew any words of the Lord, he must have 
 inown these. Perhaps, however, he thought that he reproduced 
 them practically by his precept, " If thine enemy hunger, feed him," 
 for it is by obeying precepts such as these that we can get to love 
 our enemies. 
 
 " But ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and 
 s\\ men." Lit. " pursue the good " — both towards yourself, i.e., the 
 Church, and towards all men, i.e., to those who are without, the 
 unconverted, the heathen, even though they persecute you. 
 
 16. " Rejoice evermore." The Apostle frequently repeats this, 
 especially with respect to God and Christ, " We joy in God through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the atonement " 
 
 (Rom. V. 11). " We are the Circumcision who rejoice in Christ 
 
 Jesus " (Phil. iii. 4). " Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, 
 rejoice." The reader need not, I trust, be reminded that this is 
 the rejoicing of holy souls in the fact that God through His Son 
 redeems them from sin and breaks its yoke from off their necks. 
 Rejoicing in God and having pleasure in sin cannot possibly exist 
 together in any soul. If they do, such rejoicing is vain. 
 
128 PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. L^- Tiiess. 
 
 c Luke xviii. 1. 17 '^ Pray without ceasing. 
 
 Rom. xii. 12. 18 ^ In every thing give thanks : for this is the 
 
 Col. iv.2. will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 
 
 d Eph. V. 20. 
 
 Cul. iii. 17. 
 
 "Evermore." Even in tribulations. Perhaps no word of mere man 
 can so well describe this "rejoicing evermore," as those of this 
 Apostle : "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in neces- 
 sities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake ; for when I 
 am weak, then am I strong " (2 Corinth, xii. 10). St. James also 
 by the same spirit was enabled to say, " Brethren, count it all joy 
 when ye fall into diverse temptations." " There were giants in the 
 earth in those days." 
 
 17. " Pray without ceasing." We are tempted to say that this 
 cannot be obeyed literally, because we must have sleep, and there 
 are certain occupations which take up, for th^ time, all our atten- 
 tion, but there have been, and doubtless are. Christians who obey 
 this almost to the letter. We cannot pray when asleep, but is it 
 not well to have a rule whenever we wake in the night to have 
 some short prayers commending to God our waking moments, for 
 such are often dangerous ones. And with respect to some engross- 
 ing business, multitudes of Christians never engage in any business 
 without a short commendation of it to God. I have known one 
 who whenever he was visited by any one would retire for a mo- 
 ment, or pause, or do something which his friends knew to be a 
 short but conscious putting of himself into the presence of God. 
 Then Nehemiah ii. 4, " So I prayed to the God of heaven, and said 
 unto the King." It is not sufficient to say we should be always in 
 the spirit of prayer. The spirit of prayer is only known by con- 
 stant secret acts of prayer. 
 
 18. " In every thing give thanks." To give thanks for all things^ 
 in every thing, under all circumstances, is a more important Chris- 
 tian duty than at first sight appears, for it is our acknowledgment 
 to God that He overrules all things for the best — that no matter 
 what evil there is He intends to bring good out of it, and for that 
 good He is to be thanked. Many have reason to thank Him for 
 sicknesses, many for trials and disappointments, many for the loss 
 of friends, many for losses in property and straitened means, for 
 such things bring men to themselves and make them know God. 
 
Chaf.V.] quench not THE SPIRIT. 129 
 
 19 ' Quench not the Spirit. [ ^p^; .';• fj; 
 
 20 ' Despise not prophesyings. le^'Tco/" 
 
 21 ^ Prove all things ; ^ hold fast that which is ^^'■- so. 
 
 ° f 1 Cor. xiv. 1, 
 
 good. 39. 
 
 e 1 Cor. ii. 11, 
 
 15. 1 John iv. 1. 
 h Phil. iv. 8. 
 21. "Prove all things." So V, A., a very few Cursives, Copt., Syriac ; but B., D., E., 
 F., G., K., L., sixty Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Goth., &c., read, "but prove all things." 
 
 19. " Quench not the Spirit." When the influences and graces 
 of the Spirit are extinguished in the soul by constant resistance, 
 He is provoked to depart and to leave the soul to itself. If St. 
 Paul here, as some think, refers to what we call the miraculous 
 gifts, prophecy, tongues, &c., they may be quenched by want of 
 use, or by want of due use, if, for instance, they are used for pur- 
 poses of vain glory ; but in his references to the gifts of the Spirit, 
 in 1 Corinth, xii., he appends no caution against neglecting to use 
 them, and so it seems better to understand this verse of the ordi- 
 nary gifts of the Spirit, the gifts of enlightening and sanctifying 
 the heart. These unquestionably may be quenched, even to the 
 withdrawal of the Spirit Himself (Psalm li. 11). Thus Isaiah 
 Ixiii. 10, "They rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit." Thus St.. 
 Stephen, "Ye do alway resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts vii. 51)* 
 Ephes. iv. 30, " Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God." 
 
 The word " quench " refers, no doubt, to the Holy Spirit as 
 symbolized by fire. 
 
 20, 21. " Despise not prophesyings, (but) prove all things." How 
 was it, when it was well known that certain persons were gifted by 
 the Spirit to utter prophesyings, that the Thessalonians should need 
 a caution not to despise them ? Probably because the Holy Spirit 
 did not choose to bestow the gift of prophecy on the educated only, 
 but sometimes on those who were less refined ; and they must 
 learn to recognize and reverence the gift when the gifted person 
 was less honourable or learned. Some suppose that they were 
 under the temptation to despise a comparatively homely gift like 
 prophecy in comparison with a more showy gift, as that of speaking 
 with tongues. 
 
 " Prove all things." The preponderance of ancient authority is 
 in favour of joining this sentence with the last verse, "Despise not 
 prophesyings, but {Sk) prove or try all that is uttered." The 
 
 7 
 
130 THE VERY GOD OF PEACE. [I. Tuess. 
 
 i ch. iv. 12. 22 'Abstain from all appearance of evil. 
 
 k Phil. iv. 9. 23 And ^ the very God of peace ^ sanctify you 
 
 I ch. ui. 13. -v^holly ; and I pray God your whole spirit and 
 
 BpiriuS of the prophets are subject to the prophets. There were those 
 who had from God the spirit of discernment, and these pronounced 
 upon certain supposed utterances of the Spirit whether they were 
 really from the Holy Spirit or the outcome of the mere human 
 spin.. St. John makes it a duty to try the spirits where he says, 
 •' Beloved, believe not eveiy spirit, but try the spirits whether they 
 are of God : because many false prophets are gone out into the 
 world " (1 John iv. 1). 
 
 •' Hold fast that which is good." This may mean, ♦' Eemember 
 and ponder over and practise whatever good remains after the pro- 
 phecy has been examined," but it is surely a maxim of universal 
 appUcation. That which the Holy Spirit, acting on your en- 
 lightened reason, aided by those who have the gift of spiritual dis- 
 cernment, pronounces to be good, that retain and realize. 
 
 22. •* Abstain from all appearance of evil." This is rendered 
 " abstain from every kind or form of evil." Still it is a truth 
 that we have to abstain from all that appears evil to our brethren, 
 lest we offend them, and make the religion we profess odious to 
 them. 
 
 23. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I 
 pray God your whole spirit and soul and body," &c. " Wholly," 
 i.e., entirely, in every part ; and he goes on to specify the parts of 
 human nature which should partake of the sanctification — the 
 Bpirit, the soul, and the body. 
 
 Most commentators believe that St. Paul here refers to the three- 
 fold division of man into body, soul, and spirit — the body a frame- 
 work of organs, admirably adapted to carry out the will of the 
 thinking or immaterial part within it, and this thinking part also 
 divided into two parts — the soul and the spirit ; the soul, that 
 which we have in common with the animal world, which has 
 affections, which can remember, and love, and hate, which can, to 
 a certain extent, reason and calculate, and even repent, but only 
 with reference to things in its own sphere ; whilst the characteristic 
 attribute of the spirit seems to be the faculty of apprehending another 
 and a higher sphere, the sphere in which dwells God and Christ 
 
€ii.4i'. v.] SPIRIT — SOUL — BODY. 131 
 
 «oul and body "" be preserved blameless unto the coming of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. °» i Cor. i. a. 
 
 and the Holy Spirit, the sphere of sin and righteousness, faith, 
 -hope of a future life, redemption, judgment. 
 
 Some, as Professor Jowett, seem to deny, or to be very doubtful 
 -whether St. Paul alludes to psychological distinctions. " Had he," 
 the Professor asks, " a distinct thought attached to each of these 
 words ? Probably not. He is not writing a treatise on the soul, 
 hut pouring forth from the fulness of his heart a prayer for his 
 converts." Yes, we answer, but this prayer mentions not two, but 
 three things, whereas, if he had mentioned only two, he would have 
 avoided exciting a world of speculation. This same Apostle most 
 clearly distinguished between the two parts of our inner man, the 
 psuchicos and the pneumaticos, in 1 Cor. ii. 14. The natural man 
 is the Psychical man, the man under no higher influence than his 
 animal soul, though that soul may have its intellectual or rational, 
 as well as its sensual side. The spiritual man is the man in whom 
 the spirit, his noblest part, does not lie buried under the weight of 
 the animal, or merely mental or intellectual, but is alive to God, and 
 takes in the things of God. 
 
 Many commentators and divines write as if the pneuma was lost 
 at the Fall, and was restored in Baptism, but surely the old saints 
 ■of God, though not baptized, had each a spirit. Surely Abraham, 
 Moses, Joshua, David, had spirits as well as souls, or how could 
 they have been so receptive of the Holy Spirit ? Perhaps we may 
 be wrong in speaking of the " soul " and " spirit " as two parts. 
 The spirit may be, perhaps, rather a function of the inner man, 
 which is receptive of a revelation from God. Canon Mason (on 
 "Thessalonians in " Cassell's Bible "), has some admirable remarks. 
 *' The soul includes the intellect, the affections, and the will, and it 
 is of the very essence of the Gospel to force sharply upon man the 
 distinction between it and the spirit. (Hebrews iv. 12, * Piercing 
 even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.') Low-living men 
 may have soul, i.e., intellect, affection, will in abundance, but their 
 spirit falls into complete abeyance (Jude 19). The souls belong 
 altogether to the lower nature, so that when St. Paul uses the two- 
 fold division, body and spirit, the soul is reckoned as part of the 
 body, and when St. Paul describes the works of the flesh, he includes 
 among them such distinctly soul sins as heresies. (Gal. v. 20.)" 
 
132 BRETHREN, PRAY FOR US. [I. Thess, 
 
 » 1 Cor. i. 9. 24 "^ Faithful is he that calleth you, who also 
 
 &x. 13. . 
 
 ■J Thess. iii. 3. Will 0.0 it. 
 
 o Col. iv. 3. 25 Brethren, ° pray for us. 
 
 P Rom.xvi.i6. 26 P G-reet all the brethren with an holy kiss. 
 
 II Or, adjure. 27 I || charge you by the Lord that "^ this epistle 
 
 2 Thess. iii. 14. be read unto all the holy brethren. 
 
 26. " Pray for us." B., D., add " also." 
 
 27. "The holy brethren." So A., K., L., P. ; but S, B,, D., F., G., a few Cursives, 
 d, e, f, g, omit "holy." 
 
 " Unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Rather at, or in^ 
 the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Compare Ephes. v. 27 : 
 " That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having- 
 spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." And again, (iii. 13), " To the 
 end, that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness^ 
 before God and our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 with all His saints." 
 
 24. "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." He 
 will do it if you continue to desire it and to pray for it. His having^ 
 called you to holiness is a pledge of His desire for your complete 
 sanctification, but you must continue to meet and further Hia 
 desire. 
 
 25. "Brethren, pray for us." Some MSS. read "for us too.''- 
 We are not above your prayers. Remember Phil. i. 19, " I know 
 that this (that Christ is preached every way), shall turn to my 
 salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 26. " Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss." This was not a 
 kiss to be given in private, but in all probability a part of the 
 solemnity of the Eucharistic celebration. (See my notes on Rom. 
 xvi. 16, and 1 Cor. xvi. 20.) 
 
 27. " I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all 
 the holy brethren." This is far stronger in the original. It is, " I 
 adjure you, I put you on your oath before the Lord that this Epistle 
 be read," &c. 
 
 We should scarely have supposed that they needed so very solemn 
 an appeal on such a matter, but the fact that St. Paul saw fit 
 to use such an adjuration is very suggestive. He would not have 
 done so unless he had been thoroughly assured that the contents of 
 
Chap, v.] GRACE. 133 
 
 28 "■ The s^race of our Lord Jesus Christ he with *" Rom. xvi.20, 
 
 . ^ 24. 2Thess. 
 
 jou. Amen. iii. is. 
 
 % The first epistle unto the Thessalonians was written 
 from Athens. 
 
 his letter was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Bishop Words- 
 worth makes two valuable remarks. 1. That the fact that he so 
 solemnly ordered his own letter to be read in their public assemblies 
 as if it were Scripture, seems to necessitate that he should have 
 supplied them with some account of the words and actions and 
 Death and Eesurrection of our Lord to be similarly read, and 2, 
 that the command to read such a document from the first was a 
 guarantee of its genuineness. It will suffice to convince all reason- 
 able persons that the Epistles which we have in our hands bearing 
 the Apostle's name, cannot well have been tampered with, and 
 that these Epistles, as a whole, and every part of them, are what 
 they profess to be, the writings of the blessed Apostle St. Paul, for 
 unless this Epistle had been undoubtedly his, when it was included 
 amongst the canonical writings the Thessalonian Church would 
 have protested that they never had had such a document read in 
 their midst. 
 
 28. " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." The 
 Epistle ends with an Invocation of Grace from Jesus Christ, the 
 Son of God, and it is a sure proof of the Lord's Godhead, for from 
 whom could grace be invoked except from One Who was in His own 
 Person the Giver of Grace ? 
 
THE 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 PAUL, *and Silvanus, and Timotlieus, unto tlie church 
 of the Thessalonians ^ in Grod our Father and the Lord 
 » 2 Cor. i. 19. Jesus Christ : 
 c 1 Cot A. 3. ^' ^ '^ Grrace unto you, and peace, from God our 
 
 Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 d 1 Thess. i. 3 ^ We are bound to thank Grod always for you^ 
 
 2,3. &iii.6, J J '• 
 
 9. ch. ii. 13. 
 
 1. " Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the 
 Thessalonians," &c. From this we gather that these three were 
 together, as at the writing of the first Epistle. This proves, accord- 
 ing to Mason, that this Epistle was written before the end of the 
 second missionary journey, i.e., before the events narrated in Acts- 
 xviii. 19-22 ; for we do not read of Silvanus being in the company 
 of Paul after this time. 
 
 1, 2. " Unto the Church . . . God our Father and the Lord Jesua 
 Christ." This is the same salutation as at the beginning of the 
 first Epistle. There can be no doubt respecting the retention of 
 the words, " From God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ " 
 here, though some editors out of deference to some MSS. of tho 
 neutral text, omit them in the first Epistle. 
 
 3. "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it 
 is meet, because," &c. "We are bound to thank God . . . as it is 
 meet." Why should St. Paul so earnestly give thanks on their 
 behalf? Because they would be his hope and joy, and crown of re- 
 joicing at the coming of Christ : but even putting any personal consi- 
 derations, however exalted and holy, out of the question, it is a matter 
 
CiiAP. I.] YOUR PATIENCE AND FAITH. 135 
 
 brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith growetli 
 exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward 
 each other aboundeth ; 
 
 4 So that ^ we ourselves glory in you in the « 2 Cor. yii. 
 churches of Grod ^ for your patience and faith ^ in 1 thess." li.* 19, 
 all your persecutions and tribulations that ye f 1 Thess. i. 3. 
 endure: ei Thess. h. 
 
 of thanksgiving to a holy creature to see the manifestation of the 
 glory of God in the triumph of good and the eradication of evil : 
 thus in the Gloria in Excelsis we say, " We give thanks to Thee for 
 Thy great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father 
 Almighty." 
 
 " Because that your faith groweth exceedingly." Here again 
 are faith and love mentioned together as if inseparable. Faith 
 made them discern in every brother who endured persecution 
 patiently the triumph of God's grace, and so it grew, because it had 
 so many examples to nourish it ; and the sympathy which was 
 engendered by the sight of such heroic examples of endurance 
 made their love to abound. 
 
 " The charity of every one of you." From this we gather that 
 St. Paul had not only a general knowledge of the state of the 
 Church, but a particular knowledge of the patient endurance of 
 each one. Let the reader remember Acts xx. 31, where with 
 respect to, as we should suppose, a much larger Church, he says 
 that he " ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." 
 
 4. " So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for 
 your patience." He spoke of their patience and faith in the Church 
 of Corinth and the neighbourhood, in every church which he 
 visited in Macedonia and Achaia. 
 
 "For your patience and faith." He does not say for their 
 patient faith, but he speaks of the two as distinct Christian graces; 
 but the one upheld the other ; the patience strengthened the faith, 
 because it was faith in exercise (and a limb by exercise grows 
 stronger) ; and the faith strengthened the patience, because it (the 
 faith) was the evidence of the unseen reward of endurance. 
 Persecution and tribulation are not the same. Persecution im- 
 plies active, powerful, personal enemies. Tribulation may be in- 
 flicted by no enemy, but may be entirely from within. 
 
186 BEST WITH US. [11. Thess. 
 
 5 Which is ^ a manifest token of tlie righteous judgment 
 h Phil. i. 28. of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the 
 14. ess. 11. ]^iiig(jQxn of God, ' for which ye also suffer : 
 k Rev. vi. 10. Q ^ Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to 
 recompense tribulation to them that trouble you ; 
 1 Rev. xiv. 13. 7 ^nd to you who are troubled ^rest with us, 
 m 1 Thess. iv. whcu ™ the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from 
 t Gr. the ' heaven with f his mighty angels, 
 
 angels of his 
 
 power. 
 
 5. " Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of 
 God." This place brings out wonderfully clearly the faith which 
 St. Paul had in God as a righteous judge. If for a time the wicked 
 were permitted to triumph, if God was just, it would only be for a 
 time, and such permission of a short-lived triumph of evil must be 
 for a good purpose which is here expressed by " that ye may be 
 counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which ye also suffer." 
 *' Being counted worthy of the kingdom," means, of course, that 
 they were made really and truly worthy of it. In the kingdom of 
 a heart-searching God they who are accounted worthy must answer 
 to that which they are accounted to be. 
 
 That they were persecufed was a manifest token — a proof — that in 
 the all-ruhng providence of God their enemies will some day (the 
 day of the Lord) be punished. It cannot be otherwise if God is a 
 righteous God ; and so he says : 
 
 6. " Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tri- 
 bulation," &c. The great principle involved here is applicable to 
 all cases of persecution and injustice, no matter by whom inflicted, 
 or by whom endured. It is a righteous thing with God to render 
 just retribution, and even if so-called believers have persecuted un- 
 believers, they must receive retribution just as others, for they 
 have exhibited conduct which is not only contrary to Christianity 
 but is always a serious hindrance to its success, 
 
 7. " And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord 
 Jesus," &c. It is to be remarked how the Apostle makes the rest 
 to date, not from the falling asleep with Jesus, but from the 
 Second Coming. Death is ignored, and all hope, even of rest, 
 fixed on the Second Advent, " When the Lord Jesus shall be re- 
 vealed from heaven with His mighty angels." 
 
chap.l] taking vengeance. 137 
 
 8 *" In flaming fire |1 taking vengeance on them «» Hebr. x, 27. 
 ° that know not G-od, and ^ that obey not the 2 Pet. iii". 7. 
 gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : y Or, yie'idiyig, 
 
 o Ps. Ixxix. 6. 
 
 ^ 1 Thess. iv. 5. 
 
 P Rom. ii. 8. 
 
 8. "Jesus Christ." So N, A,, F., G., most Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., Goth., Syriac; 
 but B., D. qGi-.), E. (Gr.), K., L., P., 17, about thirty Cursives, omit "Christ." 
 
 8. "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not 
 God," &c. Notice how the angels which will form, as it were, 
 His body-guard, are His angels, as well as the Father's. He is the 
 Lord of angels. Thus when the Son of man comes in power and 
 great glory, He shall send His angels, and they shall gather to- 
 gether His elect (Matth. xxiv. 31). The question has been asked, 
 *' Is the flaming fire here an adjunct of the glory of His appear- 
 ance, or is it the instrument of His Vengeance ? " We should 
 think the former. Whenever God visibly manifests Himself, it is 
 in the brightness of fire. Thus Psalm xviii. 8, 12, 13 ; also Psalm 
 1. 3, and Daniel (vii. 9, 10), " His throne was like the fieiy flame, 
 and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came 
 forth from before Him." And yet we have "There shall go a 
 fire before Him and burn up His enemies on every side " (Ps. 
 xcvii. 3). 
 
 " Taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey 
 not the Gospel," &c. Here it seems there are two classes ; those 
 who " know not God," and those who " obey not the Gospel." 
 The first of these seems all-comprehensive. The heathen have 
 some power of knowing God. The Apostle says of them, "When 
 they knew God, they glorified Him not as God," so that the igno- 
 rance of God which will be punished, is a wilful moral ignorance, 
 a turning away from some measure of light from God, a shutting 
 their eyes to what they might know of Him. 
 
 " And that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." This 
 is not, as by some, to be limited to the Jews who rejected the 
 Gospel. It also is a place of the widest application. Each and 
 every part of the Gospel is given that it should be obeyed. Even 
 the great atoning feature, the Crucifixion, is to be obeyed ; it is 
 only obeyed by them who " crucify the flesh with its afiections and 
 lusts." And so the Incarnation, even in its humiliation, is to be 
 obeyed. " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." 
 
138 THE GLORY OF HIS POWER. [H. Thess. 
 
 1 
 q Phil. iii. 19. -9 *^ Who shall be punished with everlasting^ 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 7. 
 
 destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
 2 ^^isli'^ii'^'"' ' fro^^ t^6 S^^U ^^ ^^^ power ; 
 
 19. ch.ii.8. 
 
 So is \he Kesurrection, *' If ye be risen with Christ, seek those 
 things which are above." So is the Ascension into heaven. We 
 pray that " we may in heart and mind thither ascend, and with 
 Him continually dwell." 
 
 9. "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from 
 the presence," &c. Commentators dwell upon the question, " Is- 
 this destruction annihilation, or is it what is commonly known aa 
 everlasting punishment ? " 
 
 Annihilation cannot well be considered as retributive, for retri- 
 bution almost of necessity implies consciousness of the retribution. 
 There seems to me no getting over the intimations of eternal or 
 aionian punishment ; but even good men have revolted from the 
 consideration of it, because of the incredible harshness with which 
 it has been dealt out to all who differ from the self-constituted 
 judge, who usurps the place of the Judge of all. By the Lord the 
 Judge it is categorically assigned only to the selfish, to those who 
 have lived and died unrnindful of the wants of their fellow- creatures 
 (Matth. XXV. 31). He seems also to assign it, but by implication, 
 to those who have not cut off the right hand of evil doing, or 
 plucked out the right eye of evil desire (Mark ix. 43). It seems 
 incredible to think that such a host of Christian writers have as- 
 signed it to those who have had, as they suppose, mistaken views 
 in the ma,tter of imputed or imparted righteousness. Among such 
 I have myself been educated. 
 
 However, leaving this, it is a fact that this is the only place in 
 the Epistles of St. Paul where everlasting destruction is mentioned. 
 It is mentioned here, but here only, so that in mercy to souls, we 
 cannot leave it unmentioned, and yet the constant dwelling upon 
 it may have exactly the contrary effect to what we intend. When 
 a man is under the pressure of temptation he thrusts away the 
 terrors of future punishment, with the hope that God will give him, 
 sometime before his death, repentance — that God will save him in 
 his sins — that God will take into account the strength of his temp- 
 tation, his natural proneness to fall under such or such incentives 
 to gratify evil inclinations. 
 
Chap. L] GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 13D^ 
 
 10 * Wlien he shall come to be glorified in his saints, * and 
 to be admired in all them that believe (because ^ Ps. ixxxix. 7^ 
 our testimony among you was believed) in that 
 day. 
 
 It seems clearly wrong in so invaluable an expositor of the New 
 Testament as Chrysostom to write "Let us not remember the 
 kingdom so much as hell. For fear has more power than the pro- 
 mise. And I know that many would despise ten thousand 
 blessings, if they were rid of the punishment." Judged by the one 
 single mention of this by the Apostle he is clearly wrong, but his. 
 words are weighty indeed, and much to be pondered over by tho8& 
 of us who profess to preach the word of God, when he asks, " But 
 dost thou fear the offensiveness of such words ? Hast thou then, if 
 thou art silent, extinguished hell ? or if thou speakest of it hast 
 thou kindled it ? Whether thou speakest of it or not the fire will 
 boil forth. Let it be continually spoken of, that thou may est never 
 fall into it. It is not possible that a soul anxious about hell should 
 readily sin." 
 
 In leaving this awful subject it is to be remarked that St. Paul 
 looks upon the loss of the presence of Christ as the real punishment. 
 It is not simply destruction, but " destruction from the presence of 
 the Lord, and from the glory of His power." This he said because 
 *' to him to live is Christ." This he said because he could say,, 
 " I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now 
 live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." (Gal. ii. 20.) 
 To him the greatest imaginable deprivation was to be deprived of 
 the presence of Christ. 
 
 " And from the glory of His power ; when He shall come to be 
 glorified in His Saints." 
 
 This glory of the Lord's power from which the wicked are to bo 
 excluded is the glorification of His Saints, or rather of Himself in 
 His saints, in the renovation of their souls after His image, and in 
 the resurrection of their bodies incorruptible and glorious, according 
 to the words, " He shall come to be glorified in His saints." He is 
 glorified in them because what they will be at His coming will b© 
 brought about by His being formed in them. 
 
 " And to be admired in all them that believe." " Through them 
 He is shewn to be admirable. For when He brings to so much 
 splendour those who were pitiable and wretched, and who had suf- 
 
140 WORTHY OF THIS CALLING. [IL Thess. 
 
 11 Wherefore also we praj always for you, that our G-od 
 II Or, vouch- would |1 " count you worthy of this calling, and 
 " ver. 5. fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and 
 
 y 1 Perr 7 ^' "^ *^® ^^^^ ^^ ^^^*^ ^^^ power : 
 
 * "'. 14. 12 y That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 
 fered unnumbered ills, and had believed, then His power is shewn.'* 
 (Cbrysostom.) 
 
 "Because our testimony among (or unto) you was believed." 
 This seems to be thrown in to assure the Thessalonian sufferers, 
 tbat because of tbeir belief in the testimony of the Apostles to the 
 Person and Work of Christ they had a part in this glorification of 
 Christ in His Church. Their having, by God's grace, been enabled 
 to accept the testimony whilst others had rejected it, was a sure sign 
 that God intended to make — indeed had made them, " vessels of 
 honour prepared before to glory." 
 
 11. " Wherefore also we pray always for you that our God would 
 count you," &c. *' Of this calling " — rather " of the calling " — the 
 calling at the last day to enter into the joy of their Lord. They and 
 all Christians are called at their conversion or repentance unto 
 life, or through their Christian instruction, but this caUing has to be 
 made sure, and if, by God's grace, they make this caUing sure, 
 Hien it is equivalent to their being counted worthy of the final 
 calling. 
 
 " And fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of 
 faith," &c. The good pleasure of God respecting any creature is 
 that he may be made as good and holy and happy as he is capable of 
 being. This most benevolent design of good he too often frustrates, 
 hecause of his free will, which is free to entertain evil as well as 
 good, and here the Apostle seems to pray that the good pleasure of 
 <jod may have free course in each one of his converts. 
 
 " And the work of faith with power." The faith of the creature, 
 owing to the flesh, being weak, the Apostle seems to pray that 
 God may overcome or strengthen this weakness by His power, so 
 that the fruits of faith in each may not be few and partial, but 
 abundant — that in fact the word sown in each heart may bear fruit 
 an hundredfold. 
 
 12. " That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in 
 you." The name of the Lord is the substance of His glorious attri- 
 
Chap. II.] YE IN HIM. 141 
 
 may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to tli© 
 grace of our G-od and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 butes. The power, the goodness, the holiness, the mercy, the love 
 of Christ are glorified in the Christian because he shews forth the 
 operation of all these in his life and character. 
 
 " And ye in Him." We are glorified not in ourselves, but in Him, 
 because all our goodness is through our union with Him. 
 
 Chrysostom gives another shade of meaning, true in itself: " How 
 is He glorified in us? Because we prefer nothing before Him. 
 How are we glorified in Him ? Because we have received power 
 from Him so that we do not yield at all to the evils which are 
 brought upon us." 
 
 "According to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 All that the Christian has, and is, is from grace. It is also accord- 
 ing to grace-;-according to the measure with which Almighty 
 "Wisdom meets out grace, and also gives grace to continue in it, and 
 improve it. And this is the grace of God and Christ conjointly, 
 the Father and the Son working together in every good gift which 
 the creature enjoys. 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 Now we beseech you, brethren, * by the " } Thess. iv. 
 coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, *' and hy b Matt. xxiv. 
 our gathering together unto him, xiu. 27.^"^ i 
 
 Thess. iv. 17. 
 
 1. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." " By the coming," is not an adjuration, but should 
 rather be rendered " with reference to." The Revisers translate it, 
 *' touching the coming." The matter, however, is of such importance 
 that he asks them earnestly, he beseeches them, so that they may not 
 misunderstand it. 
 
 " And by our gathering together unto Him." This is inseparable 
 in his mind from the Advent. He comes to be glorified in His saints. 
 Those that are asleep in Him will God bring with Him. 
 
142 LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU. [II. TiiEsa 
 
 2 '^ That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, 
 ■* Matt. xxiv. neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as 
 €. 1 John from lis, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 
 
 iv. 1. ^ 
 
 ti Matt. xxiv. 3 ^ Let no man deceive you by any means : for 
 
 4. Ephes. V. 
 
 6. 
 
 2. " Day of Christ," H, A., B., D., E., F., G., L., P., It., Vulg., Syr., read, " of the 
 
 Xord." 
 
 2. " That ye be not soon shaken in mind : " lit., " that ye be not 
 ^oon shaken from your mind — from your right mind." 
 
 " Or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as 
 from us." " By spirit," that is by some spiritual revelation or mani- 
 festation ; this seems to imply that there might be spiritual revela- 
 tions or utterances, which were not according to the truth of things : 
 thus St. John writes, " Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits 
 whether they are of God." 
 
 " Nor by word," i.e., by word of preaching, or exhortation, or 
 Argument. 
 
 " Nor by letter as from us." Many have taken this to mean " as 
 by some forged letter," but it seems very unlikely that any one 
 should take the trouble to forge a letter from the Apostle urging 
 men to look too earnestly for the coming of Christ. Taking all 
 ihings into account, it seems to mean, do not allow any letter, even 
 one from us, as our former epistle, to upset your minds on this 
 matter. 
 
 *' As that the day of Christ is at hand." This means immediately 
 at hand — that it would come in a few days or weeks. St. Paul 
 always taught that Christians were to be on the watch for Christ ; 
 in doing this he followed the teaching of Christ Himself, Who before 
 He departed taught His disciples to "watch and pray always that 
 they might escape those things which should come to pass, and to 
 stand before the Son of Man." (Luke xxi. 36.) But this was a 
 different thing from being utterly unhinged in mind as if they saw 
 His sign in the Heavens. And besides this the Lord would not 
 <;ome till certain events had taken place — the Apostasy, and the 
 Eevelation of the Anomos. They must be on their guard against 
 both of these or they might be drawn into the vortex of the one, 
 and seduced by the other. 
 
 3. " Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day will not 
 ■come," &c. For it will not be except the falhng away come first — 
 
Chap. II.] THAT MAN OF SIN. 143 
 
 that day shall not come, ^ except there come a fall- « i Tim. iv. i. 
 
 ing away first, and ^ that man of sin be revealed, i joTn u" is. * 
 
 « the son of perdition ; J^' ^'"- ^^' 
 
 4 Who opposeth and ^ exalteth himself ' above J^^''^" '^^'"« 
 
 all that is called Grod, or that is worshipped ; so •> isai. xiv. 
 
 that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, xxViii.^2, 6.9. 
 
 shewing himself that he is God. & xi." m'. 
 
 Rev. xiii. 6. 
 i 1 Cor. viii. 5. 
 
 3, "Man of sin." So A., D., E., F., G., K., L„ P., most Cursives, &c. ; but H, B., 
 ten Cursives, &c., read, " man of lawlessness." 
 
 4. "As God." So E., F. (Gr.), 6., K„ L., most Cursives, Syriac; but H, A., B., D., 
 <i, e, f, Vulg., &c., omit. 
 
 not a falling away, as if it were an ordinary Apostasy, but the falling 
 away — the Apostasy — respecting which I warned you so fully when 
 I was present with you. To this no doubt the Lord refers when He 
 asks, " Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh shall He find the 
 faith on the earth ? " (Luke xviii. 8.) 
 
 *' And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition," Other 
 men are sinners. This is the "man of sin" — one in whom rebellion 
 against God and opposition to the law of God culminates. 
 
 "The son of perdition " — one for whom in a deeper and more 
 fearful sense than can be predicated of any other human being, 
 perdition is reserved. 
 
 4. " Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
 •God, or that is worshipped." Putting together the two words 
 "" opposeth " and " exalteth himself above," we should gather 
 that he wUl desire to concentrate all worship upon himself, not 
 iolerating any other. So that in him would be literally fulfilled 
 the words of Daniel : " He shall speak great words against the 
 Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High" 
 •(vii. 25) ; and again : " He shall exalt himself, and magnify himself 
 above every God, and shall speak marvellous things against the 
 God of Gods " (xi. 36). 
 
 " Or that is worshipped." The word is only found here, and in 
 Acts xvii. 23, and signifies " objects of worship." 
 
 *' So that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing him- 
 self that he is God." What is this temple in which the Man of sin 
 «it8 as God ? Some suppose it to be the Jewish temple rebuilt and 
 
144 YE KNOW WHAT WITHHOLDETH. [II. Thess. 
 
 5 Eemember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told 
 you these things ? 
 ii Or, hoideth. 6 And now ye know what || withholdeth that 
 
 he might be revealed in his time. 
 & Ix't'' "' ^^' ^ -^^^ ^ *-^^ mystery of iniquity doth already 
 
 reconsecrated. Others that it is some Christian church, which 
 may be taken to he the typical Church of Christendom, as St. 
 Peter's at Eome. Others that it is the spiritual building in which 
 the man of sin usurps the Headship of Christ. 
 
 I shall consider the question as to whom the Man of sin or Anomos 
 is in an excursus. I shall merely now assert, in passing, that no 
 man or body of men, or succession of men, has yet appeared in 
 Christendom which in the least degree answers to this account 
 given us by the Apostle. 
 
 5. " Eemember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you 
 these things ? " If the Apostle gave them a true account, so far as 
 inspired man can know them, of the circumstances of the Lord's 
 coming, he must have warned them, as I have said, respecting the 
 two things which would precede it — the Apostasy and the Man of 
 Sin. 
 
 6. "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be 
 revealed," &c. " What withholdeth," i.e. " what hindereth," " what 
 restraineth," " what hoideth down the final outburst of lawless- 
 ness." The Apostle speaks to them as well aware of what this 
 *' withholding power " was, but he seems to shrink from naming it. 
 This accords well with the fact that the restraining power was 
 that of Imperial Eome, but we shall afterwards have to consider in 
 what capacity, as it were, or by what mode of action Eome was the 
 Catechon, the hindering power. 
 
 7. " For the mystery of iniquity doth already work : only he 
 that now letteth," &c. From this we learn that Antichrist, or 
 rather the Spirit of Antichrist, was already in the world, or rather 
 in the Church ; but that already the withholding power was doing^ 
 its work. Many gather from this that the Eevelation of the 
 Anomos must have been in the time of the Apostle himself, and 
 identify him with Cahgula, or Nero, or Simon Magus, or some 
 extremely wicked man of the period ; but this we shall see is a^ 
 great mistake, and arises from not considering what is the real 
 
Chap. IL] THAT WICKED. 145 
 
 work: only he wlio now letteth will let, until he be taken 
 out of the way. 
 
 8 And then shall that "Wicked be revealed, ^ Dan. vii. lo, 
 ' whom the Lord shall consume "" with the spirit m job iv. 9. 
 of his mouth, and shall destroy ° with the bright- hos"! vi/5, 
 
 J, , . . Rev, ii. 16. 
 
 ness of his comjug : & xix. 15, 20, 
 
 9 Even Mm, whose comino^ is ''after the work- ^^' . . . 
 
 ' " a CD. 1. 8, 9. 
 
 iner of Satan with all power and ^ signs and lying ^eb. x. 27. 
 
 ° ^ o "^ o o John viii. 41. 
 
 wonders, Eph. h. 2. 
 
 • Rev. xviii. 23. 
 
 p See Deut. 
 8. "The Lord." So B., K., L., most Cursives; bnt N, A., D., E., ^iii. 1. Matt. 
 F., G., It., Vulg., Copt., Syr., read, " the Lord Jesus." xiTi! 'is!'* S.' 
 
 "Shall consume." So E., K., L., most Cursives; but A., B., read, 20. 
 " consumeth." 
 
 nature of the hindrance or letting which prevents the bursting 
 forth of the Lawless One. 
 
 " Until he be taken out of the way." We may be labouring under 
 a great mistake if we suppose the Catechon to be a dynasty or succes- 
 sion of emperors. The same power of restraint may be as effectually 
 exercised by many kingdoms as by one ; but of this hereafter. 
 
 8. *' And then shall that Wicked [that lawless one, that Anomos] 
 be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume," &c. There seems to me? 
 no room for doubt but that the Apostle holds the Anomos to be a 
 real man, the leader of all rebellion and wickedness, who shall be 
 destroyed at the Second Advent. 
 
 9. " Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with 
 all power," &c. No one has, as far as I can read history, ever 
 appeared on its stage with pretensions like these. To cite cer- 
 tain miracles of healing performed by bones or relics of saints 
 as the fulfiment of this prophecy seems as if it were invented to 
 make some of the gravest statements of Scripture ridiculous. This 
 sign of Antichrist is foretold by the Lord where He says, " For 
 there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew 
 great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if possible, they shall 
 deceive the very elect " (Matt. xxiv. 24). This is not predicated by 
 the Lord, it is true, of one Antichrist, but of several ; and this is 
 not unlikely, for it is scarcely probable that the Antichrist should 
 be absolutely alone, and without ministers or disciples to whom 
 he may impart some of his evil power. 
 
 L 
 
146 STRONG DELUSION. [II. Thess. 
 
 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in "^ them 
 q 2 Cor. ii. 15. that perish ; because they received not the love of 
 
 & iv. 3. r ' ^ 
 
 the truth, that they might be saved. 
 rRom. i.24, n And ^^ f or this cause God shall send them 
 
 &c. See 1 
 
 Eiek^'Sv^g' strong delusion, Hhat they should believe a lie : 
 » Matt. xxiv. 12 That they all might be damned who beheved 
 
 iv. 1.' ' not the truth, but * had pleasure in unrighteous- 
 
 '^°-^-^2- ness. 
 
 10. "Deceivableness of unrighteousness ; " rather " deceit of unrighteousness.** 
 
 11. " Strong delusion." " An energy of error or delusion." 
 
 12. "Damned." "Condemned." 
 
 10. " And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them 
 that perish, because," &c. The deceivableness is connected with 
 unrighteousness, and signifies that it is in every way calculated to 
 deceive, and so "in them that perish " should rather be rendered, 
 "for them that are perishing." The Eevisers translate it " with all 
 deceit of unrighteousness for them that are perishing." 
 
 " For them that perish (are perishing)." It is not by an arbi- 
 trary decree of God that they perish, but, as the Apostle proceeds 
 to say, because " they received not the love of the truth that they 
 might be saved." The truth has not only to be received intel- 
 lectually, but received so as to be loved. 
 
 It is the love of the truth, the embracing of it, as it were, 
 which saves. 
 
 11, 12. "And for this cause God shall send them strong de- 
 lusion .... had pleasure in unrighteousness." No teacher and 
 no system has yet appeared in Christendom of which it could be 
 said that it attracted to it all who believed not the truth, but had 
 pleasure in unrighteousness, and by consequence repelled all who 
 believed the truth and had pleasure in righteousness. The Eomish 
 system has multitudes of adherents who believe every word of 
 what God has given to us respecting His Son, and are indefatigable 
 in preaching righteousness, though this may be associated with 
 much superstition, and those who, on the Continent particularly, 
 reject the Eomish system, do this on avowedly infidel grounds. 
 
 As I have shewn in my Excursus on Election, in Notes on the 
 Eomans, God in carrying out His purposes reserves to Himself the 
 
Chap. IL] HE CALLED YOU BY OUR GOSPEL. 147 
 
 13 But "we are bound to give thanks alway to Grod for 
 jou, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God " ch. i. 3. 
 '^hath yfrom the beginning chosen you to salva- ^iThess. i. 4. 
 tion ' through sanctification of the Spirit and belief I ^^kTi \t 
 •of the truth: iPet.i.k * 
 
 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to 
 
 ^ the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus 22 "" i"Th"4 
 Ohrist. 
 
 10. 
 
 13. "God hath from the beginning chosen yon," So H, A., D., E., K., L., most 
 Cursives, d, e, g, Syr., Copt., Arm. ; but B., F., G, (Gr.), P., a few Cursives, Vulg., 
 Tead, " chosen you as first fruits." 
 
 14. " He called you." So A„ B., D., E., K., L., most Cursives, d, e. Cop., yEth. ; bat 
 H, F., G., P., f, g, Vulg., read, " he also called you " (xai). 
 
 " You." So H, E., F., G., K., L., P., most Cursives, &c. ; but A., B., D., read, "us." 
 
 Tight of making use of evil men and evil spirits, who are permitted 
 -(after men have gone to a certain length in wickedness) to harden 
 them still further. After they have deluded themselves he " chooses 
 their delusions " to lead them on still further in the direction 
 which they have chosen. They hate the truth and have pleasure 
 in unrighteousness. They secretly desire to be confirmed in their 
 evil course, and so God sends them that which confirms them. 
 
 "A lie " is rather " the lie" — the lie which promises them im- 
 munity from future judgment. 
 
 13. " But we are bound to give thanks alway .... belief of 
 the truth." He desires not to discourage or intimidate them by 
 these awful warnings ; and so he sets before them again God's 
 evident purpose in having chosen them from the beginning. This 
 xaay be from all eternity, or it may be from the beginning of the 
 preaching of the Gospel to them ; it is probably the latter, for since 
 they had effectually received the Gospel God had supported them 
 through manifold persecutions, and every present deliverance from 
 distress and every gift of patience under it was from God, and a 
 token of His continuing love. Some MSS., however, read, " chosen 
 you as the first fruits." 
 
 14. " Whereunto he called you (to sanctification and belief) by 
 our gospel, to the obtaining," &c. This is a repetition of what he 
 had before written. " God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to 
 obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." All the acts of God's 
 
148 HOLD THE TRADITIONS. [II. Thess. 
 
 15 Therefore, brethren, ^ stand fast, and hold " the tra- 
 
 b 1 Cor. xvi. ditions which ye have been tauerht, whether by 
 
 13. Phil. •: 
 
 iv. 1. word, or our epistle. 
 
 ch!Sr6.'''"^' 16 ^Now our Lord Jesus Christ himseK, and 
 
 d ch. i.1,2. (3|.Q(j^ gygji Q^j. Father, ® which hath loved us, and 
 
 10. Rev. lis. hath given us everlasting consolation and ^ good 
 
 f 1 Pet. 1. 3. j^Qpg through grace, 
 
 16. "God, even our Father." MSS. differ between "God, even onr Father," "Godl 
 our Father," " our God and Father." 
 
 providence on their behalf, the bringing them within the sound of 
 the Gospel — the disposing of their hearts to receive it — the Church 
 and its ordinances and Sacraments, their being upheld to per- 
 severe amidst so much opposition — all set forth the desire of God 
 that they should obtain the glory of the Lord Jesus — that when 
 He should appear they should appear with Him in glory. 
 
 15. "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions 
 which ye," &c. How strange this must sound to the partially in- 
 structed reader — "ye have been called to share the glory of the 
 Lord, therefore stand fast and hold the traditions." But the difficulty 
 vanishes when we consider what these traditions were. They wero 
 the teachings or instructions of the Apostle respecting the Christian 
 faith. Now the faith embraced the Second Coming of the Lord, ar 
 thing for which all men were to look, and in order that they might 
 look aright, and not be deceived, they were to remember that 
 there were dangers to their faith, a fearful apostasy, and an extra- 
 ordinary revelation of a most specious evil personality, and if they 
 were deceived the Lord would appear to them not to salvation but 
 to judgment. " If then/' he says, " ye would stand before the Lord 
 and welcome His appearing, remember my first teaching, remember 
 what I first delivered to you respecting the dangers as well as the 
 hopes before you." 
 
 16, 17. "Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our 
 Father," &c. Here again we have the Father and the Son united 
 as the One Giver of everlasting salvation and good hope, and this 
 through the grace of which they are the joint Fountain, which 
 grace must be taken to be the Holy Spirit. 
 
 " Comfort your hearts." Under your present persecutions, and 
 yom* liability to undergo future dangers. 
 
Chap. Ill] COMFORT YOUR HEARTS. 149 
 
 17 Comfort your hearts, ^and stablisli you in e icor. i. 8. 
 
 ;i ^ J 1 IThess.iii. 
 
 every good word and work. la. i Pet. 
 
 *' And stablisli you [or them, i.e., your hearts,] in every good word 
 and worli." God, Who is spoken of under many titles as the author 
 of the Gospel, has this one especially in the writings of St. Paul, 
 that He is the God of all consolation (Rom. xv. 5 ; 2 Cor. i. 3). 
 
 " Stablish you in every good work." Strengthen you in doing, 
 and make you to persevere in doing all good works — all prayer, all 
 thanksgiving, all works of kindness, sympathy and long-suffering. 
 
 " Stablish you in every good word." In all God's promises, in 
 all God's revelations of the great truths of the Gospel— in every 
 good precept — in every needful warning. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 FINALLY, brethren, ^ pray for us, that the word of the 
 Lord t may have free course, and be glori- » Eph. vi. i9. 
 
 ' "^ -^ '=' Col. iv. 3. 
 
 fied, even as it is with you : i Thess. v. 25. 
 
 2 And ^ that we may be delivered from f un- tun? '""^ 
 
 b Ro. XV. 31. 
 
 t Gr. absurd. 
 
 1. " Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may 
 liave," &c. " Pray for us." He had prayed earnestly for them ; 
 now he asks them to pray for him and his companions, for if they 
 prayed for him, then it was more certain that the word of the Lord 
 would have free course, i.e., not creep along, but run (rpixv). 
 
 " Even as it is with you.' He was now labouring in Corinth, 
 where he had much encouragement (Acts xviii. 8), but there was 
 also much opposition, and so he writes, — 
 
 2. " And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked 
 men," &c. He seems here to allude to the Jews, for they were 
 more unreasonable than the heathen, because they so pertinaciously 
 resisted the appeals of the Apostle to Scripture, and the miracles 
 -which he wrought in attestation of his mission. 
 
150 ALL MEN HAVE NOT FAITH. [H. Thess 
 
 m N( 
 
 c Acts xxviii. reasonable and wiMid men : for all men liave 
 
 24. Horn. X. ■! A 
 
 16. not raitn. 
 
 I iheZ: y.^' 3 But ^ the Lord is faithful, who shall stablisk 
 
 f John xvii. you, and ^ keep you from evil. 
 
 15. 2 Pet, 4 And ^ we have confidence in the Lord touch- 
 
 11. 9. ^ 
 
 f 2 Cor. vii. 16. insr you, that ye both do and will do the thiners 
 
 Gal. V. 10. i- T J 'h 
 
 which we command you. % 
 
 g 1 Chron. -^ ^%^ 
 
 xxix. 18. 5 And ^ the Lord direct your Btearts into the 
 
 patience of love of God, and into || the patient waiting for 
 
 Christ, 1 ^, . , 
 
 Thess. i. 3. Onnst. 
 
 S 
 
 \ 
 
 " For all men have not faith." He seems here, however, to allude- 
 to some in the Church, and his first Epistle to the Corinthians, 
 shews that some had no firm hold on the doctrine of the Re- 
 surrection, which St. Paul looked upon as ai virtual rejection of 
 Christ. 
 
 3. "But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep 
 you from evil." The Lord here is the Son of God, Who along with 
 the Father works every good work in Christians, and guards them 
 from every adversary. • 
 
 " And keep you from evil." Literally from "the evil" or the "evil 
 one " {cnrd tov Trovrjpov). Some think that there is here a reminiscence 
 of the Lord's Prayer ; others, that 6 Trovijpog is the man of sin, of 
 whom he had just been speaking, and whose coming was to be 
 expected before the day of Christ. 
 
 4. " And we have confidence in the Lord touching you." " In. 
 the Lord." Both ye and we are in Christ, and so as Christ has 
 given us a good hope concerning you, and ye are continuing to 
 abide in Him, we have the best ground for trusting that His grace 
 will enable you to obey always, and in all things. 
 
 " The things which we command you." The Apostle could say 
 with all confidence in his own inspiration and calling to be an 
 Apostle*. " If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritua],. 
 let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the 
 commandments of the Lord " (1 Cor. xiv. 37). 
 
 5. " The Lord direct your hearts," ue.y the Lord Jesus. This is 
 a prayer to Christ. 
 
 " The patient waiting for Christ." The literal rendering is " the 
 
Chap. III.] AFTER THE TRADITION. 151 
 
 6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, ^'that ye withdraw yourselves ^^er. i4. 
 
 '' '' Rom. XVI. 17. 
 
 *from every brother that walketh ^ disorderly, and ^ Ji"- ^i. 5. 
 not after ^ the tradition which he received of us. * i Cor. v. u, 
 
 13 
 
 7 For yourselves know ™ how ye ought to k [ xhess. iv. 
 follow us: for ''we behaved not ourselves dis- Ier.^i,'i2,*i4. 
 orderly among you ; ^ cb. li. 15. 
 
 8 Neither did we eat any man's bread for le. & xi' 1? 
 
 1 Thess. i. 
 
 . 6, 7. 
 
 n 1 Thess. ii. 
 10. 
 
 6. "He received." B. reads, "ye received." H, A., D., E., K., L., P., most Cur- 
 sives, " they received." 
 
 patience of Christ." By some this is taken to be the patience which 
 Christ Himself shewed, and which should be reproduced in the 
 Christian ; by others, patience in working and suffering for the 
 cause of Christ. 
 
 Chrysostom notices these dififerences of meaning and seems to 
 prefer that which is contained in our version. " What is the patient 
 waiting ? That we should endure even as He endured, or that we 
 should do those things (as He did). With patience also we should 
 wait for Him, that is, that we should be prepared. For since He 
 has promised many things, and Himself is coming to judge the 
 quick and the dead, let us wait for Him and let us be patient." 
 
 6. " Now we command you, brethren, in the name .... that ye 
 withdraw," &c. Does St. Paul here urge the excommunication of 
 those who walked disorderly ? I think not. It seems that he urged 
 upon the church the application of a discipline which might, by 
 God's blessing, save those disorderly persons from the extreme 
 measure of excommunication. The language is very different from 
 that used in 1 Cor. v. 3, 4, 5, and 1 Tim. i. 20, and seems to order, 
 at first at least, a social withdrawal. 
 
 In our present want of discipline in the Church of England it 
 would be well if earnest and serious minded persons would, without 
 respect of persons, similarly place a ban upon irregular livers. 1 
 have known instances in which a very feeble attempt at this has 
 produced an unlooked-for good effect. 
 
 7, 8. *' For yourselves know how ye might . . . chargeable to any 
 of you." The tradition evidently was a very stringent forbidding of 
 
152 BUSYBODIES. [II. Tiiess. 
 
 nouglit; but "wrouglit with, labour and travail night and 
 
 Acts xviii. day, that we might not be chargeable to any of 
 
 2 Cor. xi. 9, 
 
 1 Thess. ii. 
 
 you: 
 Picor.ix.6. 9 ^Not because we have not power, but to 
 q l^r\' " ^ make ** ourselves an ensample unto you to follow 
 
 us. 
 
 10 For even when we were with you, this we 
 iTh°''"'v^* commanded you, ^that if any would not work, 
 11- neither should he eat. 
 
 • ver. 6. 11 For we hear that there are some ^ which 
 
 11. 1 Tim. ' walk among you disorderly, * working not at all, 
 
 V. 13. IPet. , , , , -,. 
 
 iv. 15. but are busy bodies. 
 
 idleness, and this not merely by the word, but by the example of the 
 Apostle, who refused to receive that which he was entitled to 
 that he might set them an example of industry, for he proceeds to 
 Bay,— 
 
 9. " Not because we have not power but to make ourselves an 
 ensample," &c. The setting an example was not always the reason. 
 In the case of the Corinthian Christians it was to take away the 
 ground from under the false teachers, that wherein they boasted, 
 they might be found even as he and bis companions. (2 Cor, 
 xi. 12.) 
 
 10. " For even when we were with you, this we commanded you," 
 &c. This seems to imply that assistance was rendered out of 
 Church funds to those who from age, illness, or any other honest 
 cause, were unable to work. It is probable from 1 Cor. xi. 21, 22, 
 that the agape was used for this purpose, as some who came were 
 hungry and were disappointed because they had no share of the 
 provisions. It must refer to relief from Church funds, for in 
 the natural order of things if a poor man would not work he would 
 starve. 
 
 11. " For we hear that there are some which walk among you," 
 &c. When he first taught among them he found reason to warn 
 them against this sin of idleness, but since then he has heard that 
 during his absence the evil had increased. 
 
 " Working not at all, but are busybodies." There is a remark- 
 able paranomasia, or play upon words, in the original: not working 
 
CiiAP. III.] BE NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING. 153 
 
 12 " Now them tHat are such we command and exhort by 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, '^ that with quietness they " i Thess. iv. 
 work, and eat their own bread. x Eph. iv. 28. 
 
 13 But ye, brethren, ^ 11 be not weary in well •'' Gai. vi. 9. 
 
 *^ II Or, faint 
 
 doing. not. 
 
 14 And if any man obey not our word 11 by this i' Or. signify 
 
 •^ "^ " *' that man by 
 
 an epistle. 
 
 12. "By our Lord Jesus Christ." So K., L., most Cursives, Syriac, ^th. ; but N, A., 
 B., D., E., F., G„ P., d, e, f, g, Vulg., Goth, Copt,, read, "in our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 at all is epya^ofievovg — busybodies is TrepupYa^ofiivovg. The nearest 
 rendering in English is, to employ a paraphrasis — not rightly 
 busy, but busy to no purpose ; the idle man mostly employing him- 
 self in scandal and interference in what belongs to others — busy 
 only with what is not his own business. (Jowett.) 
 
 12. " Now them that are such we command and exhort by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ," &c. It was a very serious matter, this idleness. 
 It would contribute more than any thing else to turn away from 
 Christianity the heathen among whom they lived. 
 
 " With quietness they work, and eat their own bread." *' Quiet- 
 ness ; " — this may allude to calmness of mind respecting the Lord's 
 coming. "Their own bread," earned by their own honest labour 
 and not got by begging or relying on funds intended for those unable 
 to work. 
 
 13. " But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing." Theodoret 
 understands this as, " Let not their improbity — their want of well- 
 doing — overcome your muniUcence." Persevere in well-doing, not- 
 withstanding the ill-doing of those around you. Chrysostom says, 
 *' 'Withdraw yourselves from them and reprove them ; do not, how- 
 ever, suffer them to perish with hunger." It seems not to be a 
 general precept but one which is suggested by the particular ill- 
 conduct which he is now reproving. 
 
 14. '* And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that 
 man," &c. "By this (the) epistle." This shews that the letter was 
 read in the Church, and that when it thus became known to all, it 
 became the law in the Church as coming from one who in the 
 Spirit spake for Christ. 
 
 Some translate this — " Note that man by an Epistle " — i.e., " send 
 Lis name to me in your next communication;" but this is not at all 
 
154 ADMONISH HIM AS A BROTHER. [H. Thess. 
 
 epistle, note that man, and ' have no company with him, 
 
 « Matt, xviii. that he may be ashamed. 
 
 17. 1 Cor. V. 
 
 9, 11. ver. 6. 15 * Yet count him not as an enemy, ''but ad- 
 
 1 Thlss^ V." il'. monish him as a brother. 
 
 bTit. iii. 10. \Q '^ayr <=the Lord of peace himself srive you 
 
 c Ro. XV. 33. r & J 
 
 &xvi. 20. peace always by all means. The Lord he with 
 
 1 Cor. xiv. 33. ^ *' *' 
 
 2 Cor, xiii. 11. yoU all. 
 1 Thess, V. 23. '' 
 
 16. " By all means " (jy ntavn, rpovw). So )^, B., E., K., L., P., almost all Carsives, Syr. ; 
 but A., D,, F., G., d, e, f, g, Vulg., read, "in every place " (jottw). 
 
 likely to be right, for St. Paul is giving them directions how to deal 
 with him at once on the spot. 
 
 " Have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.'* If the 
 man has any true Christian feeling nothing is likely to do him 
 .more good than being shunned by his fellow members — nothing is 
 more likely to bring him to a better mind than this informal ex- 
 communication. 
 
 15. " Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as 
 a brother." " Count him not," &c. : for, if so — if you shew by your 
 bearing towards him that you consider him to be an enemy to Christ 
 and the Church — you drive him away from the Gospel. The prin- 
 ciple here inculcated is that recommended by the Lord in Matth. 
 xviii. 15. 
 
 There were, of course, the overseers or elders, whose duty it 
 was to admonish, but every man under the new covenant, just as 
 every man under the old, was bound not to su£fer sin upon his 
 brother. (Levit. xix. 17.) 
 
 16. " Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all 
 means." This is a special benediction of peace because the action 
 of those busybodies, whom he felt it necessary to denounce, was 
 least of all conducive to peace in the Church. 
 
 Mark the repetition for the sake of emphasis, " always " — "by all 
 means." 
 
 *' Always," for constantly occasions of discord were cropping up. 
 
 ** By all means " — in every way. If there is to be genuine and 
 continued peace, many things must help together — the grace of 
 God — the striving together to be of one heart and mind — each one 
 bearing and forbearing — each one doing his duty in his own parti- 
 cular calling. 
 
Chap. Ill] THE SALUTATION OF PAUL. 155 
 
 17 "^The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is 
 the token in every epistle : so I write. f i Cor xvi. 
 
 18 ^The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ he is. 
 
 .,T ,, . e Rom. xvi. 24. 
 
 With you ail. Amen. 
 
 % The second epistle to the Thessalonians was written from 
 Athens. 
 
 17. " The salutation of Paul with mine own hand." Here the 
 Apostle takes the pen out of the hand of his secretary or amanuensis 
 and subscribes with a hand well known to them, — 
 
 18. " The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all." Not that 
 this salutation was always the same to the letter. In the Epistle to 
 the Colossians it was " grace be with you." In that to the Galatians 
 it was " the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." But 
 it was a solemn invocation of grace which St. Paul always wrote 
 with his own hand. With this invocation of grace he begins and 
 with this he ends. For the one thing which he held that all sinners 
 needed to make them holy and happy here and hereafter was 
 Grace. 
 
 EXCURSUS 
 
 ON THE ANTICHRIST OR ANOMOS. 
 
 The first step in endeavouring to ascertain the meaning of St. 
 Paul's words respecting the man of sin is to understand the bearing 
 of the teachings of the two Epistles to the Thessalonians upon one 
 another. There seems to be considerable misunderstanding upon 
 this point. 
 
 The first Epistle undoubtedly teaches that the coming of the 
 Lord was at hand when it was written. Thus in i. 9, 10, he writes 
 in praise of the Thessalonians that they turned from idols to serve 
 the living and true God and to wait for His " Son from Heaven.'* 
 Again in chap. iv. 15 and 17, he speaks of himself as being amongst 
 those who should be alive and remain when the Lord returned. 
 This he says twice. And in v. 2, he speaks of the day of the Lord 
 
156 THE MAN OF SIN. 
 
 so coming as a thief in the night, and he praises them as if they were 
 perfectly alive to this fact and so were " not in darkness that that 
 •day should overtake them as a thief." 
 
 Now when we come to the Second Epistle we find that without in 
 the least degree withdrawing or modifying the truth of what he had 
 written respecting the Day of the Lord being at hand, he endeavours 
 "to correct a wrong inference which he finds that they were drawing 
 from what he had written to them. They were " shaken in mind " 
 and " troubled " as if the Lord would come at once, and were 
 «o unhinged by the thought of His awful nearness that they 
 neglected the duties of their daily life, and St. Paul strives to 
 ■correct this by assuring them that two portentous signs must 
 be fulfilled before He would come — there must be a widespread 
 apostasy, and the " man of sin," the " Anomos," must be revealed. 
 
 With respect to this latter he implies that the spirit of it (1 John, 
 iv. 3) was even then actively at work : " The mystery of iniquity doth 
 already work ; " and more than this, he tells them that it (or he) was 
 prevented from breaking out by something which was then restrain- 
 ing or letting : so that so far from the Second Epistle postponing 
 the Lord's Advent to some period far distant in the future, it teaches 
 us that St. Paul himself discerned the signs of its being at hand, 
 though not so immediately at hand that men should be upset in 
 mind by the thought. 
 
 The Apostle, then, evidently expected that the coming of Christ 
 "would not be long delayed, and apparently he was mistaken, for 
 1800 years have passed and the Lord has not returned. 
 
 This is brought forward by Kationalistic critics as an argument 
 against the inspiration of the Apostle, that on a fact of such impor- 
 tance he was mistaken. " How could he be inspired," it is asked, 
 ^' if he could believe that an event would occur in his own lifetime, 
 and in that of many of his Thessalonian converts, which has not yet 
 taken place ? 
 
 Now the answer to this is of the utmost importance. St. Paul 
 believed that the second coming of Christ was soon to be expected, 
 because Christ intended him so to believe. All the teaching of 
 Christ is at one on this point, that from the time of His departure 
 He might return at any moment, and He has left the time of His 
 i-eturn absolutely uncertain in order that each successive generation 
 of Christians might look for it and prepare to meet Him — not 
 anerely be prepared to be taken to Him by death — of this He says 
 
THE MAN OF SIN. 157 
 
 absolutely nothing, but to watch for Him as coming to them whilst 
 they were living in the world. 
 
 The Lord sets forth this most explicitly in His words in Mark 
 xiii. 32. " Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the 
 angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take 
 ye heed, watch and pray : for ye know not when the time is. For the 
 Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and 
 gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and 
 commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore : for ye know 
 not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, 
 or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning : lest coming suddenly he 
 find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all. Watch.'* 
 
 Now all this St. Paul accepted to the letter, and so he lived in 
 the faith of it as if it was really true. The Lord had given him 
 authority and had assigned to him " his work," and in addition to 
 the diligence with which he was to fulfil his work, the Lord com- 
 manded him, as He commanded all His servants, to watch and be 
 ready to welcome Him, and this was what the Apostle was actually 
 doing. If the Apostle had believed that the Lord would come late 
 in the ages, as, for instance, at the time indicated by the cock-crow- 
 ing, or in the morning, both which represent a season very distant 
 from His Ascension, there would have been no need for him to 
 watch, but if he believed that the Lord might return "in the even- 
 ing," that is, very shortly after his departure, it was needful for him 
 to watch. And so he did, for he said respecting the Second 
 Advent, "we which are alive and remain." The Lord had laid 
 it upon His people not only to believe, but to watch, not only to 
 love, but to watch, not only to obey, but to watch — in fact, to be in 
 that state of mind which is described in the parable of the Ten 
 Virgins : and this state St. Paul was in by the operation of the 
 Holy Spirit. The teaching, then, of the Second Epistle in no way 
 undoes that of the first. It simply asserts that Christians must not 
 only look for the Lord, but be on their guard against two dangers 
 which will precede it. 
 
 St. Paul, then, if he looked for the Lord, must have been alive to the 
 fact that two signs at least must precede it, and that the appearance 
 of one of these signs must be delayed or hindered by what was 
 then in operation — which he does not describe, in fact, he seems to 
 be careful not to commit himself about it — but which he tells them 
 that they knew, for he had himself taught them about it. 
 
]58 THE MAN OF SIN. 
 
 It is clear, then, that if St. Paul looked for the coming of Christ he 
 must be expecting the development of that which must precede it, 
 and he says that he does. 
 
 What is this hindering or restraining thing ? 
 
 The Fathers almost universally understand it of the Eoman Em- 
 pire, and when that Empire would be destroyed they conceived 
 that the hindrance to the development of the Anomos would be re- 
 moved, and that he would immediately be revealed. 
 
 Now what was the hindering cause or principle in the Roman Em- 
 pire, and when was it removed ? This is important, because upon 
 the answer to this depends whether the restraint exercised by the 
 power was an arbitrary enactment, as if a certain dynasty continued 
 in the world till another dynasty of much the same character as it- 
 self took its place, or whether the restraining power embodied 
 «, principle which, as it were naturally, restrained the outbreak or 
 revelation of a contrary principle. No doubt the latter. If the 
 man of sin was the Anomos, the lawless one, what must restrain him 
 except "law," nomos? Now this was the spirit of the Roman 
 Power. It was law — cruel, iron, inflexible law, but still Law so far 
 good that the Apostle could speak of those who ministered it, even 
 though they persecuted him and his fellow Christians, as " the 
 minister of God to us for good." (Rom. xiii. 4.) 
 
 And the due considerg-tion of this will serve to shew that the 
 cessation of any Roman dynasty need not at all be the cessation 
 of Roman rule, considered as a principle. 
 
 When was that which let, or hindered, or restrained, taken out 
 •of the way ? If this restrainer be any dynastic succession of Roman 
 governors, it must have been removed at one of two times. The 
 Roman Empire in the East collapsed in 1453, and the Emph-e in the 
 "West nominally ceased under Romulus Augustulus in 476, and was, 
 till it expired, in a state of extreme weakness, and was succeeded in 
 the course of a century or two by such an empire as that of Charle- 
 magne, which in its time was divided into the German and French 
 kingdoms or empires. Now I have nothing to do with the history 
 of these or any other divisions of the great Roman Empire except 
 this, that these empires and kingdoms maintained Law. None of 
 them for a moment attempted to act the part of an Anomos — least 
 of all him whom the Protestant world has united in dignifying 
 with this title. Granting fully that during this period, whilst the 
 Roman Empire in Southern Europe was breaking up, and the 
 
THE MAN OF SIN. 159 
 
 great kingdoms of Northern Europe were consolidating themselves 
 into what became in process of time the monarchy of France and 
 the Empire of Germany — gi-anting, I say, that during three 
 centuries the Bishops of Rome gained temporal sovereignty over 
 the middle of Italy, and established a system of ecclesiastical 
 tyranny over the Western Church, this may have been, as doubt- 
 less it was, very bad : but to say that this Papal system was the 
 fulfilment of the prophecy of the Apostle, that it was the revelation 
 of the man of sin, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all 
 that is called God or worshipped, and who is to be revealed 
 immediately after the removal of the restraining power, i.e.j 
 in A.D. 476, and is to be destroyed, not by a lingering atrophy, but 
 quickly, as in a moment, by the brightness of the Lord's coming, 
 seems to me an interpretation of a prophecy as opposite to the terms 
 of the prophecy itself as any two things can be. But in addition to 
 this, if we look for the fulfilment of this prophecy of the hindering 
 power being removed and the Anomos revealed when the Western 
 Empire came to an end, we must find some one who about that 
 period performed such miracles that the true elect of God were 
 on the point of being deceived by them ; and that such was the 
 power of these signs and wonders that for above a thousand 
 jears they have literally judged the world ; those who accepted 
 the ecclesiastical rule of the Bishop of Rome being universally 
 those led away by deceivableness of unrighteousness — all of 
 them ordained to perdition, not one of them receiving the love 
 •of the truth that they might be saved ; every man who sub- 
 mitted to the Papal claims, doing so that he might be damned 
 on account of his believing not the truth, but having pleasure in 
 ■unrighteousness. 
 
 I assure the reader (indeed he may read and judge for himself) 
 that I am not in the least degree exaggerating this. The Apostle 
 ■describes one whom out of the whole body of sinful men he calls the 
 man of sin — whom out of the whole body of lawless men he calls the 
 lawless one. In this man all evil seems to converge. He opposeth 
 and exalteth himself above all that is called God or worshipped. 
 He assumes to be God. He deceives all the unrighteous. He 
 attaches to himself all who deserve eternal damnation. He deludes 
 all who have pleasure in unrighteousness. He comes at a particular 
 time in the world's history, either in 475 or thereabouts, or in 
 1450. The latter is much too late in the ages, so we must take 
 
160 THE MAN OF SIN. 
 
 the former: but if so we can find nothing at all answering to 
 the picture drawn by the Apostle. The spiritual or ecclesiastical 
 pretensions of the Bishop of Eome had been growing for centuries 
 before he acquired temporal power, and the acquisition of temporal 
 power, which was only consolidated in the time of Innocent IIL 
 (1200) added no one feature of resemblance to the prophetical 
 picture drawn by the Apostle. 
 
 But another most extraordinary fact remains to be stated. All 
 Protestants hold that at the time of the Keformation God raised 
 up Luther and other reformers to proclaim that the Bishop of 
 Eome was Antichrist. Now the line taken by Luther in opposi- 
 tion to the Bishop of Kome was mainly this, that the Pope upheld 
 a legal system. Instead of being the Anomos, he was the very in- 
 carnation and embodiment of law — law of course as non-justifying, 
 but still of law. And so far as the reign of law was concerned — I 
 mean its divine and sin-restraining nature — Luther before he died 
 had to confess, and abundantly confess — confess with wailing — 
 that under his own preaching, and that of those associated with 
 him, crime and ungodliness of every kind had fearfully increased ; 
 the fervent and intense faith manifested at the first period of the 
 so-called Eeformation speedily grew cold, and has been growing 
 colder and colder ever since, and now instead of faith in the 
 Person and Work of Christ being characteristic of the Eeformed 
 bodies, it is absolutely the contrary. In bodies of Christians once 
 Lutheran or Calvinistic there is the most extensive denial of the 
 supernatural in any shape. Fewer and fewer believe in the Lord's 
 Godhead. The very cathedrals in their hands, as at Geneva and 
 Berne, are closed from Sunday to Sunday, and the Churches pf the 
 Roman obedience only are those in which you can hear " Thou 
 art the King of Glory, Christ, Thou art the everlasting Son of the 
 Father." 
 
 Looking at the state of religion on the Continent at this moment 
 nothing can be further from the fact that those who love not the 
 truth are attracted to the Bishop of Eome, and those who 
 love it and have pleasure in righteousness adhere to the bodies 
 who protest against his claims. 
 
 But another significant fact also must be plainly stated. The 
 obvious meaning of St. Paul's prophecy is that Antichrist is in the 
 plentitude of his power when the Lord comes and consumes him 
 with the breath of His mouth, but if we take the Papacy to be 
 
THE MAN OF SIN. 161 
 
 Antichrist then we find that for several centuries his power has 
 diminished and is still diminishing. Bunyan, in the seventeenth 
 century, in his celebrated allegory represents him as decaying and 
 becoming rapidly efifete. 
 
 Now this decadence of Papal power has taken place, not by any- 
 thing which can possibly be called the brightness of Christ's 
 coming, but by the dissemination of what are called liberal opinions 
 in religion and politics, and this is daily progressing. The ruling 
 spirit or principle amongst the educated classes in France, Spain, 
 and Italy is not Koman Catholicism, but Scepticism. 
 
 Since the time of the last Roman Emperor to the" present time 
 there has arisen nothing which corresponds to St. Paul's picture of 
 the Antichrist, or Man of Sin, or Anomos. The papacy, no doubt, 
 is, in the eyes of us of the Church of England, the embodiment or 
 representation of certain very evil exaggerations or corruptions. 
 It exaggerates the leadership accorded by Christ to St. Peter that 
 he should be the first to open the kingdom to the Jews, and the 
 first to open it to the Gentiles. It exaggerates it so that it 
 virtually abolishes Episcopacy throughout that part of Christen- 
 dom which is subject to the Eoman Obedience. All healthy in- 
 dependence even of thought in the rest of the Episcopate, or 
 Presbyterate, is crushed out, and there is but one Bishop. 
 
 Then there is the evil exaggeration of Mariolatry and saint 
 worship. This is an exaggeration of the honour which God put upon 
 the Holy Virgin when He chose her to be the instrument through 
 which He brought about the Incarnation of His Son, and a natural 
 exaggeration of the honour in which all right-minded Christians 
 hold the memory of the martyrs and confessors of the Church. 
 
 Then the denial of the Cup to the laity, or rather to all except 
 the celebrant, is a monstrous exaggeration of the reverence due to 
 one of the consecrated elements, but was established in the Church 
 centuries after the latest date which can be assigned to the removal 
 of the restraining power. Now all these evil traditions are exag- 
 gerations of what was, or is, in its own nature, good — they are, or 
 profess to be, not antagonistic to God, but the carrying out of His 
 will. They all may be very bad, and the system which binds them 
 upon so large a part of the Church tyrannical and cruel, but they 
 are not the evil predicted in this prophecy of the Anomos, or any- 
 thing like it. They are evil of a different kind ; they are, so to 
 speak, in a different sphere of evil. They may, as all evil may, 
 
 M 
 
162 THE MAN OF SIN. 
 
 work towards the Anomos, and prepare for him, but, to say that 
 they are the characteristics of the Anomos is to say what is, on the 
 face of it, contrary to the truth and reality of the prophecy. 
 
 And lastly, the Anomos, or Antichrist, is an infidel power. St. 
 John describes him as denying the Incarnation. "Every spirit 
 that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of 
 God, and this is that Spirit of Antichrist whereof ye have heard 
 that it should come," &c. (1 John iv. 3.) And St. Paul's descrip- 
 tion, " Who opposeth and exalteth himself," &c., is that of a ram- 
 pantly infidel power — indeed, seems incompatible with any belief 
 in God whatsoever. Now the Papal dynasty, evil though it is, 
 is neither Antichristian in the sense of denying the Godhead of 
 Christ, nor Atheistic. The Pope is the principal administrator of 
 a system which requires that it should be said daily in every 
 Parish under his obedience, *' I believe in one God the Father 
 Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible 
 and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten 
 Son of God, begotten of His Father, before sill worlds, .... Who 
 for us men and for our Salvation came down from heaven," &c. 
 And what is more, in the parishes not under his rule, words con- 
 fessing, as these do, the Godhead of Christ, are not said daily, and 
 not even weekly, for the bodies apart from Eoman Catholicism in 
 the greater part of Europe are most extensively permeated with 
 Socinianism and the denial of the supernatural. 
 
 Nothing, then, can be clearer than this, that in the whole his- 
 tory of Christendom the breaking up of no dynasty has been fol- 
 lowed by any such portentous form of evil as that prophesied of 
 by St. Paul. 
 
 So that the revelation of the Anomos must be yet future. But 
 how does this accord with the removal of the Roman restraining 
 power ? We answer. It has never been removed. It exists to this 
 moment, parcelled out among the law-abiding kingdoms of Europe. 
 Simultaneously with the breaking up of the effete Eoman dynasty 
 there appeared a monarchy, that of Clovis, which inherited the 
 power of Rome over a large part of northern Europe. A centuiy or 
 two after there arose the Empire of Charlemagne. Then that was 
 divided between the German and French monarchs, who, whatever 
 they did, maintained law and upheld the worship of God, the wor- 
 ship which they thought most acceptable to Him. And that has 
 continued to this day. 
 
THE MAN OF SIN. 163 
 
 Supposing that the Eoman empire, in its dissolution, was broken 
 and parted into any number of kingdoms, say ten, these all inherited 
 much, if not all, of its nomos, its law-power, and so inherited its 
 power of restraining the Anomos. 
 
 Now, in order to make what I have said the clearer, let us re- 
 member that in the time of our fathers, i.e., in the last decade of the 
 last century, there was as near an approach to the state of things 
 which we should suppose the man of sin will bring about in the 
 world, as we can well conceive. The following is a description of 
 what occurred in France at this period, from one who wrote in 
 1838. " In the capital of that powerful nation these things took 
 place, as we all well know, within the last fifty years, an open 
 apostasy from Christianity ; not from Christianity only, but from 
 every kind of worship which might retain any semblance or pretence 
 of the great truths of religion. Atheism was absolutely professed ; 
 yet, in spite of this, it seems a contradiction in terms to say it, a 
 certain sort of worship, and that, as the prophet (Daniel) expresses 
 it, " a strange worship," was introduced. Observe what this was. 
 They avowed on the one hand atheism. They prevailed upon an 
 unhappy man, whom their proceedings had forced upon the Church 
 as an Archbishop, to come before them in public, and proclaim 
 that what he had hitherto taught was a fable. They wrote over the 
 burial places that death was an eternal sleep. They closed the 
 churches, they seized and desecrated the gold and silver plate be- 
 longing to them. They formed mock processions, clad in priestly 
 garments, and singing profane hymns. They annulled the Divine 
 ordinance of marriage, resolving it into a mere civil contract to be 
 made and dissolved at pleasure. Having broken away from all 
 restraint towards G od and man, they gave a name to the reprobate 
 State itself into which they had thrown themselves, and exalted 
 their very negatives of religion, or rather, this real and living 
 blasphemy, into a kind of god. They called it Liberty, and they 
 literally worshipped it as a divinity. After abjuring our Lord and 
 Saviour, and blasphemously declaring Him to be an impostor, they 
 proceeded to decree, in the public assembly of the nation, the 
 adoration of Liberty and Equality as divinities, and they appointed 
 festivals besides in honour of Season, the country, the constitution, 
 and the Virtues. Further, they determined that tutelary gods, 
 even dead men, may be canonized, consecrated, and worshipped ; 
 and they enrolled in the number of these some of the most notorious 
 
164 THE MAN OF SIN. 
 
 infidels and profligates of the last century. The remains of the 
 two principal of these were brought in solemn procession into one 
 of their churches, and placed upon the holy altar itself; incense was 
 offered to them, and the assembled multitude bowed down in wor- 
 ship before one of them — before what remained on earth of an in- 
 veterate enemy of Christ." 
 
 Surely our fathers and grandfathers who saw this might say. 
 This must be the end ; no outbreak of irreligion or wickedness can 
 come near to this ; but they were mistaken, the end was not yet. 
 An autocrat arose, who assumed the powers of the Csesars, pro- 
 fessed to restore the Koman Empire, called a son that was born 
 unto him the king of Eome, and so on. "We detest his memory, 
 because he threatened our existence, but, nevertheless, he restored 
 worship, he restored order, he re-established law, and so for a time 
 restrained, or held back, the Anomos, the Antichrist. 
 
 The Antichrist prophesied of by Daniel, by the Lord, by St. Paul, 
 by St. John, is yet to come, and he must be near. It is of infinite 
 importance that we expect him from the quarter in which all pro- 
 phecy points to his appearance, in the quarter of direct antagonism 
 to God, direct denial of the person and work of Christ, absolute 
 abolition of all restraint on the evil passions of men. That such a 
 development of evil may come is surely possible. Much in the 
 history of our own time should teach us that there are fires 
 smouldering beneath, which, unless restrained, are ready to burst 
 forth and destroy all in their way. 
 
 " Such meditations as these may be turned to good account. 
 What a curb upon our self-willed, selfish hearts, to believe that a 
 persecution is in store for the Church, whether or not it comes in 
 our days ! Surely, with this thought before us, we cannot bear to 
 give ourselves up to thoughts of ease and comfort, of making money, 
 settling well, and rising in the world. Surely, with this thought 
 before us, we cannot but feel that we are, what all Christians really 
 are, in the best estate (nay, rather, would wish to be, had they the 
 will, if they be Christians in heart), pilgrims, watchers waiting for 
 the morning, waiting for the light, eagerly straining our eyes for 
 the first dawn of day, looking out for our Saviour's coming, His 
 glorious Advent, when He will end the reign of sin and wickedness, 
 accomplish the number of His Elect, and perfect those who at pre- 
 sent struggle with infirmity, yet in their hearts love and obey 
 Him. 
 
THE MAN OF SIN. 165 
 
 " May He perform all this in His own good time, according to 
 His infinite mercies ! May He give us strength according to our 
 day, and peace at the last." " Tracts for the Times, 83. Advent 
 Sermons on Antichrist." 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 I have written the above quite conscious of the fact that almost 
 all, if not all, the Divines of the Eeformation period held the Bishop 
 of Eome to be Antichrist. Taking into account their Theology, 
 which in the best of them had a strong leaning towards Zwingli- 
 anism, and the line of politics into which they were forced, it was 
 scarcely possible for them to do otherwise. 
 
 I shall take, as a fair example of their mode of treating this sub- 
 ject, Bishop Jewel's notes on the second chapter of the second 
 epistle to the Thessalonians. It is not too much to say that his- 
 tory has entirely disproved his arguments. 
 
 He writes as any other man would who held the Koman system, 
 not only to be the greatest evil of his time, but the greatest of 
 all possible evils at any time. He had no idea that there could 
 be such an outbreak of Atheism, dogmatic and persecuting, as 
 broke out nearly one hundred years ago, and deluged Europe 
 with blood. 
 
 He wrote under the conviction that Komanism would be an in- 
 creasingly persecuting power, and it never entered into his mind 
 that Romanists could be persecuted by Atheists. He believed that 
 the Empire, i.e., the Empire of Charles the Fifth, was coming to 
 an end, and that it alone restrained the Pope from being the 
 temporal as well as spiritual autocrat of all Europe, whereas he 
 knew not, as we know now, that the Empire, in its two divisions of 
 Germany and Austria, is stronger than ever, that Italy is united 
 under one sovereign, who considers it treason to assert the right of 
 the Pope to temporal sovereignty, and that the power of the Pope 
 has been diminishing ever since his (Jewel's) time. He believed 
 that the Spirit of the Lord's mouth, which was to destroy the Pope, 
 was the proclamation of the Gospel, as held by Zwingle and Calvin, 
 whereas, if he had lived in our time, he would have seen with dis- 
 may the continental Protestants preach a doctrine from which all 
 reference to the Godhead and Atonement of Christ is excluded, in- 
 
166 THE MAN OF SIN. 
 
 deed, in which, in an increasing number of pulpits, all that can be 
 called supernatural in Christianity is denied. 
 
 I have also written the above with the full knowledge of what 
 the late excellent Bishop Wordsworth has written in his learned 
 commentary. It will be sufficient to say that he holds the views of 
 the Divines of the sixteenth century in seemingly total unconscious- 
 ness that he himself was not living in the reign of Elizabeth, but that 
 since her time there have been three centuries of European life — 
 religious and political — which have rendered most of the views of 
 the Eeformation Period, respecting the Antichrist, simply im- 
 
THE EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY. 
 
INTKODUCTION. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS. 
 
 T N ascertaining the genuineness of any Epistle which claims to 
 ■*- be written by an Apostle, we have first of all to look to the 
 testimony of the Church, which is the keeper and expounder of 
 Holy Writ. If any Gospel or Epistle has from the first been 
 quoted or appealed to as the writing of such a man as St. Paul, 
 such a testimony must outweigh a thousand times over the con- 
 jectures or surmises of those who, living nearly 1,800 years later, 
 appeal to certain features which they for the first time in the history 
 of Christendom have discovered, as proving the writing in question 
 to be a forgery. 
 
 Now this is the case with the Pastoral Epistles. They were 
 accepted as genuine, and appealed to, in the same way as he ap- 
 pealed to the acknowledged books of Scripture, by a writer of the 
 first century, Clemens Romanus. 
 
 Thus (ch. xxix), "Let us draw near to him with holiness of 
 Spirit, lifting up pure and U7idefiled hands unto him." So 1 Tim. ii. 8, 
 *' lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting ; " also " ready 
 to every good work," from Titus iii. 1. Again, ch. xxi., " without 
 preferring one before another" (1 Tim. v. 21). 
 
 Again, Polycarp in the beginning of the second century, in his 
 Epistle, ch. iv. " But the love of money is the root of all evil. 
 Knowing, therefore, that we brought nothing into the world, so we 
 can carry nothing out " (1 Tim. vi. 7, 10). 
 
 Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria, flourishing at the end of 
 the first century, quote these Epistles far more frequently than 
 most modern writers do, the former about one hundred, the latter 
 more than fifty times. 
 
 But the most striking testimony is that of Irenaeus. He begins 
 his great work, " Against Heresies," with a quotation from the 
 
170 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 first Epistle to Timothy, *' Inasmuch as certain men have set tho 
 truth aside, and bring in lying words, and vain genealogies, which, 
 as the Apostle says, minister questions rather than ' Godly edifyitog 
 which is in faith,' " &c. But this is by no means all the testimony 
 of Irenaeus. It appears that Eusebius gives the full title of Ire- 
 naeus's work as " Refutation and subversion of knowledge falsely 
 so called,"^ so that Irenaeus incorporates a phrase or short sentence 
 from 1 Timothy, vi. 20, into the title of his work. 
 
 Let the reader consider the significance of this. Here is a 
 writer whose memory of Church matters (for he was a Christian 
 by birth) extended to at the least a.d. 130, so that he could have 
 conversed with men not very old who were contemporaries of 
 SSt. Paul in his last years. Is it to be supposed that he could 
 have accepted as St. Paul's writing a forgery of a.d. 110 or 120, or 
 even later ? He came from the East, and his birthplace was sup- 
 posed to be Smyrna, or some neighbouring city. If then any one 
 as early as even a.d. 100, had published a spurious Epistle as one 
 written by such a man as St. Paul to such a man as Timothy, 
 would he not have been cognizant of the fact — was there nobody 
 to tell him that the Church was deceived in receiving certain 
 letters as St. Paul's which never saw the light till perhaps half a cen- 
 tury after St. Paul's death, so that he should be saved irom the mis- 
 take of beginning his great work with a citation from an Epistle 
 which a very little examination would show was not written by St. 
 Paul ? If there had been the smallest doubt about the matter of 
 their Pauline origin, a man who devoted so much of his time to the 
 history of contemporary religious thought, could not have been so 
 deceived. 
 
 DATE OF WRITING. 
 
 It is difficult to understand how there can have been two 
 opinions upon this matter. The history of the Acts closes with 
 the account of St. Paul in Rome, dwelling " two whole years in his 
 own hired house, and receiving all that came in unto him, preach- 
 ing the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern 
 the Lord Jesus, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." 
 Now it is impossible to suppose that the close of these two years 
 
 ' 'EXfT^ou iceu avarpoini; rrif -^evSutvCfxov yvowtuif. (£aa. V. 7.) 
 
INTRODUCTION. 171 
 
 was the close of St. Paul's life by martyrdom. All history, both 
 that of the New Testament, and that of the earliest Church his- 
 torians is against it. Before the conclusion of this imprisonment 
 and from his place of detention, St. Paul writes two letters, one to 
 the Philippian Church, in which he expresses his confidence that 
 "he shall abide and continue with them all" (i. 25, 26), and 
 that he will come to them shortly (ii. 24) ; the other to Philemon, 
 in which he asks him to prepare him a lodging (22). That his 
 expectation was fulfilled, the three Pastoral letters are a proof, and 
 this whether they be genuine or whether they be forged. If they 
 be genuine, then there is an end of the matter, for orle of them was 
 written on the eve of his martyrdom, at the conclusion of a second 
 imprisonment, and the other (Ist Epistle) contains certain references 
 which show that he was taking journeys for which no ingenuity 
 can make room (as regards time) in the period covered by the nar- 
 rative of the Acts. If, on the contrary, they are forgeries, then the 
 forger must have believed that St. Paul's life did not end with his 
 first imprisonment, that he must have been imprisoned twice, and 
 this because he makes St. Paul write a letter in which he daily 
 expected martyrdom, a letter in the greatest contrast with the 
 letters written during his first imprisonment, when he daily ex- 
 pected deliverance. Now why does the supposed forger assume 
 that St. Paul was liberated after the detention of two years in his 
 hired house ? Because it was a weU-known fact, upon which there 
 could be no difference of opinion in the first century, for St. Paul's 
 life was not that of a man who lived in a corner. He was the best 
 known man, the best loved man, and the most hated man of his 
 day. 
 
 The fact, then, that the forger placed his two forgeries after the 
 first imprisonment is, because he had no other time in which to 
 put them, and he could not have assigned them to the period after 
 this first imprisonment, had not the whole Christian world known 
 that it existed. 
 
 His liberation fii-om his first imprisonment is referred to by 
 Clement of Eome, in the words : " Owing to envy, Paul, who 
 obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times 
 thrown into captivity (2 Cor. xii. 23, ' in prisons more frequent ') 
 compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the East 
 and West, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, 
 having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the 
 
172 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 extreme limit of the West, and suffered martyrdom under the 
 prefects " (Tigellinus and Sabinus, as is generally supposed, in the 
 last year of the Emperor Nero). 
 
 Upon thi. I will only remark that "the extreme limit of the 
 West " cannot mean Kome, and St. Paul, till the termination of his 
 first imprisonment, was never further west than Kome. 
 
 It is remarkable that the journey of St. Paul to Spain, after, of 
 course, his first imprisonment, seems to be mentioned in the 
 Muratorian fragment, " Sed et profectionem Pauli ab urbe [RomeJ 
 ad Spaniam proficiscentis." 
 
 Eusebius also mentions his liberation after his first imprison- 
 ment. " Luke, that wrote the Acts of the Apostles, after showing 
 that Paul passed two whole years at Rome as a prisoner at large, 
 and that he preached the Gospel without restraint, brings his his- 
 tory to a close. After pleading his cause, he is said to have been 
 Bent again upon the ministry of preaching, and after a second visit 
 to the city that he finished his life with martyrdom." 
 
 OBJECTIONS MADE AGAINST THE GENUINENESS 
 OF THESE EPISTLES. 
 
 We now come to the objections which have been raised by 
 German critics, and partially allowed by some EngUsh ones to the 
 genuineness of these Epistles. 
 
 These have been brought by Dean Alford in his " Prolegomena 
 on the Pastoral Epistles," under three heads. 
 
 1. The historical difficulty of finding a place for the writing of 
 the three Epistles during the lifetime of St. Paul. 
 
 2. The apparent contact with various matters and persons who 
 (or which) belong to a later age than that of the Apostle, and — 
 
 3. The peculiarity of expressions and modes of thought, both of 
 which diverge from those of St. Paul's recognized Epistles. 
 
 (1). With respect to the first, the difficulty of finding a place for 
 the writing of these letters in the lifetime of the Apostle. This 
 assumes the fact (contrary to all history) that St. Paul's life ended 
 with his first imprisonment. One writer (in Smith's " Dictionary 
 of the Bible ") writes, " Of these conjectures, A and B (the one of 
 which makes the journey from Ephesus to Macedonia in the two 
 
INTRODUCTION. 173 
 
 years' work at Ephesus, the other identifies it with the journey 
 of Acts XX. 1), have the merit of bringing the Epistle within 
 the limit of the authentic records of St. Paul's life." But why 
 merit ? If St. Paul lived and worked and suffered for some years 
 after his first imprisonment, these Epistles have the greater merit 
 of giving us some small accounts of his later history ; how he 
 served his Master faithfully to the very last, how he served the 
 Churches faithfully by making provision for their order after his 
 final departure. If, however, he was martyred at the close of 
 his first imprisonment, then the fact must have been known all 
 over Christendom, and we have the enormous difficulty of sup- 
 posing that the forgers of these Epistles added several years to 
 the Apostle's life, which the whole Church must have known to 
 have never existed. The difficulty, then, of finding a place for these 
 Epistles during the period embraced by the Acts is a difficulty 
 which in the nature of things can have no existence except in the 
 imagination of modern critics. 
 
 (2). The second reason alleged for the forging of these Epistles at 
 a much later date than the time of the Apostle, is the apparent 
 contact with various matters and persons who belong to a later 
 age than that of the Apostle. 
 
 The first of these matters is that the Gnosticism opposed in 
 these Epistles is of a much later development than that of St. Paul's 
 time. Now it would be a sufficient answer to this, that we are in 
 absolute ignorance of the early history of Gnosticism. We know 
 from Irenaeus the names of the authors of some of the Gnostic 
 sects, and their tenets, but nothing more. "We are totally ignorant 
 of its origin and early development. For instance, we are told that 
 the Essenes adopted certain tenets of angelology. From whom did 
 they get these ? certainly not from Judaism proper. Did they 
 adopt them from Babylonian mythology, or from the ancient 
 Persian speculations ? Undoubtedly, we should say, from the 
 latter, but whether these were the outcome of their sojourn in 
 Babylon, or whether the Zoroastrian speculations invaded the 
 Eastern mind and so got to the Essenes and Simon Magus we 
 know not. 
 
 However, we will give all the references to false teaching of all 
 sorts which we find in these Epistles, and then put it to the reader 
 whether they belong to an early or to a late development of 
 Gnosticism. 
 
174 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1 Tim. i. 3-4. " Charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 
 neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister 
 questions," &c. 
 
 I. 7. "Desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding 
 neither," &c. 
 
 I. 20. " Of whom is Hymeneeus and Alexander, whom I have 
 deUvered unto Satan," &c. 
 
 IV. 1, 3, 4. " Seducing spirits and doctrines o-f devils. Speaking 
 lies in hypocrisy . . . forbidding to marry, and commanding to 
 abstain from meats. . . . Every creature of God is good, and 
 nothing to be refused," &c. 
 
 7. " Profane and old wives' fables." 
 
 8. "Bodily exercise (or training) profiteth (a) little, but god- 
 liness," &c. 
 
 VI. 5. " Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and desti- 
 tute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness." 
 
 20. " Avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of 
 science (gnosis or knowledge) falsely so called." 
 
 2 Tim. i. 15. " All they which are in Asia are turned away from 
 me, of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes." 
 
 II. 14. " That they strive not about words to no profit, but to 
 the subverting of the hearers." 
 
 16. " Shun profane and, vain babblings, for they will increase to 
 more ungodliness, and their word will eat as doth a canker, of 
 whom is Hymenseus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have 
 erred, saying that the Eesurrection is past already," &c. 
 
 23. " Foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they 
 do gender strifes." 
 
 III. 6. " Of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead 
 captive silly women laden with sins . . . ever learning and never 
 able . . . Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do 
 these also resist the truth. . . . But they shall proceed no further." 
 
 IV. 3. " The time will come when they will not endure sound 
 doctrine ; but after their own lusts . . . shall be turned unto 
 fables." 
 
 Titus i. 10. " Many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, speci- 
 ally they of the circumcision . . . who subvert whole houses," &c. 
 
 14. " Not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of 
 men that turn from the truth." 
 
 III. 9. " But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies and con- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 175 
 
 tentions and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and 
 vain." 
 
 These are all the references to false teachers and their teaching. 
 Now let the reader observe that the greater part of these false 
 teachings are Jewish and not Gnostical. The Jews had fables in 
 abundance, they had also genealogies which they mysticized and 
 perverted to the furtherance of their superstitions ; but it is im- 
 possible to suppose, if Gnosticism was either fully developed, or 
 on the way of being so (as in the beginning of the second century) 
 that the Apostle, or supposed Apostle, would have principally 
 warned the Church against Jeivish errors. Jewish errors, however 
 noxious, must contain some substratum of truth respecting the 
 unity of God, respecting the creation of the world, respecting His 
 sending Moses and the prophets, and so on. Whereas Gnosticism, 
 long before its full development, denied the God of Moses and the 
 prophets to be the true God, and placed a number of successive 
 intermediate beings between God and man. 
 
 Again, the only absolutely certain reference to Gnosticism is the 
 one place where it is expressly mentioned as Gnosis, " science (or 
 gnosis) falsely so called." The references to genealogies in 1 Tim. 
 i. 3-4, and Tit. iii. 9, cannot, I am persuaded, refer to successions 
 of Eeons, for St. Paul, much less a person who forged his name, and 
 who wrote to oppose developed Gnosticism, would never speak of 
 these blasphemies which ousted the Creator from His creative 
 glory and made Christ a being with many aeons intervening between 
 Him and God, in so mild and feeble a way. 
 
 Now let any of my readers who can get access to a copy of 
 Irenaeus peruse his first and second books, and read the strange 
 tissue of intellectual folly and blasphemy, totally inconsistent with 
 any form of Judaism, as well as any form of Christianity, and then 
 say whether any forger, desiring to use St. Paul's name and 
 authority to oppose such things, would content himself with the 
 very mild terms in which the Apostle is supposed to denounce it. 
 But it is said that the later Judaizers became more and more in- 
 fected with Gnosticism. It may have been so, but surely one de- 
 sirous of opposing growing Gnosticism would not look upon it as 
 less dangerous than Judaism, and yet almost all these cautions 
 against false doctrine are directed rather against Judaizing than 
 Gnosticism. 
 
 Lastly it will be observed that the writer of these Epistles does 
 
176 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 not scruple to name the leading false teachers, Phygellus and 
 Hermogenes, Hymenseus and Philetus. Now supposing that he 
 had lived at the end of the century, would he have singled out 
 these comparatively obscure and forgotten persons ? would he not, 
 for instance, have named Cerinthus, who was certainly the leader 
 of Gnosticism at the close of the first century ? 
 
 I assert, then, from the passages cited above that the principal 
 ground of fear in the eyes of the Apostle or the forger was Judaism. 
 It may have begun to be mixed up with or allied with Gnosticism, 
 but it was the Judaism of Paul's declining years, not the Gnosti- 
 cism of fifty or sixty years afterwards. 
 
 Then in the next place the Church regimen of these Epistles 
 is said to be that of a later date than that of the end of St. Paul's 
 career. We assert, on the contrary, that so far as the local Church 
 government of Ephesus, or the various congregations in it were 
 concerned, the regimen is that of Acts xx., bishops or overseers 
 and elders being as yet identical in name: and that of Phil. i. 1, 
 where bishops (or elders) and deacons constitute the Church staff 
 of ofiicers, the only difference being that St. Paul in this Epistle 
 delegates to Timothy that Apostolic supervision which he himself 
 exercised in person in his interview with the Ephesian elders (or 
 bishops or overseers, iinaKoiToi, of verse 28), as narrated in Acts xx. 
 
 3. Then in the last place the diction of these Epistles is said not to 
 be that of St. Paul, which means that he uses certain words and 
 phrases in these Epistles which he does not use in other letters 
 which he wrote. 
 
 Now, if the reader will calmly consider this, he will acknowledge 
 it to be one of the most irrefragable proofs of the genuineness of 
 these Epistles ; for if a forger had set before his mind the necessity 
 of combating certain errors, and using the name of St. Paul, he 
 would have taken care that every word which he used in the 
 Pseudo-Pauline documents should be Pauline — that is, used by the 
 Apostle elsewhere. I believe that would be his first considera- 
 tion. If, then, on examining these Epistles, we found no words, 
 or very few words, which St. Paul had not used in the Epistles 
 commonly ascribed to him, we should account it a very suspicious 
 circumstance indeed. For the occasion of the writing of these 
 letters is different from that of all others of the Apostle's : for in 
 all other Epistles he writes to the Churches themselves — that is, to 
 bodies of men — and in not one of them does he say one word about 
 
INTRODUCTION. 177 
 
 their government, whereas in these three he writes to pastors 
 respecting the government of the Churches he had committed to 
 them. 
 
 Now, if we look at the words used in these Epistles, and not in 
 others, we shall find that a considerable number of them refer to 
 the particular phases of error he is combating : thus, fables (fivOoi) ; 
 genealogies (yeveaXoyiai) ; old wives' (ypawSeio) ; wholesome as re- 
 gards doctrine or teaching (uyi/k). The longer he lived the more he 
 saw the connection between sound doctrine and a healthy religious 
 mind. Thus also vain jangling (/iaraioXoy/a), so also Kevofcjviai, and 
 \p(vd(t)vvnog. Take the last — he constantly uses the word yvuxng, but 
 he has never had occasion to speak of that which beyond all else 
 claimed to be gnosis, and was absolutely false, so he uses for the 
 first time xpevdcovvixog in connection with it. 
 
 And take another illustration. In his Epistle to the Galatians 
 he had to oppose the Judaizers, but on quite different grounds to those 
 which he takes in the Pastoral Epistles. The Galatians were led 
 away by Judaizers demanding that the converts should be cir- 
 cumcised in order to be justified, and so he mentions no "old 
 , wives' fables," but sternly tells them that if they submit to the 
 law for justification, they fall from Christ. But in these Epistlea 
 that phase of error seems to have passed away, and he has to warn 
 them about myths, genealogies, perverse disputings, profane and 
 vain babblings, and such things. 
 
 There is, however, one phrase occurring several times in these 
 Epistles which requires notice. In no other Epistles have we the 
 "faithful sayings." " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 
 acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners " 
 (1 Tim. i. 15). " This is a faithful saying " (rendered in the authorized 
 " true ") (1 Tim. iii. 1). " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of 
 all acceptation" (iv. 9). "It is a faithful saying" (2 Tim, ii. 11). 
 How is it that St. Paul quotes four of these faithful words in his 
 later Epistles and not elsewhere ? Evidently because in his later 
 years a number of sayings or short sentences had become pro- 
 verbial, and were in everyone's mouth : and so St. Paul appealed 
 to three or four of these in support of what he was writing. It is 
 simply an interesting circumstance, but critics must be very hard up 
 for arguments to use it as a reason for rejecting these Epistles. 
 
 In considering the authenticity of these Epistles (or rather the 
 two to Timothy) I have assumed that they cannot have been 
 
 N 
 
178 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 written seven or eight years apart from one another as they must have 
 been if one had been written before the first imprisonment and the 
 other after. " On every account they must stand or fall together. 
 Their style and diction, the motives which they furnish, the state 
 of the Church and of heresy which they describe, are the same in 
 all three, and to one and the same period must we assign them." 
 (Alford.) 
 
 There is another argument which to me is overwhelming. These 
 Epistles are the only writings in the New Testament in which we 
 have any directions respecting ministerial life and conduct. Is it 
 possible to imagine that the God of truth would permit these pre- 
 cepts to be given to the Church through the intervention of an un- 
 truthful man, which the writer must have been, if he commended 
 his works to the Church under a false title ? 
 
 HISTOEY OF TIMOTHY. 
 
 The first notice of this companion of St. Paul in the Scriptures 
 is in Acts xvi. 1. " Then came he to Derbe and Lystra ; and be- 
 hold, a certain disciple was there named Timotheus, the son of a 
 certain woman who was a Jewess, and believed ; but his father 
 was a Greek. Which was well reported of by the brethren that 
 were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth 
 with him, and took and uircumcised him because of the Jews which 
 were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was a Greek" 
 (Acts xvi. 1, 2). 
 
 Next we find that he was with the Apostle in Macedonia, for he 
 was left at Berea by Paul when he went to Athens. He joined 
 St. Paul at Athens, and was sent by him on a special message to 
 ascertain the state of the Thessalonian Church (1 Thess. iii. 2) ; 
 after this he rejoined St. Paul in Corinth (Acts xviii. 5). 
 
 Then he was sent by the Apostle from Ephesus along with 
 Erastus to Macedonia (xix. 22.) Then he accompanied Paul as far as 
 Troas, or rather reached the city before him, and tarried there for 
 him (XX. 4, 5). This is the last notice of him in the Acts, so that it is 
 not probable that he accompanied St. Paul to Jerusalem, or was for 
 any length of time with him in Csesarea, and certainly not on his 
 voyage to Rome. During the Apostle's detention in Rome he re- 
 joined him there, and was present with him when he wrote the 
 Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians. In the former of these 
 
INTRODUCTION. 179 
 
 Paul expresses his trust that he will be able to send him to them 
 <Phil. ii. 19). 
 
 In the first Epistle to Timothy we find that he was again 
 travelliDg in the company of the Apostle, who left him at Ephesus 
 -when he was journeying to Macedonia (1 Tim. i. 3) ; and in the 
 ■second, written from prison in Rome, the Apostle bids him use 
 -all diligence that he may come to him, for he had scarcely a friend 
 left to comfort him (2 Tim. iv. 9, 10). 
 
 With respect to his Christian character it must have been very 
 lovely and very holy, for of all St. Paul's companions and fel- 
 low-helpers he seems to have been not only the best beloved, but 
 the most trusted by him. Thus he writes to the Philippians : " I 
 have no man likeminded who will naturally care for your state. 
 Eor all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. 
 But ye know the proof of him that as a son with the father he 
 hath served with me in the Gospel " (Phil. ii. 20). And he had 
 written in the same spirit respecting him long before (1 Cor. iv. 17). 
 
 Some have surmised from the repeated charges to be strong, to 
 be faithful, to fight bravely, and to do his duty, that he was weak, 
 a,nd inclined too much to give way to opposition, and so on, but in 
 reading these we must remember that the writer had an extra- 
 ordinary high standard of faith and love and zeal, and that it is 
 certain that he would write in the same style to any bishop or 
 parish priest now living in England ; and we must also remember 
 that the charges and exhortations and warnings of these Pastoral 
 Epistles were not written for the sake of Timothy alone, but for 
 all ministers of Christ, from his time to the present ; so that, if we 
 would be good ministers of Christ, we must " put the brethren in 
 mind of these things" — we must expect " to sufi"er reproach, because 
 ■we trust in the living God," we must be " examples to the believers 
 in word, in conversation," &c. We must " neglect not the gift that 
 is in us," but stir it up by prayer and reading of the word. We 
 must "meditate upon these things, and give ourselves wholly to 
 them." We must "take heed to ourselves and to the doctrine." We 
 must " do nothing by partiality ; " we must " keep ourselves pure," we 
 must " fight the good fight of faith." We must be very particular in 
 -warning those who are earnest in making money, as well as those 
 who have money, of the danger of riches. We must " stir up the 
 gift of God received at our Ordination," we must " holdfast the form 
 of sound words," we must be "strong in the grace that is in Christ 
 
180 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Jesus." We must *' endure hardness," we must " study to show our- 
 selves approved unto God." We must " follow after righteousness, 
 faith, charity, peace." We must " preach the word, and be instant 
 in season and out of season." 
 
 So that we should study these Epistles well — we should read them 
 very frequently, and remember that the words of exliortation with 
 which they abound belong to the lowest grades of the ministry as- 
 well as to the highest. 
 
 INTEODUCTION TO FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 Little need be added respecting the particular features of these 
 two Epistles respectively. 
 
 The first begins with the Apostle addressing Timothy as his own 
 son in the faith. It proceeds to bid him oppose certain false 
 teachers, whose doctrine was corrupted Judaism. It cites tha 
 faithful saying that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
 sinners," and names two heretics whom he had excommunicated. 
 
 In the next chapter he proceeds to speak about public prayers,, 
 and that women should not be allowed to teach or speak in the 
 Church assembly. 
 
 Then in the third chapter he lays down the moral qualifications 
 to be required in candidates for the episcopate or eldership, for the 
 diaconate, and for the order of deaconesses. 
 
 Then he sets forth the mystery of Godliness. 
 
 Then he warns against heresies which would crop up in the 
 last times, and after some words of precept and warning addressed 
 to Timothy himself, he enters upon the matter of the distribution. 
 of the alms of the Church to the widows. 
 
 Then he speaks of the elders — very solemnly warns Timothy against 
 partiality in dealing with those he was called upon to judge, and 
 warns him against hastily admitting men into the ministry. 
 
 Then he speaks about the duties of slaves, and the iniquity of 
 those false teachers who (apparently), under the pretext of Chris- 
 tian liberty, would encourage them in disobedience ; and the few 
 remaining verses are occupied with the danger of desiring richee,. 
 and the Epistle seems to end with a sublime doxology, but he 
 appends a sort of postscript, again speaking of the danger of riches^ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 181 
 
 :and again exhorting Timothy to keep diligently the doctrine com- 
 mitted to him, and avoid science, or rather gnosis, falsely so 
 called. 
 
 There is but one historical allusion in the Epistle, in i. 3, where 
 the Apostle reminds him how he besought him to abide still in 
 Ephesus, when he (the Apostle) went into Macedonia. But this is 
 important as another reason, and indeed a chief one, for fixing the 
 date after the first imprisonment, for in the Acts of the Apostles St. 
 Paul is said to have been twice at Ephesus. On the first occasion he 
 stayed but a short time, leaving Aquila and Priscilla there, and 
 then departed not to Macedonia, but to Jerusalem (Acts xviii. 19- 
 22). On the second occasion he stayed in Ephesus above two 
 years, but determined to pass through Macedonia and Achaia on 
 his way to Jerusalem, " he sent into Macedonia two of them that 
 ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus, but he himself 
 stayed in Asia for a season " (Acts xix. 22), so that he could not 
 iave left Timothy at Ephesus on either occasion. 
 
 INTEODUCTION TO SECOND EPISTLE. 
 
 The second Epistle to Timothy was written from Rome shortly 
 before the martyrdom of the Apostle. It was written chiefly to 
 Tirge Timothy to come to him, all his other companions in the 
 service of Christ (except Luke) being away. One, Demas, had 
 deserted him, others, as Tychicus, he had sent away. But though 
 apparently sent for the purpose of urging Timothy to come to him 
 quickly, it contains the most precious exhortation to him, and 
 through him to all ministers, " to make full proof of their ministry," 
 and this it does in the words of a dying man, who was " ready to 
 be offered and the time of his departure at hand." Whatever special 
 onslaughts of the evil one were yet in store for him, we have his 
 expression of faith that God would carry him triumphantly through 
 all: "The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will 
 preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom." 
 
p 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY, 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 AUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ ^by the com- » Acts ix. 15. 
 mandment ''of God our Saviour, and Lord bch.ii.'s. & 
 
 iv. lb. Tit. 
 i. 3. & ii. 10. 
 & iii. 4. Jude 
 
 25. 
 
 c Col. i. 27. 
 
 Jesus Christ, *^ which is our hope ; 
 
 1. "Of Jesus Christ." So A., K., L., most Cursives, Vulg. (Amiat.), Syr., Arm, 
 iEth. ; but N, D., F., G., P., d, f, g. Cop., read, " Christ Jesus." 
 
 1. "Lord Jesus Christ." "Jesus Christ," N, K., L., most Cursives, Copt., Arm., 
 ./Eth.; but A., D., F., G., P., some Cursives, d, f, g, Vulg. (Amiat.), read, "Christ 
 Jesus;" also A., D., F., G., P., d, f, g, Vulg., Goth., Syr., omit "Lord." 
 
 1. "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of 
 God our Saviour," &c. Though this is a friendly letter, almost we 
 migbt say a private one, primarily intended for the instruction not 
 of a Church but of an individual, yet it begins with the assertion 
 of St. Paul's apostleship — not that Timothy could have any doubt 
 whatsoever about it, as the Galatian Churches had, but that he 
 might consider the commands in it, not as coming from a dear 
 friend, a father in Christ, his teacher in the Lord, but as from 
 Christ Himself, Whose Apostle Paul was, and to the Apostles Christ 
 said, "As my Father sent me, so send I you." 
 
 " By the commandment of God om' Saviour." When was this 
 commandment given ? It might have been in the Divine counsels, 
 as the Lord says of the chosen, " Thine they were and thou gavest 
 them me." It might have been at his conversion (Gal. i. 15), or 
 at his ordination, when the Holy Ghost said, " Separate me Bar- 
 nabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them" 
 (Acts xiii. 2). 
 
 " God our Saviour." This is God the Father. He is the 
 Saviour, because all the work of His Son for sinners was ordered 
 
184 MY OWN SON IN THE FAITH. [I.Tim. 
 
 <i Aitsxvi.i. 2 Unto ^Timothy, ^my own son in the faith: 
 Phi.ii. 19. ^Grrace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father 
 e Tit.i.4. and Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 t f-al. i. 3. 
 
 2 Tim. i. 2. 
 
 1 Pet. i. 2. 
 
 by Him. In the Pastoral Epistles alone this title is given to the 
 Father ; elsewhere (as in Luke ii. 11 ; John iv. 42 ; Acts v. 31, &c.), 
 it is usually applied to Jesus Christ. This is one of the most 
 irrefragable proofs of the Godhead of Jesus, that a name which 
 Jehovah claims as His only (Isaiah xliii. 11) should be appUed to 
 His Incarnate Son. 
 
 "And Jesus Christ, which is our hope." Properly *' Jesus Christ 
 our hope." This is a title claimed by the One God. Thus Jer. xiv. 8, 
 " the hope of Israel;" 1. 7, *' Even the Lord the hope of their 
 fathers ; " and yet Christ is " in us the hope of glory " (Col. i. 27). 
 He is our Hope, not only because by His work and merits all that 
 is in the way of our salvation is removed, but because through 
 His Kesurrection we look for the Resurrection, when our vile 
 bodies shall be raised in the likeness of His glorious Body. 
 
 2. " Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith : Grace, mercy, and 
 peace." " My own son in the faith." St. Paul writes to the 
 Corinthians, a very mixed Church, with the words, " as my beloved 
 sons I warn you," and to the Galatians, another Church which 
 was giving him much trouble, " My little children, of whom I 
 travail in birth again till Christ be formed in you" (Gal. iv. 19). 
 He held, then, that all whom he had converted to Christ were his 
 spiritual children, but Timothy was peculiarly his, always loving, 
 always obedient, always attentive. As such he distinguishes him 
 as " his own," i.e. very, true, proper son, unique amongst many 
 sons : " in the faith," not because they had a common element of 
 faith in their soiils, but because the Apostle, through God's grace, 
 engendered in Timothy the same faith which he himself had in 
 Christ Incarnate, Crucified, Risen, and Ascended, so that as both 
 were in the one Body and in the one Spirit, they were also in the 
 one Lord and in the one faith, partaking of the One Baptism. 
 
 " Grace, mercy, and peace." In all other Epistles the opening 
 salutation is "grace and peace," omitting mercy. In the opening of 
 the Pastoral Epistles mercy is added between grace and peace. 
 Why this most significant addition ? Is it because of all Christian 
 people Christ's ministers most need mercy, inasmuch as they 
 
Chap. I.] NO OTHER DOCTRINE. 185 
 
 3 As I besouglit thee to abide still at Ephesus, ^ when 1 
 went into Macedonia, that thou miorhtest charge e Acts xx. i, 
 
 », 1 -, 1 1 1 ' ° 3. Phil. ii. 24. 
 
 some that they teach no other doctrine, h aai. i. e, 7. 
 
 ch. vi. 3, 10, 
 
 represent Christ, and, humanly speaking, their deficiencies, the 
 deficiencies of the best, in representing such an One as Christ, 
 must be very great ? We know not. Only this place in its invoca- 
 tion of mercy reads a very strong lesson to many professors of 
 religion in these latter days (Plymouth Brethren, Plymouth 
 Sisters). We have those amongst us who openly and dogmatically 
 assert that they have no need of mercy — they are, as they say, 
 *' saved," they mmj have once needed it, but now, as they say, they 
 need it no longer; it would be an insult to God's goodness in 
 having saved them to ask mercy at His hands. But it is extremely 
 unlikely that, notwithstanding all this self-confidence, they are in 
 a higher position before God than this '* own son " of the great 
 Apostle, and yet the Apostle invokes mercy from God and Christ 
 upon Timothy. It seems wonderful that we should have to expose 
 so impudent an assumption. 
 
 3. " As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went 
 into Macedonia." Does St. Paul here allude to some journey to 
 Macedonia from Ephesus previous to his first imprisonment, or 
 does he refer to some journey after his return from his first im- 
 prisonment ? No doubt the latter. Only three journeys of St. Paul 
 to Macedonia are recorded in the Acts, in none of which does he 
 leave Timothy in Ephesus. In his first journey (Acts xvii. 14, 
 xviii. 5) he took Timothy with him. Before his second journey he 
 had sent Timothy into that country (Acts xix. 22), and he rejoined 
 Timothy in Macedonia (2 Cor. i. 1). In his third journey he took 
 Timothy with him, and with him he sailed beyond Ephesus on his 
 way to Jerusalem (Acts xx. 4). Besides, it was very unlikely that 
 St. Paul, in the full vigour of life and work, as he then was, should 
 commit a newly planted Church in so important a place as Ephe- 
 sus to a subordinate. Such action on his part was far more likely 
 when he had become " Paul the aged," and the Ephesian Church 
 only required to be reminded of his instinictions, which Timothy 
 was above all men able to do (1 Cor. iv. 17). 
 
 " That thou mightest charge some that they teach no other 
 doctrine." 
 
186 GODLY EDIFYING. [I. Tim. 
 
 uh. iv. 7. & 4 ^Neither ffive heed to fables and endless 
 
 VI. 4, 20. . ° 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 14, genealogies, ''which minister questions, rather 
 
 i. i4. '& iii. 9. than godly edifying which is in faith : so do. 
 
 k ch. vi 4. 
 
 4. " Godly edifying," So D., d, f, g, Vulg. ; but N, A., F„ G., K., L., P., read, " economy 
 of God " or " administration of GoJ." 
 
 4. " Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which 
 minister questions," &c. " Charge," i.e., "command." Here is the 
 Apostolical authority. For who else could command the teacher in a 
 large city and district to teach nothing else but what he had taught 
 them? By thus charging them, he showed that he considered 
 that there was no authority in the presbyters gathered together in 
 a synod, much less in each separate congregation, to set at naught 
 what he laid down. 
 
 "Fables and endless genealogies." These fables were most 
 probably Jewish fables, of which all Eabbinical writings are full. 
 There is more doubt respecting the " endless genealogies." Some 
 suppose that they are Gnostical speculations of successions of 
 aeons ; but this is very unlikely, for the seons, though many, could 
 scarcely be described as endless. A parallel passage in the Epistle 
 to Titus would lead us to believe that these teachings were Jewish, 
 "not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men 
 that turn from the truth." A passage also in Ignatius' Epistle to 
 the Magnesians would lead us to the same conclusion : " Be not 
 deceived with strange doctrines nor with old fables, which are un- 
 profitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we 
 acknowledge that we have not received grace." (Epistle to Mag- 
 nesians, ch. viii.) Philo, whose writings were well known to the 
 Jews long before this, took the genealogies of the Old Testament 
 in a mystical sense, and the Apostle in all probability refers to 
 some such absurd opinions. 
 
 This place has been used by those who wish to get rid of the 
 authenticity of this Epistle, to prove that it was not written till 
 the middle of the next century, as the " endless genealogies " refers 
 !)o a form of Gnosticism more developed than any in St. Paul's time; 
 but if the reader will look to my remarks on the heresy of the Colos- 
 Bian Church in the introduction to that Epistle, he will see that the 
 root of all Gnostical speculation respecting successions of aeons is 
 to be found in a book far older than the New Testament — in the 
 
Chap. L] CHARITY OUT OF A PURE HEART. 187 
 
 5 Now ^ the end of the commandment is charity ^ out of a 
 pure heart, and of a good .conscience, and of i Rom.xiii. 8, 
 faith unfeigned : 14'. 
 
 6 From which some || having swerved have 22.^^™""* 
 turned aside unto ^ vain ian^linff ; 11 .o^> "°* 
 
 •' ~ '=' ' aiimrig at. 
 
 7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; ° under- nch. vi. 4, 20. 
 standing neither what they say, nor whereof they " '^^' ^'' ^* 
 affirm. 
 
 Zend Avesta. If the reader will also look to the accounts of Gnosti- 
 cal heresies in the early books of Irenaeus, he will see that the 
 Apostle would never designate such anti- Christian and blasphe- 
 mous systems by such a mild term as " endless geneaolgies, which 
 minister questions." 
 
 " "Which minister questions rather than godly edifying, which is 
 in faith." "Questions," that is, controversies, or disputes upon 
 unprofitable matters. 
 
 " Godly edifying." Instead of edifying, most Uncials, and almost 
 all Cursives,read'*8economy," or "dispensation" — the dispensation of 
 God, which is by faith rather than by questionings and disputings. 
 
 5. "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure 
 heart," &c. The commandment, i.e., the will of God as revealed 
 in the Gospel, for our practical guidance, is charity or love. Thus 
 he elsewhere says : " All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in 
 this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Gal. v. 14). 
 
 "Out of a pure heart," &c. This distinguishes the love of the 
 Gospel from mere friendship, or from unholy animal passion. It 
 is out of a pure heart, a heart cleansed by God's Spirit, so that we 
 may love God — a pure conscience, a conscience void of offence, a 
 conscience which judges and pronounces according to right — faith 
 unfeigned, a sincere belief in the Person and Work of the Son of 
 God. 
 
 6. " From which some having swerved, have turned aside," &c. 
 
 7. "Desiring to be teachers of the law . . . whereof they 
 af&rm." " Having swerved." Having missed the mark of true 
 teaching, which must always be practical, not employing itself 
 with aimless and useless trifles. 
 
 " Have turned aside unto vain jangling." Such vain talking 
 describes the miserable disputations into which the Jews had fallen 
 
188 THE LAW IS GOOD. [I.Tim. 
 
 P Rom. vii. 8 But we know that Pthe law is good, if a man 
 
 use it lawfully ; 
 ^ v.%'3"'' * 9 ^ Knowing this, that the law is not made for 
 
 respecting the law — such as, which of any two commandments was 
 the greater, and not unfrequently so handhng it as to relieve men 
 of its obligations, as in their treatment of the fifth commandment, 
 denounced by our Lord in Matth. xv. 4, 5, 6. 
 
 It seems to me abundantly clear from these verses that the " end- 
 less genealogies" were not gnostical speculations which degraded 
 the Son of God into an aeon of some later emanation, but the per- 
 versions of Judaism with which the Apostle had all his life to 
 contend. 
 
 " Understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they 
 af&rm." They talked at random, and had no firm hold of the 
 principles embodied in the law ; they clung to its letter, which 
 seemed to afford them an easy righteousness in which they could 
 boast, rather than to its spirit, which would have brought them 
 in guilty before God. 
 
 8, 9. " But we know that the law is good if a man use it law- 
 fully. Knowing this, that the law," &c. When does a man use 
 the law unlawfully? when he uses it as the means of justification, 
 which it is not because it is a mere command without carrying 
 with it the power to fulfil the command. He also uses it unlaw- 
 fully when either in his teaching or in the regulation of his own 
 spirit he confines himself to its letter. A man, i.e., a teacher or a 
 layman uses it lawfully, when he regards it in its spiritual aspect, 
 as the Lord has taught him to do in the sermon on the Mount. 
 Then the law is good, as elsewhere (in Eom. vii. 12, 14), *' Wherefore 
 the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." 
 Also, " we know that the law is spiritual." 
 
 9. " Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous 
 man," &c. The law, the Decalogue, was given to the children of 
 Israel, when, immediately after their deliverance from Egypt, they 
 were in a very low state both of Divine knowledge and of morality. 
 With the exception of the last commandment it is all directed 
 against gross sins, murder, adultery, theft. Now, so far from the 
 righteous man needing the seventh commandment, he is in agony 
 if an unclean thought has been allowed in his mind a moment. 
 
Chap. I.] UNHOLY AND PROFANE. 18D 
 
 a righteous man, but for tlie lawless and disobedient, for 
 the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for 
 murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for man- 
 slayers, 
 
 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves 
 
 Still, notwithstanding this, the outward literal law is the founda- 
 tion of the spiritual. It is needful that we should understand that 
 murder and adultery are contrary to the will of God, if we would 
 realize the sin of the murderous or adulterous thought. 
 
 " For the lawless." Not those who have grown up under no 
 law, but those who have cast aside the restraints of law. 
 
 " And disobedient." Those who are not under any control, human 
 or Divine. 
 
 " For the ungodly and for sinners." This pair of evils seem 
 to denote opposition to God, of Whose will the law is the ex- 
 pression. " Ungodly " signifies impious, irreverent, having no re- 
 spect for unseen and eternal things. "Sinners" in connection 
 with this seems to indicate sinners against God. 
 
 " For unholy and profane." With respect to their bodies, not 
 regarding them as holy. " Profane " does not signify profane in 
 our sense of the word. It is translated " contaminatis " in the 
 Vulgate. 
 
 " For murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers." It is 
 singular that the Apostle should notice so extreme a violation of 
 the fifth commandment ; but this is not uncommon among the 
 heathen who remove their parents out of the way when they be- 
 come old and infirm. I know from the account of a missionary 
 (Bishop Horden) that this crime is usual among unconverted North 
 American Indians. 
 
 10. " For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with 
 mankind," &c. "For whoremongers," comprehending also adul- 
 terers, for Sodomites, for the worst sort of thieves, i.e., for men- 
 stealers. It is to be remembered that slavery by no means depends 
 upon men-stealing. Slavery was lawful among the Israelites, but 
 with respect to man-stealing Moses writes, " If a man be found 
 stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh 
 merchandise of him or selleth him, then that thief shall die, and 
 thou shalt put evil away from among you " (Deut. xxiv. 7). 
 
190 SOUND DOCTRINE. [I.Tim. 
 
 ^th mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured per- 
 sons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary ''to 
 *Tim'iv^'3 sound doctrine ; 
 
 Tit^i. 9. & 11 According to the glorious gospel of Hhe 
 
 • ch. vi. 15. blessed God, * which was committed to my trust. 
 
 t 1 Cor. ix. 17. 
 
 Gal. ii. 7. 
 
 €ol. i. 25. 
 1 Thess. ii. 4. 
 
 Tim"'i.^ii ^ " -^^^ liars, for perjured persons." Both these are 
 
 Tit, i. 3. comprehended under the ninth commandment. This 
 
 is the reason why in the duty towards our neighbour lying is 
 placed between evil speaking and slandering, as a breach of the 
 ninth commandment. 
 
 " And if there be any other thing which is contrary to sound 
 doctrine." This must sound strange to some of us who associate 
 " doctrine " with such matters as imputed righteousness, election, 
 reprobation, and such things ; but does it not teach us that we 
 should descend at times very low in our teaching, and that we should 
 preach against crimes ? Those who receive confessions will tell us 
 that some of the most evil things in the above list are not quite so 
 uncommon as we think. Fornication is in our Gospel-professing 
 country scarcely considered a sin. Bastardy is fearfully on the 
 increase in some of the large Protestant capitals of continental 
 Europe as well as in the Eomish ones. Let us remember that 
 Christ's redemption is from all these great sins. The wholesome 
 doctrine of the Cross and Resurrection can deliver from the worst 
 sins, the grossest as well as the most refined. 
 
 11. " According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God." Tho 
 Gospel of the glory of the blessed God is in all its parts directed 
 against all sin. " He gave himself for us that he might redeem us 
 from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous 
 of good works." (Tit. ii. 14.) Is His crucifixion a part of the gospel ? 
 then they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its afi"ec- 
 tions and lusts. Is His Resurrection a part of the Gospel ? then 
 we believe that "in that he died, he died unto sin once : but in 
 that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also your- 
 selves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God." Rom. vi. 
 10, 11. 
 
 " Which was committed to my trust." This entrustment of the 
 Gospel to the Apostle is constantly referred to by him. Thus 
 
Chap. I.] IGNORANTLY IN UNBELIEF. 191 
 
 12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, "who "2Cor. xu. 9. 
 hath enabled me, ^ for that he counted me faith- 25. 
 
 f ul, y putting me into the ministry ; J %^&iv'\ 
 
 13 ^Who was before a blasphemer, and a per- coi.i. 25. 
 
 . , ^ -t z Acts viii. 3. 
 
 secutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, &ix. 1. 1 
 because ^ I did it ignorantly in unbelief. Phii. lii. e! 
 
 a Luke xxiii. 
 
 , 34. John ix. 
 
 39, 41, Acts iii. 
 17. & xxvi. 9. 
 12, "Who hath enabled me." So A., D., F., G., K., L., P.; but 
 ■N reads, " doth enable me." 
 
 1 Cor. ix. 17, " A dispensation of the gospel is committed to me.'* 
 Thus 1 Thess. ii. 4, &c. 
 
 12. " And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, 
 for tliat," &c, " Enabled me," i.e., strengthened me. 
 
 " For that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.'* 
 •*' How," it is asked, " could the Lord have counted St. Paul faith- 
 ful ? " Some, as Alford, considered that it was because of his fore- 
 seen faith ; others, with more probability, refer to his many years 
 of probation before he was finally set apart to the Apostleship at 
 Antioch (see Gal. i. 16-22). This may have been, according to 
 some, thirteen years. It is true that during this period he preached 
 in the synagogues, but that was accorded to unordained persons as 
 a regular custom. 
 
 *' Putting me into the ministry." The diaconia. This sentence 
 could not have been written so late as some wish to date this 
 Epistle. It could only have been written when the distinctions in 
 the ministry were as nothing to the ministry itself, I think that 
 no one after St. Paul's death would have designated his Apostle- 
 ship as simply a diaconia. 
 
 13. " Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and in- 
 jurious," Thus he recounts with bitterness the sins of his uncon- 
 verted state. He felt that that the fact of God's having forgiven 
 him was no reason why he should forgive himself. 
 
 *'I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." 
 This assertion of the Apostle is in one sense very valuable, because 
 it shows us that God will deal with us in accordance with that 
 sense of justice which he has implanted in us. A truly just man 
 would make the fullest allowances for the ignorance of those who 
 have offended. It is quite true that the law of a human kingdom 
 
192 A FAITHFUL SAYING. [I.Tim, 
 
 b Rom. V. 20. 14 ^ And tlie grace of our Lord was exceeding 
 c 2 Tim. i. 13. abundant ^ with faith ^ and love which is in Christ 
 
 dLukevii.47. Jesus, 
 e ch. iii. 1. & 
 
 iv. 9. 2 Tim. 15 e This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 
 
 iii. 8. 
 
 takes no account of ignorance of the law because all are presumed 
 to know it, but God, the reader of hearts, knows exactly the state 
 of men's minds in the matter of ignorance, and will act accordingly. 
 There have been long periods in the history of our Church, and of 
 the continental reformed bodies, when to have made such an 
 assertion as this would have been held to be the rankest heresy^ 
 and would have deprived the man who made it of his means of 
 subsistence. 
 
 14. "And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with 
 faith and love," &c. The faith and love, the fruits of the grace of 
 Jesus Christ seem to be mentioned in contrast with his former un- 
 belief and hatred of the Church. He could not but be conscious that 
 whereas he had held our Lord to be a false Christ and a blasphemer^ 
 now he held Him to be the Son of God, the Saviour of the world ; 
 and he was equally conscious that he once had hated the Church 
 and persecuted its members to the death, but now spent his life 
 and strength in building up its fabric and enlarging its borders. 
 
 15. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation."" 
 The expression " this is a faithful saying " is used only in the 
 Pastoral Epistles. It is supposed to introduce some aphorism 
 which by constant repetition had become a household word amongst 
 Christians. It is used only once besides this with the adjunct 
 " worthy of all acceptation " (1 Tim. iv. 9). Once there is appended 
 to it, " These things I will that thou affirm constantly " (Tit. iii. 8). 
 Once it appears to be used with reference to a matter of not much 
 importance, as in the remaining place in 1 Tim. iii. 1, where 
 Chrysostom supposes that it must be joined with the last words 
 of the preceding chapter. 
 
 The reader will remember that this is one of the comfortable 
 words in our Eucharistic Office. It seems, then, to teach that no 
 remembrance of past sin should keep us from approaching to 
 receive the highest pledge of God's mercy, and that the Body and 
 Blood of Christ, like His other gifts, are not for the righteous, but 
 for sinners; not for the righteous who feel no need, and come in a. 
 
Chap. I.] I AM CHIEF. 193 
 
 acceptation, that ^Christ Jesus came into the fMatt. ix. 13. 
 world to save sinners ; of whom I am chiet. Luke v. 32. 
 
 & xix. 10. 
 Rom. y. 8. 
 1 John iii. 5, 
 
 self-righteous spirit, but for those who feel sin, even though for- 
 given, to be a disgrace. 
 
 " Came into the world to save sinners." " I came not to call 
 the righteous, but sinners to repentance." " Come unto me all ye 
 that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
 
 He came into the world to save all sinners, no matter how gross 
 their sin has been, if they repent. When He uttered the words, " I 
 came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," He was 
 surrounded by very gross sinners — by publicans, who had led lives 
 of extortion and fraud, and by harlots, who had led lives of impurity 
 and adultery ; and when He was asked why He did so. He gave 
 the memorable answer, of which the Apostle's words are the re- 
 production. 
 
 So that the teacher of religion has the greatest confidence in 
 applying these words to every sinner who is grieved and wearied 
 with the burden of his sins. 
 
 It has been asked, how could St. Paul say that he was the chief 
 of sinners ? How did he know this ? He would not say unreal 
 words, and yet he spoke with evident sincerity, with evident 
 assurance of its truth. The reader has doubtless heard the solution 
 of this. He knew the aggravation of his own sins — how in per- 
 secuting the members of Christ's Body he came across instances of 
 faith in God, of trust in Him in life and death, of patience, of long- 
 suffering, of love for persecutors, even of prayer for their forgive- 
 ness, such as he had never seen before. These, as no other sermons 
 could have done, preached to him the truth of Christ's mission, 
 for the God of Truth would not have accredited with such signs. 
 as these the words and works of a false Christ. He was fully con- 
 vinced how long and patiently the Son of God had borne with his 
 obstinacy and wilful quenching of the light. All these, with their ag- 
 gravations owing to wilful unbelief, he knew, and he knew that there 
 was no palliation for them. He could not urge before God one 
 extenuating circumstance ; but though he knew and realized the 
 aggravation in his own case, he knew not, and so could not realize 
 the extenuations in the case of others. He felt that he was bound 
 to exercise toward them — even the chief priests, the scribes, the 
 
 o 
 
194 I OBTAINED MERCY. [L Tim. 
 
 16 How"beit for this cause "I obtained mercy, that in me 
 B 2 Cor. iv. 1. first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffer- 
 h^Acts xiu. ^^^^ h £qj. ^ pattern to them which should hereafter 
 
 believe on him to life everlasting. 
 iPs. X. 16. 17 Now unto Hhe King eternal, ''immortal, 
 
 Dan.Vii.H. 4nvisible, ™the only wise Grod, ""he honour and 
 L Rom. i.' 23. glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 1 John i. 18. 
 
 Hebr. xi. 27. 
 
 1 John iv. 12. 
 
 "" Rom. xvi^ jg ,. jgsus Christ." So K, K., L., P., most Cursives, Syr,, Copt. 
 
 27. Jude 2.5. ^^.^^ ^^j^ . ^^^^ ^^ jy ^^^^^ » c^rist Jesus," 
 
 xxix^ll""' ^^- " ^°^y '■'^^^^•" ^^ ^•' ^' ^' ^°^^ Cursives; but n. A., D., F., 
 
 G., d, f, g, Valg., Sah., Copt., omit " wise." 
 
 elders, whose willing tool he had been — the charity which thinketh 
 no evil, and which hopeth all things, and so comiDaring himself 
 even with these men he pronounced himself the chief of sinners. 
 
 Bishop Jackson, in the " Speaker's Commentary," remarks : 
 "The tense is instructive; of whom I am chief, not I teas. A 
 pardoned sinner is a sinner still." 
 
 16. " Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first 
 Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering," &c. Notice here 
 that to Jesus Christ is ascribed the divine attribute of long-suffering 
 in dealing with sinners. God is long-suffering. And His Son, Who 
 inherits all the divine attributes, inherits this same long-suffering. 
 "All long-suffering," lit., "the all-long-suffering, the infinite 
 long-suffering which appertains to Him." 
 
 "For a pattern to them whicii should hereafter believe on him." 
 So that sinners who had sinned after the pattern of St. Paul in 
 persecuting those whom they had every reason to believe to be in 
 the right, might yet hope for mercy on their repentance and faith. 
 Another turn, however, has been given to this sentence. The 
 pattern has been supposed to be given to behevers that they in 
 their turn should exercise the same long-suffering which Christ 
 had done, that as He had pardoned and received into favour His 
 worst enemies, so should they. The first meaning, however, seems 
 the more natural one. 
 
 17. " Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only 
 wise God," &c. Having thus expressed his view of the mercy of God 
 in Christ in sending His Son to save sinners, he breaks forth into 
 
Chap. I.] A GOOD WARFARE. 195 
 
 18 This charge ° I commit unto thee, son <> ch. ^-i. 13, 
 
 14 20 2 
 
 Timothy, ^ according to the prophecies which went Tim. ii. 2. 
 before on thee, that thou by them mightest "^ war 1 1^' \]' ^^' 
 a good warfare : . f '^^'^1 "• ^' 
 
 ° & IV. 7. 
 
 a doxology to God the Father, the King of the ages, invisible, 
 i.e.j whom no man hath seen or can see. It is a similar outburst 
 of praise to that in the last chapter of this Epistle. The principal 
 Uncials omit "wise," so that we read " the only God." ^ 
 
 18. " This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according 
 to the prophecies," &c. What charge ? Some say the charge is 
 contained in verse 3, but this interposes a great distance between 
 that very short charge and what he calls here "this charge." 
 I believe that it refers not to a word or two which comes before, 
 but to the whole of what follows to the end of the Epistle, all which 
 may be called an Apostolic charge. The charge really commences 
 with chap. ii. 1, the short reference to Hymenaeus and Alexander 
 being a digression thoroughly in St. Paul's style. 
 
 "According to the prophecies which went before on thee." 
 Therefore to elevate him, and prepare him to be sober and watch- 
 ful, he reminds him by Whom he was chosen and ordained, as if 
 he had said, " God hath chosen thee. He gave thee thy com- 
 mission, thou wast not made by human vote." The occurrence 
 was probably somewhat similar to that which brought about the 
 ordination of St. Paul himself, where it is written, " There were 
 
 ' Chrysostom has some very good remarks oa the Father being here called the oaly 
 "God. Speaking of the Father, he says, " To the only God. Is the Son then not God? 
 The only immortal. Is the Son then not immortal? Or does He not possess that Him- 
 self which hereafter He will give to us? Yes, they say. He is God and immortal, but 
 not such as the Father is. What then, is He of iaferior essence, and, therefore, of 
 inferior immortality? What then is a greater and a less immortality? For immor- 
 tality is nothing else than the not being subject to destruction. For there is a greater 
 
 and a less glory; but immortality does not admit of being greater or less For a 
 
 thing must be destructible or altogether indestructible Why then do you make 
 
 the difference ? Because the Father is made such as He is by no other : but the Son is what 
 He is from the Father. This we also coafess, not denying that the Son is generated from 
 the Father incorruptibly. And we glorify the Father, he means, for having generated the 
 Son such as He is. Thus you see the Father is most glorified when the Son hath done great 
 tilings. For the glory of the Son is referred again to Him. And since He generated 
 Him omnipotent, and such as He is in Himself, it is not more the glory of the Son that 
 lOf the Father that He is self-sufficient and self-maintained and free from infirmity." 
 
196 HOLDING FAITH. [I. Tim, 
 
 19 ' Holding faith, and a good conscience ; which some 
 r ch, iii. 9. having put away concerning faith ^ have made 
 
 » ch. vi. 9. , . 1 
 
 shipwreck : 
 t2Tim,ii. 20 Of whom is ^Hymenseus and "Alexander; 
 
 u 2 T m. iv. 
 
 14. 
 
 certain prophets to whom the Holy Ghost said, Separate me 
 Barnabas and Sanl," &c. (Acts xiii. 1-3). 
 
 But probably the prophecies made known to the Church the 
 peculiar fitness of Timothy for what we may call the sub-aposto- 
 late which he was to exercise under the great Apostle. 
 
 " Mightest war the good warfare." If the Christian's life is that 
 of a soldier, much more the minister's life. All the warfare of the 
 more secular, the layman's Christian life, is concentrated in the 
 pastor's. Let every pastor learn from this that his life is more 
 emphatically a fight and a struggle. If the pastor does not realize 
 this, he should ask himself whether he is fighting at all, whether 
 he is not a renegade, a deserter. 
 
 19. " Holding faith and a good conscience." See verse 5 : ** A 
 pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned." Holding 
 faith is not merely holding intellectually some doctrine of the 
 power of faith, or its place in the matter of justification and sancti- 
 fication, but having a firm hold through faith of the great Object 
 of all faith, even the Son of God. 
 
 " And a good conscience." In the words of the Apostle, " Exer- 
 cising ourselves to keep a good conscience, void of offence towards- 
 God and towards men." 
 
 " Which some having put away {i.e.y not having been careful 
 respecting holy living) concerning faith have made shipwreck." 
 "Faith," rather "the faith," is a great gift of God, and He is not likely 
 to maintain those in it who are careless in obeying their monitor 
 within them. Conscience is the chart of the Christian life, which, 
 if a man follows, he will keep clear of the rocks and quicksands of 
 unbelief and heresy. 
 
 20. " Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander ; whom I have de- 
 livered unto Satan," &c. Hymenseus is mentioned as a teacher of 
 falsehood in 2 Tim. ii. 17, 18, his heresy being that the Eesurrection 
 is past already. Alexander bears the same name as the man whom 
 in the tumult in Ephesus, described in Acts xix. 33, the Jews put 
 forward as their leader, and many assume him to be the same person. 
 
Chap. II.] DELIVERED UNTO SATAN. 197 
 
 whom I have ^delivered unto Satan, that they may learn 
 not to ^ blaspheme. * i cor, v. 5. 
 
 7 Acts xiii. a 
 
 " Whom I have delivered unto Satan." We are naturally led 
 to consider this an act of excommunication of the same fearful 
 character as that mentioned in 1 Corinth, v. 5. It was, apparently, 
 not only a cutting on from Church privileges, especially the Eu- 
 charist, but was attended with some temporal disorder which would 
 end in death. (Compare 1 Cor. xi. 29, 30.) 
 
 Such a judgment inflicted on notorious evil doers was apparently 
 reserved to the Apostles, by whom it was exercised on Ananias 
 and Sapphira (Acts v. 1-11), on Elymas (Acts xiii. 11), on the 
 incestuous Corinthian (1 Cor. v. 5), and on the persons here 
 mentioned. 
 
 Here, however (and in 1 Cor. v.), it was remedial. It was 
 inflicted on these heretics not to avenge the cause of God's truth, 
 but " that they might learn not to blaspheme." 
 
 I 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 EXHOET, therefore, that, first of all, II or. desire. 
 
 1. " I exhorb, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, 
 intercessions," &c. A question arises upon this Apostohc exhorta- 
 tion, why it is with such apparent emphasis placed /rs^ of all ? The 
 third chapter contains the character of those who are to be ap- 
 pointed to the ministry ; the fourth contains some important warn- 
 ings against false teachers who came under the garb of self-denial 
 and asceticism ; the fifth, regulations respecting widows and the due 
 administration of Church funds. Now, how is it that this precept 
 respecting public prayers and intercessions is put first of all ? We 
 should have imagined that if they had (and we know that they had) 
 public worship at all, they would have prayer for all men, and 
 need not to be reminded of this in the first "place. 
 
198 SUPPLICATIONS, PEAYERS. [I.Tim. 
 
 supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, 
 be made for all men ; 
 
 Then there is another matter bearing upon this. St. Paul had 
 given to the Corinthian Church minute directions or traditions 
 respecting public worship (1 Cor. xi. 1, 2), at least so far as it was 
 Eucbaristic, and he had promised that when he returned he would 
 complete what he had given (1. Cor. xi. 34) : " The rest will I set 
 in order when I come." So that the celebration of the Eucharist 
 would be constant among all the Churches which he or his disciples 
 or fellow -helpers had planted. I cannot help thinking that this 
 matter of intercession had not the fulness in the ancient draughts 
 of Liturgy which it ought to have had, and which it had after- 
 wards. And I cannot help being confirmed in this belief by a 
 singular circumstance which I think has not been sufficiently 
 noticed, which is this : that in the most ancient types of Liturgy 
 the Prayer for Kings and all in authority seems evidently founded 
 upon this enactment of St. Paul's ; for in each is reproduced the 
 particular words of St. Paul which follow.. Thus in the oldest 
 type of Liturgy of all (the Clementine), in the solemn intercession 
 just after the prayer of consecration, we have, "Further, we call 
 upon Thee, O Lord, for the King, and all that are in authority, for 
 the success of the army, that they may be kindly disposed towards 
 us ; that leading our whole life in peace and quietness, we may 
 glorify Thee through Jesus Christ our hope." In that of St. Mark, 
 " King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, defend Thy servant our king 
 .... Incline his heart to be favourable and gracious to Thy Holy 
 Catholic and Apostolic Church: and to all Christian people; so 
 that in his peace we may enjoy peace, and live quietly in all God- 
 liness and honesty." St. Chrysostom's, " For our Emperors 
 .... in the faith and love of Christ, for the court and camp, 
 give them, Lord, a peaceable reign, that in their peace we may 
 also lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty." 
 The same nearly verbatim in the Liturgy of St. Basil. 
 
 I cannot help, then, regarding the intercessory prayers for all 
 men in the ancient services as brought about by this direction of 
 St. Paul. 
 
 " Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks." 
 Various shades of meaning have been given to these four kinds of 
 
Chap.IL] a quiet and PEACEABLE LIFE. 199 
 
 2 ^For kings, and ^ for all that are in || authority ; 
 that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all \ Ezra vi. lo. 
 
 >' ^ i- Jer. XXIX. 7. 
 
 godliness and honesty. b Rom.xiii. i. 
 
 (I Or, eminent 
 place. 
 
 devotion. " Supplications " imply need, and we ask the supply of 
 that need. "Prayers" {irooaivxal) seem to look to our devotions as 
 performed to God and God only. 
 
 "Intercessions" implies interpellations, when we accuse others 
 and pray to God to be righted, or when we pray on behalf of 
 others. The latter is of course incomparably the more frequent, 
 but still we have the example of the importunate widow (Luke 
 xviii. 1) and of the saints under the altar (Kev. vi. 10). 
 
 " Giving of thanks " is Eucharistia. And though we must not, 
 as some seem to do, confine it to the Eucharist, yet unquestionably 
 the Eucharist, as setting forth Eedemption and thanking God for 
 it, is the giving of thanks. 
 
 " Be made for all men." 
 
 2. " For kings, and for all that are in authority ; that we may 
 lead a quiet and peaceable life," &c. "For all men," for all sorts and 
 conditions of men, and for all their needs, public and private, 
 spiritual and temporal. No form of supplication can be conceived 
 fuller (and yet not descending to ridiculous particulars) than our 
 Litany. Should not those who cannot come to join in it on the 
 three appointed days of the week use it in private ? Those who 
 repudiate its use omit the mention of many persons for whom as 
 Christians they are bound to intercede. I once asked a godly 
 dissenter who never (or seldom) joined in it, whether in all the 
 prayers he had heard during his life, he had ever heard a petition 
 for " our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers." He turned 
 round, looked me full in the face, and answered, " No, I never 
 did." 
 
 " All that are in authority." The governor of a distant province 
 might do infinite harm to Christians in the part he ruled over, and 
 never be called to account for it. 
 
 " That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life," &c. Since the 
 soul of some Christian might be slow at hearing this, and reject 
 the exhortation if, at the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, it was 
 necessary to offer prayers for a heathen king, he shows them 
 the advantage of it, thus, at least, to reconcile them to the advice. 
 
200 GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE. [I. Tim. 
 
 "^ Rom. xii. 2. 3 For this is ^ good and acceptable in the sight 
 
 d ch. i. 1. 2 ** of G-od our Saviour ; 
 
 T^' ]' ^' • , 4 ^ Who will have all men to be saved, ^and to 
 
 e Ezek. xviil, ' 
 
 16' i/°^Tit"" <^ome unto the knowledge of the truth. 
 
 ii.'ll.' 2 Pet. 
 
 iii. 9. 
 
 f John xvii. 3. 
 2 Tim. ii. 25. 
 
 "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life," as much as to say, 
 *' Their safety is a security to us." (Chrysostom.) 
 
 3. " For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our 
 Saviour." That is the spirit of intercession. The sense of our own 
 needs would prompt us to pray for ourselves, but the sense of 
 universal redemption, the realization of the truth that all men are 
 one brotherhood, would make us intercede for all, and this God 
 will regard as the fruits of His grace and holy Spirit within us. It 
 shows the working of grace when men pray for themselves, but it 
 shows more grace when men pray sincerely for all men, for unbe- 
 lievers, that God would gather them into the fold, for our enemies, 
 that God would tm'n their hearts. In this we follow the guidance 
 of the Lord where he exhorts, " Pray for them that despitefully 
 use you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your 
 Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his sun to rise on the 
 evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the un- 
 just" (Matth. V. 44, 45). 
 
 4. " Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the 
 knowledge of the trath." This is not so strong as in the original, 
 "Whowilleth that aU men should be saved." How is it, then, 
 that He does not bring about His Will by the instantaneous con- 
 version of every sinner? Because He has decreed that the sinner 
 must accept His salvation, and the acceptance of salvation is the 
 acknowledgment on the sinner's part that he desires present de- 
 liverance from sin, and the life of God within him. But sinners 
 will not — multitudes of them, that is — accept this salvation. As 
 the Lord says, " Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have 
 life." And so God, owing to the infinite justice of His character, 
 and owing to His respect for the freedom with which He has 
 endowed His intelligent creatures, does not allow Himself to have 
 His Will. A human king would often pardon rebels who have not 
 submitted to the terms of his grace, but for the sake of the law, for 
 the sake of the order of his kingdom, for the sake of the cause of 
 
Chap. II.] ONE MEDIATOR. 201 
 
 5 ^ For there is one G-od, and ^ one mediator s Rom. lii. 29, 
 
 30. & X. 12. 
 
 between Grod and men, tlie man Christ Jesus ; Gai. iii. 20. 
 
 h Heb. viii. 6. 
 & ix. 15. 
 
 righteousness, he feels he must not. (See my notes on Christ 
 weeping over Jerusalem, on St. Luke, p. 503). 
 
 " And to come unto the knowledge of the truth." This depends in 
 a measure upon the Clim-ch, that she is alive to her duty of making 
 known the Gospel to the world. A Church which cares not for 
 missions, cares not for carrying out the Will of God, just as a soul 
 which cares not to come to Christ and receive Him, -cares not for 
 canying out the Will of God as regards itself. 
 
 5. " For there is one God, and one mediator between God and 
 man," &c. " For." What is the connection ? It may either be 
 *' pray for all men," for there is one God and One Mediator for all 
 to second your prayers ; or, God our Saviour desires all men to be 
 saved, and the assurance of this is, that He has constituted the 
 man Christ Jesus to be the Mediator between Himself and all 
 mankind. But the two converge and unite. For the fact that 
 God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of 
 the truth," is known to us by the corresponding fact that God 
 has put One Mediator between Himself and the race, Who has 
 first done the principal work of a mediator by reconciling man 
 to God through His Sacrifice, and yet carries on the work of 
 reconciliation by pleading with God for those (all) whom He has 
 redeemed, according to His words, " Whatsoever ye shall ask the 
 Father in my name, he will give it you" (John xv. 16). 
 
 " For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, 
 the man Christ Jesus." How is it that the Godhead, or Di\dne 
 nature of the Lord Jesus is not asserted ? Because such a Mediator- 
 ship as is ascribed to Christ necessitates all Divine attributes. 
 For just as it requires the Infinity, the Omnipresence, and Omni- 
 science of God to hear the prayers of each particular sinner — so it 
 belongs to the Infinity, the Omnipresence, and Omniscience of the 
 Mediator, the Son of God, to plead the cause of each sinner with 
 His Father, and intercede for him. Thus St. John, *' If any man 
 sin {edv Ti£ u-ndpTij) we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
 Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins." The 
 same is implied in Eom. viii. 34, " Who is he that condemneth? It is 
 Christ that died . . . who also maketh intercession for us." From 
 
202 A RANSOM FOR ALL. [L Tim. 
 
 i Mntt. XX. 28. 6 ^ Who erave himself a ransom for all, ^ il to be 
 
 Mark X. 45. . ^ ^ , .^ . " 
 
 Eph. i. 7. testified ^ m due time. 
 
 Tit. ii. 14. 
 
 k 1 Cor. i. 6. 
 
 2 Thess. i. 10. 
 2 Tim. i. 8. 
 
 11 Or, a testi- these places we learn that the Lord intercedes for 
 1 Ro^rii. V, 6. 6^ch sinner in particular. The Son of God can say 
 •^^j-iy-^- of every sinner who perseveres in the Life of God, 
 
 iii. i 
 i. 3. 
 
 Tit. " I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." 
 
 We must remember that the mediatorship of the Son 
 is at the appointment of the Father. It is not as if the Father was 
 angiy and implacable in Himself, but rather in the Divine economy 
 of Eedemption, foreseeing the needs of the universe of intelligent 
 creatures. He has Himself appointed the Son to be the Mediator, 
 We need not also add that the Son possesses all the infinite 
 qualifications to intercede for each one of an innumerable number 
 of creatures, because, by His eternal generation, He receives from 
 His Father all His Divine attributes. 
 
 " The man Christ Jesus." His manhood is specifically men- 
 tioned, because He partakes with us in it. He is our perfect 
 Mediator, because He is not only our God to. hear every word, and 
 read every thought, but because He is our brother, bone of our 
 bone, and flesh of our flesh, and so can fully sympathize, and so 
 fully represent our case to God. 
 
 6. " Who gave himself a ransom for all." This was His great 
 act of Mediatorship. He was the Priest and the Victim for the 
 race. He gave Himself in sacrifice, and He continues to present 
 His sacrifice, for He appears in heaven not merely as a king on 
 His throne, but as a " Lamb standing as slain " (Rev. v. 6). It is 
 surprising that notwithstanding two such assertions of Universal 
 Redemption as we have here, and in 1 John ii. 2, we of the Church 
 of England were once in imminent danger of having the monstrous 
 assertion forced upon us as an article of faith, that Christ died for 
 a comparatively few. I allude to the attempted imposition of the 
 Lambeth articles on the Church in Queen Elizabeth's time. If 
 the reader wishes to see an account of this extraordinary transac- 
 tion, I would refer him to Dean Hook's "Ecclesiastical Biography," 
 article, Baro. 
 
 " To be testified in due time." After natural religion, Judaism 
 and philosophy had been tried and f^und wanting, then the Son of 
 God was revealed. Not at the first, for then there would have 
 
Chap. IL] I SPEAK THE TRUTH IN CHRIST. 203 
 
 7 ™ Whereunto I am ordained a preacHer, and "^ Eph. iii. 7, 
 
 . , 8. 2 Tim. i. 
 
 an apostle, C^I speak tlie triitli in Christ, and lie 11. 
 
 not;) °a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and oRom.'xIis. 
 
 verity. 
 
 & XV. 16. 
 Gal. i. 16. 
 
 been many who would have said, that if men had been left to them- 
 selves they would have righted themselves. They were left to 
 themselves, and it is said of God that " he saw that there was no 
 man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his 
 own arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness it 
 sustained him" (Is. lix. 16). 
 
 Some, however, understand the testimony {to jxapTvpiov) as being an 
 implied reference to the ark of the testimony, others that Christ 
 giving Himself a ransom in His Death, was the testimony of God 
 that He deshed all men to be saved, but I think the meaning 
 which I have given is the more likely. Chrysostom, however, 
 writes : " His suffering was a testimony, he says, for He came, it is 
 meant, to bear witness to the truth." 
 
 7. "AVhereunto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle, (I 
 speak the truth in Christ, and lie notj," &c. " Preacher " here is a 
 herald {d]pvl). The person and work of the Son of God had to 
 be declared publicly, heralded in fact, and this was the first duty 
 of an Apostle, as one sent to proclaim Jesus to be a Prince and a 
 Saviour. 
 
 But why does he put in a parenthesis the words " I speak the 
 truth and lie not " ? Evidently because there were some who per- 
 sistently denied his Apostleship, and in such a city as Ephesus 
 there would be some, perhaps many of these, and the fact was 
 so constantly present to the Apostle's mind, that he naturally inter- 
 jects here this asseveration. 
 
 This is one of the many proofs that this Epistle is the genuine 
 writing of the Apostle. It seems impossible to imagine that any 
 forger should insert such a thing. Very shortly after his death 
 there would be no ground for any such insertion. It would be 
 gratuitous folly. 
 
 " In faith and verity." "■ In faith " because he set forth Christ to 
 be believed in ; " in verity " because he called upon men to believe 
 in no cunningly devised fable, but in the truth. 
 
 8. " I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy 
 
204 MEN PRAY EVERY WHERE. [I. Tim. 
 
 John iv! 21!* ^ -^ ^^^^^ therefore that men pray ^ every where, 
 
 hands." "That men," properly "the men;" men is indicative of 
 the sex, dvi^p always signifying the male, the husband, whilst 
 the other word {dvOpoj-wog) signifies the human being. St. Paul 
 apparently introduces the subject here because some women, re- 
 lying on the equality of the sexes in the sight of God, and em- 
 boldened perhaps by the example of the women who ministered to 
 the Lord, and by the position in the Church of such women as 
 Dorcas, Priscilla, and others, had taken upon themselves to 
 exercise priestly functions. Some of the Corinthian women had 
 done this, and had also laid aside the badge of subjection in the 
 covering of their heads, and these he rebukes sharply in his first 
 Epistle to that Church (1 Cor. xi. 1-16 ; xiv. 34, 35). 
 
 " Pray every where." This is supposed by Chrysostom to assert 
 the ability of Christians to pray in all places in contrast with the 
 Jews who were only permitted to pray in one place. But this is 
 said in forgetfulness of the fact that the Greek Jews had synagogues 
 and qIso 2'>roseuchcB in all parts (Acts xvi. 13.) The meaning prob- 
 ably is that Christians might meet for prayer everywhere, but if 
 they did the men were to pray aloud, leading the congregation, and 
 not the women. Bishop Wordworth has (for him) a remarkable 
 comment on this : " H'ere is a holy work enjoined to all men, the 
 work of prayer. This is a function of that priesthood which apper- 
 tains to all, and which all ought to discharge." It seems to me 
 very unfortunate that owing to the revulsion of feeling at the time 
 of the Restoration against the unbounded license which prevailed 
 during the Commonwealth, the liberty of Church people in this 
 matter of prayer was restricted to such an extent that all access to 
 God everywhere was virtually confined to the words of the Book 
 of Common Prayer, to consecrated buildings and to the priesthood. 
 It is not so amongst Romanists, who are supposed to be far more 
 sacerdotal than we are. I have seen a layman conducting a Litany 
 service on the steps of the high altar in Vienna Cathedral, and I 
 have seen two others performing the same function in the cathedral 
 at Mayence. In our colonies laymen are licensed to say the whole 
 Daily Office and Litany, except such a part as the Absolution, 
 Unfortunately many of our laymen belong to a school which 
 despises all prayer except what is called extempore, and desire to 
 display their gift of fluency before the people. This is most 
 
Chap. II.] LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS. 205 
 
 ^ lifting up holy hands, without wrath and ^ Ps. cxxxiv. 
 doubting. 
 
 9 In like manner also, that ^ women adorn ' i Pet. iii. 3. 
 themselves in modest apparel, with shamefaced- 
 
 disastrous. I have known persons of the utmost power and 
 rapidity of utterance who were habitual drunkards, and I have 
 known humble-minded Christians living most closely to God who 
 have scarcely been able to put two words together in public 
 prayer. 
 
 "Lifting up holy hands." To lift up the hands was a Jewish 
 custom ; thus Psalm Ixiii. 4, " I will lift up my hands in thy name." 
 Also Psalm cxxxiv. 2, " Lift up your hands in the sanctuary." 
 Tertullian in his treatise on prayer says, *' We not only lift up our 
 hands, but spread them out too, and disposing them after the 
 manner of the Lord's Passion, and praying confess Christ" (Treatise 
 on Prayer. XL) 
 
 "Holy hands." This verse seems to have been in the mind of 
 Clement of Eome when he wrote, " Let us then draw near to him 
 with holiness of spirit, lifting up pure and undefiled hands unto 
 him." 
 
 "Without wrath and doubting." Thus our Lord, '^When ye 
 stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any." 
 
 "And doubting." So St. James, " Let him ask in faith nothing 
 wavering." 
 
 9. " In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in 
 modest apparel." This is by many commentators supposed to- 
 allude exclusively to their adornment in public worship, but the 
 Apostle seems to intend worship which may be offered in every 
 place, so that women should be clad always as if at any time they 
 might be called upon to join in, or to be present at, prayer. The 
 word " apparel " is supposed by some to include not only dress 
 but demeanour. Wetstein refers to a passage in Plutarch appa- 
 rently much to the point where KaraaroXyjv TrtpifSoXirg signifies 
 "modesty of dress." 
 
 "With shamefacedness and sobriety." Almost all expositors 
 draw attention to the fact that in our Authorized the original 
 rendering was " shamefastness," but was altered in 1611 to " shame- 
 facedness," but "shamefastness" is an utterly obsolete word. 
 
206 I SUFFER NOT A WOMAN TO TEACH. [I. Tim. 
 
 ness and sobriety ; not with. || broided bair, or gold, or 
 
 II Or, phited. pearls, or costly array ; 
 
 » 1 Pet. 3, 4. 10 ^ But (whicb becometb women professing 
 
 godliness) witb good works. 
 
 11 Let the woman learn in silence with all 
 
 subjection. 
 »iCor. xiv. 12 But *I suffer not a woman to teach, "nor 
 
 u Eph. V. 24. to usurp authority over the man, but to be in 
 
 silence. 
 
 'AwiljQ signifies reverence, as in Heb. xii. 28 (it may not, however, 
 he the proper reading in this last place). *' Shamefastness " is an 
 old English word signifying steadfastness. 
 
 " Not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array." So 
 1 Pet. iii. 3. 
 
 10. " But (which becometh women professing godliness) with 
 good works." " Professing godliness," professing to be Christians. 
 
 " With good works." The religious ordering of their households, 
 visiting the sick, making clothes for the poor and destitute, teach- 
 ing in schools, and, if they have opportunity, nursing. 
 
 11, 12. " Let the woman learn in silence . . . to be in silence." 
 The Apostle in writing to the Corinthians had forbidden the 
 women even to ask questions in the public assembly. " If they 
 will learn anything let them ask their husbands at home, for it is 
 a shame for women to speak in the Church" (1 Cor. xiv. 35). It 
 is surprising how, notwithstanding that these prohibitions are for- 
 mally acknowledged to be the words of one who spake by the Holy 
 Ghost, this forwardness on the part of some Christian women to 
 intrude into that which was to them a forbidden office, lingered 
 amongst j)rofessing Christians, even in the Church. TertuUian, 
 speaking of the way in which heretics were puffed up, says " That 
 the very women are bold enough to dispute, to lead, to enact exor- 
 cisms, to undertake healings, and even to baptize " (" Prescription 
 against Heretics," xli.). In the Apostolic Constitutions, certainly 
 not later than the beginning of the third century, and containing 
 matter much earlier, we find injunctions to women, who are 
 subject to men, not to perform the office of a priest. " In a much 
 later age tendencies toward the usurpation of sacerdotal functions 
 
Chap. II.] ADAM WAS FIRST FORMED. 207 
 
 13 For '^ Adam was first formed, then Eve. 
 
 14 And ^Adam was not deceived, but the ^,^^-\V- 
 
 ' _ & 11. 18, 22. 
 
 woman being deceived was in the transgression. i ^or. xi. 8, 9. 
 
 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in child- 2 cor.'xi.'s.' 
 
 14.. "Being det-eived." Rather, "being utterly deceived" Q^atTra-mdeio-ot) . H, A., D., 
 F., G., P., <tc. ; but K., L., and most Cursives, read simply "being deceived." 
 
 were shown by those who held positions of authority in conventual 
 houses. Charlemagne issued an edict to bishops in a.d. 789, in 
 which he says, " It has come to our ears that certain abbesses, 
 contrary to the custom of God's holy Church, veil virgins with 
 priestly benediction, which thing you, holy fathers, are to under- 
 stand to be entirely forbidden in your dioceses." (Blunt.) 
 
 How scandalously this apostolical injunction is contravened in 
 these days is well known. Even in our Church attempts have been 
 made to give sanction to public instruction, or indeed preaching, on 
 the part of women. 
 
 " Silence " is softened by the Eevisers and others into " quietness," 
 but the Apostle evidently means actual silence, so that their voices 
 are not heard. He considers that teaching by women, no matter 
 how gently performed, is usurping authority, and he forbids it. 
 
 13, 14. " For Adam was first formed, then Eve ... in the 
 transgression." Two reasons are given for the subordinate place 
 of women in the matter of Church functions. One, that the man 
 Adam was created before his wife, the other that it was not the 
 man, but the woman who jaelded to the tempter. 
 
 Was Adam then not deceived ? Not by Satan, for he probably 
 was persuaded by his wife, not deceived as she had been. 
 
 15. *' Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they 
 continue," &c. This, as the reader probably knows, is a very 
 difficult passage. The Eevisers translate it, " she shall be saved 
 through the childbearing, or through her childbearing," The most 
 literal translation of Sui Trjg reKvoyoviag, is " through the child- 
 bearing." 
 
 There have been various meanings given to " through " (Sid). 
 One is " through the childbearing." There is one childbearing by 
 the side of which no other can be named, i.e., the childbearing 
 with which the New Testament opens. But even Komanists such 
 as Cornelius a Lapide, do not recognize this as being in the mind 
 
208 IF THEY CONTINUE. [I.Tim. 
 
 bearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness 
 with sobriety. 
 
 of the Apostle. Bernardine a Piconio paraphrases the verse, 
 " Salvabitur autem mulier, per piam liberorum educationem, si 
 permanserit constans in fide, in charitate, in sanctitate, et morum 
 sobrietate." 
 
 Upon the general meaning of the place, I would remark, first 
 that it cannot well refer to any temporal salvation in childbearing 
 — for such is contrary to fact. Neither can it refer to the reversal 
 of the primal curse, for as long as the present state of things 
 exists, it is and will be true of all women, " In sorrow thou shalt 
 bring forth children" (Gen. iii. 16). And I do not think it is 
 right to bring in education, for that takes place long after the 
 childbirth, and is, as far as I can see, in no way connected with it. 
 The best exposition I have seen is in a note by Dr. Hammond, 
 given in Bishop Wordsworth's commentary. " The woman, that is, 
 Eve (v. 14) being deceived was in the transgression, that is, was first 
 guilty of eating the forbidden fruit, but rescued from the punish- 
 ment by the promised seed — that is by her childbearing — by the 
 Messiah which was to be born of a woman, and so to redeem that 
 nature which He assumed, but this not absolately, but on condition 
 of faith and charity, and holiness, and sobriety, and continuing in 
 all these." 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 • ch. i. 15. ''nr^HIS * is a true saying, If a man desire the 
 pwrhl!' ' JL office of a '^ bishop, he desireth a good 
 c Eph. iv. 12. * work. 
 
 1. *' This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop," 
 &c. The words, " This is a true saying," are exactly the same as 
 those in verse i. 15, *' This is a faithful saying." How is it that 
 the same phrase should be applied to two things so very different ? 
 In the first place, it is probable that there were a considerable 
 number of short aphorisms introduced by the words " faithful is 
 
Chap. III.] A BISHOP MUST BE BLAMELESS. 209 
 
 2 '^ A bishop then must be blameless, ^ the hus- ^ Tit. i, 6, 
 
 &c. 
 
 e ch. V. 9. 
 
 the saying," common in the earliest days of the Church ; and, 
 secondly, we must remember that to desire the office of a bishop 
 or overseer at that time was to desire an office which, in addition 
 to its other anxieties, entailed far more danger than the ordinary 
 profession of the Faith. In some of the first years of Christianity 
 to desire any prominent office in the Church was to desire perse- 
 cution, imprisonment, and martyrdom. 
 
 " The office of a bishop," that is of overseership. For " bishop " 
 simply signifies overseer. The officer was apparently. in difi'erently 
 called ♦•elder" or "bishop," see Acts xx. 17, 28, Titus i. 5, 7. 
 Eespecting the office and its relations to other offices of the 
 Christian ministry, see an Excursus at the end of this volume. 
 
 2. "A bishop then must be blameless." Bishop Jackson well 
 remarks, " It has been objected that the qualifications here required 
 for a bishop are too commonplace ; only, for the most part, what 
 should be found in every consistent Christian. The answer is that 
 it is precisely the consistency of his previous conduct and character, 
 and his excellence in the relations of social and domestic life, which 
 guarantees the fitness of one who desires the office for the work of 
 a bishop." 
 
 " The husband of one wife." So many questions can be raised 
 on the meaning and limits of this injunction that I must (in order 
 not to break unduly the sequence of these notes) postpone the 
 examination of it to a note at the end of this chapter. Suffice to 
 say at present that many think it lays down that a bishop must 
 not have married twice, have not taken to himself a second wife after 
 the decease of his first one ; but whether this restriction was in- 
 tended to be a permanent canon of the Catholic Church, or only 
 for " the present distress " (1 Cor. vii. 26) requires further conside- 
 ration. 
 
 "Vigilant," translated by Eevisers "temperate." Chrysostom, 
 however, whose vernacular was Greek, explains it as what we 
 usually mean by vigilant. " Vigilant," he says, " that is, circum- 
 spect, having a thousand eyes about him, quick-sighted, not having 
 the eyes of his mind dimmed. For many things occur which 
 permit not a man to see clearly, to see things as they are. For 
 care and troubles, and a load of business on all sides press u^ on 
 him. He must therefore be vigilant, not only over his o-^fn con- 
 
 P 
 
210 VIGILANT, SOBER. [I. Tim. 
 
 II Or, modest, band of one wife, vigilant, sober, || of good be- 
 
 6 ver.s! ' ' liaviour, given to hospitality, ^apt to teacb ; 
 1%T 'n ^ ^ II -^^^ given to wine, ^ no striker, 'not greedy 
 
 ready to of filth v lucre ; but ^ patient, not a brawler, not 
 
 quarrel, and '' ^ 
 
 offer wrong, COVetOUS : 
 as one in 
 
 wine. 
 
 ii 2 Ti. ii. 24. 
 
 > 1 Pet. V. 2. 3. " Not greedy of filthy lucre." Omitted by n. A., D., F., G., K., 
 
 k 2 Ti. ii. 24. L., P., many Cursives, Vulg., Syr., &c. ; not found in any Uncial. 
 
 cems but over those of others. He must be well awake, he must 
 be fervent in spirit, and as it were breathe fire, he must labour and 
 attend upon his duty by day and by night, even more than a 
 general upon his army, he must be careful and concerned for 
 all." 
 
 " Sober," self-restrained. Eevisers translate it '* sober-minded." 
 
 " Of good behaviour." Eevisers " orderly," vulg. *' omatum," 
 " modest." 
 
 " Given to hospitality." Probably a large portion of the Church 
 revenues were assigned to him, as is the case now with respect to 
 diocesan bishops, for this express purpose. 
 
 " Apt to teach." This is important as showing that the bishop 
 or pastor must never lay aside his original work of teaching ("some 
 pastors and teachers."* Ephes. iv. 11). It also implies that the 
 bishop should have a firm gi-asp of the subject he taught, and that 
 he should have had experience in instructing others, or he would 
 not be " apt to teach." 
 
 3. " Not given to wine," &c. This seems to mean, not given to 
 drunkenness : the Greek word pointing to a man who becomes 
 beside himself with wine, and not to the mere drinking of wine in 
 moderation. So apparently Chiysostom: "Here he does not so 
 much mean intemperate, as insolent and impudent." 
 
 •' No striker." We must remember that in this early age Chris- 
 tianity could scarcely have become the civilizing influence it was 
 afterwards. This word gives an instructive view of the impulsive 
 vehemence of the Oriental character, by which St. Paul himself 
 was a sufferer at the hands of the Asiatic Jews (Acts xxi. 27-31), 
 and of the difi&culties with which Christianity had to contend in 
 curbing its impetuosity. Chrysostom extends this to undue se- 
 verity and harshness in rebuke : " ' No striker,' this, too, does not 
 mean a striker with the hand. What means then 'no striker i*' 
 
Chap. III.] NOT A NOVICE. 211 
 
 4 One that ruleth well his own house, ^ having his children 
 in subjection with all gravity ; i Tit. i. 6. 
 
 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how 
 shall he take care of the church of Grod ?) 
 
 6 Not II a novice, lest bein^ lifted up with II Or, one 
 
 " . newly come 
 
 pride "^he fall into the condemnation of the to the faith. 
 
 \ ., m Isa. xiv. 12. 
 
 devil. 
 
 Because there are some who unseasonably smite the consciences 
 of their brethren, it seems to be said with reference to them." 
 
 " Not greedy of filthy lucre." The Greek word {a'i<jxQ0KiQ$ri) is 
 probably spurious here. It is fully represented by " not covetous." 
 " Patient," gentle, perhaps. 
 
 •' Not a brawler." Not pugnacious or quarrelsome. Vulg. 
 litigiosum. *' Not covetous," not a lover of money. 
 
 4, 5. " One that ruleth well his own house, having his children 
 in subjection," &c. Here is the great principle of episcopal rule, 
 whether the episcopus rules a diocese of many congregations, or 
 one only. It is to be paternal, and yet absolute ; the children in 
 the one case, the family in the other, are not to govern them- 
 selves, but to be governed, to be under authority, in subjection. 
 Whether this principle can be carried out in the nineteenth cen- 
 tury, as it was intended to be by the Apostle in the first, is another 
 matter ; but if the Episcopate of the Church is analogous to that of 
 a family, it is natural, and has its roots in family life, whereas all 
 other government is more or less artificial. 
 
 The Apostle here, of course, speaks the language of common 
 sense. By ruling well the household the man is fitted for ruling 
 well the Church. 
 
 " With all gravity." With all decency of deportment. Vulg. 
 *' with aU chastity or purity." 
 
 6. " Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the 
 condemnation," &c. — i.e., not one newly converted. " If before he 
 had well been a disciple he should at once be made a teacher, he 
 would be lifted up into insolence." 
 
 The only hint which we have in Scripture respecting the nature 
 of the fall of Satan is in the Epistle of St. Jude, " the angels which 
 kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation " (v. 6). They 
 must have left their first estate in order to compass some higher 
 
212 THE DEACONS MUST BE GRAVE. [I.Tim. 
 
 n Acts xxii. 7 Moreover he must have a good report ^ of 
 
 V. 12. 1 " them which are without ; lest he fall into reproach 
 
 • ch! Ti. 9. ° and the snare of the devil. 
 
 pAt^svi 3^ 8 Likewise must ^the deacons be grave, not 
 
 one, and this must have been through ambition or pride. This, 
 too, was the temptation by which the evil one assaulted our first 
 parents — to exalt themselves above the estate in which God had 
 placed them. 
 
 7. *' Moreover, he must have a good report of them that are 
 without," &c. — i.e., of the heathen and unconverted Jews. 
 
 " Lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.'* It is 
 difi&cult, I confess, to catch the Apostle's meaning. " Such per- 
 sons — that is, those who have not a good report from the heathen 
 without — would be exposed to the taunts of ungodly men, dis- 
 paraged as unworthy of their position, and, conscious of this, would 
 probably be tempted to do things which would entangle them in 
 Satan's net of unseemly wranglings or dangerous relationships." 
 
 This is saying something, but it is very far fetched. This is 
 a much more important place than many seem to think, for is it 
 meant that the door of the ministry is to be shut against all who 
 have not lived virtuously as heathen ? If so, what becomes of the 
 words of St. Paul speaking of gross sinners in their heathen state ? 
 " Such were some of you, but ye have been washed, sanctified,, 
 justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our 
 God " (1 Cor. vi. 11). Is it possible that the Apostle may mean 
 slander by the snare of the devil ? They who were for some good 
 reason in evil odour with the heathen might be more than others 
 exposed to slander (diajSoX'n), and bring an evil name on the whole 
 Christian community. 
 
 8. "Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, 
 not given," &c. The deacons are mentioned only by name (in our 
 English version) here, and in Phil. i. 1, " with the Bishops and 
 deacons." In Acts vi. we have the appointment of the seven, but- 
 they are not there called deacons, though the Church is almost 
 unanimous in considering that they were the first deacons. In 
 Acts xiii. 5 we have, "They (Paul and Barnabas) had John to 
 their minister," i.e., " deacon " in the Greek. Some suppose them 
 to be the helps {dvTiXrj^eis) of 1 Cor. xii. 28, but this is doubtful,. 
 
Chap. Ill] THE MYSTERY OF THE FAITH. 213 
 
 doubletongued, "^not given to much wine, not greedy of 
 filthy lucre ; ^ ^er. 3. 
 
 •^ ' . . Lev. X. 9. 
 
 9 ^ Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure ^ze. xiiv. 21. 
 conscience. 
 
 Kom. xii. 7, " Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering," may 
 be rendered " or diaconate, let us wait on our diaconate : " but this 
 also is doubtful. It may be taken to mean any ministry. Through- 
 out the Epistles of Ignatius they are associated with the bishops 
 and priests as a permanent order of the Church, to whom, along 
 with the other two orders, obedience is due from the body of the 
 faithful. In Justin Martyr, 1st Apol. 67, they are said to convey 
 the Eucharistic element to those who are absent. I shall consider 
 this function more at large in the Appendix on the Christian 
 Ministry. 
 
 '* Grave," i.e., serious. The word ae/xvog is often rendered 
 *' reverend " in the sense of worthy of reverence. 
 
 " Not double-tongued " (^iXoyo^). Only used in this place, and 
 means, not saying one thing to one person and another to another. 
 They were probably that part of the ministry which, having much 
 to do with the distribution of alms, were most in contact with 
 all classes and needed such an injunction. 
 
 *' Not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre." The 
 same requirements as were looked for in the bishops or presbyters. 
 All who in any sense bore the vessels of the Lord were to be 
 clean, i.e., " holy " (Is. lii. 11). 
 
 9. " Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience." It 
 has been suggested that this qualification is required because the 
 deacons had the instruction of the Catechumens for Baptism; but 
 why should it not be because it was one of their functions to 
 preach ? One at least of the seven, Stephen, was eminent as an 
 Evangelist and preacher. Another was an Evangelist (Acts 
 xxi. 8). 
 
 But very probably the stress ie to be laid on the last clause, "in 
 a pure conscience." The mystery of the faith was the common 
 creed. It was the one faith held by all, the faith of the Son of 
 God Incarnate, Crucified, Risen, and Ascended. It was held (at 
 least outwardly professed) by many who were not careful about 
 their Christian life. The mystery is the same in substance as that 
 of the mystery of Godliness of verse 16. 
 
214 LET THESE BE PROVED. [I.Tim 
 
 10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use 
 the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 
 «Tit. ii.3. 11 ^Even so must their wives he grave, not 
 
 slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 
 
 11. "Their wives." Generally nnderstood as the women — the deaconesses. 
 
 10. "And let these also first be proved ; then let them use the 
 office," &c. Some suppose that they were to be proved by having 
 some inferior work committed to them as a sort of probation ; 
 others that this " proving " was a searching examination into their 
 qualifications : also that the names of candidates should be read in 
 thecongregationafterthemannerof our "siquis." The word "also" 
 should be noticed. It is as if there was a probation, or strict 
 examination into the quahfications of the bishops or presbyters, but 
 the Apostle had omitted to enjoin it as taking it for granted, but 
 here he mentions it with respect to the diaconate, hinting, however, 
 by this also, that they were not the only ones " proved." Chry- 
 sostom considers it as parallel to the words "not a novice" of 
 verse 6. Here he requires, though in other words, that he be not a 
 novice, when he says, " Let these also first be proved, when the 
 conjunction * also ' is added, as connecting this with what had been 
 said before of bishops, for nothing intervenes between, and there is 
 the same reason for the 'not a novice' in that case. For would 
 it not be absurd, that when a newly-purchased slave is not en- 
 trusted with anything in a house till he has by long trial given 
 proofs of his character, yet that one should enter into the Church 
 of God from a state of heathenism, and be at once placed in a 
 station of preeminence." 
 
 11. " Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers," &c. 
 There can be no doubt that the word " wives " should be rendered 
 " women," and that it does not refer to the wives of the deacons, but 
 to the women who held the office of deaconesses in the Church. 
 Thus Chrysostom : " Some have thought that this is said of women 
 generally, but it is not so, for why should he introduce anything 
 about women to interfere with his subject ? He is speaking of those 
 who hold the rank of deaconesses. The qualifications of the wives 
 of bishops are not alluded to, why should those of the wives of 
 deacons ? " The institution of deaconesses, or women ministering to 
 
Ohap.iil] a good degree. 215 
 
 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling 
 their children and their own houses well. 
 
 13 For Hhey that have 11 used the office of a » See Matt. 
 
 XXV 21 
 
 deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, or,minis- 
 and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ ^^^^^' 
 Jesus. 
 
 the Church, was far older than this, for in Eom. xvi. 1, ' Phoebe our 
 sister ' is a deaconess of the Church which is at Cenchrea. 
 
 " Not slanderers." Having much to do with the female part of 
 the Church, they should by their example be a reproof of tale- 
 bearing. 
 
 " Faithful in all things." No higher qualification can be required, 
 or even imagined. 
 
 12. 13. *' Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife . . . great 
 boldness in the faith," &c. This, which is the same direction as that 
 which the Apostle had given respecting presbyters, shows that the 
 lower ofaces require the same moral qualifications as the higher. 
 
 13. •' For they that have used the office of a deacon well pur- 
 chase," &c. This has been understood by some as referring to per- 
 sonal religion — they procm*e for themselves a good firm step, or 
 standing, in the Divine Life ; but it seems rather to indicate that 
 they procure for themselves a right and due qualification for a 
 higher step in the ministry — that into the higher grade of the 
 episcopate, or eldership. It is difficult to suppose that the lower 
 grade — that of a deacon — was intended to be permanent. If it was 
 so, the great Christian institution would be much inferior to many 
 others of this world. If the presbyterate of any place required re- 
 cruiting, which it constantly would, who would be more fit to be 
 chosen into it than those who had discharged well the functions of 
 the lower office ? 
 
 " Great boldness (or confidence) in the faith which is in Christ 
 Jesus," i.e., confidence in declaring it or making it known. This 
 confident, bold, unhesitating declaration of the faith, was much 
 in the Apostle's mind. He felt that even he required it for himself. 
 Thus he bids the Ephesians pray : " For me, that utterance may be 
 given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known 
 the mystery of the Gospel." (Ephes. vi. 19.) 
 
 14. " These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee 
 shortly." We do not know whether this hope was fulfilled. Pro- 
 
216 IN THE HOUSE OF GOD. [I.Tim. 
 
 14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto 
 thee shortly : 
 
 15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou 
 u Ephes. ii. oughtest to behave thyself "in the house of God, 
 ii.'20.' ' which is the church of the living God, the pillar 
 II Or, stay. and 11 srrouud of the truth. 
 
 bably not. Still this is instructive, for it shows us that St. Paul 
 had not yet parted with his Apostolical authority over Ephesus, 
 but retained it till his martyrdom. He wrote because his coming 
 might be delayed, '* Shortly " (ra'xtov) means rather " soon." 
 
 15. *' But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou 
 oughtest to behave thyself," &c. Some understand this as not 
 intended to give direction to Timothy personally, but to all who 
 have to regulate the affairs of the Church of God : thus the Ke- 
 visers translate, " that thou mightest know how men ought to be- 
 have themselves in the house of God." 
 
 " The house of God, which is the church of the Uving God." 
 The " house of God, the Church," is, of course, the building of 
 spiritual stones. It here refers to that part of the great spiritual 
 building which existed in Ephesus, in which Timothy was called 
 upon to exercise oversight, direction, apostohcal rule. 
 
 *• To behave " is not an adequate word. In the vulgate it is 
 translated conversa/ii, and might be rendered "to act, to fulfil one's 
 place, or position in." 
 
 " The pillar and ground of the truth." The Church, i.e., the 
 Church Cathohc, the one Church existing at all times and in all 
 places, which we confess in our creed when we say, " I believe in 
 one Cathohc and Apostolic Church," the Church holding fast to the 
 Godhead, the Incarnation, the Death, Eesurrection, and Ascension 
 of the Eternal Son of God, is the pillar and ground of the truth, as 
 it exists among men, and is confessed by them. In some of its 
 branches this Church may be too superstitious, in others it may be 
 too secular, but still the history of Christendom proves that the 
 Churches which retain the Creeds and the Apostolic government, 
 and the Divine Liturgy of the Eucharist, support the truth which 
 they have received, and in its historical aspect and continuity fur- 
 nish a basis for it in this world. The history of Christendom proves 
 this. The Christian bodies which, since the Reformation, have put 
 
Chap. III.] GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. 217 
 
 16 And without controversy great is tlie mystery of 
 godliness : ^ God was t manifest in the flesh, * John i. i4. 
 
 " IJohai. 2. 
 t Grr. mani- 
 fested. 
 
 16. For differences of reading see critical note at the end of this chapter. 
 
 themselves outside the Church of the succession because of its 
 superstitions and additions to what is primitive, have extensively 
 declined from the faith, and this decline is going on, and nothing 
 seems capable of arresting it. Certainly God has given it to the 
 Church of England to be the pillar and ground of the truth in this 
 land. She does not so much witness to what is subjective, as to 
 what is objective, especially to the truth, the truth of truths, of God 
 manifest in the flesh ; and the coming of the Eternal Son amongst 
 us is the only gi-ound of what is subjective, it is the only ground of 
 faith and hope and love, in the Christian sense of the words. 
 
 16. '* And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness : 
 God was manifest in the flesh." Almost all critics and expositors 
 have given up the reading of our English Bible, " God," Qedg, and 
 have adopted that of the principal Uncials, the relative pronoun, og. 
 So that, if this be adopted, the translation literally is, " Great is the 
 mystery of godliness, who was manifest in the flesh." Nowhere, 
 in one of the most important passages of the New Testament, we 
 have an imperfect, ungrammatical sentence, beginning with a rela- 
 tive with no antecedent. 
 
 Now accepting the reading og (who), what must be — not what 
 may be, but what must be — its antecedent ? It must be something 
 which involves a deep mysteiy. We are told (by Alford and Ellicott), 
 that it is Christ ; but this is no answer at all, for there is no mystery 
 about the manifestation of Christ, unless He have some superior 
 nature manifest in the flesh. If Christ be the Messiah which the 
 Jews expected, a man only, the descendant of David, then there is 
 no mysterj" about the manifestation. It would be the merest truism 
 to say that the best or wisest of men was "manifest in the flesh." 
 It pertains to all men — indeed, to all creatures that are born into 
 the world — to be manifest in the flesh. There is no special mystery 
 about it. That the mystery of GodHness should be a mystery at 
 all, implies that He Who was manifest in the flesh should be of 
 a superior nature, and this nature can be only that of God, or of an 
 angel. No one contends for the latter, so that we can only choose 
 the former. And in choosing the former we are following the 
 
218 SEEN OF ANGELS. [I. Tim. 
 
 johfn i" 32 33' ^ justified in the Spirit, ^ seen of angels, * preaclied 
 
 & XV. 26. k 
 
 xvi. 8, 9. 
 
 Rum. i. 4. 
 
 1 John v! 6,' leading of the parallel passages, for this passage is not 
 
 **=• by itself, it is one of many ; it must be associated with 
 
 2.^ Mark^"^ "The Word was made flesh;" "I came down from 
 
 -' Vo^'e ^"^^ heaven ; " " Before Abraham was I am ; " *' Of whom, 
 
 11. 13. & xxiv, ' ' _ ' 
 
 4. John XX, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is God over 
 
 litio^^^iPet. all;" "Who, being in the form of God, thought it 
 
 '• 12- ^ not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied him- 
 
 & x?ii! 46,"48. Self, being formed in fashion as a man ; " " The Second 
 
 Gai^i^s* ^^^ ^^ *^® LoyH from heaven;" "Our hands have 
 
 Eph. iii. 5, 6, handled of the Word of Life, for the Life was mani- 
 
 8. Col. i. 27, ^ . , ,, 
 
 28. ch. ii. 7. tested. 
 
 The matter is, as the Apostle says, amongst true believers, not a 
 matter of controversy, but is confessed and acknowledged on all 
 hands (Alford) to be a great — the greatest of mysteries. 
 
 Still if we ask how it is that this most important enunciation 
 begins so strangely with a relative, and where are we to look for 
 the actual antecedent, I answer that the passage is in all probability 
 an extract ; perhaps, as most suppose, from a hymn, or from some 
 liturgical formula; perhaps from a faithful saying longer than the 
 others cited in this Epistle. 
 
 Bishop Wordsworth conjectures that the "living God," of verse 15, 
 is the real antecedent, and that we must understand the words, 
 " without controversy great is the mystery of godliness," as thrown 
 in parenthetically, as is not unusual with the Apostle. 
 
 " Justified in the Spirit." This is also difficult to explain, and 
 depends upon the meaning of " Spirit." If it means " by the Holy 
 Spirit," as in Rom. i. 3, then it refers to the Resurrection, and to 
 the miracles which were wrought by Himself and His Apostles, and 
 the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. If it means His own Spirit, 
 the higher part of His human nature answering to the spirit 
 of man in us, then it seems to allude to His being proved in all 
 things to be the just One — He was fully justified, from the accusa- 
 tions of His enemies, and from His rejection by His own people ; 
 but I much prefer the former explanation. 
 
 " Seen of angels." From the position of this article of faith be- 
 tween His Resurrection, which was His great justification, and the 
 preaching of Him to the Gentiles, or among them, it would seem to 
 
Chap. III.] BELIEVED ON IN THE WORLD. 219 
 
 ■unto tlie G-entiles, ^ believed on in tlie world, ^ Coi. i. 6, 23. 
 
 -..,.,, Luke xxiv. 
 
 * received up into glory. 51. Acts i. 9. 
 
 1 Pet. hi. 22. 
 
 refer to His appearance to angels after His Eesurrection. St. Paul 
 dwells far more on the glories and mysteries of the angelic world 
 than we do, who profess to believe in his inspiration. It seems to 
 have been a mystery in his eyes that He should be seen first of 
 angels whom He came not to redeem, and not by men whose 
 nature He had assumed in order to redeem them. 
 
 " Preached unto the Gentiles " — that the Gentiles should have 
 Christ preached unto them, so that if they accepted Him they 
 should be on an equality in God's sight with His ancient people, 
 was "the mystery hid from ages and generations " (Coloss. i. 26). 
 It was the especial mystery committed to St. Paul, that he should 
 make it known, and insist upon the inferences which God intended 
 men to draw from it. 
 
 " Believed on in the world." This was also a wonderful fact, 
 that the Gospel of a despised and abhorred race — of a Jew cruci- 
 fied, risen, and ascended, should be believed on in the world for its 
 salvation — that a new era should date from it, a new life be infused 
 amongst men from it, a new standard of goodness and holiness 
 begin with it. Let us throw ourselves back in the ages, and 
 imagine what we should have thought if we had been called upon to 
 believe for everlasting life on an unknown Galilean Who had 
 sufi"ered the vilest of deaths — nothing but miracles would have in- 
 duced us so much as to listen to it — nothing but grace would have 
 led us to accept it. 
 
 "Eeceived up into glory." This is also an inconceivably great 
 thing — that the Crucified should take His seat at the right hand of 
 God, and have all worlds and all their powers, angelic, terrestrial, 
 and infernal, under His supreme command. 
 
 2. " THE HUSBAND OP ONE WIFE." 
 
 Several qnestions arise upon the meaning of this injunction. 
 
 (1.) Polygamy was then practised. It was allowed to the Jews to have more wives 
 than one (see note in Blunt). 
 
 (2.) Divorce was permitted and was common both among Jews and heathen. It may 
 be, then, that St. Paul forbade anyone who had had two wives at the same time, or who 
 had ever divorced one of his wives, to be admitted to the pastorate. Certainly it would 
 
220 GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. [I.Tim. 
 
 Beem that there could be no doubt about their unfitness for an office which demands more 
 than ordinary purity and self-denial. 
 
 But the earliest fathers who mention this place undoubtedly held it to allude to those 
 who had contracted a second marriage after the first wife was dead. Thus Tertulliaa 
 (Ad Uxorem, ch. vii.), * ' Praescriptio Apostoli digamos non sinit preesidere." Thus 
 Origen (Horn. 17 in Luc), "Neque Episcopus, nee Presbyter nee Diaconus nee vidua 
 possunt esse digami" (from note in Wordsworth, who also refers to fourth " Council of 
 Carthage," c. Ixix., Epiphanius, Apostolic Canons, Jerome and Ambrose, but does not 
 quote). It is, however, to be remembered that the two authorities nearest to the time 
 of St. Paul held extreme opinions on this matter. One (Tertullian) wrote a treatise, 
 addressed to his wife, that she should not contract a second marriage after his death ; 
 the other (Origen) took to the letter our Lord's words in Matt. xix. 12, and mutilated 
 himself. 
 
 Taking into account that polygamy and divorce were practised among the Jews, from 
 whom the Church was largely recruited, it seems most reasonable to suppose that St. 
 Paul means what we should naturally suppose, a man who had only one wife when he was 
 a candidate for the ministry. But was there, in the Apostle's eyes, anything morally 
 •wrong or impure in a second marriage after the first wife or husband was dead ? He 
 expressly lays down that there is not : ** If the husband be dead she is loosed from the 
 law of her husband " (Rom. vii. 2, 3). If then a second marriage is allowed to the lay- 
 man, on what grounds is it forbidden to the clergyman ? It must be on the grounds not 
 of legality, but of expediency ; and if the Apostle by "the husband of one wife" means one 
 who has only been married once, it must be because of the " distress " to which for several 
 centuries the Christians were always subject. One branch of the Catholic Church, the 
 Church of England, has not prohibited the ordination of a widower who has contracted a 
 Second marriage, nor has she prohibited a clergyman who is a widower from marrying 
 Mgain. 
 
 16. "GOD ■\yAS MANIFEST IX THE FLESH." 
 
 There are three readings which claim attention. (1.) 0sof, God, as in the Authorised. 
 (2.) Of, who (not He Who, but simply Who). (3.) o, the reading of D, and of the Latin. 
 
 (1.) God (©£of) is read indisputably in K., L. (both belonging to ninth century) ; almost 
 8.11 Cursives, Arab. (Polygl.) Slav.; Chrysostom(Chrysostom's words are, "God was mani- 
 fest in the flesh. The Creator was seen incarnate "), Theodoret, Euthalius, Damascene, 
 Theophylact, ^cumenins, Ignatius, Epist. to Ephes. 19 (" God himself being manifested 
 in human form for the renewal of eternal life.") 
 
 (2.) "Of is read in S (a correction of a much later date has appended Se in very small 
 letters to "Of). It is read apparently in A., though this is denied. A, has ©C, but the 
 stroke at the top and the small stroke in the are in a later hand, and in later or different 
 ink, which has almost faded away. Bishop Ellicott and Wordsworth, who have both 
 examined it, are convinced that OC is the true reading. It is also I'ead in C. (a facsimile 
 of the passage is given in the plates in Scrivener's third edition of " New Testament 
 Criticism " ). B. does not contain the Pastoral Epistles. "Of is also read in F., G,, in Cur- 
 sives 17, 73, 181, Sah., Copt. 
 
 (3.) is found in D., d, f, g, Vulg., and most Latin Fathers. 
 
 We shall not dwell upon this latter, but confine our remarks to the comparative pro- 
 bability of ©EOf or "Of. If ©fif be the original reading, it is difficult to see how "Of could 
 have been substituted for it, because the Godhead of the Lord Jesus occupies a far more 
 prominent position in the theology of the early Church than in that of this age — one has 
 only to look at Ignatius and Justin Martyr to be convinced of this. So that it is 
 impossible to imagine how a reading which directly declares the Godhead of the Saviour 
 could be exchanged for one which only indirectly declares it. And, again, it is equallj 
 
Chap. IV.] SOME SHALL DEPART. 221 
 
 difficult to imagine ho\f early copyists could have exchanged a nominative case, ©eoj, for 
 snch a remarkable instance of a relative with no antecedent. We have every reason 
 to think then that the original reading was Of : but then we are to remember that 
 the MSS. which read Qbo; are not wrong, but supply the only possible antecedent. They 
 read what, if we are true Christians adoring the Son, we must understand to be meant. 
 
 It is lamentable to see the cool and unconcerned way in which commentators who 
 profess the Catholic faith are content to leave the matter after they have decided against 
 the reading, "God." Is the faith once delivered to the Saints of no concern to them that 
 they should make no effort to show to the ignorant or semi-believing reader that it is 
 required by the sense ? The sense of the words " great is the mystery of Godliness " re- 
 quires a mystery. It absolutely requires that a superior nature or a being not originally 
 in the flesh should be seen in the flesh (1 John i. 1, 2). So that the substitution of the 
 word Christ for God as the antecedent, is simply surrendering the Lord's Godhead, for 
 an increasing number of persons are refusing to believe that there is anything super- 
 natural in the Person of Christ. 
 
 If the reader wishes to study further the criticism on this passage, I refer him to 
 Tischendorf 's note in his eighth edition, to Scrivener's note, page 637 of his third edition 
 of " Introduction to Criticism of the New Testament," and to the notes in Bishop Ellicott 
 and Wordsworth. 
 
 N 
 
 CHAP. rv. 
 
 OW the Spirit * speaketh expressly, that * in * Jf>J»n xvi. 13. 
 
 1 -. • in-, ^ \ -, 2Thess. ii. 3. 
 
 the latter times some shall depart from the 2 Tim. iii. 1, 
 
 &c. 2 Pet. iii. 
 3. I John ii. 
 
 18. Jude4, 18. 
 
 b 1 Pet. i. 20. 
 1. "Now." " But," Revisers. 
 
 1. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times 
 some," &c. "Now," this is properly "but" {ce). The Apostle 
 had been speaking of the mystery of godliness — how it was con- 
 fessed universally by Christians. Now he warns Timothy, and the 
 Church through him, that, notwithstanding this present holding of 
 the truth, there will be a great apostasy. 
 
 " Speaketh expressly." He alludes probably to such particular 
 declarations of the Spirit as that which he had many years before 
 this made known to the Thessalonians, in his Second Epistle to 
 that Church, that in the latter times some shall depart from the 
 faith, i.e., from the one Faith — the Faith once for all delivered to 
 the saints. 
 
 " From the faith" means " the faith," the articles of which he had 
 just set forth in his account of the mystery of Godliness, especially 
 
222 SPEAKING LIES IN HYPOCRISY. [I. Tm. 
 
 o 2 Tim. iii. 13. f aitli, giving lieed '^ to seducing spirits, ^ and doc- 
 Rev, xvi, 14. trines of devils ; 
 
 thss.'^Rev! 2 ® Speaking lies in hypocrisy; ^having their 
 
 1^^^^. •■ ,- conscience seared with a hot iron; 
 
 e Matt. vu. 15. ' 
 
 jRom. xvi. 18. 
 
 2 Pet. ii. 3. 
 
 t Eph. iv. 19. 
 
 2. "Through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, brauded in their own conscience as 
 with a hot iron," Revisers. 
 
 the Incarnation. Thus his brother Apostle, St. John, writes: 
 *' Many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know 
 ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus 
 Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit," &c. (1 John 
 iv. 3). 
 
 " Giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." St. 
 Paul here gives us plainly to understand that doctrines which 
 cause men to apostatize from the Faith once delivered to the saints 
 are not the product of the minds of mere men. They are the in- 
 spirations of evil spiritual beings — of demons. Now does he mean 
 by this to affirm that all false doctrine comes from evil spirits ? To 
 this we answer all falsehood must come from beneath — all teaching 
 which obscures the truth, which perverts the truth, which unduly 
 exalts one necessary truth at the expense of another, must have an 
 evil source. To this we must add all teaching which divides un- 
 necessarily one Christian from another, and prevents the Church 
 uniting as one man against every form of evil. But are not men to 
 be allowed to differ ? We are not to prevent them, except by the 
 exhibition of the One Faith, and by bringing forward what is in 
 the Holy Scriptures as it has been interpreted from the first ; but 
 it should be a matter of veiy serious consideration to every one 
 who brings forward what is seemingly a new opinion, whether he 
 lias been taught it by the Holy Spirit, or by some other spirit. 
 
 The consideration that we may be under the influence of seducing 
 spirits in what we teach should make us exceedii gly watchful, 
 wary, careful, prayerful. It is our best wisdom to distrust our- 
 selves, and to pray that by the Spirit we may adhere to the old 
 paths. 
 
 2. "Speaking lies in hypocrisy." Eather "through the hypocrisy 
 of those who speak lies." 
 
 " Havins: their conscience seared with a hot iron." This is 
 
Chap. IV.] FORBIDDING TO MARRY. 223 
 
 3 ^ Forbidding to msLYrj,^a7id commanding to l^^^^g^^' 
 abstain from meats, which God hath created Ho ^^'•"-.^o 21. 
 
 ' Heb. xiii. 4. 
 
 be received ^ with thanksgiving of them which ^ Rom. xiv, 3, 
 
 -. T T 1 1 -I 17. ICor.viii. 
 
 beneve and know the truth. 8. 
 
 i Gen. i. 29. 
 & ix. 3. 
 k Rom. xiv. 6. 
 1 Cor. X. 30. 
 
 translated by Bishop Ellicott, "men bearing a brand on their own 
 conscience." The allusion is doubtful. It may refer to the searing 
 nature of the brand, or it may allude to the cauterization, branding 
 them as the slaves of sin. 
 
 3. " Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from 
 meats." This is said, according to Chrysostom, of the " Mani- 
 cheans, the Encratites, and the Marcionites, and the whole of their 
 tribe, that they should hereafter depart from the faith." Some 
 commentators (amongst them Bishop Wordsworth) treat this as 
 said in anticipation of the enforcement of celibacy on the clergy by 
 the Church of Rome ; but though the denial of family life to the 
 clergy of all Western Christendom under the Roman Obedience 
 may be very evil, yet it is not enforced on the blasphemous prin- 
 ciples that this was — viz., the belief that matter is intrinsically evil, 
 and was not created by the God Who is the Giver of all good things. 
 The Roman celibacy is rather based upon what is said by St. Paul 
 in 1 Corinth, vii. 32 : " I would have you without carefulness. He 
 that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, 
 how he may please the Lord." It seems monstrous, however, to 
 cite these words of the Apostle as applicable to all the clergy, when 
 he lays down that bishops and deacons are to be the husbands " of 
 one wife," thereby assuraing it to be the normal state of things that 
 they should be married. 
 
 " Which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of 
 them which believe," &c. All the good things which God has created 
 are to be received with thanksgivings, and, of course, with modera- 
 tion. Is not luxury forbidden ? Certainly it is. But why, if good 
 things are created to be received ? Because He created bread, and 
 yet too much is forbidden. And wine also, and yet excess is for- 
 bidden. And we are not commanded to avoid dainties, as if they were 
 unclean in themselves, but because they corrupt the soul by excess. 
 Some sect of the Encratites refused to receive the Eucharist in the 
 element of wine, accounting it unclean. It is noteworthy that 
 
224 NOTHING TO BE REFUSED. [I.Tim. 
 
 4 For ^ every creature of God is good, and nothing to "be 
 1 Rom. xiv. 14, refused, if it be received with thankse^ivincf : 
 
 9lC\ 1 Pat* V o O 
 
 25*. Tit. i.' 15. 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and 
 prayer. 
 
 some amongst ourselves have fallen into this error — not understand- 
 ing that wine is as much a creature of God as water, and though 
 its exhilarating qualities are produced under a different law, that 
 law is equally the law of God. And perhaps on account of the danger 
 which there is of taking it to excess, and so men should scornfully 
 reject it, it is emphatically declared in Scripture to be a gift of God 
 (Psalm civ. 15, John ii. 3-10). 
 
 " Of them which believe and know the truth." Such are men- 
 tioned here because they only can render to God the true and devout 
 thanksgiving which He looks for. 
 
 " For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, 
 if it be received," &c. "What, then, is not fewine's flesh unclean? 
 By no means, when it is received with thanksgiving, and with the 
 seal; nor is anything else. It is your unthankful disposition to 
 God that is unclean " (Chrysostom). 
 
 5. " For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." What 
 is this "word of God*"? It has been variously interpreted. I 
 think it most probably alludes to such a word of God as that spoken 
 by God in Acts x. 15: " What God hath cleansed, that call not thou 
 common." All created things were at the first pronounced to be 
 good, and therefore clean. God afterwards withdrew certain of 
 His creatures from the use of His chosen people under the first dis- 
 pensation, and then restored the same to them under the second, 
 in such words of God as those I have quoted, and those in Mark vii. : 
 " Do ye not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entereth 
 into the man, it cannot defile him ? " 
 
 " By prayer." All " graces " or thanksgiving before meals are 
 prayer. 
 
 In the Apostolical Constitutions we have the following grace : 
 •* Blessed be thou, Lord, Who hast fed me from my youth. Who 
 givest food to all flesh. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that 
 having always all sufliciency, we may abound unto all good works, 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 6. " If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these thingiJ, 
 
Chap. IV.] A GOOD MINISTER. 225 
 
 6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these 
 things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, 
 ™ nourished up in the words of faith and of good " ^,F™' "*• 
 doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. 
 
 7 But "^ refuse profane and old wives' fables, °eh. i. 4.&vi. 
 
 T . •, 1/. 7 -,1- 20. 2Tim, ii. 
 
 and ^ exercise thyseli rather unto srodlmess. le, 23. & iv. 4. 
 
 '' ^ Tit. i. 14. 
 
 o Heb. V. 14. 
 
 thou shalt be," &c. " These things " — i.e., not only what he says 
 respecting every creature of God being good, but also of the mystery 
 of Godliness, and of the Apostasy of the later times. 
 
 "In the words of faith" — rather "of the Faith," the great truths 
 of Christ Incarnate, Crucified, Kisen, and Ascended. 
 
 " Whereunto thou hast attained " — rather, " which thou hast 
 closely followed." As if he said, " I lay nothing new upon thee, but 
 what thou hast already profited in. Thou art well acquainted 
 with the words in which the faith is embodied, and the good 
 practical teaching which springs from them." 
 
 7. "But refuse profane and old wives' fables." These words allude 
 to the absurd stories which abounded in the Jewish traditionary 
 lore, and cannot well be applied to the Gnostical speculations 
 which were didacTKoXiai daifiovio)v, doctrines of devils, rather than 
 siUy old women's stories. 
 
 " And exercise thyself rather unto godliness." By increasing in 
 that in which thou hast been instructed from a child, the know- 
 ledge of the Scriptures, by prayer and devout meditation, by what 
 thou knowest of the Lord's Life and actions and Divine words. 
 "Exercise thyself" must refer to learning something which is most 
 opposite to the profane old wives' fables ; and this at that time could 
 only be the Scriptures (Old Testament) or the Gospels. 
 
 " Exercise thyself rather unto godliness." He now speaks of the 
 need of spiritual exercise (such as prayer and fasting) for spiritual 
 health. The word by which he describes these exercises, yvuvd'CiOy 
 shows that the spiritual exercises are to be regular, and that they 
 require effort, and suppose spiritual mortification and wrestling. 
 The Apostle compares the Spiritual Life to training in a ghostly 
 gymnasium. Compare 1 Cor. ix. 24, where he likens its religious 
 exercises to those of an athlete, and says (v. 27) vx(oma^(o fxov to 
 cwfia, " I beat under my own body (/tov, emphatic), not the body of 
 
 Q 
 
226 BODILY EXERCISE. [I.Tim. 
 
 P 1 Cor. viii. 8. 8 For Pbodilj exercise profiteth || little: <ibut 
 i Or, for a godliness is profitable unto all things, "" having 
 f ch vfe promise of the life that now is, and of that which 
 
 r Ps. xxxvii. 4. is to COHie. 
 & Ixxxiv. 11. & 
 cxii. 2, 3. & 
 
 cxlv. 19, Matt. 
 
 vi, 33. & xix. 
 
 29. Mark x. 
 
 30. Rom. viii. 8. "Proateth little." Rather " profiteth a little." 
 23. 
 
 another, as this world's athletes do ; I contund myself, my own 
 flesh, as if it were my enemy" (Bishop Wordsworth). 
 
 8. "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profit- 
 able unto all things." This verse arises out of the latter part of the 
 former, in which the Apostle had bidden Timothy exercise himself 
 unto godliness, and then bearing in mind the utterly profitless, 
 rather the evil exercising, involved in the forbidding to marry, and 
 commanding to abstain from meats, both which were merely 
 bodily, he reverts to the training for the games^the races, the wrest- 
 lings, with which they were so familiar. And so he says: "Bodily 
 exercise— training after such a sort — profiteth a little, but that is 
 very insignificant when compared with the spiritual training ; the 
 bodily training is good for winning a temporal crown, the spiritual 
 is good for this life and-also for the future and eternal one." 
 
 Two things are to be borne in mind together to enable us to enter 
 into the Apostles' meaning. 
 
 (1.) He would on no account commend in the least degree the 
 false Jewish or Gnostical asceticism of verse 3. He would never 
 describe it as profiting a little, for it was a doctrine of seducing 
 spirits or demons. 
 
 (2.) He would not say a word in discouragement of what he had 
 inculcated in the two Epistles to the Corinthians (1 Cor. ix. 27) : 
 " Keeping under his body, and bringing it into subjection ; " or, 
 " Crucifying the flesh with its afi"ections and lusts " (Gal. v. 24). 
 So that we are on no account to take this verse as mihtating 
 against that fasting which the Lord commends in His Sermon on 
 the Mount (Matt. vi. 16), or that which he, together with others, 
 practised at his own ordination to the Apostolate (Acts xiii. 2). 
 
 " Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the 
 life that now is." Godliness has promise of the Hfe that now is be- 
 cause it abounds in that which alone secures the true enjoyment of 
 
CuAP. IV.] THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN. 227 
 
 9 ^ This is a faithful saying and worthy of all accepta- 
 tion, s eh. i. 15. 
 
 10 For therefore * we both labour and suffer * i Cor. iv. u, 
 
 12 
 
 reproach, because we " trust in the living Grod, u ch. vi. 17. 
 "^ who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those ! Ps-.xxxyi. e. 
 
 ^ •' & evil. 2, b, &.C 
 
 that believe. 
 
 10. " We both labour." " Both " omitted by N, A., C, D., retained by F,, G. 
 10. '* Suffer reproach." So D., L., P., most Cursives, d, f, g, Vulg., Goth., Syr., Copt. 
 Arm. ; but N, A., C, F., G., K., and seven Cursives, read, "we contend" or " strive." 
 
 life, and that is contentment (PhU. iv. 12). Being reconciled to 
 God, and living as His children, we can rely upon our Father for 
 His blessing and protection in everything — the world, life or death, 
 things present or things to come, all are his who possesses godliness 
 (1 Cor. iii. 22) ; besides he has such direct promises as " the eyes of 
 the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their 
 prayers" (Ps. xxxiv. 12). "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye 
 have need of these things ; all these things shall be added unto 
 you " (Matt. vi. 32, 33). 
 
 And, of course, it has the promise of that which is to come. "My 
 sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I 
 give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither 
 shall any man pluck them out of my hand " (John x. 27). 
 
 9. " This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation." 
 This refers to what has just been said respecting godliness — that it 
 is profitable for both the present and the future life. 
 
 10. " For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach [or strive], 
 because," &c. We " labour and strive " (see Critical Notes) because 
 we trust in the living God, Who has the ordering of both the present 
 and the future, and so orders all things for good to them that love 
 Him. We have every confidence in striving to work out our salva- 
 tion, because we know that it is God that worketh in us both to will 
 and to do (Phil. ii. 13). 
 
 " Who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." 
 He is the Saviour of all men because He gave His Son to be the 
 propitiation " for the sins of the whole world " (1 John ii. 2). That 
 His Spirit should make so absolute a declaration as this, that He 
 should be the Saviour of those who have never heard of Him, 
 teaches us not universal salvation, but that God will make every 
 
228 LET NO MAN DESPISE THY YOUTH. [I. Tim. 
 
 y ch. vi. 2. 11 y These things command and teach. 
 
 ii!^Tit".^ui5. 12 ^Let no man despise thy youth; but *be 
 
 » Tit. ii. 7. 
 
 1 Pet. V. 3. 
 
 allowance for the want of faith and defective lives of those who 
 have never heard the Gospel. It cannot possibly mean that He is 
 the Saviour of all men because He saves their animal or natural 
 lives from death, for this He does not do. The vast majority of 
 men die before they have attained to the natural term of life : it 
 must be because He has, in a sense, saved all by the sacrifice of 
 His Son. He has even cleansed them by the same sacrifice (Acts x, 
 15, and note), and we doubt not that He will find ways of having 
 mercy upon them which we know not. 
 
 "Specially of those that believe," because by believing they 
 accept His mercy and honour Him for it, and plead the all- 
 sufficient Sacrifice. Of such He will assuredly be the Saviour. He 
 will save such to the uttermost. Chrysostom, looking back upon 
 those ages of persecution, gives a somewhat different turn, " How 
 is He the Saviour of the faithful ? Had He not been so, they must 
 long since have been destroyed, for all men have made war upon 
 them." 
 
 11. " These things command and teach." Observe, it is not '* these 
 things suggest and recommend," but these things "command." 
 This is because St. Paul committed to him as much apostolical 
 authority as, not being an actual Apostle, he could receive. 
 
 He was to command the bishops and deacons to do and teach 
 because he acted by the authority of the Apostle. There was no 
 inherent authority in any presbytery to sit in judgment upon what 
 he commanded. 
 
 12. " Let no man despise thy youth." Timothy was no doubt a 
 young man when he joined the Apostle, and both his father and 
 mother seem then to have been living. This was about ten or twelve 
 years before the writing of this letter, so probably he was now thirty- 
 six or thirty-eight. This we should not account young, but it was 
 very natural that the aged Apostle should so account it. I men- 
 tion this because some sceptical writers have said that it was con- 
 trary to reason to speak of Timothy as if he was always young, 
 but it is at the utmost a matter of ten years, and if we take 1 Cor. 
 xvi. 11 as referring to his youthful appearance, scarcely a matter 
 of six years. 
 
Chap. IV.] AN EXAMPLE TO BELIEVERS. 229 
 
 thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in 
 charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 
 
 13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, 
 to doctrine. 
 
 14 ^ Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which *> 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 
 12. " In spirit." Omitted by S, A., C, D., F., G., eight Cursives, d, f, g, Vulg., Copt., 
 flyriac ; but K., L., P., and most Cursives, retain it. 
 
 " Be thou an example of the believers, in word." *' In word " 
 signifies either in the preaching and teaching of the Word, or in 
 the words he employs in his intercourse with the believers, that 
 they should be grave and sober, befitting one who remembers that 
 for every word he speaks he shall be called to give account. 
 
 " In conversation," that is in his habitual deportment and inter- 
 course. 
 
 ** In charity," in love, and kindness, and sympathy. 
 
 *' In spirit," omitted by principal uncials. 
 
 *' In faith," in holding firmly to the great truths of the Gospel, 
 in living as if he believed them. 
 
 " In purity," not only in what is commonly accounted purity, 
 but in purity of doctrine and of motives — what we should call 
 unworldliness. 
 
 13. " Till I come, give attendance to reading." Give attendance, 
 attention, heed. 
 
 " To reading," i.e., to "the reading," most probably the reading 
 of the Scriptures in the public assembly. 
 
 "To exhortation, to doctrine." Exhortation, as distinguished 
 from doctrine, may be appeals to the feelings. " Doctrine " is in- 
 struction both in the faith and in morals. *' Give attendance to 
 reading the Divine writings, to exhortation of one another, to 
 teaching of all." 
 
 14. " Neglect not the gift that is in thee." " The gift in thee,'* 
 " prophecy," the *' laying on of hands." All these three things sug- 
 gest questions which cannot now be, in all respects, satisfactorily 
 answered. 
 
 " The gift in thee " was this the gift of the Holy Spirit which 
 was given to him at his first ordination, to enable him to fulfil the 
 common work of the ministry ? or was it the Gift given to him 
 when he was set apart to the especial work of overseeing the Church 
 
230 
 
 
 c ch, i, 
 
 ,18. 
 
 d Acts 
 & viii. 
 xiii. 3. 
 6. ch. 
 ITim. 
 
 vi. 6. 
 17. & 
 & xix, 
 y.22. 
 i.6. 
 
 II Or, in all 
 thivgs. 
 
 GIVE THYSELF WHOLLY. [L Tim. 
 
 was given thee "^ by propliecj, ** with the laying on 
 of the hands of the presbytery. 
 
 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself 
 wholly to them ; that thy profiting may appear 
 II to all. 
 
 of Ephesus, or some other apart from these ? We cannot say, only 
 that in the strictly parallel passage in 2 Tim. i. 6, we read, " I put 
 thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in 
 thee by the putting on of my hands." This gift seems to be inter- 
 preted in the next verse as that of " power and love, and of a sound 
 mind." 
 
 Again, what is the prophecy through which, as in some sense a 
 medium, the gift was bestowed ? Is it the prophecy alluded to in 
 Acts xiii. 1, 2, " In the Church that was at Antioch, certain pro- 
 phets and teachers, as Barnabas and Simeon. ... As they minis- 
 tered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me," 
 &c. ? Most probably it was. If some prophet or prophets singled 
 out Timothy from among the mass of believers for the presbyterate 
 or episcopate, or apostolic vicariate, it must have been by the in- 
 spiration of the Holy Ghost, or St. Paul would not have cited it, 
 but the exact form which it outwardly took has not come down to 
 us, other, of course, than the laying on of hands. 
 
 Then the " laying on of the hands of the presbytery." This was 
 certainly not any presbytery of Ephesus. Was Barnabas one of 
 them ? No, because he and Paul had parted company before 
 Timothy was known to Paul. Was Silvanus one ? In all proba- 
 bility he was. It is scarcely possible to suppose that this Presby- 
 tery was that of some local Church. It stands to reason that it 
 must have been one composed of the immediate disciples or fellow- 
 helpers of St. Paul. That St. Paul was himself one of them is 
 evident from his words in 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 
 15. " Meditate upon these things ; give thyself wholly to them." 
 "These things." Whit things? Upon the mystery of godliness, 
 upon the dangers of the latter days, upon exercising himself and 
 others with godliness, upon the Living God being the Saviour of 
 all men, of being an example to the believers, (fcc, upon the gift 
 through prophecy, and the laying on of hands, &c. 
 
 "Give thyself wholly to them." The words of the original are 
 
Chap. IV.] TAKE HEED UNTO THYSELF. 231 
 
 16 * Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doc- « Acts xx. 28. 
 
 trine; continue in them: for in doing this thou 9. ^^ •^'''""• 
 
 shalt both ^save thyself, and ^thern that hear lcoTiJ''22^' 
 
 thee. "^*°^^s ^- 20- 
 
 much stronger, " Be in these things " (Iv tovtoiq laOi). Bengel says 
 of this, "He who is in them will be less in worldly companies, in 
 other kinds of pursuits, in collecting books, shells, coins, in which 
 many pastors unconsciously spend a great part of their time " 
 (quoted by Dr. Fairbairn). If Bengel had lived in England he 
 would probably have added horses, hounds, guns, tennis lawns, 
 hot-houses, &c. 
 
 " That thy profiting may appear to all." This of course does 
 not mean that he is to make a display of religion, but that he is to 
 be careful to remember that the life of a pastor is narrowly watched, 
 and that he must unconsciously show no decline, but rather pro- 
 gress in the Divine Life. 
 
 16. " Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine ; continue in 
 them," &c. " Thyself and unto the doctrine." Take heed that thou 
 continue in the doctrine, that thou adorn the doctrine in thy life, 
 that thou defend it against gainsayers, that thou preach it un- 
 weariedly, and teach it thoroughly, and realize it in thine own 
 spiritual life. 
 
 " For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that 
 hear thee." If ever man was in a saved state — a state of salvation 
 — it was this son 'of the Apostle, and yet even to him salvation was 
 future, and depended, under God's grace, on his exertions. If he 
 was to be saved at the great day of account, he must take heed 
 unto himself and to the doctrine ; he must continue in what he had 
 been taught. The work of Christianity is woven in with the right 
 discharge of the office of the ministry. " Many ministers can say 
 that if they had not been ministers, they had in all appearance lost 
 their souls. The subject of the minister's work is the same with 
 that of a Christian, and above all men should he be careful of his 
 heart and intentions, that all be pure and spiritual. No man is 
 under so strict a necessity of dependence on the influence and 
 assistance of the Holy Ghost, both for gifts and grace. And are 
 not all these great helps to one's own salvation ? " (Trail, quoted in 
 Fairbairn.) 
 
232 WITH ALL PURITY. [I. Tim. 
 
 CHAP. y. 
 
 REBUKE * not an elder, but intreat Mm as a father ; and 
 the younger men as brethren ; 
 • Lev. xix. 32. 2 The elder women as mothers ; the younger as 
 
 sisters, with all purity, 
 b ver. 6, 16. 3 Houour widows ^ that are widows indeed. 
 
 1. "Kebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father." The 
 elder here is called TrpfajSvTepdg, or presbyter, the same word as is 
 employed for the designation of the ministerial office in Tit. i. 6, 7. 
 Most commentators, however, seem to be agreed in considering 
 that the Apostle alludes to elders in years, elderly persons, who 
 would be likely to resent a rebuke from one mugh younger than 
 themselves, and be discouraged or perhaps alienated by it.^ 
 
 *' The younger men as brethren." Let your bearing towards 
 young men be that of a brother, an equal, rather than of a dignified 
 superior. 
 
 2. " The elder women as mothers ; the younger as sisters, with 
 all purity." Mark the words which the Apostle throws in, as it 
 were, when speaking of church or social intercourse with the female 
 part of the flock, *' with all purity." "What miserable scandals 
 would have been avoided in all ages if this had been constantly re- 
 membered. In this, more than in any other respect, a young priest 
 has to abstain from all appearance of evil. If Timothy was thus 
 advised, let others consider what sort of conduct is required of 
 them, that they should give no ground of suspicion, no shadow of 
 pretext to those who wish to calumniate. 
 
 3. *' Honour widows that are widows indeed." It has been much 
 disputed whether these widows are persons who have devoted 
 themselves to certain duties in the Church, or Christian body, or 
 
 1 Still, it is well to remember that the word presbyter is almost invariably nsed in the 
 New Testament of Jewish or Christian ecclesiastical officers. According to Mr. Blunt, 
 "it is used sixty-four times in the New Testament, thirty-one times in the Gospels and 
 Acts to denote the Jewish elders, once in the sense of ancestors (Heb. xi. 2), thirty-one 
 times in the Acts and Epistles and the Revelations as the name given to ordained men." 
 
Chap V.] PIETY AT HOME. 233 
 
 4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them 
 learn first to shew 11 piety at home, and "" to re- " *^'"' ^^^<i»e'^- 
 
 . T « SeeGen.xlv. 
 
 quite their parents: **for that is good and ac- lo. u. Matt, 
 ceptable before Grod. vi. 1/2. 
 
 d ch. ii. 3. 
 
 4. " Good and acceptable." " Good and " omitted by S, A., C, D., F., K., L., P., most 
 Ctirsives, Ital., Vulg., Syriac, &c. ; no authority for the retention of these words. 
 
 whether they are widows in the ordinary sense of the word without 
 any Church obligations. 
 
 I am inclined to think the latter. In times of persecution many 
 widows would require support or assistance from the Church funds 
 who were simply persons in need, and who could not devote their 
 time to Church work. St. Paul meets the cases of such persons in 
 this and the few next verses, and then in verse 9 passes on to the 
 case of those widows who were enrolled in a Church guild, or 
 society, and who afterwards became the order of deaconesses. 
 
 Honour means not only to pay deference to, but materially con- 
 tribute to the support of such. 
 
 *' Widows indeed," that is, utterly destitute and desolate — having 
 no relations who were under obhgations to maintain them. 
 
 4. " But if any widow have children, or nephews, let them learn 
 first to shew piety at home." This seems to be capable of but one 
 application. " If any widow have children, or grandchildren, let 
 them, i.e., the children, or grandchildren, learn first to show piety 
 at home, and to requite their progenitors, that is, the widows, 
 their mothers or grandmothers." If the Church takes upon 
 herself the burden of maintaining widows who have descendants 
 capable of supporting them, by relieving them of this duty she 
 injures these persons. An extraordinary explanation, however, 
 has been given to this by some ancient and modem commentators 
 (e.g., Chrysostom and Wordsworth), which is that it is the widow 
 who by bringing up her children well requites her own ancestors, 
 not her children who by supporting her in her declining years 
 requite her. I will give it in the words of the former : " To requite 
 their parents. How ? For bringing them up and educating them. 
 As if he should say : ' Thou hast received from them (thy ancestors) 
 great care. They are departed. Thou canst not requite them. 
 For thou didst not bring them forth or nourish them. Requite 
 them in their descendants, re.pay the debt through the children.' " 
 
284 A WIDOW INDEED. [I.Tim, 
 
 5 ^ Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, tiiisteth 
 
 e icor.vii.32. in God, and / continueth in supplications and 
 
 & xviil"'. * prayers ^ night and day. 
 gActsxxvi.7. Q hg^t she that liveth 11 in pleasure is dead 
 
 h James T, 5. n x 
 
 \\ Or, dehcateij/. while she liveth. 
 
 But this seems a very roundabout way of inculcating a plain duty. 
 If the widow has children and grandchildren her first duty, which 
 nature itself as well as revelation teaches, is to them. She is not 
 even to take upon herself Church work which would interfere with 
 her duty to her children. 
 
 " That is good and acceptable before God." As the fifth com- 
 mandment, and the words of our Blessed Lord (Matth. xv. 1-6) in 
 vindicating its sanctions, teach us. 
 
 5. *' Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in 
 God, and continueth," &c. Do, then, all distressed and desolate 
 widows trust in God ? If they have real religion they do. St. 
 Paul is here directing by implication that the Church alms should 
 not be given to irreligious, but to religious persons, and the true 
 widow, who alone was worthy of help, was one whose afflictions and 
 bereavements had brought her near to God, and so she trusted in 
 God, Who had taken from her her earthly supports that she might 
 be nearer Him. 
 
 "And continueth in supplications and prayers." 
 St. Paul must have had his disciple's account of Anna in his 
 mind, " who departed not from the temple, but served God with 
 fastings and prayers night and day." St. Polycarp in his Epistle 
 seems to refer to this place : "Teach the widows to be discreet as 
 respects the faith of the Lord, praying continually for all, being far 
 from all slandering, evil speaking, false witnessing," &c. 
 
 6. " But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she Uveth." 
 Though the Apostle says this of widows it is of course capable of 
 the widest application. The man who devotes himself to pleasure 
 is dead. If the current of his thoughts runs upon amusement, no 
 matter how innocent as an occasional recreation, upon eating and 
 drinking, upon costly dishes and choice wines, upon collecting, in 
 fact, upon any worldly thing so that he may be said to live in it, 
 and to be thinking about it more than about the things of God — such 
 an one is dead, and requires that he should hear the call, " Awake 
 thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead." 
 
Chap, v.] WORSE THAN AN INFIDEL. 235 
 
 7 And these things give in charge, that they maj be 
 blameless. ich. i.3. &iv. 
 
 11. & vi. 17. 
 
 8 But if any provide not for his own, and spe- k isa, iviii. 7. 
 cially ^for those of his own house, || he hath „ o"r Jknrfrec/. 
 denied the faith,™ and is worse than an infidel. • 2 Tim. ii. 5. 
 
 Tit. i. 16. 
 
 9 Let not a widow be || taken into the number m Matt, xviii. 
 
 17. 
 
 II Or, chosen. 
 
 And this applies with tenfold force to those who are living in 
 sinful pleasures, such as fornication and drunkenness ; they are dead 
 indeed — in fact, the Second Death seems to have begun in them. 
 
 The word "Hveth in pleasure" [airaTaXCoaa) we are told by 
 Archbishop Trench combines the notion of luxurious self-indul- 
 gence with that of prodigality. It is used elsewhere only in James 
 V. 5, where it is rendered, "ye have been wanton." 
 
 7. *' And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless." 
 Give in charge to the presbyters, or pastors, that they may instruct 
 the widows who have children, and the children, whose natural 
 duty it is to support their widowed mothers, that they may be 
 blameless, for this is a matter closely connected with the fair fame 
 of Christianity itself, for he proceeds to say, — 
 
 8. " But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of 
 his own house," that is, his own parents, or children. What is the 
 difference between his own, and those of his own house? The 
 former seems to have a wider application, and to include all near 
 relatives, the latter means his parents, or children. 
 
 " He hath denied the faith." The faith is given to raise and 
 regulate the life. If a man professes to believe in Christ, and 
 neglects his family, gives them no godly education, and leaves 
 others to provide for them, he acts as if he did not believe in God 
 and in Christ. Men will naturally ask how can he believe in a 
 Saviour Who had given Himself for him to redeem him from all 
 iniquity, when he sets at naught the plainest obligations of nature 
 and of human society ? He is worse than the heathen, for some 
 heathen nations have been particularly careful respecting the duties 
 of family life. 
 
 9. " Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore 
 years old." There is much difference of opinion as to the widows 
 to whom the Apostle here refers. The Revisers translate it : " Let 
 none be enrolled as a widow," &c. The question is, were these 
 
236 THE WIFE OF ONE MAN. [I. Tim. 
 
 under three- 
 of one man, 
 
 n Luke ii. 26. Under three- scorc years old, "^ having been the wife 
 
 widows merely recipients of Church alms, or were they set apart 
 to do certain Church work ? Some call them Presbyteral widows^ 
 and suppose that they were entrusted with certain duties towards 
 the female part of the Church. 
 
 It is difficult to suppose that the Apostle here lays down the 
 qualifications of those widows who were to be supported by the 
 Church, for smrely there must have been (in times of persecution 
 especially) widows in the greatest straits, and who had no children 
 to help them long before they had attained to the age of sixty 
 years. And many would be entitled to alms on the score of 
 distress and want who had not the qualifications laid down in 
 verse 10. 
 
 Bishop Ellicott gives a very likely explanation, first suggested by 
 Grotius, and then ably expounded by Mosheim, and followed by 
 De Wette, and others, that an order of widows is referred to whose 
 duties apparently consisted in the exercise of superintendence over, 
 and the ministry of counsel and consolation to the younger women, 
 whose office in fact was, so to say, presbyteral (Trpea^vTideg) rather 
 than diaconic. The external evidence for the. existence (though 
 not necessarily the special ecclesiastical organization) of such a 
 body, even in the earliest times, is so fully satisfactory, and so com- 
 pletely in harmony with the internal evidence supplied by verse 
 10, sq., that on the whole we should adopt this view. 
 
 " Having been the wife of one man." Not having been divorced 
 and remarried, and many suppose not having been widowed and 
 married a second time, Chrysostom's remarks are worthy of 
 notice, both with reference to this and chap, iii., 2 and 12. " But 
 why does he discourage second marriages? Is the thing con- 
 demned ? By no means. That is heretical. Only he would have 
 her henceforth occupied in spiritual things, transferring all her care 
 to virtue. For marriage is not an impure state, but one of much 
 occupation. He speaks of them having leisure, not of them being 
 more pure by remaining unmarried. For marriage certainly 
 implies much secular occupation. If you abstain from marriage 
 that you may have leisure for the service of God, and yet do not so 
 employ that leisure, it is of no advantage to you (if you do not use 
 your leisure) to perform all sei-vices to strangers and to the saints. 
 
Chap, v.] WELL REPORTED OF. 237 
 
 10 Well reported of for good works ; if she have brought 
 up children, if she have ° lodged strangers, if she ° Acts xyi. 15. 
 have P washed the saints' feet, if she have re- 1 Pet] iv. 9. " 
 
 P Gen, xviii. 4. 
 & xix. 2. Luke 
 
 vii. 38, 44. 
 
 Johnxiii. 5, 14, 
 
 If you do not, then you abstain from marriage not for any good end 
 but as though you condemned the state." 
 
 10. " Well reported of for good works ; if she have brought up 
 children, &c." The qualifications here enumerated seem to shut us 
 up to the conclusion that the widows here were church officials, who 
 to command respect must have been foremost in the performance 
 of the duties for which women are looked up to. 
 
 "Well reported of for good works." These, or some of them, 
 are now enumerated, to show that they are peculiarly the duties 
 which belong to women ; for instance, diligence in teaching or ex- 
 pounding Scripture is not included. 
 
 " If she have brought up children." This is mentioned the first, 
 because it is the first duty of women. If it be asked were these 
 her own children ? Certainly, we answer, if she had had any, but if 
 a Christian woman had not, she would probably be a kind mother 
 to some orphans, and this would be the first qualification. Bishop 
 Jackson, in " Speaker's Commentary," puts " Those of others, 
 especially orphans, besides her own." 
 
 " If she have lodged strangers." The strangers here are any 
 strangers, but, of course. Christian ones especially. It has been 
 asserted that this implies that she had some means, but, as one 
 says, "If she has a house, she can at least afford shelter." 
 
 " If she have washed the saints' feet." It is singular to observe 
 the difference between the treatment of this clause by the ancients 
 and by the modern commentators. With the moderns it is a meta- 
 phorical washing. Bishop Wordsworth and Blunt take no notice 
 of the place ; nor does Dr. Fairbairn. Bishop Jackson explains as 
 " Paid the kind duties of hospitality in an especial manner to 
 Christians as distinguished from strangers." Bishop Ellicott writes: 
 " An act not only connected with the rites of Eastern hospitality, 
 but demonstrative of her humility " (1 Sam. xxv. 41). It was 
 commonly a servant's office. Augustin says, "Nee dedignetur quod 
 fecit Christus facere Christianus." Chrysostom : " The saints' feet 
 are holy, though they are poor men ; but not even the head of the 
 
238 YOUNGER WIDOWS REFUSE^ [I. Tjm. 
 
 lieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every 
 good work. 
 
 11 But the younger widows refuse : for when they have 
 begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry ; 
 
 profane is honourable. Such ef&eacy is there in the feet of the 
 saints that when they shake off the dust of their feet, they inflict 
 punishment. When a saint is amongst us, let us not be ashamed 
 of anything that belongs to him. And all are saints who unite a 
 holy life with a right faith ; and though they do not work miracles, 
 nor cast out devils, still they are saints." 
 
 Of course it would now be impossible to revive this custom, but 
 it may be some consolation to remember that the deaconesses who 
 work in our hospitals, and our nursing sisterhoods, do work far more 
 menial than this. 
 
 "If she have relieved the afflicted." The words imply much 
 more than merely relieving by alms. 
 
 " If she have diligently followed every good work." Many are 
 the good works which the Christian can do to his fellows besides 
 these. So St. Paul, by these words, would sanction the admission 
 of a widow who had devoted herself to any good work for the sake of 
 Christ and His Church. 
 
 11. " But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun 
 to wax wanton," &q. " Eefuse " — i.e., decline to put on the roll of 
 Church widows. This can scarcely mean *' refuse to give any 
 assistance to them in the time of their distress." 
 
 What would the Apostle have thought of a system which requires 
 young women, sometimes very young women, to devote themselves 
 to a so-called religious life, which, in order to prevent them giving 
 scandal, virtually imprisons them for life ? 
 
 We cannot but gather from this that those who were enrolled (or 
 taken into the number) were to be considered as dedicated to God 
 in an especial way ; and if they declined from this life, and went 
 again back into the world, they occasioned great scandal, and on this 
 very account St. Paul lays down that all marriageable young 
 widows — in fact, all young women — were to be be refused entrance 
 into a society in which it would be a scandal — a breach of promise 
 ■ — if they married, as a dereliction of duties which were by him 
 considered only compatible with a single life. 
 
Chap, v.] THEY LEARN TO BE IDLE. 239 
 
 12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their 
 first faith. 
 
 13 ** And withal they learn to he idle, wandering « 2 Thess.iii. 
 about from house to house ; and not only idle, 
 
 but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things 
 which they ought not. 
 
 14 ' I will therefore that the younger women ' i Cor. vU. 9. 
 
 12. *• Damnation ; " t. e. '* condemnation." 
 14. " Younger women ; " perhaps " widows." 
 
 " To wax wanton against Christ " is explained by Chrysostom to 
 become scornful and luxurious. 
 
 12. " Having damnation." Damnation is not eternal damnation, 
 but rather judgment in the sense of condemnation. " Being con- 
 demned, because they have," &c. 
 
 " Because they have cast off their first faith." Most commen- 
 tators explain this in the sense of " because they have violated their 
 first pledge of remaining in widowhood, in order that they may the 
 better further the work of Christ." It cannot well mean because 
 they have apostatized from the Gospel they received at the first. 
 Faith must here mean fidelity to a promise or trust. 
 
 13. " And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from 
 house to house." Thus he commands not only men but women 
 also to work. For idleness is the teacher of all sin. What, then, 
 happens where the care of the husband is withdrawn, and the care 
 to please God does not restrain them ? They naturally become 
 idlers, tatlers, and busybodies. For he who attends not to his own 
 concerns will be meddling with those of others, even as he who 
 minds his own business will take no account of, and have no care 
 about the affairs of another (Chrysostom). 
 
 14. " I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear 
 children." Here we have this great teacher of religion laying 
 down what he wills or desires respecting these young women, and 
 it is that they should lead domestic lives. But is this all ? May 
 not a woman lead a very domestic life without reference to Christ ? 
 Certainly ; and, of course, what the Apostle wills is that what he 
 has taught elsewhere respecting domestic duties should be taken 
 into full account here. He had taught respecting servants that 
 
240 GUIDE THE HOUSE. [I. Tm. 
 
 marry, bear cMldren, guide the house, " give none occasion to 
 « ch. vi. 1. the adversary f to speak reproachfully. 
 t Gr for their 15 For some are already turned aside after 
 '•"^'^'^' Satan. 
 
 16 If any man or woman that belie veth have 
 
 widows, let them relieve them, and let not the 
 * ver. iii. 5. church be charged ; that it may relieve * them 
 
 that are widows indeed. 
 
 16. " If any man or woman that believeth have widows." So D., Z., L., most Cursives ; 
 but S, A., C, F.. G., P., three Cursives, Vulg. (Amiat.), Copt., Arm., read, " If any 
 TToman that believeth hath widows." 
 
 what they did they should do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not 
 unto men. And so here he undoubtedly desires that wives should 
 submit themselves unto their own husband as unto the Lord — i.e., 
 Christ, " for the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the 
 Head of the Church, and He is the Saviour of the body " (Ephes. 
 V. 23). 
 
 " Bear children " — that is, not out of a perverse asceticism live 
 in the married state as if they were in the single state. 
 
 " Guide the house," as if it was a part of Christ's great household, 
 the Church. 
 
 Giving "none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully "^ 
 — i.e., to compare them with virtuous heathen women to their 
 disadvantage, or on account of their reviling or slandering, a sin 
 which idle, gadding women were almost sure to fall into. 
 
 15. *' For some are already turned aside to Satan." And yet in 
 the censures he had passed upon these widows he had mentioned 
 no crime, nor anything which we should at this day account a 
 serious fall. Perhaps, however, by these words he means to indi- 
 cate there had already been serious falls, perhaps from the pro- 
 fession of the faith, perhaps from the faith itself, perhaps from 
 purity. 
 
 16. *• If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them 
 relieve them" — that is, have near relations that have lost their 
 husbands, and are in a state of distress, and they (the believing 
 relatives) are able to support them. The Church fund is to be 
 
Chap, v.] WORTHY OF DOUBLE HONOUR. 241 
 
 17 "Let the elders that rule well ""be counted « Rom. xii. 8. 
 worthy of double honour, especially they who i4. Gai.'vi.'e. 
 labour in the word and doctrine. i Thess. v.' 12, 
 
 13. Heb. xiii. 
 
 7,17. 
 
 ~~~ i Acts xxviii. 
 
 10. 
 
 carefully husbanded, or it will not be able to support those who 
 have no other means of support. 
 
 17. " Let the elders that rule weU be counted worthy of double 
 honour." The words " that rule well " rather mean *' that preside 
 well," and refer to the standing before ih.e congregation, and con- 
 ducting the service of the Church. We need be in no doubt about 
 this, because the worship of the Christian congregations is described 
 by Justin Martyr (a.d. 150) in these terms : " Having ended the 
 prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought 
 to the president of the brethren (tTrfira Trpoo-^t'ofrai r^ TrooeaTuiTi tCjv 
 a^tk(pS)v aprof, &c.) bread and a cup of wine mixed with water, and 
 he taking them gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, 
 through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers 
 thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to 
 receive these things at his hands," &c. (Justin, Apol. i. 65). 
 
 This gives a perfectly adequate explanation. It has generally 
 been explained as if there were a body of elders, all equal, some of 
 whom ruled, and some did not ; and that some of those who ruled 
 laboured in the word and doctrine, and some did not ; and those 
 who united both qualifications were to have double honour (as 
 some explain, a double honorarium) ; but there is not the smallest 
 evidence that the body of elders were thus divided. If anyone 
 takes the trouble to look into any of the most ancient types of 
 Liturgy (i.e., of Eucharistic Liturgy) which have come down to us,. 
 he will see that to render such acts of prayer and praise and thanks- 
 giving well would be no easy task, especially as it is very probable 
 that they were transmitted orally, rather than written. For further 
 remarks on this I desire to refer the reader to my note on Rom. xii. 8, 
 and to an Excursus on Apostolic Traditions at the end of the volume 
 of notes on the Epistles to the Corinthians. The meaning I have given 
 solves the difficulty of there having been two sorts of elders in one 
 college, one ruling, and the other not, of which institution not a 
 trace has come down to us, whereas, in a large city like Ephesus, 
 tliere must have been numerous smaU congregations (for the Chris- 
 
 B 
 
242 THE SCRIPTURE SAITH. [I. Tim. 
 
 y Deut. XXV. 4. 18 For the Scripture saith, ^ Thou shalt not 
 muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, 
 
 « Lev. xix. 13. z Tiie labourer is worthy of his reward. 
 
 Deut. xxiv. 14, -' 
 
 15. Matt. X. 
 
 10. Luke X. 7. 
 
 18. " Treadeth out." "Whilst he is treading oat." 
 
 tians must have then worshipped in the larger rooms of private 
 houses), each of which would require its TrpoecrTuig for its worship.^ 
 
 " Especially they who labour in the word and doctrine." The 
 best explanation I have seen is that of Chrysostom : " These are the 
 men whom he wishes to be honoured most of all, and he adds the 
 reason — for they sustain great labour. For when one is neither 
 watchful nor diligent, but merely sits in his stall, easy and uncon- 
 cerned, whilst another wears himself out with anxiety and exertion, 
 especially if he is ignorant of profane literature, ought not the latter 
 to be honoured above all others, who more than others gives him- 
 self up to such labours ? For he is exposed to numberless tongues. 
 One censures him, another praises him, a third mocks him, another 
 finds fault with his memory and his composition ; and it requires 
 great strength of mind to endure all this." 
 
 18. " For the Scripture saith. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that 
 treadeth," &c. This is a citation of Deut. xxv. 4, and is quoted by 
 the Apostle in 1 Corinth, ix. 9, where see note. 
 
 " And the labourer is worthy of his reward." This is a saying of 
 the Lord's, and is probably quoted by St. Paul from St. Luke's 
 Gospel (x. 7). It has been alleged that a Gospel would not at so 
 early a date as this be called " Scripture," but would it not be 
 Scripture ? "Was not the inspiration of St. Luke as great a gift to 
 the Church as that of Moses ? ^ We have noticed how such a passage 
 as Coloss. iii. 16 presupposes that St. Paul's converts were acquainted 
 with one at least of the Gospels, probably St. Luke's ; anyhow it is 
 clear that long before this the converts were acquainted with many 
 of the sayings of Christ. If this saying of Christ will be acted upon 
 
 ' The above explanation is equally consonant with the sort of worship which prevails 
 amongst Presbyterians now. If there was united worship of any sort, there must be some 
 one to conduct it, and that was the proestos. 
 
 2 Again in 2 Pet. iii. 16, the epistles of St. Paul are classed as Scripture, where it is 
 said that " evil men convert them as they do the other Scripture to their own destruction." 
 Many, however, suppose that the words were a proverbial saying, and used by our Lord 
 as signifying a commonly acknowledged truth. 
 
CiiAP. v.] REBUKE BEFORE ALL. 243 
 
 19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but || * before 
 two or three witnesses. U ^'^' ^''^'^^ 
 
 20 ^ Them that sin rebuke before all, '^ that b Gai. u. n, 
 others also may fear. ^ Deut.xiii.i'i. 
 
 20. "Them that sin." So N, K., L., P., most Cursives, Vulg., Copt,, Syr., &c. ; but 
 A., D., d, f, g, read, " but them that siu" (5e). 
 
 in the day of judgment, as assuredly it will, what will become of 
 those who have given nothing for the sustentation of their own 
 ministers, as well as nothing for the sustentation of those who have 
 devoted themselves to that first duty of the Church, to preach the 
 Gospel to every creature. 
 
 19. " Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two 
 or three witnesses." An elder most probably means a presbyter, 
 not an elderly person. Here again the Apostle quotes Deut. xix. 
 15 : " At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three 
 witnesses, shall the matter be established." But ought not the same 
 precaution against false accusation be taken with everyone, whether 
 elder or not ? To which we reply that Timothy was not to be the 
 judge of every individual, but of the clergy ; and the same rule was 
 to be observed with respect to accusations against them, as God by 
 Moses had commanded with respect to all others. The Apostle de- 
 precates a severer rule against them, which some might have advo- 
 cated with the intention of keeping the ministry purer. 
 
 St. Chrysostom, however, understands it of elder men, not of the 
 presbyters. 
 
 20. '* Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." 
 This would seem to allude to the presbyters or overseers, notwith- 
 standing the words, " Rebuke not an elder." 
 
 Of course the sin alluded to must be open sin, and from the parti- 
 ciple used it is not some sudden fall but a continued habit. Words- 
 worth and others suppose that it is heresy, citing part of St. Paul's 
 address to the Ephesian elders in Acts xx. 29, 30, " Also of your 
 own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things ; " and St. 
 Paul would undoubtedly consider this as sinful, as he writes to 
 Titus (iii. 10, 11), "A man that is an heretic, after the first and 
 second admonition, reject. Knowing that he that is such is sub- 
 verted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." Still I cannot 
 help thinking that if the Apostle had meant heresy, or indeed in- 
 
244 I CHARGE THEE BEFORE GOD. [I.Tim. 
 
 21*1 charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 d ch. vi. 13. and the elect angels, that thou observe these 
 & iv. i. ■ * things II without preferring one before another, 
 S^r^/wS?""* doing nothing by partiality. 
 
 21. "The Lord Jesus Christ." a. A., D., G., 17, 31, 73, d, f, g, Vnlg., Sah., Copt, 
 omit "Lord ;" but K., L., P., &c., retain. 
 
 eluded heresy under the word " sinneth," he would have plainly 
 said so. 
 
 The rebuke before all is a public rebuke before the Church. As 
 Augustine says, " Therefore those sins are to be reproved before all 
 which are committed before all, but they are to be reproved mcwre 
 secretly which are committed more secretly." 
 
 21. "I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 the elect angels," &c. This place is important, as showing the 
 extraordinarily high place in his theology which the Apostle 
 attaches to the presence of angels, not only in heaven but in the 
 Church. It is parallel to what he said in 1 Corinth, xi. 10, " For 
 this cause ought the woman to have power (rather a sign of subjec- 
 tion) on her head because of the angels ; " and that we " have 
 come to Mount Zion . . . and to an innumerable company of 
 angels " (Heb. xii. 22), and that one of the articles of the mystery 
 of godUness was that Christ was " seen of angels." We may not 
 understand all about what is said of these ministering spirits, but 
 one thing we are taught very plainly, which is, that the Apostle 
 held them not to inhabit an infinitely distant heaven, but to be in 
 our assemblies upon earth, so that if our eyes, like those of the 
 servant of the prophet, were opened, we should see these wonderful 
 beings bright like fire on every side of us (2 Kings vi. 17). 
 
 The "elect" angels — those who stood under some temptation 
 with which God suffered them to be assailed, and from that time 
 have been His chosen — i.e.. His elect servants. He chose them be- 
 cause they stood in the fiery trial and fell not away. 
 
 It is perfectly certain that St. Paul considered them to be present, 
 and so witnesses of his charge or adjuration. 
 
 " That thou observe these things without preferring one before 
 another," that thou deal impartially and equally between those 
 who are upon trial, and are to be judged by thee, that no one may 
 preoccupy thy mind, or gain thee over to his side beforehand. 
 
Chap, v.] KEEP THYSELF PURE. 245 
 
 22 ^Lay hands suddenly on no man, ^neither be partaker 
 of other men's sins : keep thyself pure. « Acts vi. e. & 
 
 T 1 • xiii. 3. ch.iv. 
 
 23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine u. 2 Tim. i. 6, 
 ^for thy stomach's sake and thine often in- g psI'civ.Ts. 
 firmities. 
 
 22. " Partaker of." ** Partaker in." 
 
 How strong aU this is against preference on any ground except 
 that of merit ; against preference because of party considerations, 
 or family ties, or prejudice, which would prevent a Bishop looking 
 on all sides, and taking every circumstance into account. 
 
 22. *'■ Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partakers of 
 other men's sins," &c. This has been explained by the ancient in- 
 terpreters, and most of the modern ones, as referring to ordination. 
 He was not to ordain any one hastily, or without very searching 
 examination as to his previous life and conduct. "What is 
 suddenly ? Not upon a first, nor a second, nor a third trial, but 
 after frequent and strict examination and circumspection. I need 
 hardly remind the reader that in one of our Ember prayers we pray 
 that the bishops may observe this rule, that they may '* lay hands 
 suddenly on no man, but faithfully and wisely make choice of fit 
 persons to serve in the sacred ministry of God's Church." 
 
 Some have supposed the place to refer to an ancient custom of 
 laying on of hands in absolution, but if so, it would seem out of 
 place here. 
 
 " Neither be partakers of other men's sins." Which ha would 
 be if he admitted to holy orders men of unsound doctrines, or of 
 evil life. "It is an affair of no common peril. For thou wilt be 
 responsible for the sins committed by him, as well his past as his 
 future sins, because thou hast delegated to him this power." 
 
 " Keep thyself pure." Taking what goes before into account, 
 this seems to mean, " In ordaining men to the ministry, keep thy- 
 self pure from unworthy motives. Look not upon the sins of those 
 whom thou ordainest carelessly but as in some real way defiling 
 thee if thou hast not used every precaution to ascertain their fit- 
 ness." Chrysostom says that he writes this with reference to 
 chastity. This seems at first unlikely, but we are to remember 
 the " with all purity " of verse 2. 
 
 23. "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy 
 
246 SINS OPEN BEFOREHAND. [I.Tim. 
 
 24 ^ Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before 
 h Gal. V. 19. to judgment ; and some men they follow after. 
 
 stomach's sake." This should be rendered, " Be no longer a water 
 drinker," i.e., a total abstainer ; which, apparently from this, St. 
 Timothy had hitherto been. If his frequent infirmities occa- 
 sioned his inabiHty at times to fulfil the work of his ministry, it 
 was clearly his duty to use that gift of God, which God himself 
 had given, to make glad 'the heart of man ; that is, to save it 
 from undue depression, which would hinder him in fulfilling his 
 vocation. 
 
 It has been asked, seeing that the application to men's bodies of 
 the handkerchiefs or aprons which had merely touched the body of 
 the Apostle healed sickness and disease, why did not the Apostle 
 by his power of healing keep Timothy for the Church's sake in per- 
 fect health ? To which we answer, such was not the will of God. 
 The gifts of healing, as most other gifts, were for the sake of un- 
 believers, that seeing them, or experiencing them, they might be 
 compelled to listen at least to the Gospel ; and it is probable that 
 in all cases those who had gifts of healing had secret intimations 
 from God on whom to exercise them and on whom not. Thus in 
 Phil. ii. 27, we learn that Epaphroditus was sick "nigh unto 
 death," and was restored to health not by miracle, but in the 
 course of the ordinary providence of God. 
 
 24. " Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to 
 judgment," &c. The sins of some are so gross and palpable, conduct- 
 ing, as it were, to condemnation, that no minute or searching in- 
 vestigation is required, but the sins of others, who are evidently 
 unfit for the ministry, are not so palpable. They do not publicly 
 proclaim the unworthiness of those guilty of them, but must be in- 
 vestigated. Chrysostom treats this as following closely on verse 22 
 (verse 23 being in a sort of parenthesis), " He had said, ' Be not 
 partakers of other men's sins.' But what, he might say, if I be 
 ignorant of them ? Why, ' Some men's sins are open before,' &c. 
 Some men's, he means, are manifest because tbey go before whilst 
 others are unknown, because they follow after." It seems to me 
 clear that the sins which ' follow after ' manifestly deteriorate the 
 character of the candidate for ordination, but what they are actually 
 may not be known, but, if possible, must be found out. 
 
Chap. VI.] GOOD WORKS MANIFEST. 247 
 
 25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest 
 beforehand ; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid. 
 
 25. "Likewise also the good works of some are manifest before- 
 hand," &c. As it is with sins, so with good works. They are 
 manifest beforehand, and so prove the fitness of him who seeks 
 admission into the ministry ; and they that are otherwise — that is, 
 are not so openly manifest — will yet soon come to light. 
 
 Blunt says, on this latter clause : " In the same way the ' good 
 works ' of some are conspicuous, and of those which are not so 
 they cannot be hid from a Bishop who takes measures for ascer- 
 taining the character of those who come to him for ordination." 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 T ' 
 
 ET as many * servants as are under the yoke » Eph. vi. 5. 
 it their own masters worthy of all Tk.' illV"'" 
 that the name of God and Ms doctrine b is. hi. 5. 
 be not blasphemed. ^uKxX 1' 
 
 1. " Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own 
 masters," &c. Again the Apostle returns to the subject of the duties 
 of servants, or rather slaves, taking no notice, as in the Epistles to 
 the Ephesians and Colossians, of the duties of children. The reason, 
 no doubt, is contained in the words, " that the Name of God and 
 his doctrine be not blasphemed." Nothing would bring more 
 scandal on Christianity than the thought that the Uberty of all 
 Christians in Christ emancipated Christian slaves from their duties 
 to their masters. 
 
 " Let as many servants (slaves) as are under the yoke count," 
 &c. This seems to imply that some were under the yoke, and 
 some not, whereas it should be translated (as Eevisers) " as many 
 as are slaves under the yoke." 
 
 " Count their own masters worthy of aU honour." There was 
 especial danger that this would be neglected in a society like the 
 
248 RATHER DO THEM SERVICE. [I. Tm. 
 
 2 And they that have believing masters, let them not 
 • Col. iv. 1. despise them, " because they are brethren ; but 
 u Or, believing, rather do them service, because they are |1 faith- 
 d ch. iv. 11. ful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. ** These 
 
 things teach and exhort, 
 ech. i. 3. 3 If any man ^ teach otherwise, and consent 
 
 Church, which in so many places had its roots in the synagogue, 
 for, as Bishop Wordsworth shows, "their Eabbis taught that it was 
 a sinful thing to own any mortal master, and to be bondservants to 
 heathen. The Apostle, therefore, had a difficult task to perform- 
 in vindicating on the one side the great doctrine of Christian liberty 
 against some of the Judaizers, and in asserting and upholding the 
 duty of Christian subjection, on the other hand, against those of the 
 same class, who abused the sacred name of liberty into a plea for 
 licentiousness." 
 
 2. " And they that have believing masters, let them not despise 
 them," &c. It would be a great temptation to a slave brought 
 under the redemption of Christ, and therefore into the liberty of 
 the Gospel, to regard himself as now upon an equality with his 
 master in matters of this world ; but it must not. be, Christianity 
 had not yet abolished slavery, and would not for a thousand years 
 and many more ; so that still the slave was the property of his 
 master ; and no one more nobly realized this than St. Paul, as we 
 see from his letter to Philemon : " Whom," he says, respecting 
 Onesimus, " I would have retained, that in thy stead he might have 
 ministered unto me in the bonds of the Gospel. But without thy 
 mind I wOuld do nothing, that thy benefit should not be as it were 
 of necessity, but willingly " (verses 14, 15). 
 
 " But rather do them service, because they are," &c. This should 
 rather be translated, as Revisers, " but let them serve them the 
 rather, because they that partake of the benefit are believing and 
 beloved." What is the benefit? Some suppose it to be the 
 beneficial labour of the slaves, others the benefits of Christ's 
 redemption. 
 
 3. " If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome 
 words, even the words," &c. *' Teach otherwise," teach that 
 Christianity raises all men to a dead level of equality in this 
 world, " and consent not to wholesome words." 
 
Chap. VI.] WHOLESOME WORDS. 249 
 
 ^ not to wholesome words, even the words of our ^ ch. i. lo. 
 
 , . , . 2 Tim. i. 13. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, ^ and to the doctrine which is & iv. 3. Tit, 
 
 1.9. 
 
 according to godliness ; g Tit. 1. 1. 
 
 4 He is II proud, ^knowing nothing, but || doting J ^^^^/^^^^^ ^ 
 about ^ questions and strifes of words, whereof 
 Cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 
 
 ch. i. 7. 
 II Or, sick. 
 i ch. i. 4. 
 2 Tim. ii. 23. 
 Tit. iii. 9. 
 
 " The words of our Lord Jesus Christ." Not necessarily meaning 
 those which were spoken by Him — for in His discourses which 
 have come down to us there is little or nothing respecting the 
 relative duties of masters and slaves — but such as bear upon them 
 the stamp of His authority : along with His own, therefore, those 
 also of His divinely commissioned Apostles and Evangehsts. (Fair- 
 bairn.) 
 
 It is noteworthy, however, and it may be that the Apostle means 
 this, that all the words of the Lord are on the side of submission, 
 even to human authority. Thus He speaks of the submission of 
 servants, or slaves, as a matter of course, in His parable in Luke 
 xvii. 7. But it is mostly on the negative side of what has come 
 down to us of His teaching that its " wholesomeness " is apparent ; 
 thus He was always denouncing the worldliness and irreligion of 
 the rich, even to the extent of saying, " How hardly shall a rich 
 man enter into the kingdom of God ; " He was ever exposing the 
 false pretensions of the Scribes and Pharisees, and yet there is 
 nothing revolutionary in His teaching, in fact nothing approaching 
 to such a thing — a man who accepted it would take the lowest 
 place, knowing that it was only at the Second Coming that the 
 Judge would say to him, " Friend, go up higher." 
 
 4. " He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions 
 and strife of words," &c. "He is proud " — his teaching proceeds 
 from out of himself, and is the reflection of himself, and so is self- 
 asserting, not deeming for a moment that he has, or can have, any 
 superior. 
 
 " Knowing nothing " (that is, having no right judgment of any- 
 thing) as he ought to know it. 
 
 "Doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh 
 envy, strife," &c. If a man's mind is full of small questions and 
 distractions about minor matters, it cannot have a due and proper 
 
250 DESTITUTE OF THE TRUTH. [I. Tim. 
 
 I' 1 Cor. xi. 16. 5 *" II Perverse disputings of ^men of corrupt 
 
 (I Or, Callings minds, and destitute of the truth, ^ supposing" 
 
 Tt^im^lu. 8? ^^^^ &^i^ is godliness : ° from such withdraw 
 
 m Tit. i. 11. thyself. 
 
 2 Pet. ii. 3. *^ 
 
 nRom.xvi.17. 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 5. 
 
 6. " From 8nch withdraw thyself" omitted by N, A., D., F., G., d, f, g, Vnlg., &e. ; but 
 retained by K., L., P., and most Cnrsives. 
 
 grasp or hold of the great articles of the Faith, such as the Person 
 and work of the Eternal Son, His Incarnation, Atonement, and 
 Headship over His mystical Body: for the dwelling upon these 
 dwarfs all other things. And then such contemplation humbles the 
 mind. Such amazing revelations convince the mind of its own 
 littleness and abase it so that there is no room in it for envy, 
 strife, railings, and evil surmisings. Such things are engendered 
 by the dwelling upon what is comparatively little, not upon what 
 is infinitely great. 
 
 5. " Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute 
 of the truth." " Perverse disputings." Some translate this " stub- 
 born contention," others (as Revisers) " wranglings." The marginal 
 reading is "gallings one of another." 
 
 " Destitute of the "Iruth, supposing that gain is godliness." 
 "Being destitute of the truth, more especially of the Truth Incar- 
 nate, they suppose that godliness is gain. The translation, " gain 
 is godliness," is given up by all, and indeed it is contrary to the 
 truth, for no one has ever supposed, or could suppose, that gain — 
 the making of money — was godliness, but St. Paul considers that 
 all false teachers of his day held that godliness was gain, and 
 might be lawfully used to gain wealth and worldly advantage. 
 Bishop Wordsworth very ingeniously connects this with the 
 " teaching otherwise," or teaching different doctrines to the obe- 
 dience inculcated in the first and second verses : " The false 
 teachers ingratiated themselves with slaves and other dependents, 
 by flattering them that because all men are equal and brethren in 
 Christ, therefore they need not be subject to their masters ; or 
 that if they were subject they had a claim to greater temporal 
 advantage than they enjoyed ; and thus they excited slaves to dis- 
 obedience, and made the profession of the Gospel to be a matter of 
 secular trafi&c and worldly In ere." 
 
Chap. VI.] FOOD AND EAIMENT. 251 
 
 6 But ° srodliness with contentment is e^reat ° Ps. xxxvii. 
 
 ° ^ 16. Pror. XT. 
 
 gam. 16. & xvi. 8. 
 
 7 For P we brought nothing into this world, and p job i. 21. 
 
 it is certain we can carry nothing out. Prov.'?xvi?.'24. 
 
 8 And ^having food and raiment let us be ^"^'«^s. v. 15. 
 
 "-^ q &en. xxviii. 
 
 therewith content. 20. Heb. xiii. 
 
 5. 
 
 7. "And it is certain." So K., L., P., most Cursives; but N, A., F., G., g, Vulg., 
 Sah., read, "because" (otj). 
 
 6. " But godliness with contentment is great gain." He had 
 said of these evil teachers that they supposed that godliness is 
 gain, and lest they should mistake him he now tells them that 
 there is a true and blessed sense in which godUness is gain. It is 
 gain when united with contentment, for the godly man considers 
 that all his life is allotted to him by God, so that he knows " how 
 to be abased, and how to abound." In all things he is instructed 
 •' both to be full and to be hungry, to abound and to suffer need " 
 (Phil. iv. 12). Whatever his heavenly Father gives he receives 
 with thankfulness ; whatever He withholds he beheves it to be 
 for some good purpose. 
 
 7. " For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we 
 can carry nothing," &c. That is, we can carry nothing out into 
 the eternal world which we keep during our lives, but whatever we 
 part with for some good and holy purpose, as to the poor for 
 Christ's sake, tJiat we carry out with us, or else we should not be 
 able to lay up treasures in heaven, as the Lord commanded. The 
 Eevisers translate, "we brought nothing into this world, for 
 neither can we carry anything out." This has little sense, but 
 has been accepted as being the more difficult reading. " Taking the 
 passage as it stands in the best supported form (that is, that of the 
 Revisers), the Apostle not merely says that we both enter and 
 leave the world in a state of destitution as to worldly goods, but 
 that the one is ordered with a certain respect to the other— thus 
 having a lesson embodied in our very birth, in order that we might 
 keep in view the solemn exemplification it was to find at the hour 
 of death " (Fairbairn). 
 
 8. "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." 
 There seems here a reminiscence of the Lord's words in the Sermon 
 on the Mount. " Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought foi 
 
252 FOOLISH AND HURTFUL LUSTS. [I.Tim. 
 
 9 But ""they that will be rich fall into temptation ^and 
 «■ Prov. XV. 27. a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful 
 xxvii'i. 20. lusts, * which drown men in destruction and 
 
 Matt. xiii. 22. _ . . 
 
 Jam. V. 1. perdition. 
 
 ' ch' i"'i9* 1^ '^ ^^^ *^® ^^^® ^* money is the root of all 
 
 uEx. xxiii 8. evil : which while some coveted after, they have 
 
 B Or. been || crrcd from the faith, and pierced themselves 
 
 seduced. through with many sorrows. 
 
 your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for 
 your body, what ye shall put on ... . Your heavenly Father 
 knoweth that ye have need of all these things " (Matth. vi. 25). 
 
 9. *' But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare," 
 &c. This must be translated, " They that desire to be rich : they 
 who wish to be rich." Not those who are rich, as Chrysostom says, 
 but they who wish to be. For a man may have money, and make 
 a good use of it, not overvaluing it, but bestowing it upon the 
 poor. 
 
 " Fall into temptation and a snare," that is, to increase what 
 they have by unlawful means (in our day, to ga^mble with it) and 
 to " withhold from him to whom it is due." 
 
 " And into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in 
 destruction," &c. " Destruction and perdition." The first of these 
 has been said to refer to the destruction of the body, the last to 
 everlasting perdition, but without any reason being given. "OXeOpog 
 is joined by the Apostle in 2 Thess. i. 9 with aiojvioQ. 
 
 10. " For the love of money is the root of all evil." This seems 
 to ascribe too much to the love of money, and so it is noticed that 
 " root " has no article, and is therefore rendered by many " The love 
 of money is a root of all evil." Alford renders it " the love of money 
 is the root of all manner of evil," but I think we may venture to 
 understand it as meaning covetousness, which is evil desire, which is 
 unquestionably the root of all evil. It was the covetous desires of 
 our first parents which brought sin into the world. The Apostle's 
 words are to be taken not so much literally as naturally. He had 
 been laying down that certain false teachers supposed godliness to 
 be gain. The Apostle asserted that it was gain when united with 
 contentment. This leads him to say that the truly godly man will 
 
Chap. VI.] FLEE THESE THINGS. 253 
 
 11 ''But thou, ''0 man of God, flee these things; and 
 follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, ' Rom. ii. 22. 
 
 .• t 7 Deut. xxxiii, 
 
 patience, meekness. 1. 2. Tim. iii. 
 
 17. 
 
 be contented with very little. This naturally leads him to speak 
 of the danger of the inordinate desire for riches, and his mind 
 being full for the time of this form of evil desire, he says it is the 
 root of all evil. And if the love of money is taken to represent 
 that evil desire of which it is the most prominent sort or species, it 
 may be taken to be as no one other evil thing in man is, the root of 
 all evil. There is certainly no root of bitterness which has occasioned 
 so much misery. Undue sexual desire has, in most cases, it3 
 remedy, but covetousness seems to be all-pervading. The Apostle 
 has now rising before him the cases of a vast number of spiritual 
 mariners who have been wrecked on this shoal — some have erred 
 from the faith, others, who may have come short of such a fall, have 
 lost contentment, and with it all happiness of this life. With 
 respect to the latter, the " piercing themselves through with many 
 sorrows," Chrysostom says, " To learn how true this is, the only 
 way is to sojourn with the rich, to see how many are their 
 sorrows, how bitter their complaints." 
 
 11. "But thou, man of God, flee these things; and follow after 
 righteousness," &c. In the words, *' Thou, man of God," does 
 St. Paul speak to Timothy, as being, as it is supposed, a prophet, 
 and therefore worthy of the designation, "man of God," so frequently 
 given to the prophets ; or does he not rather speak perfectly gene- 
 rally, and exhort every one who professed godhness to flee 
 coveteousness ? I should have thought the latter ; but the second 
 part of the next verse is evidently addressed to Timothy per- 
 sonally. 
 
 " Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
 meekness." It is to be noticed that here, as in several other places, 
 in this list of virtues or graces, faith is not put the first — it occupies 
 here the third place ; in 2 Tim. ii. 22, the second ; in Gal. v. 22 it 
 is the seventh out of nine. Now why is this, for St. Paul evidently 
 held it to be the means of justification ; and in the next verse, the 
 Christian contest is called the "fight of faith"? Evidently be. 
 cause St. Paul was not under the bondage of that modern Evan- 
 gelical system which makes a man an offender for a word ; which 
 
254 LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE. [I.Tim. 
 
 «^i Cor. ix. 25, 12 ^ Fight the good fight of faith, ^ lay hold on 
 
 2 Tim. iv.' 7. eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, ^ and 
 
 14. Ur!*i9. ' hast professed a good profession before many 
 
 bHeb.xiii.23. witnesses. 
 
 treats him as unsound and unsaved, if he puts sanctification or love 
 first. Now the Apostle had no care for these niceties, and he was 
 right, for supposing that a man was sincerely desirous to please 
 God, and so began, without due regard to the claims of faith, to 
 pursue righteousness, one of the first things that God would teach 
 him would he that it was unattainable except through a living 
 faith in the Son of God, in His Person and Work, and by that he 
 would lay hold on Christ's strength. 
 
 12. "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." 
 Faith, rather ihe faith (Revisers). Fight the good fight of the 
 faith — i.e., the Christian deposit. The one faith in the One Lord, 
 professed at the one Baptism, has to be contended for. '* Earnestly 
 contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints " (Jude), 
 and never in the history of the Church has it more earnestly to be 
 contended for than at this time. 
 
 The faith is not a mere abstraction, but the faith of, the be- 
 lieving in, the holding fast to certain facts — the Incarnation, Death, 
 and Resurrection, and Second Coming of the Eternal Son. There 
 is always some attack being made upon these. Men of eminence 
 as Christian officials, insinuate that the Incarnation and Resurrec- 
 tion may be according to natural laws. They proclaim openly 
 that Redemption and its consequences are part of the natural 
 order of things; they say that so-called behevers will not be judged 
 for the things done in the body, they more than hesitate about the 
 Death as atoning in any special sense. So that we must fight — 
 fight by prayer and argument and bold confession of the truth — for 
 the Faith. 
 
 "Lay hold on eternal life." But had not Timothy laid hold on 
 eternal life long before this ? Did he not lay hold on it when he 
 was converted? Was it not assured to him, when he was baptised, 
 if his baptism was like that of his fellow Christians, a Death, 
 Burial, and Resurrection with Christ ? Yes ; but the laying hold 
 on eternal life is constant, is continuous. Timothy, if any man 
 ever was, was saved when St. Paul wrote to him : "In doing this 
 Ihou slialt both save thyself and them that hear thee." 
 
Chap. VI.] BEFORE PONTIUS PILATE. 255 
 
 13 '^ I give tliee charge in the sight of Grod, « ch. t. 21. 
 ^who quickeneth all things, and hefore Christ 39. ^?sJln!*2,' 
 Jesus, ®who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a e'Matt'.Vxvu!* 
 good II confession ; ij; ^i^^^; 
 
 14 That thou keep ihis commandment without ^ '"• ^'^• 
 
 II Or, 
 vrofi 
 
 13. ♦* Quickeneth." So {<, K., L., most Cursives ; but A., D., F., G., P., and six Cur- 
 sives, read, " keepeth alive." 
 
 " Whereunto thou art also called." When he first heard the 
 Gospel. 
 
 " And hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." 
 Either at his baptism, at which we know, from 1 Pet. iii. 21, there 
 was always made the answer of a good conscience towards God, or 
 at his Ordination. 
 
 It is not a good profession, but the good profession, as if it was 
 one well known in the Church. 
 
 13. " I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all 
 things," &c. God Who quickens all things at the last day, and will 
 then render to good confessors the reward of their profession in the 
 face of bonds and death. 
 
 "And before Jesus Christ, who before Pontius Pilate," &c. 
 *' Before" may either mean "in the presence of," or "during the 
 time of." If the former, it was that He was a king — a king Whose 
 kingdom was not of this world — that in this capacity He bore 
 witness to the truth, the eternal truth of God, Whose word was 
 pledged to bring in a kingdom of righteousness. 
 
 Or if it means "in the time of Pontius Pilate," then it includes 
 all which Christ said of Himself as the Son of God — the Way, the 
 Truth, and the Life, the Kedeemer and Judge of all ; and particu- 
 larly we may single out His confession before the chief Priest and 
 rulers : "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ? " "I am, 
 and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, 
 and coming in the clouds of heaven " (Mark xiv. 62). It was this 
 confession which enabled them to crucify Him. 
 
 14. "That thou keep this commandment without spot, un- 
 rebukeable, until," &c. " This commandment " may either be the 
 commandment to flee from covetousness, and fight the good fight 
 of faith, which was of the utmost importance, because covetousness 
 
256 WHO ONLY HATH IMMORTALITY. [L Tim. 
 
 Bpot, unrebukeable, ^ until tlie appearing of our Lord Jesus 
 f Phil. i. 6. 10. Christ : 
 
 1 Xh.6ss iii 13 
 
 & V. 23.' ' 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is 
 gch.i.n 17. gthe blessed and only Potentate, ^the King of 
 
 t Rev.xvii.l4. , ./ ' o 
 
 & xix. 16. kings, and Lord of lords ; 
 
 uh.i. 17. 16 'Who only hath immortality, dwelling in 
 
 the light which no man can approach unto; 
 
 and cowardice in fighting the good fight would destroy all Timothy's 
 power and usefulness ; or some take "commandment " to mean the 
 whole Gospel, which is all in the nature of a command to crucify 
 Bin, and love God. 
 
 As I have frequently mentioned, each and every part of the 
 Gospel has not only to be believed, but to be obeyed. For instance, 
 the obedience to the doctrine of the Cross is not only that we 
 believe in its atoning virtue, but that we " crucify the flesh with its 
 affections and lusts " (Gal. v. 24). 
 
 "Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." Not until the 
 day of thy death, but until the coming of the Lord from heaven. 
 
 15, 16. " Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed 
 and only Potentate." These titles are, it seems to me, ascribed to 
 God the Father ; for it is He only of the Persons of the adorable 
 Trinity of Whom it can be said, "Whom no man hath seen or can 
 see " (John i. 18) ; and yet it is one of the most irrefragable proofs 
 of the Godhead of the Son, for of the Son it is said that He is 
 "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Rev. xvii. 14, xix. 16). 
 " Thou only, Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the 
 glory of God the Father." 
 
 "Who only hath immortality" — that is, inherent endless life. 
 The Son hath life, because as the Father hath life in Himself, so 
 hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John v. 26). The 
 Holy Ghost is the Lord, the Life-Giver, because He proceedeth 
 from the Father and the Son. 
 
 " Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto." All 
 accounts which the Holy Scriptures give us of God unite in this, 
 that He dwelleth in Ught, and reveals His peculiar presence by 
 light — not light intellectual, or light moral only, but light of which 
 that which illuminates the world is a sort of feeble image. Thus 
 God is said to clothe Himself with light as with a garment (Ps. 
 
CuAP. VI.] NO MAN HATH SEEN, OR CAN SEE. 257 
 
 ^whom no man hatli seen, nor can see: ^ to whom L'^'^vY^^"' 
 
 20. John VI. 
 
 be honour and power everlasting. Amen. ^'^• 
 
 17 Charge them that are rich in this world, Phu, iv. 20. * 
 
 that they be not highminded, ™ nor trust in i. 6. & iv. 11. * 
 
 t ^ uncertain riches, but in ° the living God, ^ who m job. xxxi. 
 
 giveth us richly all things to enjoy ; l^ixiu^o."' "* 
 
 Mark x. 24. 
 
 Luke xii. 21. 
 
 t Gr. 
 17. "The living God." So D., E., K., L., most Cursives; but "in ^^^^^^^^^ °^ 
 
 God" (omitting "the living") in a. A., B., C, P., seven or eight „ * • •• ^ 
 
 ^ . „ ° ' ' ' ' ' o n Prov, XX1U.5. 
 
 Cursives, &c. « , rri. • r^ 
 
 ' o 1 Thess. 1. 9, 
 
 ch. iii. 15. & 
 
 civ. 2). The symbol of His presence is a pillar of pAotsxir. 17. 
 fire ; and no created thing, if, indeed, that which & ^vii. 25. 
 beams from Him can be called created, can be greater 
 than the light in which He enshrouds Himself. 
 
 "Whom no man hath seen, or can see." So John i. 18: "No 
 man hath seen God at any time." So John vi. 46 : " Not that 
 any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath 
 Been the Father." 
 
 " To whom be honour and power everlasting." 
 
 17. " Charge them that are rich in this world," &c. We should 
 have thought that the Epistle had ended with this doxology ; but 
 here it seems that the Apostle suddenly remembered that there 
 were among the Ephesian converts many who possessed richer 
 without having coveted them. They had inherited wealth, or God 
 had, contrary to their expectations, blessed their trade, and the 
 increase of their fields ; and so he says a word to their chief pastor 
 respecting these. They may have become rich, or grown rich, 
 without evil desire; but still there was, as the Lord had con- 
 stantly warned men, very great danger in riches — in the mere pos- 
 session of them. Their natural effect was to make men high 
 minded. The world defers to those who possess its good things,, 
 and so, seeing that all around, after a sense, worshipped them,, 
 they would begin to think themselves worthy of this worship, and 
 be proud and disdainful. 
 
 " Nor trust in uncertain riches." Eiches naturally make us 
 trust in them. If we have fixed incomes secured to us by the law, 
 we naturally think that we do not depend upon the good provi- 
 dence of God for our daily bread. So that the poor man who feels 
 
258 READY TO DISTRIBUTE. [I.Tim. 
 
 q Lake xii. 21. 18 That they do good, that " they be rich in 
 Tit.iii. 8. good works, '"ready to distribute, Unwilling to 
 
 Jam. ii. .5. 
 
 -• Rom. xii. 13. commimicate ; 
 
 I Or, sociable. 3^9 t Xiaviiiff UD in store for themselves a good 
 
 s Gal. vi.6. J f=> r O 
 
 Heb. xiii. 16. 
 
 t Matt. vi. 20. 
 
 Luke"xii.'.33. that he depends from day to day on the direct hand 
 & xri. 9. of (3-0(5^ has a daily lesson in faith which the rich 
 
 man has not ; and faith, being constantly exercised, grows and 
 strengthens. 
 
 We are reminded by many commentators that the words of the 
 Apostle, literally translated, are "in the uncertainty of riches ; " but 
 after all it must mean uncertain riches, for we cannot consciously 
 trust in an imcertainty. 
 
 "The living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." 
 Throughout the vast area of the world, excepting such small parts of 
 it as the Arctic regions and the deserts, there is a profusion of things 
 fitted for food and raiment to men who wiU moderately work. 
 God has laid it upon man to work for man's own sake ; for if the 
 human race could live in idleness, they would be given over to the 
 worst vices. But, if he works, man has literally a profusion of 
 things wherewith to feed and clothe himself. Of course there may 
 be such things as over-population, restrictive laws, and the 
 like ; but though certain countries may be over-peopled, the 
 earth, if properly divided and cultivated, would sustain an in- 
 finitely greater population than the present one ; and if man makes 
 laws which interfere with the due course of nature, he has no right 
 to say that God does not richly give us all things to enjoy. 
 
 18. " i'hat they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready 
 to distribute," &c. All these refer to the distribution of wealth ; 
 other duties, of course, remain as they are, and cannot make up for 
 the lack of this use of riches. Neither can they be made up for by 
 seeming liberality. No giving of superfluities will enable an 
 unchaste or dishonest man to enjoy the rewards of the kingdom of 
 God. 
 
 19. " Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation 
 against the time to come," This is a remarkable verse. Many, if 
 they found it in the pages of any other book except the Bible, 
 would denounce it as false doctrine, and they who wrote it as un- 
 enlightened ; but it is the mere reflection of very many sayings of 
 
Chap. VI.] A GOOD FOUNDATION. 259 
 
 foundation against the time to come, that they may "laj 
 hold on eternal life. " ver. 12. 
 
 20 Timothy, ^keep that which is committed Tiir?.'''^*' 
 
 Rev. iii. 3. 
 
 19. "On eternal life;" rather, "oa the life which is life indeed." So Revisers, after 
 K, A., D,, E., F., G., nine Cursives, d, e, f, g, Vulg., S7riac, &c. ; K., L., P., most Cur- 
 sives, "eternal." 
 
 our Lord, as " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain 
 mercy." "When thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know 
 what thy right hand doeth." " Thy father which seeth in secret 
 shall reward thee openly." " Do good and lend, hoping for nothing 
 again, and your reward shall be great in heaven." "They (the 
 poor) cannot recompense thee, but thou shalt be recompensed at 
 the resurrection of the just." 
 
 But are we not justified by faith ? Yes, we are ; but those who 
 have believed in God are expressly told that they are to be careful 
 to maintain good works (Titus iii). And there is great need of 
 remembering this, for many think they are right in the sight of 
 God on the score that they understand thoroughly the doctrine of 
 grace, and trust entirely on the grace of God through Christ, and 
 yet have no charity, no liberality — they are not rich in good 
 works — they are very unready to distribute, very unwilling to 
 communicate. I myself have now before me one of large means, 
 great respectability, much looked up to as a neighbour and a magis- 
 trate, a great upholder of salvation by faith, and yet he gave next 
 to nothing even to the societies which he patronized, and nothing 
 to the poor — at least nothing that was known or heard of And in 
 this state he went before the Judge, Who says that He will say at 
 the last, " Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these, my 
 brethren, ye did it unto me. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of 
 the least of these, my brethren, ye did it not to me." Can we preach 
 Christ faithfully unless we preach Him as the Judge of Quick and 
 and Dead, rendering to every man as his work shall be ? 
 
 " That they may lay hold on eternal life." So that eternal life is 
 laid hold on not only by prayer, by faith, by watchfulness, but by 
 charity — by giving to Christ in His Church and in His poor. 
 
 20. " Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust." 
 O Timothy, guard the deposit. What is this but the Catholic 
 faith— the one faith, the faith once for all delivered to the saints, 
 
260 OPPOSITIONS OF SCIENCE. [I. Tm. 
 
 ych. i.4. 6. to thy trust, ^avoiding profane and vain bab- 
 2 Tim. ii. 14, blinsTS, and oppositions of science falsely so 
 
 16, 23. Tit. i. -- o ' rr j 
 
 14. & iii. 9. called : 
 
 ' £?!• '• .^' !?• 21 Which some professing ' have erred concern- 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 18. ■•■ ^ 
 
 ing the faith. G-race he with thee. Amen. 
 ^ The first to Timothy was wi*itten from Laodicea, which 
 is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana. 
 
 the faith of which the Lord asks so seriously, when He says, 
 "Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find the faith 
 on the earth ? " 
 
 "Avoiding profane and vain babblin;:^s, and oppositions of 
 science falsely so called." There must have been some great 
 danger to Timothy from these, for the Apostle writes this short 
 postscript to warn him against what he had already cautioned him 
 about in 1 Tim. i. 4, and iv. 4, and vi. 5, 6. As a Jew, he might be 
 in danger from the babblings ; as an intellectual person, he might 
 require cautioning against the antitheses of the falsely -named 
 knowledge or gnosis. 
 
 21. " Which some professing have erred concerning the faith." 
 The Gnostical blasphemies, even in their earliest developments, 
 must have upset the faith, for they made out that God was not 
 the author of matter, and they put other mediators between God 
 and us besides the Man Christ Jesus. 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 PAUL, * an apostle of Jesus Christ bj the will of Grod, 
 according to ''the promise of life which is »2Cor. i. i. 
 in Christ Jesus, Tit.^i. 2!"* 
 
 2 '^ To Timothy, my dearly beloved son : G-race, fl\^^ -^g. 
 mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ 
 Jesus our Lord. 
 
 2. "And Christ Jesus our Lord." So A,, D., E., F., G., K., L., most Cursives, Vulg., 
 4c. ; but ^f reads, " Lord Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 1. " Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God," &c. In 
 the First Epistle it is by the " commandment of God our Saviour," 
 here it is by the " will of God." The will of God issues in His com- 
 mandment, the commandment of God issues in the establishment 
 or bringing about of the thing which He commands. In this case 
 it was the effectual apostleship of St. Paul. 
 
 " According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus." 
 He was an Apostle " according to the promise of life," because he 
 was sent and one commissioned especially to proclaim the promise 
 of life in Christ's ResuiTection {" Go speak to the people ail 
 the words of this life," Acts v. 20). And he now speaks of his 
 Apostleship being " according to the promise of life," because, as 
 never before, he had the sentence of death upon him, " The time of 
 my departure is at hand." So that it was indeed true of him, *' In 
 the midst of death he was in life." 
 
 2. " To Timothy, my dearly beloved son." My own son in the 
 faith, and therefore my dearly beloved son. 
 
 " Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father," &c. Observe 
 
262 MINDFUL OF THY TEARS. [II. Tim. 
 
 d Rom. i. 8. 3 ** I thank God, ^ whom I serve from my fore- 
 
 e Ae'ts'xxH. 3. fathers with pure conscience, that * without ceas- 
 
 £iT'iV&*^ ing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers 
 
 Rot- 5. night and day; 
 
 ?i Vheit' i 2 ^ ^ G-reatly desiring to see thee, being mindful 
 
 & iii. 10. ■ ■ ' of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy ; 
 
 h 1 Tim. i'. 5.* 5 When I call to remembrance ^ the unfeigned 
 
 ^^^'^- faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy 
 
 how again to Timothy he invokes mercy from God upon him. (Seo 
 note on 1 Tim. i. 2). 
 
 3. " I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers." This 
 seems to imply that some degree of personal piety had been trans- 
 mitted from one forefather to another, as it was in the case of 
 Timothy. 
 
 " With a pure conscience." Remember his words on the temple 
 stairs, " Taught according to the perfect manner of the law of our 
 fathers, and zealous towards God;" and before the council, "I 
 have lived in all good conscience before God to this day." 
 
 " That without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my 
 prayers," &c. Why does he thank God that he unceasingly prays 
 for Timothy ? Because he looked upon God as One Who always 
 rjiswers prayer, and he believed that God would not have put into 
 his heart to pray thus continuously for Timothy, unless He had 
 intended to keep him continually in His grace, and make His word 
 effectual in Timothy's mouth. 
 
 4. " Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears," &c. 
 These tears were probably shed when he parted with Timothy, 
 when he was arrested and sent to Rome as a prisoner. 
 
 " That I may be filled with joy." At seeing thee again, and 
 being able to strengthen and establish thee. Some think that St. 
 Paul was not perfectly assured of Timothy's steadfastness in enduring 
 the fiery trial which was before them both ; but this, I think, is 
 scarcely reconcilable with the expressions in the next verse. 
 
 5. " When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in 
 thee, which dwelt," &c. If Timothy was converted in a.d. 53 or so, it 
 was quite possible that both his grandmother and mother received 
 the faith many years before; for Timothy became a Christian and the 
 follower of St. Paul about twenty years after Pentecost. His grand- 
 
Cjap. I.] LOIS. EUNICE. 263 
 
 grandmother Lois, and ' tliy mother Eunice ; and I am per- 
 suaded that in thee also, ' Acts xvi. i. 
 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance ^ that ^ i Thess. v. 
 
 ^ 19. 1 Tim 
 
 iv. 14. 
 
 mother, if she was not then among the iv\a(3e7g in Jerusalem, might 
 have received the account from " those of Asia " or '* of Phrygia " 
 (Acts ii. 9), and being a pious Jewess, might have, through God's grace, 
 accepted it, and found that all which she heard of Jesus of Nazareth 
 was according to the prophecies of the Messiah in the Scriptures. 
 I think this is more likely than supposing that Lois was an holy 
 woman under the law, who had only believed in a Christ to come, 
 whilst Eunice and Timothy believed in a Christ which was come. 
 
 " And I am persuaded that in thee also." " It is not a conjecture 
 he means, it is my persuasion ; I am fully assured of it. If, there- 
 fore, from no human motive thou hast embraced it, nothing will be 
 able to shake thy faith " (Chrysostom). 
 
 6. " Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the 
 gift," &c. " That thou stir up the gift of God." The metaphor is 
 taken from the act of reviving a fire which is almost out. We gently 
 stir it, or we blow into it, and the cold ashes are soon glowing 
 with heat. Had St. Paul discerned anything in the way of 
 coldness in Timothy that he thus spake to him ? Most probably 
 not, for the precept is of universal application in the Church. 
 Whatever means of grace we receive only once in our lives, such 
 as Baptism, Confirmation, and Ordination, we must in after life 
 constantly stir up the gift which we have received in it, for it may 
 lie dormant. And I need not say that if Timothy needed to be so 
 reminded, much more do we. God assigns grace to those who even 
 unworthily receive Baptism, Confirmation, and Ordination, which 
 are only administered to us once in our lives. This grace we must 
 revive and strengthen by acts of faith and prayer. We must 
 make an act of faith in God's grace to us at our baptism. We 
 must say such words as, " Lord, thou didst graft me into Thy Son's 
 body in baptism ; Thou didst therein cause me to die and to be 
 buried, and to be raised again in Him. Kevive in me Thy grace. 
 Renew in me, most loving Father, whatsoever hath been decayed 
 by the fraud and malice of the devil, or by my own -carnal will and 
 frailty." Some men say that grace cannot lie dormant in the soul, 
 which is as much as saying that there can be no dormant faculties 
 
264 STIR UP THE GIFT OF GOD. [II. Tim. 
 
 thou stir up the gift of Go<3, whicli is in thee by the putting 
 on of my hands. 
 
 1 Rom. viii. 15. 7 For ^ God hath not given us the spirit of 
 m Luke xxiv. fg^r ; ™ but of power, and of love, and of a sound 
 Acts i. 8. mind. 
 
 in any man's soul, to refute which need scarcely be seriously 
 attempted. Chrysostom considers it to be the grace of the Spirit 
 which Timothy had received for presiding over the Church, for the 
 working of miracles, and for every service. *' For this grace it is in 
 our power to kindle or to extinguish. Wherefore he elsewhere says, 
 * Quench not the Spirit.' For by sloth and carelessness it is 
 quenched, and by watchfulness and diligence it is kept alive. For 
 it is in thee indeed, but do thou render it more vehement, that is, 
 fill it with confidence, with joy, and delight. Stand manfully." 
 
 " By the putting on of my hands." Was this the same as the 
 putting on of the hands of the presbytery of 1 Tim. iv. 14 ? If it 
 was, then St. Paul considered that the laying on of his own hands, 
 as those of an Apostle, conferred the real ordination. He certainly 
 assumed that the laying on of the hands of all the rest was as 
 nothing compared to the laying on of his hands. At an English 
 ordination of priests, the presbyters present assist the bishop, but 
 if the bishop's hands alone were laid on the candidate in default of 
 the presence of presbyters, would it not be a valid ordination ? 
 
 7. *' For God hath not given us the spirit of fear ; but of power, 
 and of love," &c. *' Fear," this fear is explained by almost all as the 
 spirit of timidity or cowardice, or shrinking from danger ; whereas 
 He has given us rather power or might of spirit (*' strengthened 
 with all might according to his glorious power," Coloss.i. 11) ; some, 
 however, take it to be the powers of the ministry, some of which 
 were of a supernatural character. 
 
 "And of love." Love to the sheep of Christ and His lambs, so 
 as to brave all dangers, to feed and pasture them (" Simon, son of 
 Jonas, lovest thou me ? feed my sheep "). 
 
 " And of a sound mind," i.e., of a prudent mind, not inclined to 
 be led away by fanaticism, or false doctrine, or novelties. Some, 
 as revisers, translate it (a spirit) of discipline, a spirit that fears 
 not to rebuke and censure ; others, as simply self-control. 
 
 8, " Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our 
 
Chap. L] GOD WHO HATH SAVED US. 265 
 
 8 •" Be not thou therefore ashamed of ** the tes- «» Rom. i. u. 
 timony of our Lord, nor of me ^his prisoner: Rev. i^i"' * 
 *ibut be thou partaker of the aiflictions of the JiSiPV.;!'^* 
 gospel according to the power of Grod ; q Coi. i. 24. 
 
 9 'Who hath saved us, and "called us with an r iTim.i. 1. 
 holy calling, *not according to our works, but J\'Thest iv.7. 
 
 Heb. iii. i. 
 » Rom. iii. 20. 
 & ix. 11. Tit. 
 
 Lord." This in the early ages would mean, " Be not ashamed of 
 the Cross. Be not ashamed that thou preachest One that was 
 crucified, but rather glory in it." 
 
 But the offence of the Cross never ceases. In one age men are 
 offended at one thing, in another at another. 
 
 The age of our immediate forefathers seems to have stumbled at 
 salvation by grace. In this age men stiunble at the supernatural in 
 Christianity, especially at the doctrine of the Sacraments as means 
 not of instruction or of profession, but of grace. They stumble at 
 such words of Christ as *' As my Father sent me, so send I you," 
 *' Whosoever sin ye remit they are remitted unto them." 
 
 " Nor of me his prisoner." Very probably St. Paul, in writing 
 this, had in his mind the defections of some like Demas, and he 
 said, as an old man would say, " Behave not Hke these deserters," 
 having no real fear that he would do as they had done. 
 
 " Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel." "All that 
 will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution." " That no 
 man should be moved by these aiSflictions, for yourselves know that 
 we are appointed thereunto " (1 Thess. iii. 3). 
 
 " According to the power of God." The power which sustains 
 us, and nerves us, and comforts us, and at last gives us the victory. 
 
 9. " W^ho hath saved us and called us with an holy calling," &c. 
 ** Saved us," that is, " by the death of his Son reconciling the world 
 unto himself." 
 
 " Called us with an holy calling." A calling to holiness becausu 
 a calling to be in the Church or Body of His Son. 
 
 *' Not according to our works." Because salvation was entirely 
 of grace, and this was seen in the characters of those who were 
 called and obeyed the calling. Some were gross sinners (1 
 Corinth, vi. 11) ; some were persecutors even in spite of their 
 
266 HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE. [II. Tm. 
 
 cRom.viii.28. "according to his own purpose and grace, which 
 
 Ephes.'i. 4I' ■ was given us in Christ Jesus "^ before the world 
 
 &iii. 11. 1 
 
 Tit. i. 2. began, 
 
 7 Rwn x^^^ 26. ^^ "^^^ ^ ^^ ^^^ made manifest by the appear- 
 
 cHi'Ttii ^' ^^^ ^^ ^^^ Saviour Jesus Christ, ^ who hath 
 
 Ti'et ?'20 abolished death, and hath brought life and im- 
 
 * 1. Cor. XV. mortality to light through the gospel : 
 
 Heb. ii. 14. 
 
 9. " Before the world began." Literally, «' before eternal ages." 
 
 growing conviction that those whom they persecuted were in the 
 right (Acts ix. 5). 
 
 " According to his own purpose and grace, which was given us 
 in Christ Jesus," &c. " That is, no one compelling, no one counsel- 
 ling Him, but of His own purpose, from the impulse of His own 
 goodness. He saved us." 
 
 "Which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 
 That is, it was determined without beginning that these things 
 should be done in Christ. This is no light consideration that from 
 the first He willed it. It was not an after-thought. 
 
 10. " But is now raade manifest by the appearing of our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ." The appearing — the Epiphany. This means more 
 than His appearance amongst His creatures on the day of His 
 Birth. It denotes His whole redemptive work through His Incar- 
 nation, Death, and Resurrection, which men saw, though the 
 meaning of it all as respects themselves was hidden from them till 
 they were taught it by the Spirit of God. 
 
 " Who hath abolished death and hath brought life," &c. He 
 abolished death by His Resurrection, because it was not the Resur- 
 rection of one single Person considered apart by Himself, but it was 
 the Resurrection of an Adam, the last Adam, Who could have all 
 his brethren in Himself when He died, and when He rose again. 
 
 " He hath abolished death." He hath changed its character, so 
 that instead of being the end of a journey it is but a step in it. 
 
 The heathen, as a rule, even those who held the immortality of 
 the soul, never fixed their minds upon anything beyond. They 
 surmised, they hoped, at least they did not despair, but it was like 
 looking into thick impenetrable darkness, whereas Christ has 
 " brought life and immortality to hght by the Gospel." He has 
 
CiTAP. I.] I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED. 2()7 
 
 11 '"^ Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and » Acts ix. lo. 
 an apostle, and a teacher of the G-entiles. i Tim. d. 7. * 
 
 12 ** For the which cause I also suffer these b Eph. in. 1. 
 things : nevertheless I am not ashamed : ^ for I I ^ p^^' j^, ^^ 
 know whom I have || believed, and am persuaded 1 Or, trusted. 
 
 11. "Teac-her of the Gentiles." So C, D., E., F„ G., K., L., P., most Cursives, d, e, 
 f, g, Vulg., Goth., Syriac ; bnt H, A., 17, omit "of the Gentiles." 
 
 illumined the darkness beyond by such words as " Because I live, 
 ye shall live also " (John xiv. 19) ; " Father, I will that they also, 
 whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am " (Johnxvii. 24) ; 
 " Where I am, there shall also my servant be " (John xii. 26). 
 " It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when 
 he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is," 
 (1 John iii. 2). 
 
 11. "Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an Apostle, 
 and a teacher," &c. The same assertion, repeated almost verbatim, 
 as he makes in 1 Tim. ii. 7. (See also Ephesians iii. 7, 8.) He 
 constantly, in one form or other, asserts his commissi ou. He knew 
 nothing greater in itself or more humbling to him; t If than that he 
 was " an ambassador for Christ, as though God dia beseech men 
 by him to be reconciled to God." 
 
 12. " For the which cause I also suffer these things : nevertheless 
 I am not ashamed," &c. " For the which cause," i.e., because of 
 my commission to make known life and immortality. " I suffer 
 these things," i.e., bonds and imprisonment. It is natural to be 
 ashamed of bonds, for robbers and murderers are those usually 
 thrown into bonds and shut up in prisons, but my Master was 
 crucified to save me and all the world, and the one thing in which 
 I will glory is His Cross. 
 
 " I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded," &c. " In 
 whom I have beheved," rather, "have trusted." Does this "Whom" 
 refer to God the Father or God the Son ? Most commentators think 
 to God the Father, but surely the Apostle at times commits himself 
 or his work to the Lord Jesus, as in the 4th chapter of this Epistle. 
 Nevertheless it is the same. St. Paul is the Apostle of God and 
 also of Christ. " He is one of the sheep of Christ who are in His 
 hand" (John x.), so that it seems extraordinary that Bishop 
 Ellicott should say, " It need scarcely be said that (^ refers to God 
 
268 THE FORM OF SOUND WORDS. [II. Tim. 
 
 d 1 Tim. vi. 20. that lie is able to ** keep that which I have com- 
 
 ch.^v. 8.' mitted unto hiin ^ against that day. 
 
 f^ch._iu.i4. 13 fHold fast ^the form of ^ sound words, 
 
 Hei). *x.'23. 
 
 llev. ii. 25. 
 
 g Rom. ii. 20. 
 
 & VI. 17. ^Yie Father, ' I know whom I have believed,' seems 
 
 & vi. 3. * ' ' to refer to Christ, the peculiar object of Christian 
 faith." 
 
 "And am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have 
 committed unto him," &c. " That which I have committed unto 
 him," or, as Eevisers in margin, *' that which He has committed unto 
 me." There is very much grammatical discussion amongst com- 
 mentators about which of these is the true application of TrapaOrjKi^ 
 (deposit), but surely there need be no discussion, for both must be 
 true, not may be, but must be true. Whatever God commits to us 
 (our own salvation, the salvation of others, the holding of the faith, 
 the ministerial commission,) we must commit it to Him, because 
 we have not strength to hold it of ourselves. We shall not be able 
 to be faithful to it unless He gives us grace. 
 
 And so we can only commit to Him that which He has com- 
 mitted to us. We cannot commit to Him any sinful desire, any 
 wrong course of action^ any purely selfish project, for these are not 
 from His inspiration ; but any duty which He has laid upon us, any 
 warfare in which He has enlisted us, any career of usefulness which 
 He has opened out before us, these we can and must commit to Him. 
 
 " Against that day." Not the day of death, but the day of the 
 Lord's appearing, and He is able to keep what we have committed 
 to Him, for He is Almighty, He foresees all things, His providence 
 orders all events. 
 
 13. " Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard 
 of me," &c. This must be one of two things, either the oral 
 Gospel, being the Life and Death and Resurrection of the Lord, 
 which had not been committed to writing ; or the chief articles of 
 the Gospel, or of the faith collected into a short formula like a creed. 
 
 I scarcely think that it is the first, because the oral Gospel, 
 which was undoubtedly the first form of it, was fast being superseded 
 by the written form, particularly, as is most natural, in the case of 
 St. Paul's churches, by the Gospel of St. Luke, so I think we must 
 consider it to be the latter, i.e., a short formula, or list of the chief 
 articles of St. Paul's Gospel. That there was such a formula is 
 
Chap. I.] IN FAITH AND LOVE. 269 
 
 * which thou hast heard of me, ^ in faith and love * ch. ii. 2. 
 which is in Christ Jesus. ^ ^ ^™' '• ^^' 
 
 plain from many intimations in St. Paul's Epistles, as particularly 
 in 1 Cor. xv. where a part of it is expressed as the Death, Burial, 
 and Eesurrection of the Lord, prefaced with " Moreover, brethren, 
 I declare unto you, the Gospel which I preached unto you ; " also 
 in Romans i. 1, 2, where the Gospel is that "God's Son, Jesus 
 Christ was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and 
 declared to be the Son of God with power," and again in Rom. ii. 
 " Who shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ' according to 
 my Gospel," and in this Epistle, "Remember that Jesus Christ, 
 of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my 
 Gospel " (ii. 8). There must have been, then, from the first, a form of 
 words in which the Gospel or the faith was expressed. The neces- 
 sities of the case demand it. In Ephes. iv. we read that there is 
 *' one faith " as there is " one Lord " and " one Baptism." Now this 
 faith cannot be locked up in the breast of each one who believes it. 
 It must take some objective form, or else it could not pass from one 
 man to another, or be committed from one man to another. And 
 this must have been the " form of sound words," not merely sound 
 thoughts, but sound thoughts embodied in words. 
 
 We are told that " hold fast " is too strong a translation of Ixc, 
 which means simply, "have" or "hold," but surely we are not to 
 be told that the Apostle would have us hold anything loosely, or 
 "have" a thing which was of little importance, for it must have 
 been something saving. Whatever "have "means, it must be "have" 
 in the sense of possessing it as a thing of importance, and holding 
 it firmly as such. 
 
 I do not mean by the above to say that the "form of sound 
 words " is identical with the Apostle's Creed, but it must be some 
 short form resembling it — a something that Timothy could carry 
 about with him. It would be about Jesus Christ. It would be 
 about the great facts of His Birth, Death, and Resurrection, rather 
 than about His Circumcision or Baptism, or miracles, and so, from 
 the intimations I have drawn attention to, it is. 
 
 "In faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." The holding 
 fast is not to be intellectual merely, but in faith and love, with 
 the heart, with the will, with submission of the whole spirit to 
 God. 
 
270 KEEP BY THE HOLY GHOST. [II. Tim. 
 
 14 ' That good thing which was committed unto thee 
 1 1 Tim.vi.20. keep by the Holy G-host ™ which dwelleth in us. 
 B Acts xix. 10. 1^ "^^is tb^^'^ knowest, that "* all they which are 
 • eh. iv. 10, 16. in Asia be ° turned away from me ; of whom are 
 Phygellus and Hermogenes. 
 
 15. " Phygellus." So A. ; bat H, C, D., read, " Phygelu3." 
 
 *' Hermogenes ; " most probably *' Ermogenes," without breathing. 
 
 14. " That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by 
 the Holy Ghost," &c. What was the good thing committed to 
 Paul ? It cannot have been the Holy Spirit, for he was to keep it 
 by the Holy Spirit. Was it the form of sound words, or the mystery 
 of godliness of 1 Tim. iii. 16, or something akin to it ? Was it 
 the grace of ordination or of the Apostolate conferred on him ? If 
 we are to distinguish it from the form of sound words it must be 
 this. Chrysostom does not tell us explicitly what he thinks it to 
 be, but rather insists on the danger of losing it, *'For it is not in 
 the power of a human soul, when instructed in things so great, to 
 be sufficient for the keeping of them. And why ? because there 
 are many robbers, and thick darkness, and the devil still at hand 
 to plot against us ; and we know not what is the hour, what the 
 occasion for him to set \ipon us." 
 
 " Through the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." We are thus 
 to guard the deposit by giving all diligence to keep within us the 
 Spirit of God. We are to give ourselves up to His leading, we are 
 by all means of grace and prayer, and reading of Scripture, to 
 invite His indwelling. 
 
 15. " This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be 
 turned," &c. This cannot well mean that all in Asia, i.e., all the 
 Ephesian Christians, are turned from Christ and the Gospel. It 
 must rather mean that very many are turned away from their 
 allegiance to St. Paul. So many, that in the eyes of the depressed 
 Apostle it seemed all. 
 
 Chrysostom supposes that it means all in Kome that were from 
 Asia, i.e., Proconsular Asia. They found it dangerous to them- 
 selves to seek him, and minister unto him, and so many of them 
 behaved like Demas ; but there was one great exception, for he 
 goes on to say : 
 
 16, 17. " The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus .... 
 
Chap. I.] THE HOUSE OF ONESIPHORUS. 271 
 
 16 The Lord ^ give mercy unto "^ the house of Onesipho- 
 rus ; ' for he oft refreshed me, and * was not p Mat. v. 7. 
 ashamed of ^my chain : r phiiem. 7. 
 
 17 But, when he was in Eome, he sought me " ver. vUi. 
 
 ' Acts xxviii. 
 
 out very dingently, and found me. 20. Eph. vi. 
 
 18 The Lord grant unto him "that he may find u Matt. xxv. 
 
 34-40. 
 
 X 2 Thess. i. 
 
 mercy of the Lord ^in that day: and in how 
 
 10. ver, 12. 
 
 thou knowest very well. 
 
 many things he ''ministered unto me at Ephesus, 
 
 '' '=> ^7 Hebr. vi. 10. 
 
 18. " Unto him " omitted by almost all authorities, 
 
 and found me." This means that Onesiphorua sought out the 
 Apostle, and ministered to his wants when he was in Eome. This 
 imprisonment, as Bishop Pearson remarks, must have been much 
 closer than the first one, for it to be said that he sought him out 
 diligently. This could not have been said respecting the Apostle's 
 first detention when he was " dwelling in his own hired house, and 
 receiving all who came in unto him " (Acts xxviii. 30, 31). 
 
 18. " The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the 
 Lord in that day .... thou knowest very well." Why should St. 
 Paul pray that the Lord may have mercy upon him in particular 
 " at that day," having invoked mercy from God upon his house- 
 hold, as in a measure apart from him ; and why in the last 
 chapter (verse 19), should he send a salutation to the household of 
 Onesiphorus only ? 
 
 The only fair explanation is that Onesiphorus was dead. This 
 is in no way a prayer that God may alter his state, because he 
 evidently died in a state of grace, but we have no reason whatever 
 to believe that the moment a soul dies it is perfected. In every 
 Christian Liturgy that has come down to us there are prayers for 
 the departed ; thus in that of St. Mark, " Give rest, Lord our 
 God, to the souls of our fathers and brethren who are departed in 
 the faith of Christ," &c. 
 
 It is a primitive custom. It involves no change of state from 
 condemnation to life — no purgatory. No matter how fixed in the 
 favour of God the state of the faithful departed is, they may be 
 refreshed, and this is what the Prayers of the Ancient Liturgies ask 
 of God. 
 
272 MY SON, BE STRONG. [II. Tim. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 THOU therefore,* my son, ^ be strong in the 
 grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
 2 ^ And the things that thou hast heard of me 
 II among many witnesses, '^ the same commit thou 
 to faithful men, who shall be ^ able to teach others 
 also. 
 
 » 1 Tim. i 
 ch. i. 2. 
 
 2. 
 
 b Eph. vi, 
 c ch. i. 13. 
 iii. 10. 14. 
 
 10. 
 
 & 
 
 II Or, bi/. 
 d 1 Tim. i, 
 
 .18. 
 
 e 1 Tim. iii. 2, 
 Tit. i. 9. 
 
 1. "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in 
 Christ Jesus." This assumes that it was in his power to be strong, 
 because he had the means of grace, the Sacraments, the Scriptures, 
 the examples of such men as Onesiphorus. 
 
 2. "And the things that thou bast heard of me, among many 
 witnesses," &c. Were these " things " the Christian deposit ? 
 From the former verse and the succeeding one ("endure hard- 
 ness ") some have supposed that it was an account of the Apostle's 
 own hardships ; but some believe it to refer to the good deposit, 
 particularly as what is in it is to be committed to others who, in 
 their turn, are to teach others. I am inclined to think that it is the 
 sum and substance of the Apostle's teaching, which would be 
 the expansion of the short creed or deposit, and its practical 
 application. 
 
 It would seem that we are taught by this verse that there was, 
 even at this later period, a considerable amount of oral teaching 
 upon aU subjects of faith and doctrine, and even ritual, which was 
 solemnly, in the assembled Church, committed by the Apostle to 
 those who were to succeed him. Such is most likely to have been 
 the case, and, indeed, the more we think about it the more 
 difficult it is to believe that it could have been otherwise. (See 
 my notes on 1 Cor. xi., and the excursus on apostolical traditions 
 at the end of volume on Epistles to Corinthians). 
 
 3. " Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier," &c. 
 Rather (according to oldest MSS.) " Endure hardness with me," 
 omitting "thou therefore" {avyKaKoirdBrjaov instead of gv ovv 
 KaKOTrdOtjaov). 
 
Chap. II.] ENDURE HARDNESS. 273 
 
 3 ^ Thou therefore endure hardness, ^ as a good soldier of 
 Jesus Christ. I' ch. i. 8. & 
 
 4 ^ No man that warreth entangleth himself g "i Tim. i. is. 
 with the affairs of this life ; that he may please ^ ^ ^°^- '^- ^^• 
 him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 
 
 5 And ^ if a man also strive for masteries, yet * i Cor. ix. 25. 
 is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. 
 
 3. "Thon therefore endure hardness" (o-u ouv xaxoiraSjio-ov). So K., L., most Cursives, 
 &c. ; but H, A., C, D., E., F., G., P., 17, 31, 71, 80, Copt., Arm., ^th., read, " endure 
 hardness with us " (o-uvxaxo'TrafijKrov). 
 
 " Soldier." Some MSS. read, "fellow soldier." 
 
 4. "Warreth." F., G., Vulg., add " for God." 
 
 " As a good soldier of Jesus Christ." It is as much the part of 
 a soldier to endure evil as it is for him to be armed, or to be 
 disciplined, or to be under a general. 
 
 "As a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Christ is the captain of 
 our salvation, and He won the victory by enduring hardness, and 
 was even made perfect through suffering (Heb. ii. 10). 
 
 4. "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of 
 this life," &c. This does not allude so much to any soldier as to the 
 soldier going on an expedition. If a soldier on the eve of a war so 
 entangle himself, he would have to ask leave that he might attend 
 to what he represented as urgent business, or if he were permitted 
 so to do, to throw up his engagement. Now these words are addressed 
 not to every Christian who is by his profession a soldier, but to 
 the Christian minister whose ministry is ruined unless he is dis- 
 engaged as far as can be from secular affairs. It is not so much 
 the time spent on such matters as the engrossment of the mind by 
 them. If a man is to be a successful minister he must give him- 
 self wholly to it, he must be " in " the things of his ministry 
 (1 Tim. V. 16 note). Still this is not to be taken as excluding the 
 minister under all circumstances from any other means of liveli- 
 hood. St. Paul, whilst exercising the most active of ministries, 
 spent some of his time working as a tent-maker, 
 
 5. " And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned," 
 &c. Striving for masteries alludes to the discipline or training of 
 the athletes in the public games. Their training was not left to 
 themselves, they were obliged to obey the directions of a public 
 
 T 
 
274 PARTAKER OF THE FRUITS. [II. TiM. 
 
 k 1 Cor. ix. 10. 6 ^\\ The husbandman that laboureth must be 
 
 husbkndmaii, fii'st partaker of the fruits. 
 
 muTb^p^'"' 7 Consider what I say ; and the Lord give thee 
 
 fruits"^ ^^'' understanding in all things. 
 
 7. "The Lord give thee." So K., L., P., most Carsives ; but S, A., C, D., E., F., G., 
 d, e, f, g, Valg., Copt., Arm., read, " will give thee." 
 
 trainer, and if they disobeyed they were liable to be excluded 
 altogether from the race. And so it is in the Christian race. 
 Unless each soldier, and more particularly, each minister, submits 
 to discipline, he may be altogether debarred from receiving the 
 crown. 
 
 *' Crowned." Of course not as a king, but as a victor. The 
 difference is to be noted ; men may receive a kingly crown out of 
 favour or by descent, they cannot receive a victor's crown unless 
 they have actually won the victory. 
 
 6. " The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of 
 the fruits." There is a great difference amongst commentators 
 respecting the application of this passage to Timothy as a labourer 
 in the Gospel vineyard. The two former passages (verses 4 and 5) 
 which illustrate from the soldier not encumbering himself, and the 
 athlete observing the taws of the games, are said apparently by 
 way of warning ; but can this illustration of the husbandman be 
 similarly taken? Only in the way that "that husbandman only 
 who has endured the toil has a right (here the first right) to share 
 the fruits." 
 
 I do not think that the Apostle can mean that hard labour in 
 the Lord's vineyard carries its own reward along with it, and so 
 urges Timothy to such hard labour. Blunt takes it as alluding to 
 the honour of taking up the cross with his Master. *' Here the 
 same idea of suffering is carried out, the Apostle regarding it as 
 the necessary result of ministerial labour in an age of persecution, 
 and regarding it as a privilege that the ministerial labourer should 
 be the first who should be called to bear the cross of his Master." 
 The first meaning, though not without its difficulties, seems the 
 best. 
 
 7. " Consider what I say : and the Lord give thee understanding," 
 &c. I have given thee three plain illustrations from the daily 
 life of the world, consider them, lay them to heart, and the Lord 
 
Chap. II.] REMEMBER. 275 
 
 8 Eemember that Jesus Christ ^of the seed of '.^<=!^/'-3o.& 
 
 xni.23. Rom. 
 i. 3. 4. 
 
 will give thee understanding in all things. The Lord Himself 
 constantly used illustrations taken from the common natural 
 intercourse of men with one another, so that He will honour thy 
 attention to such instructions, and give thee the wisdom thou 
 eeekest after. 
 
 8. "Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David was 
 raised," &c. The connection seems to be this. In the previous 
 verses he had been speaking of suffering, of enduring hardness, 
 of warring, of striving for the victor's crown. Now he bids him 
 ever remember his great Exemplar — His sufferings, and His victory 
 after suffering. Thus it is applied by the Church to the sick and 
 suffering, " There should be no greater comfort to Christian persons 
 than to be made like unto Christ by suffering patiently adversities, 
 trouble and sicknesses. For He Himself went not up to joy but first 
 He suffered pain. He entered not into His glory before He was 
 crucified." 
 
 So it may signify, " Nerve yourself for your contest with the 
 powers of darkness by the remembrance of your Lord and Master, 
 the captain of your salvation, how He was of the seed of David accord- 
 ing to the flesh, and on this account the promised Messiah, and on 
 this account also a Messiah Who partook of our nature, so that 
 He experienced all its sinless infirmities. And how after endur- 
 ing the extremity of suffering. He was raised from the dead in 
 token that He had won the crown for which He contended." 
 
 The order of the original is " Eemember that Jesus Christ was 
 raised from the dead of the seed of David." 
 
 But this injunction to remember the Lord's Resurrection is 
 capable of the widest application. The Resurrection is the seal of 
 the truth of Chi-istianity. For the Resurrection is the seal of the 
 truth of the Lord's mission as the Christ the Son of God. It is the 
 eeal and assurance of the truth of all that the Lord had said of 
 Himself, and of all that He had undertaken to do. It was the 
 assurance from God Who raised Him from the dead, that He was 
 Ood's own Son ; that His Death was an all-sufficient sacrifice ; 
 that He would in due time raise us from the dead, and judge us ; 
 that we should be partakers of His Life ; that because He lives we 
 £hall live also ; that His Flesh shall be our meat indeed, and 
 
276 THE elect's sake. [II. Tim. 
 
 m 1 Cor. XV. 1, David "" was raised from the dead ° according to 
 
 4, 20. - ° 
 
 n Eom. ii. 16. my gospel : 
 
 eh^Li2.''' ^^' ^ "Wherein I sufPer trouble, as an evildoer, 
 
 P Ephes. iii. 1. p even unto bonds ; '' but the word of God is not 
 
 Phil. '• 7. , ^ 
 
 Col. iv. 3, 18. bound. 
 
 31. *'EphJs."vi. 10 Therefore ' I endure all things for the elect's 
 
 13,' 14.' ^"^' sakes, Hhat they may also obtain the salvation 
 
 cd^?2V"'^^' "^liich is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 
 
 » 2 Cor. i. 6. 
 
 His Blood our drink indeed ; and if there be any other promise of 
 life uttered by Him, or contained in Him, of its truth His Kesur- 
 reetion is to be our assurance. 
 
 " According to my gospel." The Gospel of St. Paul was em- 
 phatically the doctrine of the Lord's Eesurrection. Thus Rom. i. 
 1-3, " The gospel of God concerning his Son Jesus Christ our 
 Lord, "Who was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh, 
 and declared to be the Son of God, with power according to the 
 Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead." Thus also 
 in 1 Cor. xv. 1-10, he categorically declares the Gospel which he 
 preached unto them, and this was that " Christ died for our sins, 
 was buried, and rose again." 
 
 9. " Wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, '^ 
 &e. At St. Paul's former detention he was an appellant, having 
 appealed to Caesar; now he was treated as a malefactor {KaKov^yog) 
 as his Master had been. 
 
 ** But the word of God is not bound." *' It does not depend upon 
 me whether the Word of God is preached or not. I am in bonds 
 and unable to preach as Z once did, but the Gospel is spreading 
 everywhere." 
 
 10. " Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they 
 may," &c. A passage parallel to this, and illustrative of it, is to be 
 found in Col. i. 24, " I, Paul ... fill up that which is behind of the 
 afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the 
 church." (See note on it.) If he suffered for Christ, he suffered 
 for those on whose behalf Christ suffered. Christ now needed no 
 suffering on His own account, but His people did, and so the 
 Apostle in suffering for His cause suffered for them. 
 
 " That they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ 
 
Chap. II.] A FAITHFUL SAYING. 277 
 
 11 ^It is a> faithful saying : For " if we be dead ' i Tim. 1. 15. 
 with him, we shall also live with him : 2 Cor?'iv.'ib! 
 
 11. " If we be dead." " If we died." 
 
 Jesus," t&c. Though elected the call has to come to them, and to be 
 accepted by them, and they have to continue in it and make it 
 sure. 
 
 This entailed constant preaching to the heathen, constant efiforts 
 to keep the Church pure, and this implied danger of life and fierce 
 opposition, "journeyings oft," "perils in the wilderness," "perils 
 among false brethren." 
 
 11. " It is a faithful saying : For if we be dead with him, we 
 shall also," &c. This is another and the last of the faithful sayings 
 enunciated by the Apostle. It consists of four clauses or axioms, 
 " If we be dead, we shall also live : if we suffer, we shall also 
 reign : if we deny him, he also will deny us : if we believe not," 
 &c. It has been supposed to be part of a Christian hymn, or, as 
 Alford supposes, words uttered by some well-known Christian under 
 the influence of the spirit of prophecy. Some, however, have sup- 
 posed the words, " This is a faithful saying," to refer to the last 
 verse, " I endure all things for the elects' sakes ;" but this seems to 
 me impossible, for the Apostle writes the last verse as an expres- 
 sion of his private feeling, using the first person singular. Such a 
 saying could not be a proverbial one exalted into an universal 
 axiom of the truth, which the faithful sayings all seem to be. 
 
 " It is a faithful saying. For if we be dead with him, we shall 
 also," &c. It is difficult to explain the " for ; " it may be a part of 
 the original passage, which the Apostle reproduces, or it may be 
 introduced by the Apostle himself to make a connection. 
 
 " If we be dead with him, we shall also live with him." It seems 
 impossible to help referring back to Eom. vi. 8, " Now if we be 
 dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." 
 This, in the Epistle to the Komans, refers to our Death and Ee- 
 surrection with Christ in Baptism. And why should it not in this 
 place ? It is sufficiently important if in Baptism we are made 
 partakers of the Death and Resurrection of Christ (always, of 
 course, presupposing that we continue thus in union with Him, and 
 order our lives accordingly) ; it is indeed a faithful saying, and one 
 which we should constantly bear in mind. It is really parallel to, 
 
278 HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL. [II. Tim. 
 
 " Rom.viii.i7. 12 ''If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: 
 7 Matt. X. 33. ^ if we deny him, he also will deny us : 
 Si'xt'o.^^'' 13 ^ If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: 
 he cannot deny himself. 
 
 z Rom. iii. 3. & 
 
 ix. 6. 
 
 » Numb, xxiii. 
 
 19. 
 
 12. "If we deny him." So D., E., K., L., P., most Cursives, d, e ; but ^f, A., C, 
 read, "if we shall deny." 
 
 13. " He cannot deny himself." So K. and most Cursives, Vulg., Goth., Arm. ; but f<, 
 A., C, D., E., F.. G., L., P., a few Cursives, read, " for "— " for he cannot," &c. 
 
 " If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we 
 shall be also of his Kesurreetion " (Eom. vi. 5). This follows upon, 
 " Eemember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised 
 from the dead." Chrysostom considers that it refers to both deaths, 
 that in baptism and that in suffering. "How are we dead with Him ? 
 Tbis death, he means both of that in the laver, and that in suffer- 
 ing. For he says, ' Bearing about in the body the dying of the 
 Lord Jesus.' " 
 
 12. " If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." This is a re- 
 production, almost verbatim, of Eom. viii. 17: " If so be that we 
 suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together ; " and also 
 1 Peter iv. 13 : " But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of 
 Christ's sufferings, that 'when his glory shall be revealed, ye may 
 be glad also with exceeding joy." It seems as if both these places 
 were slight expansions of this faithful saying. 
 
 " If we deny him, he also will deny us." Here is a stern faithful 
 saying in contrast with the two first. But it is needful that we 
 should be reminded of it : for this faithful saying is in the words of 
 the Lord Himself, " Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will 
 I also deny before my Father which is in heaven ; " *' Lord, 
 give us grace in all companies and on all occasions to confess 
 thee." 
 
 13. " If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful : (for) he cannot 
 deny himself." Various applications have been made of this verse. 
 One is that in this he ratifies or clenches, as it were, the truth of 
 the foregoing clauses. " If we be dead with him, we shall also live 
 with him." This is true in itself, and quite independent of our 
 belief. It is certain whether we believe it or not. "If we suffer 
 with Him, we shall also reign with Him." This is as certain as 
 the truth and unchangeableness of His own character. Having all 
 
Chap. II.] PUT THEM IN REMEMBRANCE. 279 
 
 14 Of these things put them in remembrance, "charging 
 iliem before the Lord ^ that they strive not about ^ i Tim. v. 21. 
 
 •^ . & vi. 13. ch. 
 
 words to no profit, hut to the subverting of the i^'. i- 
 
 T c 1 Tim. i. 4. 
 
 hearers. &vi. 4. Tit. 
 
 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a "'' ^' ^^' 
 
 power in His hands, He will never allow those who have suffered 
 with Him to lose their reward. And if we deny Him, He also will 
 deny us. We may not believe this now, but we shall find it fear- 
 fully true at the last. 
 
 " He cannot deny himself." He is the truth, and whatever He 
 has uttered is true, and He has all power by which to carry out 
 what He has promised or threatened, and all eternity in which to 
 bring about that on which He has resolved. 
 
 If He were to be untrue to His word, He would be untrue to 
 Himself. But He abideth faithful, for He is " the same yesterday* 
 to-day, and for ever." 
 
 14. " Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them 
 before the Lord," &c. "Of these things," that is, of what he had 
 just been saying, of the soldier, the athlete, the husbandman, of 
 constantly calling to mind the Lord's Resurrection, of the threefold 
 or fourfold faithful saying, 
 
 "Charging them before the Lord." Reminding them of the 
 Lord's Presence, and calling Him solemnly to hear the words as 
 the words of the Holy Ghost and not of mere man. 
 
 "Words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers." 
 These may be any words of error or heresy. They are scarcely 
 words which describe the worst form of Gnosticism. They are 
 equally apphcable to words which attribute justification to the 
 law, or to words which deny or explain away the Resurrection, to 
 Jewish fables, and to distinction of meats and such things. All 
 words of error have a tendency to subvert. Reverence for God 
 would make us adhere to the exact teaching of His words, as we 
 know not what a letting out of waters the entertainment of the 
 least error may be. 
 
 15. " Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that 
 needeth not," &c. This is the first duty of the minister— whether 
 he preaches, teaches, reproves, exhorts, celebrates the Eucharist, 
 
280 HYMENiEUS AND PHILETUS. [II. Tim. 
 
 workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing 
 
 the word of truth. 
 
 «i 1 Tim. iv. 7. 16 But ^ shun profane and vain babblings: for 
 
 Tit. i. 14. they will increase unto more ungodliness. 
 
 II oc. gangrene. 17 And their word will eat as doth a || canker : 
 
 « 1 Tim. i. 20. of whom is ® HymensBUS and Philetus : 
 
 or whatever he does, it is to be done in such a way as to meet the 
 approval of God. 
 
 " A workman that needeth not to be ashamed," when his work 
 and its results are to be examined at the last. 
 
 •' Eightly dividing the word of truth." The word opBoroiiovvra 
 signifies properly *' cutting straight," and is applied to cutting a road, 
 ploughing a furrow, and such things. The best translation of it is 
 *' rightly handling," or " rightly administering." How does he do 
 this ? when he handles not the Word of God deceitfully, when he 
 does not put one truth forward to the disparagement or conceal- 
 ment of another ; when he brings those truths into prominence on 
 which all the rest depend, as the Incarnation of the Eternal Son, 
 His atoning Sacrifice, His Eesurrection as the pledge of the truth 
 of all, His being Head, over all things to the Church, which is 
 His Body ; on our acceptance by God wholly through His grace 
 and merits ; on His coming again and judging us all according to 
 our works. If St. Paul rightly handles the truth of God in his 
 Epistles, then no teacher can rightly handle it who does no^ put 
 our belonging to a mystical Body in a most prominent place. 
 
 16. "But shun profane and vain babblings," &c. Chrysostom 
 here reads "novelties of speech," Kaivo(p(x)viag, instead of KsvoipcjviaQ ; 
 and says, " For they will not stop there. For when anything new 
 has been introduced, it is ever producing innovations, and the error 
 of him who has once left the safe harbour is infinite, and never 
 stops." 
 
 17. " And their word will eat as doth a canker." Not a canker 
 in the modern sense, but a tumour between inflammation and 
 entire mortification — a gangrene will eat, Uterally, will have pas- 
 ture, eating away all the contiguous flesh. 
 
 " Of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus." 
 
 18. " Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the re- 
 surrection is passed already." This heresy is one of the oldest. 
 
Chap. II.] OVERTHROW THE FAITH. 281 
 
 18 Who ^concerning the truth have erred, ^saying that 
 the resurrection is past ah-eady ; and overthrow ^ i Tim. vi. 21. 
 the faith of some. 6icor.xv.12. 
 
 18. "The resurrection is passed." So A., C, D., E., K., L., P. ; but N, F., G., omit 
 article before "resurrection." 
 
 Paul combats it in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, one of the 
 earliest of his Epistles. The Eesurrection appears to have been a 
 doctrine particularly distasteful to the Greek mind, for when he 
 enunciated it in his address on the Areopagus, we read, "When 
 they heard of the Eesurrection, some mocked, and others said. We 
 will hear thee again of this matter " (Acts xvii. 32). Nothing de- 
 mands more faith than a belief in the Eesurrection of the flesh in 
 one who has set before himself the power displayed in it. 
 
 " That the Eesurrection is passed already," or that Eesurrection is 
 passed already. They, in all probability, asserted that the real Eesur- 
 rection — the only one worthy of the attention of a spiritual man — 
 was a resurrection of the soul or spirit. Tertullian describes their 
 opinion thus : " Wherefore that also must be held to be the Eesur- 
 rection, when a man is reanimated by access to the truth, and 
 having dispersed the death of ignorance, and being endowed with 
 new life by God, has burst forth from the sepulchre of the Old 
 Man." 
 
 All this is very specious, and seemingly very spiritual, but it is 
 very unbelieving. It makes one truth of God nullify another. 
 God has told us that we must rise from sin to righteousness in our 
 souls ; but His Son has also told us that by His power and at His 
 word we must rise to life and immortality in our bodies. If we re- 
 ject this latter we must do so because we do not believe in the 
 power and doubt the promises of God, or because we profanely set 
 ourselves above the words of God, and choose among them which 
 we will accept and which not. 
 
 " And overthrow the faith of some." The doctrine of the resur- 
 rection of the body is a sharp test of faith. St. Paul shows, in 
 1 Cor. XV. that they who disbelieve in their own resurrection can- 
 not believe that Christ was raised, and if He was not raised " our 
 faith is vain." 
 
 19. '• Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having 
 
282 THIS SEAL. [II. Tim. 
 
 24?^^ Rorllii. 1^ Nevertheless^ the foundation of God standeth 
 
 35. 1 John ii. II sure, having this seal, The Lord ' knoweth them 
 
 II Or, steady, that are his. And, Let every one that nanieth 
 
 John x™i4] 27. tte name of Christ depart from iniquity. 
 
 See Namb. 
 
 vvi. 5. • 
 
 19. " The name of Christ." All authorities (^f, A., C, D., E., F., G., K., L., P., &c.) 
 read, "the name of the Lord." 
 
 this seal, The Lord," &c. In order to understand this place we must 
 first ask, why does the Apostle cite the words of Numbers xvi.5, " The 
 Lord will show who are his," ' but somewhat alters them in quoting 
 them into, ** The Lord knoweth them that are his" ? Evidently 
 because of the defection from the faith of Hymenaeus and Philetus, 
 and of those whose faith was overthrown by them. It is as if he 
 said, " These men and their followers seem to be believers, but 
 they are not really so." The Lord knoweth them that are His, 
 and no one else Jcnows them. It is strange, very strange, that men 
 who seem so very spiritual as to deny the resurrection of the body 
 on the highest evangelical grounds, should not belong to the Lord, 
 but they do not. There is a Church which standeth — the firm 
 foundation of God standeth — and on the foundation (Kev. xxi. 14), 
 of this Church there are two seals engraved, each with a separate 
 inscription. One of these is, " The Lord knoweth them that are 
 his." Many may be in this Church by profession, but the Lord 
 only knoweth whether they are truly His and will endure to the 
 end : and we are not to build upon what is known only to God — 
 we are not to say to ourselves, " I am known of God, and all else 
 is of no consequence." No. Do I name the name of Christ ? Am 
 I a professing Christian ? If so it is the Lord's will that I do not 
 busy myself with speculations about my election, but taking His 
 plain declaration respecting all who even so much as name His 
 Name, I must depart from iniquity. Bishop Wordsworth has an 
 excellent note : — *' The solid foundation of God's Spiritual House, 
 the Church, has these two mottos described upon it, * The Lord 
 knoweth them that are his' (Numb. xvi. 5 ; Nah. i. 7 ; John x. 14, 
 27). 'He seeth, loveth, and will preserve them from all peril.' 
 
 1 The words of the Septuagint are, " The Lord hath visited and known them that are 
 his, and who are holy, and has brought them to himsalf ; " but St. Paul here evidently 
 did not intend to cite the words of the Septuagint, though they very accurately describe 
 the doctrine usually imputed to him. 
 
Chap. II.] A VESSEL UNTO HONOUR. 283 
 
 20 ^But in a great house there are not only vessels of 
 gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth ; ^ i Tim. in. 15. 
 * and some to honour, and some to dishonour. > Rom. ix. 21. 
 
 21 "^ If a man therefore purge himself from "^ See isai. ih. 
 these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, 
 
 Here is a comfortable assurance of His favour towards us. And 
 (a second seal or motto), ' Let all who name the name of Christ 
 depart from iniquity ' (Numb. xvi. 26 ; Isaiah Hi. 3). ■ Let all who 
 profess to know the Lord and to worship Him, and who bear His 
 Name into which they have been baptized, ' eschew all things con- 
 trary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable 
 to the same.' (Examples of a G(ppayig, or gravure on a stone, may 
 be seen in Zechariah iii. 9, and Eev. xxi. 14.)" 
 
 20. "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and 
 of silver, but also," &c. The question arises, and a very important 
 one it is, what are the vessels made to dishonour ? He mentions 
 some of wood and some of earth, but these are as useful and as 
 necessary in their places as the vessels of gold and silver. Now 
 this teaches us how very different his views of God's election are 
 from what Predestinarians assume that they are. According to 
 such, in the great house there are vessels not made for an humbler 
 use, but to be broken and perish utterly — in fact, not only to perish, 
 but to be tormented for ever, because the great Artificer has made 
 them of wood rather than of gold or silver. 
 
 But this is by no means all. A vessel once made by the artificer 
 cannot change itself. It cannot become of any other material than 
 of that of which it was originally made. But here St. Paul represents 
 vessels as changing themselves. This is absolutely incompatible 
 with the idea that God has made a certain number of souls to be saved 
 and a certain number to be destroyed. It is, on the contrary, the most 
 surprising assertion of the freedom of the human will in Scripture : 
 for a man is not only supposed to be able, but is responsible for 
 changing himself from that which is typified by an earthen vessel 
 into that which is typified by a golden one. Hymenaeus and 
 Philetus had fallen from being golden vessels (for they had faith, 
 and some faith, or at least some spiritual discernment, is necessary 
 for men to profess a spiritual resurrection), into earthen ones, but 
 if they repented they might become gold or silver ones, that is, if 
 
284 FLEE ALSO YOUTHFUL LUSTS. [IL Tim. 
 
 and meet for the master's use, and "^ prepared unto every 
 
 n fh. iii. 17. good work. 
 
 oiTim.vi.ii. 22 Flee also youthful lusts: but ° follow righ- 
 
 I cil'^^''2 ^^' teousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that 
 
 I I Tim. i. 5 p call on the Lord "^ out of a pure heart. 
 
 A iv. 12. ^ 
 
 22. "That call on the Lord." A. only of all anthorities reads, " with them that love 
 the Lord." 
 
 they purged themselves from the error in question, and abstained 
 from associating with those who held it. By the fact that a man has 
 once fallen into this pernicious error, he is not condemned for ever, 
 but by cleansing himself may recover himself, and become a vessel 
 unto honour, sanctified, i.e., by the Holy Spirit, and meet for the 
 Master's use, Who has said, " I will be sanctified of them that 
 come nigh me." 
 
 "And prepared unto every good work." Even though he do it 
 not, he is fit for it and has a capacity for it. (Chrysostom.) 
 
 22. '* Flee also youthful lusts : but follow righteousness, faith," 
 &c. Timothy was now of middle age (between thirty-five and 
 forty in all probability), but the inclinations of youth continue be- 
 yond that. Chrysostom speaks of all lusts being youthful : " If 
 one be given to insolence, or a lover of power, or riches, or bodily 
 pleasure, it is a youthful lust, and foolish. These things must pro- 
 ceed from a heart not yet established, from a mind not deeply 
 grounded, but in a wavering state." But it is to be remembered 
 that such words as these are not addressed to Timothy only, but are 
 general precepts, or maxims, suited for all ministers at aU times. 
 And besides this, ministers, bishops, priests, deacons, require the 
 most general precepts, as well as the particular ones suited to their 
 order or grade in the ministry. If St. Paul had spoken to Timothy 
 as a saint of God of very advanced holiness, which, from many 
 indications in these Epistles he must have been, then these 
 Epistles would not have been, as they are, a directory, or manual 
 for all ministers of Christ in every age. 
 
 " But follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that 
 call." "FoUow," i.e., pursue these good dispositions of mind, 
 pm-sue them by prayer, by holy meditations, by exercising your- 
 seK in the practice of them, by diligently avoiding all that is 
 contrary to them. 
 
Chap.IL] gentle unto ALL MEN. 285 
 
 23 But ' foolish and unlearned questions avoid, ■• i Tim. i. 4. 
 
 ■^ &iT. 7. &vi.4, 
 
 knowing that they do gender strifes. ver. le. Tit. 
 
 24 And * the servant of the Lord must not s jit. iu. 2. 
 strive ; but be gentle unto all men, * apt to teach, ^ ^s^'xit"!* ix. 
 II patient, II Or./or- 
 
 " ^ bear hi g. 
 
 The reader will mark what I have asked him to notice several 
 times before, that in giving us lists of graces or virtues to be at- 
 tained to, St. Paul seldom puts them in the modern Evangelical 
 order; he, on two other occasions, does not put faith at the beginning 
 of the hst, and this not because he would exalt anything above 
 faith, but because he was not a slave to a system, as some of those 
 who profess to follow him are. 
 
 The "peace " of this verse is undoubtedly primarily peace in the 
 society or Church, as we learn from the two next verses. 
 
 23, 24. " But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing," 
 &c. These "foolish" and "unlearned" (or ignorant, or unre- 
 restrained) questions may be about any of the points which were 
 debated in the first age. They may have been questions about 
 meats and drinks, and divers washings ; they may have been 
 raised about some of the articles of the faith, as the Kesurrection, 
 but one thing is quite certain, they were not the questions of the 
 more advanced Gnosticism ; for St. Paul would never have told 
 Timothy to avoid these speculations. He would have told him to 
 put persons who entertained these blasphemies summarily out of 
 the Church until they repented. " Foolish and unlearned ques- 
 tions " was not the name for heresies which deprived God of His 
 Creatorship and Fatherhood, and Christ of His Sonship and unique 
 Mediatorship, and made the universe to be intrinsically evil. 
 
 24. " And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle,'' 
 &c. Is not the servant of the Lord to strive for the faith of the 
 Gospel? (Phil. i. 27.) Yes, but not in the spirit of worldly strife: 
 he must strive for the truth by putting it before men in the spirit 
 of gentleness, as he proceeds to say, " be gentle unto all men." 
 " How is it then," Chrysostom asks, " that he says, ' Piebuke with 
 all authority,' and again, * Let no man despise thy youth,' and 
 again, ' Kebuke them sharply.' Because this is consistent with 
 meekness. For a strong rebuke, if it be given with gentleness, is 
 most likely to wound deeply ; for it is possible, indeed it is, to 
 
286 IN MEEKNESS. [II. Tim. 
 
 u Gal. vi. 1, 25 ° In meekness instructing those that oppose 
 
 1 Pet.iii. 15.* themselves ; ^ if Grod peradventure will give them 
 
 y 1 T?m"ii.?. repentance ^ to the acknowledging of the truth ; 
 
 Tit 't'l' ^^ -^^^ ^^^^ *^®y ^^^y "^ recover themselves ^ out 
 
 t Gr. awake. 
 
 a 1 Tim. iii. 7- 
 
 touch more effectually by gentleness than to overcome by bold- 
 ness." 
 
 "Apt to teach, patient." These two must go together. There 
 must be aptitude for teaching, or the would-be teacher, if he has it 
 not, must lay himself out for some other department of the ministry, 
 as reading, visiting, consoling ; but no matter what the aptitude 
 for teaching, there must be patience, the patient inculcation, the 
 patient watching the opportunity, the patient bearing with dul- 
 ness, with ignorance, and with want of heart. 
 
 " Misbelievers are not to be met half-way by strife, but to have 
 the truth set before them by those who are apt to teach, who can 
 be patient with persons differing from themselves, and who will 
 do their work in meekness, placing the result altogether in God's 
 hands." (Blunt.) 
 
 25. "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if 
 God peradventure," &c. Observe, those that oppose themselves 
 require not only teaching, but repentance. When men refuse 
 the first principles of divine knowledge, it is not the head, but the 
 heart, which is in fault, and the man requires a change of heart, 
 viz., repentance. But can we say that all who now, in this age of 
 the Church, oppose or withdraw themselves from Church teachers 
 require repentance ? No, we cannot ; for teachers now are not 
 Apostles, as he was who gave Timothy these instructions, and yet 
 they who oppose the plain meaning of Scripture, or try to evade it, 
 should be plainly warned that it is not our word, but God's. We 
 must take heed that we faithfully reproduce the truth of God, and 
 they who oppose must take equal heed that, in opposing us, they 
 oppose not the Spirit of God. 
 
 26. " And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of 
 the devil," &c. The word translated " recover themselves," is an 
 unusual one. It seems to mean that they may " wake up to 
 soberness out of," &c. The snare of the devil is a state of somno- 
 lence or stupefaction from which they must rouse themselves up. 
 
Chap. III.] THE SNARE OF THE DEVIL. 287 
 
 of the snare of the devil, who are f taken captive by him at 
 
 his will. t Gr. taken 
 alive. 
 
 Extraordinary diflferences of opinion have been exhibited by 
 translators and commentators respecting the last clause " having 
 been taken alive by him at his will," for the pronouns "by him," 
 and " at his will " (or at the will of him) are different, and should pro- 
 perly refer to different persons. Bishop Ellicott renders it, "though 
 holden captive by him to do God's will." Similarly Alford, " Having 
 been taken by him in pursuance of God's will." Dr. Fairbairn trans- 
 lates or paraphrases it, " In meekness correcting those who oppose 
 themselves, if peradventure God may give them repentance so that 
 they may come unto the full knowledge of the truth, and that they 
 may return to soberness (and so escape) out of the snare of the 
 devil (by whom they had been taken captive) according to the will 
 of Him (God) Who for this end seconds the efforts of His servant 
 by giving the spirit of repentance." I cannot help thinking, how- 
 ever, that the grammatical difSculty is not great, for many 
 instances are adduced in which two different pronouns coming 
 close to one another refer to the same person. It seems a most 
 unusual figure to describe the converting grace of God as "being 
 taken alive by God at His will," especially when the Apostle 
 had been speaking of men being snared by Satan. Bishop Jackson, 
 in the Speaker's Commentary, seems to give the meaning that they 
 may wake up and escape out of the snare of the devil who were 
 taken captive by him according to the will of that evil one. The 
 latter part seems to describe exactly the spiritual condition of 
 many who at once, at the smallest solicitation of the devil, yield 
 themselves to him. 
 
288 PERILOUS TIMES. [n. Tim. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 ► 1 Tim. iv. 1. 'T^HIS know also, that * in the last days perilous 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 3. J, times shall come. 
 
 jnde 18. ' * 2 For men shall ** be lovers of their own selves, 
 
 b Phil. ii. 21. 
 
 1. " This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall 
 come." •' The last days." Are these the times of Christianity, that 
 is, the whole period between the two Advents, or are they the 
 times immediately preceding the Second Advent ? The last is by 
 no means impossible, for it was a first axiom with St. Paul and his 
 brother Apostles to regard the Lord as " at hand," and to live in 
 the constant expectation of His appearing. 
 
 " This know also," should rather be translated " but know this,'* 
 as if he said, " I have been telling you how you are in meekness 
 to instruct those that oppose themselves, and that God may give 
 them repentance ; but you must be forewarned that no exercise of 
 meekness and patient instruction on your part will enable you 
 (humanly speaking) to stem the torrent of ungodliness in the last 
 days." 
 
 " Perilous times shall come." Properly, hard, difficult times» 
 Some translate it "grievous." 
 
 In 1 Tim. iv., he had similarly forewarned Timothy. "Now 
 the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall 
 depart from the faith." It is to be remarked that in the present 
 list of evil things, apostasy from the faith is not specifically men- 
 tioned. The key to its application seems set forth in the last 
 words, "having a form of godliness, but denying the power 
 thereof." All these evils are consistent (as we have daily evidence), 
 with some outward profession of the faith, even with some degree 
 of faith. In the former passage (1 Tim. iv.) he seems to set forth 
 the fruits of apostasy from the fold, here the fruits of sinful living 
 within it. 
 
 2. " For men shall be lovers of their own selves." Note how 
 this is placed by the Apostle in the forefront of this evil array ; and 
 there is nothing more contrary to the truth of the mystical Body. 
 
Chap. III.] COVETOUS, BOASTERS, PEOUD. 280 
 
 * covetous, '^ boasters, ^ proud, ^ blasphemers, ^ dis- " ^ Pet. ii. 3. 
 obedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, e 1 Tim. vi. 4. 
 
 f 1 Tim. i. 20. 
 2 Pet. ii. 12. 
 
 Jude 10. 
 
 g Rom. i. 30. 
 
 " If we are members one of another, the welfare of our neighbour 
 is not his concern only, but that of the whole body, and the injury 
 of our neighbour is not confined to him, but distracts with pain all 
 else as well. If we are a building, whatever part is weakened it 
 affects the whole, while that which is solid gives strength and 
 support to the rest. So also in the Church, if thou" but slightest 
 thy neighbour, thou hast injured thyself. How ? In that one of 
 thy members has suffered no small hurt." (Chrysostom.) 
 
 ** Covetous," i.e., lovers of money. This naturally follows, for 
 money is that which more than all else ministers to self. 
 
 " Boasters." This also naturally follows, for those who are 
 selfish will arrogate to themselves all the credit of every thing. 
 
 " Proud." This also follows on selfishness, because the proud 
 are the worshippers or admirers of sell. 
 
 "Blasphemers." Translated by revisers " railers," by others 
 "evil speakers." 
 
 " Disobedient to parents." Here seems a new departure. The 
 Apostle had very strongly inculcated subjection and love in the 
 family (Ephes. v. 22-33 ; vi. 1-4). He had characterized the oppo- 
 site as one of the evil things into which God had permitted the 
 heathen to fall (Rom. i. 30), and now he includes it among the sins 
 of Christians in the last days. It is a very bad form of evil, in 
 that it is beginning life badly. It is impiety in its first and earliest 
 stage, because God has put our parents between us and Himself,, 
 and bids us reverence them till we can properly learn that He is 
 the first and Universal Parent, worthy of all childhke reverence 
 and confidence. 
 
 "Unthankful." If we are not thankful to those who are our- 
 first benefactors, who care for us when we are helpless, how shall 
 we in after life show thankfulness to either God or man ? 
 
 " Unholy." The first school of holiness is the family. Holiness 
 is primarily separation, the separation in the family, and so the 
 family typifies and prepares for the separation to God and the 
 Church. Evil is naturally kept out of the family ; purity is, one 
 may say, naturally cherished in it for its own sake. 
 
 u 
 
290 WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION. [II. Tim. 
 
 •'Rom. i. 31. 3 ** Without natural affection, ' trucebreakers, 
 false accusers, '^incontinent, fierce, despisers of 
 
 Rom. i. 31. 
 Or, make- 
 
 bates. Tit. ^i^Qgg tjja^ are good, 
 
 k 2 Pet. iii. 3. 4 ^ Traitors, heady, highminded, ™ lovers of plea- 
 
 m phV. 3 19. sures more than lovers of God ; 
 
 2Pet.ii. 13,&c. 
 
 Jnde 4, 19. 
 
 3. "Without natural affection." This seems terrible in those 
 naming the Name of Christ, that they should lose their natural, 
 one might say their animal virtue — for the brute creatures at times 
 display it intensely — but if men despise the teaching of Christ, 
 what wonder if God permits them to despise the teaching of 
 nature ? 
 
 " Trucebreakers." Most translations agree in rendering this 
 " implacable." If men have given up natural affection, how can 
 they exercise social self-restraint, forbearance, and generosity ? 
 
 " False accusers." Slanderers. 
 
 " Incontinent." Unable to restrain any passion — so that they 
 are slaves to that which is lowest and most aUied to the appetites 
 )f unreasoning creatures. 
 
 " Fierce." In this resembling savages and brute creatures, the 
 denial of the power of -godUness ending in their having no power 
 over their own angry passions. 
 
 " Despisers of those that are good." Very probably " no lovers of 
 good ; " " haters of good " seems too strong. We should rather attach 
 the idea of indifference to good, if we can. The Vulgate renders 
 *' sine benignitate." 
 
 4. Traitors (or betrayers), heady, high-minded," &c. 
 
 " Heady." Beaching forward without consideration, almost 
 always in some evil course. 
 
 " High-minded." The same word as in 1 Tim. iii. 6 is rendered 
 " lifted up with pride." 
 
 "Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." This means 
 those who, whenever the service of God and the enjoyment of 
 pleasure interfere with one another, invariably make some excuse 
 for choosing the latter. How often does the poor pleasure of sloth 
 keep from attendance at early Communion, and even from the 
 later matins ? How often does money spent in amusement pre- 
 vent many from assisting missions and supporting works of piety 
 
Chap. III.] A FORM OF GODLINESS. 291 
 
 5 Having a form of godliness, but "^denying the power 
 thereof : ** from such turn away. " i Tim. v. s. 
 
 6 For Pof this sort are they which creep into o2Thess!iii.6. 
 houses, and lead captive silly women laden with J Mrtt!^xx1ii. 
 sins, led away with divers lusts. ^*- ^'^- '• ^^* 
 
 and mercy! How often does self-indulgence so enervate hoth 
 body and mind, that there is no worship of God worth speak- 
 ing of? 
 
 6. *' Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: 
 from," &c. Attending church, singing hymns, repeating the re- 
 sponses, praising, or criticising the sermon, perhaps even at times 
 receiving the Eucharist, but having no truly Christian life as the 
 outcome of it all. 
 
 "From such turn away." Instruction is thrown away upon 
 them. They must first put away that form of evil mind or practice, 
 which prevents the truth from affecting them for good. 
 
 6. " For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead 
 captive," &c. The Apostle here denounces, not, of course, the in- 
 struction of women, but the way in which these heretics set about 
 the spread of their false doctrine. They did it clandestinely, 
 endeavouring to make converts of those who, being yet under the 
 dominion of sin, and having no sincere wish to be free from such 
 dominion, used the excitement of the false teaching of these men 
 as a set-oflf against the stern claims of righteousness and holiness. 
 The thing exists now in this nineteenth century just as much as 
 apparently it did in the first. Women being the softer and more 
 impressible sex, as they are the first to receive the impressions of 
 true religion, are also the more ready to receive the counterfeit. 
 Constantly have we of the Church to put our people, especially the 
 females, on their guard against the insidious practices of Plymouth 
 brethren on the one side, and Komanists on the other. 
 
 Baur and other rationalists have asserted that this " creeping 
 into houses," and "leading captive the silly ladies," was a charac- 
 teristic of the later Gnosticism, and so is a proof of the late origin 
 of the Epistle; but this seems to me a convincing proof that he and 
 those like him have made up their minds that these Epistles must 
 be rejected at all hazards. For what is more patent in the history 
 of all religious opinion than this, that as women are the first to 
 
292 JANNES AND JAMBRES. [II. Tim, 
 
 7 Ever learning, and never able ^to come to the know- 
 
 q 1 Tim. ii. 4. ledge of the truth. 
 
 1 f Tim.'vi^k 8 "" ^ow as Jannes and Jambres withstood 
 t Rom. i. 28. Moses, SO do these also resist the truth : ^ men 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 6. .-,*„■, • ji 
 
 Tit. i. 16. of corrupt mmds, * || reprobate concerning the 
 
 Ij Or, of no p •.-t 
 
 Judgment. laitn. 
 
 receive impressions of what is true, so, on the other hand, are they 
 easily led by what is wrong ? In the very first preaching of the 
 Gospel we read that the Jews of Antioch in Pisidia stirred up the 
 devout honourable women against the Gospel. Thus St. John, or 
 the Lord through him, has to warn two of the Churches of Asia 
 to be on their guard against the influence of women in seducing 
 to what is false (Eev. ii. 14, 20). 
 " Laden with sins." 
 
 7. •' Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of 
 the truth." They could not come to the full knowledge of the 
 truth, because they loved, and would not put away, their sins. 
 Cherished sin prevents the faculties of the soul or spirit from 
 embracing the full truth. 
 
 Some explain this " ever learning " as ever learning some new 
 things, and yet never- able to grasp the real truth. 
 
 8. *' Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these 
 also resist," &c. It is difficult to account for St. Paul's mention of 
 the names of these two magicians, except on this ground, that he 
 is alluding to persons who opposed the spread of the truth of God 
 by false miracles, just as these two magicians opposed the message 
 of Moses by then* enchantments. We have reason to believe from 
 two or three passages that the Jews traded in magical deceptions, 
 and employed them as a set-off to the true miracles of the Gospel — 
 thus Elymas, a Jew in Cyprus (Acts xiii. 6), and the seven sons 
 of Sceva, Jews in Ephesus (Acts xix. 14). It is clear also, as all 
 history assures us, that Simon Magus did not sincerely repent, and 
 so would go on using magical arts to hinder the spread of the 
 Gospel. In only this way, that I can see, could the false teachers 
 oppose the truth after the manner of the magicians in Pharaoh's 
 time.^ 
 
 1 The name of Jannes occurs as a noted magician in Pliny's " Natural History," xxx. 
 
Chap. III.] THOU HAST FULLY KNOWN. 293 
 
 9 But they shall proceed no further : for their folly shall 
 be manifest unto all men, "^ as their' s also was. " Ex. vii. 12. 
 
 10 "" But II thou hast fully known my doctrine, ix. 11." 
 manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, itS.!"*.!^' 
 charity, patience, " Or, thou hast 
 
 *' -•- been a diligent 
 
 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto Mower of. 
 me ^ at Antioch, * at Iconium, * at Lystra ; what 50. 
 persecutions I endured : but " out of ihem all the \ Aftsxiv %^* 
 Lord delivered me. '^^• 
 
 h Ps. xxxiv. 
 
 ■ 19. 2 Cor. i, 
 
 10. ch. iv. 17. 
 
 10. " Hast fully known." So D,, E., K., L., P., most Cursives; but \, A., C, F., G., 
 read, " didst fully know," 
 
 9. " But they shall proceed no further : for their folly shall be 
 manifest," &c. This seems to allude to some exposure of the pre- 
 tensions of these false teachers (which probably they incurred in 
 Ephesus itself) which has not come down to us. As the Egyptian 
 magicians could only imitate a few of the plagues, so the greater part 
 of the miracles wrought by the servants of Christ were utterly out 
 of the reach of the power of these impostors. 
 
 10. " But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, 
 purpose," &c. "Doctrine" — what I taught; "Manner of life" — how 
 I lived to what I taught. " Pm-pose," to establish the equality of the 
 Gentiles as true members of Christ — for that was the leading pur- 
 pose of his ministerial life. " Faith " — both what he held and what 
 he realized. 
 
 11. " Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch," 
 &c. These are particularly mentioned because they were the first 
 with which Timothy was personally acquainted. Timothy knew 
 all about the persecutions endured by the Apostles before he joined 
 himself to him, so that this knowledge might well be mentioned 
 here as showing his sincerity at the very first in embracing a 
 persecuted Gospel. 
 
 Bishop Wordsworth remarks a sign of genuineness in this epistle, 
 in that Antioch is mentioned without distinguishing which Antioch 
 
 2, and in " Apnleius Apol. II.," and they were mentioned, according to Eusebius (" Praep. 
 Evang.," ix. 8), by Nunenius of Apameia. (From Bishop Jackson, in "Speaker's Com- 
 mentary.") 
 
294 WORSE AND WORSE. [II. Tim. 
 
 12 Yea, and *^ all that will live godlj in Christ 
 
 e Ps. xxxiv. 
 
 19. Matt. -, 1, «. 
 
 xvi. 24. John Jesus shall suiter persecution. 
 
 xvii. 14. Acts TrtrtT* 
 
 xiv. 22. 1 13 ** But evil men and seducers shall wax worse 
 
 1 Thess! iii.'s. and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 
 
 d 2 Thes. ii. 
 
 11. 1 Tim. 
 
 iv. 1. ch. ii. 
 
 13. "Seducers." " Magicians," "jugglers.** 
 
 it was. A forger of forty or fifty years later would have desig- 
 nated it as Antioch in Pisidia, whereas the Apostle uses no such 
 mark of distinction, knowing that Timothy knew well which 
 Antioch it was. 
 
 12. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall sufi'er 
 persecution." This seems an axiom of universal appUcation. Two 
 of the beatitudes have reference to persecution. Our Lord also 
 denounces woe on those who are without any persecution. "Woe 
 unto you. Woe unto you, when all men speak well of you, for so 
 did their fathers to the false prophets." It arises from the nature 
 of things. The Christian religion allows not the smallest alliance 
 or compromise with any form of evil whatsoever. It demands the 
 whole heart and the whole life for Christ. The old form of evil, 
 idolatry, which set the world against Christ, has in these parts 
 passed away ; but the spirit of the world remains in the Christian 
 world. It is a spirit of laxity, whereas the Christian spirit is one 
 of strictness— of love, it is true, but still of strictness. The holy 
 life of the true Christian is a standing reproof of that of his 
 neighbours, and they are at times not able to bear the contrast ; 
 and so they worry, they ridicule, they cut, they do all sorts of 
 mean things ; they draw disparaging contrasts between the defi- 
 ciences in the lives of the truest saints and the high standard of the 
 Gospel. And so they insinuate hypocrisy. But true Christians 
 must remember that, though they assert the liberty and yet the 
 strictness of the law of Christ, they must do what they can to avoid 
 giving needless offence by the uncaUed-for profession of spirituality 
 or godliness, for the spirit of persecution is sin, and they must take 
 heed lest they needlessly excite it. 
 
 13. " But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse," &c. 
 '* Seducers " — literally, magicians or jugglers. This confirms what 
 I have said on verse 8. They were men who not only opposed the 
 true doctrine of Christ by false doctrine, but the true miracles of 
 
Chap. III.] CONTINUE THOU. 295 
 
 14 But ^continue thou in the things which thou hast 
 learned and hast been assured of, knowing of « ch. i. is. 
 whom thou hast learned them ; 
 
 15 And that from a child thou hast known 
 
 ' the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee f Joim v, 39. 
 
 15. " The holy scriptures." So A., C, E., K., L., P., most Cursives, &c. ; but H, D., 
 F., G., omit article. 
 
 Christ (that is, wrought by^His power by the hands of the Apostles,) 
 by false miracles. Kespecting the great prevalence of this form of 
 evil in Ephesus, see Acts xix. 19. 
 
 14. " But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, 
 and," &c. So 1 Tim. iv. 16, " Continue in them." It requires 
 great Christian effort to " continue " in what we have learned at the 
 first ; for to continue in these things is meant (by the Apostle, at 
 least,) that we continue in the practice and realization of them. 
 
 " Knowing of whom thou hast learned them." If we adopt the 
 reading of the received text, " of whom " in the singular {Trapa rivog), 
 then this refers to St. Paul. It is equivalent to his saying, 
 " Knowing that thou hast received them from an Apostle of Christ 
 — one especially sent by Christ, and inspired by Him to make 
 known all the counsel of God." If we, on the other hand, adopt the 
 reading preferred by some (and having considerable authority), " of 
 whom" in the plural, then it refers to Lois and Eunice, and it is as 
 if he said, " Thou knowest well the piety and love of the truth of 
 those who instructed thee in the Scriptures in thy childhood. God 
 would direct such true children of His aright, so confidently adhere 
 to what they have taught thee." 
 
 15. " And that from a child thou hast known the holy scrip- 
 tures." By these St. Paul, of course, means the Scriptures of the 
 Old Testament, as in the time of the childhood of Timothy no book 
 of the New Testament was in existence. 
 
 We read in the first chapter of this Epistle of the unfeigned 
 faith which was in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice ; 
 and here is an example of the working of this faith — they taught 
 him from his childhood to revere and learn the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 " Which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through 
 faith," &c. So the Lord had said, " Search the scriptures — they 
 are they which testify of me " (John v. 39). Our Lord, in re- 
 
296 ALL SCRIPTURE GOD-INSPIRED. [11. Tim. 
 
 wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ 
 
 Jesus. 
 
 1^2 Pet. i. 20, iQ g ^jj scripture is given by inspiration of 
 
 16. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is proOtable ; " or, "every 
 scripture God inspired is also profitable," &c. 
 
 proving the Sadducees, said, " Ye do err, not knowing the scrip- 
 tures, nor the power of God " (Matt. xxii. 29). The Scriptures, then, 
 coming from the God of Salvation, must be able to make men wise 
 unto Salvation. But how ? 
 
 " Through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Christ is the fulfil- 
 ment of the Old Testament. His Faith is the key to all its 
 mysteries ; His Sacrifice give the import of all its sacrifices. Take 
 the most precious of all prophecies — that of Isaiah liii. If we have 
 no faith in Christ we can only ask when we read this prophecy, 
 " Of whom doth the prophet speak this — of himself or of some 
 other man? " but if we believe in Christ, then it is, as it were, the 
 Gospel of Gospels, for of all Scripture it applies to our souls most 
 directly the Sufferings and Death recorded in the Four Gospels. 
 
 16. " All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profit- 
 able," &c. There has been much controversy about the exact 
 translation of this passage, but all are ultimately at one respecting 
 its meaning, which is, that the Holy Scriptures are the gift of God 
 to enable men to know what God desires that they should believe 
 and do. 
 
 The two principal renderings are given in the Authorized Trans- 
 lation, and in the Revised of 1881. The first, "All Scripture is 
 given by Inspiration of God and is profitable," asserts two things, 
 " the Inspiration of Scripture," and its " profitableness." The 
 second is, " Every Scripture inspired by God is also profitable." 
 This seems, on the face of it, to make a distinction between some 
 Scriptures and others— some as inspired and others not — the former 
 being profitable and the latter not. Now we cannot think that St. 
 Paul attempted here to emphasize any such distinction. He took 
 ** Scripture " in the sense in which the Jews usually understood 
 it, as the canonical books of the Old Testament, and he declared 
 that, being all God-inspired, they were profitable for doctrine, &c. 
 With respect to the Canon of Scripture, he would believe that God 
 had overruled by His providence the selection of the Books, so that 
 
Chap. HI.] PROFITABLE FOR DOCTRINE. 297 
 
 Grod, ^ and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
 tion, for instruction in righteousness : •* Rom. xv. 4. 
 
 none were admitted into the roll of Scripture except such as were 
 God-inspired. Now the converse of this cannot be asserted, viz., 
 that all the God -inspired books were included in Scripture ; be- 
 cause we read of many writings of prophets, such as Iddo and 
 others, which have not been preserved to us, and which are referred 
 to in the Old Testament as if they contained, so far as Jewish his- 
 tory is concerned, the truth of God. So that if prophets were in- 
 spired men in what they wrote, as well as what they said, then God 
 made a selection from many inspired writings, choosing some to be 
 enshrined in the Canon and some not. Now this is very important, 
 and emphasizes exceedingly the value of the old Testament Scrip- 
 tures as being select books, selected by God, through the Jewish 
 church, to be the guide of His people, and the preparation for the 
 coming of His Son. 
 
 We cannot here enter upon the subject of inspiration. It is not 
 verbal, i.e., inspiration of the exact words, for in thousands of in- 
 stances we do not know the exact words, nor if we knew them 
 could we give the exact translation. 
 
 And it has not been sufficiently considered that the Books of 
 Scripture are very different from one another, and require different 
 sorts of inspiration. Thus in the New Testament the writers of 
 the Gospels require a different inspiration to those who wrote 
 the Epistles. The Gospels require the inspiration of memory, 
 " He shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I 
 have said unto you." And the Epistles require a knowledge of the 
 internal state of the members of the Christian churches, and of the 
 particular doctrine which they require ; as, for instance, that the 
 Corinthians required the truth of the holiness of the human body 
 to be presented to them, and the Galatians required the inability 
 of the law to justify, seeing that it was mere command — having no 
 life, and so no strength, to enable men to obey the command. 
 
 Again, with respect to the Old Testament. The law of ritual in 
 Leviticus, or of social and national righteousness in Numbers 
 and Deuteronomy, required a different sort of inspiration to the his- 
 torical books in which, from the vast number of incidents compos- 
 ing Jewish history, those are selected which unfold the Divine 
 
298 PERFECT, THROUGHLY FURNISHED. [11. Tim. 
 
 JiTim.vi. 11. 17 ^That the man of Grod may be perfect, 
 fecte'cL^^' \\ ^ throughly furnished unto all good works. 
 
 k ch. iii. 21. 
 
 guidance of the nation ; and the Psalms, being hymns for the use 
 of the Church, required the inspiration of the poet, as well as of the 
 ethical writer ; and the prophets have their inspiration as special 
 messengers of God, to reprove the sins or encourage the hopes of 
 special times. 
 
 "And is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction," &c. 
 "For doctrine :" not so much for doctrine in our more restricted 
 sense of the word, but for teaching, whether of faith or morals. 
 
 " For reproof: " conviction of sin, or of error. 
 
 "For correction :" "for setting right" literally— restoration of 
 the weak or erring to the right way. 
 
 " For instruction in righteousness : " literally, for the discipline 
 or training which is in righteousness. 
 
 On these four uses of Scripture Chrysostom remarks : " From 
 thence we shall know whether we ought to learn, or to be ignorant 
 of any thing. Thence we may disprove what is false, thence we 
 may be corrected and brought to a right mind, may be comforted 
 and consoled, and if anything is deficient we may have it added 
 to us." 
 
 17. " That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished," 
 &c. The man of God might be either the minister of Christ, who 
 having to teach and expound the Scriptures must realize their in- 
 spirations and intent, or the private Christian who feeds on them, 
 meditates on them day and night, and so is well able to fulfil his 
 place in the Mystical Body. 
 
 " Throughly furnished unto all good works." Not merely taking 
 part in them, but " throughly furnished," so that whatever part he 
 takes he may do it well. 
 
Chap. IV.] PREACH THE WORD. 299 
 
 CHAP. lY. 
 
 ^CHAEGtE tJiee therefore before God, and tlie Lord 
 Jesus Christ, ^ who shall judge the quick and » i Tim. v. 21. 
 the dead at his appearing and his Iringdom ; li. 14. * 
 
 I 
 
 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out 
 
 b Acts X. 
 
 of season ; reprove, ^ rebuke, ^ exhort with all <= 1 Tim. v. 20, 
 
 Tit i 13 & 
 
 longsuffering and doctrine. ii. 15.' 
 
 d 1 Tim. iv. 
 13. 
 
 1. " Therefore." Omitted by H, A., C., D., E., F., G., P., nine or ten Cursives, d, e, 
 f, g, Vulg., Goth., Copt., Syriac ; but retained by K. L., and most Cursives. 
 
 1. "At his appearing." "By his appearing." So a. A., C, D., F., G., d, e, f, g, 
 Vulg. (Amiat.), &c. See below. 
 
 1. "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus 
 Christ," &c. I conjure or adjure thee, rather than I " charge " 
 thee. 
 
 " Before God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 " At his appearing and his kingdom." The two words " His 
 Epiphany " and " His Kingdom " are properly parts of the adjura- 
 tion itself. •' I adjure thee before God and Jesus Christ, and His 
 Epiphany, and His Kingdom." Thus Moses calls heaven and earth 
 to witness against the Israelites, that if they disobeyed God they 
 should surely perish. (Deut. iv. 26.) 
 
 Notice God is the Judge of all — of all the earth, and yet He has 
 committed all judgment to the Son. 
 
 2. " Preach the word," i.e., the word of the Gospel. It does 
 not mean preach the word of the Scriptures, but preach the 
 Christ Who is witnessed to all through the Scriptures. 
 
 "Be instant in season, out of season." Properly, be urgent, 
 
 press on. •' Mr. ," said a bishop of the last century to a 
 
 preacher who by no means confined himself to his own parish, ** I 
 hear that you preach at aU sorts of irregular times ? " " My lord," 
 was the rejoinder, " I preach at only two times, ' in season ' and 
 * out of season.' " 
 
 *• Reprove," i.e., convince. 
 
300 ITCHING EARS. [II. Tim. 
 
 3 *For the time will come when they will not endure 
 « ch. iii. 1. f sound doctrine ; * but after their own lusts 
 g ch. S. 6. shall they heap to themselves teachers, having 
 itching ears ; 
 
 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the 
 &?v^7™'Tit! truth, and ^ shall be turned unto fables. 
 !• \*' 5 But watch thou in all things, ^ endure afflic- 
 
 » ch. i. 8. & ^ ' 
 
 ii. 3. 
 
 6. " Endure afflictions." A. only adds, " as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 
 
 *' Rebuke," i.e., having convicted them of sin, expose it to them 
 as sinful, as dishonourable to God and disgraceful to themselves. 
 
 " Exhort." Urge upon them to flee from the wrath to come, to 
 repent and be converted. 
 
 *' With all longsuffering and doctrine : " i.e., be unwearied in 
 bringing to bear upon them all the truth of Christ. 
 
 3. " For the time will come when they will not endure sound 
 doctrine." " Sound doctrine," rather the sound doctrine such as 
 St. Paul and his companions taught, which opposed itself to every 
 form of sin and evil. 
 
 "After their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers." 
 It need not be assumed that the Apostle here alludes to Gnostical 
 teachers, rather I should think he alludes to the passion for novelty 
 or human eloquence, which characterizes all ages of the Church, 
 and to those teachers who pandered to it. This is one of the evils 
 which naturally arise from teachers or pastors being chosen en- 
 tirely by the congregation and dependent upon them for their 
 means of subsistence, so that when tired of hearing the same 
 wholesome truths they dismiss them. 
 
 4. " And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and 
 shall be turned unto fables." This is the Nemesis. They do not 
 desire the truth of God, and so God gives them up to delusions 
 that they should believe lies. 
 
 5. *' But watch thou in all things," &c. Literally, be sober, but 
 such must not be the rendering, because it gives to the English 
 mind a very different idea from that which the Apostle means. 
 Fairbairn's observations are good. It denotes a vigilant, wakeful, 
 considerate frame of mind, which takes good heed to what is pro- 
 
Chap. IV.] I AM READY TO BE OFFERED. 301 
 
 tions, do the work of ''an evangelist, || make full Eli'^^'^ti^* 
 proof of thy ministry. I Or, fulfil. 
 
 6 For ^ I am now ready to be offered, and the coi. i. 25". 
 time of ™ my departure is at hand. 1 phii. li. 17. 
 
 7^1 have fought a good fight, I have finished g^J'sPei'^^* 
 my course, I have kept the faith : i- 1^. 
 
 •^ ^ n 1 Cor. ix. 
 
 24, 25. Phil. 
 
 iii. 14. 1 Tim. 
 vi. 12. Heb. 
 xii. 1. 
 
 7. " A good fight." " The good fight. 
 
 ceeding around, and with calm and steady aim pursues its course. 
 The Vulgate rendering is " Vigila." 
 
 " Do the work of an evangelist." The work of an Evangelist 
 was the preaching or proclaiming the Gospel message, after which 
 came the work of the Pastor or Teacher. Timothy, though he had 
 the whole care and government of the church of Ephesus laid upon 
 him, was not to remit this ; just as St. Paul, who had on him the 
 care of all the churches, was to the last a " preacher" as well as 
 Apostle and teacher of the Gentiles. (1 Tim. ii. 7. ) 
 
 " Make full proof of thy ministry." Fulfil thy ministry, neglect 
 no part of it. Do thy utmost to render it effectual on all points. 
 
 6. " For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my de- 
 parture," &c. Literally, I am already being offered as a drink- 
 offering (compare note on Phil. ii. 17). Observe how, in these last 
 words of the Apostle, he applies sacrificial language to his ap- 
 proaching martyrdom. He would not have done this if he had 
 thouglit, or had been inspired by the Spirit to think, that it was 
 wrong in the sight of God to apply sacrificial terms to any thing 
 except the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross. 
 
 "The time of my departure." Analysis — my dissolution, the sepa- 
 ration of my soul from my body, and my body into its component 
 parts. Some, however, refer it to a meaning of the verb dvaXvtOy 
 which betokens departing from a banquet, others the loosing of a 
 vessel to go on its voyage. 
 
 7. " I have fought the good fight." Not a good fight, as cha- 
 racterizing his own fight as good, but the good fight, i.e. the good 
 fight of faith which he had exhorted Timothy to fight (1 Tim. vi. 
 2), and in which all the followers of Christ, by the fact of their 
 being called soldiers, are engaged. 
 
 " I have finished my course." Eather *' race." the race which all 
 
302 A CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. [II. Tm. 
 
 1 Cor. ix. 25. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me ° a crown 
 
 Jam. i. 12. . -^ . 
 
 1 Pet. V. 4. of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
 
 Rev.ii.lO. ° ° 
 
 Christians have to run for the prize. To this course or race he had 
 alluded some six or seven years before, in his charge to the elders 
 of Ephesus, at Miletus, " Neither count I my life dear unto myself, 
 so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which 
 I have received of the Lord Jesus." (Acts xx. 24.) 
 
 *' I have kept the faith." How extraordinary that the Apostle 
 should make this dying declaration. Was it not perfectly easy to 
 him to keep so simple a thing as the truth of Christ incarnate, 
 crucified, risen and ascended ? Whether anything approaching to 
 a temptation to deny any part of it had ever crossed his mind we 
 know not. Only these words seem to imply that it was only by 
 God's grace and by his own efi'ort that he had done so. However, 
 this place reads us, in these last days, a lesson. For the time may 
 be close at hand respecting which our Lord asks, " When the 
 Son of man cometh shall he find the faith on the earth ? " (Luke 
 xviii. 8.) 
 
 8. " Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
 which," &c. The crown of righteousness, not the kingly crown, 
 but the victor's crown ;. the crown assigned by God to him who had 
 maintained his righteousness, wrought righteousness, battled for 
 righteousness. " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee 
 a crown of life." This crown, whatever it was, was " of life," and 
 " for righteousness." It has been noticed that St. Paul never in 
 all his letters speaks as confidently as he does here, and this was 
 on the very eve of his martyrdom. In Phil. iii. 12, 13, he writes, 
 *'not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect — 
 I count not myself to have apprehended." In 1 Cor. ix. 27, " I 
 keep under my body .... lest by any means when I have preached 
 to others, I myself should be a castaway." How miserably, then, 
 are they mistaken who encourage the merest neophytes, those who 
 have only just begun to be religious, to apply these words to them- 
 selves ; seeing they have only just begun to put on their armour 
 or to start on their race, whilst the Apostle, having gained the 
 victory, was putting off his armour and was finishing his race. 
 
 " Which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that 
 day : " i.e., not at the day of death, but the day of His appearing. 
 
Chap. IV.] AT THAT DAY. 303 
 
 judge, shall give me ^at that day: and not to me only, but 
 unto all them also that love his appearing. p ch. i. 12. 
 
 9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me : 
 
 10 For *JDemas hath forsaken me, "■ having pifnem''24*' 
 
 r 1 John ii. 15. 
 
 All hope is concentrated on that day of His appearing. Thus Titus 
 ii. 13, "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious Epiphany 
 of the great God and Saviour of us, Jesus Christ." Again, in St. 
 John, " When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall 
 see him as he is." (1 John iii. 2.) 
 
 Chrysostom remarks well : " He who loves His appearing will 
 do every thing to ensure, before His general coming, a particular 
 coming to himself. And how, you will say, is this possible? 
 Hear from Christ, Who says, ' If a man love me, he will keep my 
 words, and my Father and I will come to him, and make our 
 abode with him.' And think how great a privilege it is that He 
 Who will appear to all generally should promise to come to us in 
 particular, for He says, ' We will come and make our abode with 
 him.' If any man love His appearing he will do everything to 
 invite Him to himself, and to hold Him that the light may shine 
 upon him." 
 
 " And not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appear- 
 ing." Notice how the Apostle is careful to assert that this crown 
 will not be given to him only and to other great saints, but will 
 be a gift bestowed upon all who look for the coming of the Lord in 
 glory. 
 
 9, 10. " Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me : For Demas 
 hath forsaken," &c. The Apostle was utterly alone and yearned 
 for the comfort of the presence of such a fellow-helper and son in 
 the faith. 
 
 " For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved," &c. Was this 
 apostasy on the part of Demas ? If so he would scarcely have gone 
 back to Thessalonica, where Christ had so many followers, and St. 
 Paul had so many friends. May we not ascribe it to unworthy 
 cowardice ? though, of course, it might lead to apostasy. 
 
 We should be very careful how we, in this age of security and 
 freedom in professing the Gospel, condemn Demas. Have any of 
 us lived in such an age as that of Nero ? Have we ever seen any 
 of our friends and fellow Christians dying deaths of inexpressible 
 
304 ONLY LUKE IS WITH ME. [IL Tim. 
 
 loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica ; 
 Crescens to Galatia, Titus imto Dalmatia. 
 • Seech. i. 15. 11 ^ Only *Luke is witli me. Take "Mark, 
 Phi'iemy24.' and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to 
 &xv?37"*Soi. me for the ministry. 
 
 ir. 10. 
 
 10. "Crescens to Galatia." So A., D., E., F., G., K., L., P., most Cursives; but K, 
 C, a few Cursives, and Cod. Amiat. read, " Gallia." 
 
 agony, and being in doubt whether our turn might not come next ? 
 We trust that God will accept the disgrace that has attached to the 
 name of this man for eighteen centuries as the punishment for his 
 sin in abandoning His Apostle in his hour of loneliness. 
 
 " Crescens to Galatia." This Galatia is not improbably Gaul, 
 So Eusebius iii. 4 : " But of the rest that accompanied Paul, Cres- 
 cens is mentioned by him as sent to Gaul." Theodoret also says 
 that it means Gaul. The churches of Vienne and Mayence, we are 
 told, claim Crescens as their founder. 
 
 " Titus unto Dalmatia." A district on the east coast of the 
 Adriatic. 
 
 It has been asked whether these companions of St. Paul shared 
 in any degree in the blame attached to Demas ? We think it cannot 
 possibly be so, for St. Paul attaches the stigma of worldliness to 
 Demas, and in all fairness he would have blamed the other two 
 if in the least degree they were companions of Demas in his 
 desertion. 
 
 11. "Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee,'* 
 &c. St. Luke had been one of his most constant companions ; he 
 had been with him in his perilous voyage to Kome (Acts xxvii) : 
 and had been his companion at Rome, and now he alone is by the 
 Apostle's side. But why was Mark also " profitable to him for the 
 ministry ?" May I suggest this — he had been at Eome as the com- 
 panion or amanuensis of St. Peter, and had published from his lips 
 that Gospel which contains such a graphic delineation of the inci- 
 dents of our Lord's life. Such a man, with such knowledge of the 
 earthly life of Christ, would be profitable even to St. Paul in the 
 work of the ministry. 
 
 It is interesting to remember that when Paul and Barnabas set 
 out on the first missionary journey to the heathen they had John 
 Mark for their minister. 
 
Chap. IV.] ESPECIALLY THE PARCHMENTS. 305 
 
 12 And "" Tychicus have I sent to Epliesus. ^Actsp 4. 
 
 '' Eph. VI. 21. 
 
 13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, Coi. iv. 7. 
 
 Tit. iii. 12. 
 
 when thou comest, bring ivith thee, and the hooks, 
 but especially the parchments. 
 
 12. "And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus." No doubt to take 
 the superintendence of the Church in the temporary absence of 
 Timothy. In Coloss. iv. 7, St. Paul calls him " a beloved brother 
 and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord." 
 
 13. "The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou 
 comest," &c. There has been much difference of opinion respect- 
 ing this " cloke." It is translated in the Vulgate by pcenula, a 
 thick garment for winter's use. It has been supposed by Chry- 
 sostom to be a small case or bag for holding books. Some have 
 even supposed it to be an Eucharistic vestment ; but why should it 
 not be the pcenula, to which meaning the word in Greek directs us? 
 
 In conversing upon the Inspiration of Scripture I have been 
 more than once asked whether this direction of St. Paul to bring 
 back his cloke was inspired ? I answer, it does not require inspira- 
 tion to direct that a cloke should be brought to him, but it requires 
 the special providence of God that such a direction should be 
 included in such an Epistle as this ; and it seems to me to teach us 
 much. It shows us that an Apostle might without sin be careful 
 about property which might be useful to him, to his body as well 
 as to his mind, as the books would be. And taken into considera- 
 tion with the words which immediately precede respecting his 
 martyrdom, it is very instructive : for, as Bishop Wordsworth 
 says, "the mention of these minor details — the cloke, the books, 
 and the parchments here specified — soon after these glowing 
 aspirations for martyrdom, and these fervent aspirations for glory 
 in the verses immediately preceding, is very affecting, interesting, 
 and instructive, as showing that these aspirations and anticipa- 
 tions were not the outcome of fanatical enthusiasm." They are 
 " touches of nature," showing that such organs of the Spirit of God 
 as the Apostles were not ascetics, far above vulgar earthly wants, 
 but men of hke feelings with ourselves in all things. 
 
 Chrysostom has a quaint remark : " The cloke he requires, that 
 he might not be obliged to receive one from another. For we see 
 him making a great point of avoiding this." 
 
 X 
 
306 THE LORD STOOD WITH ME. [II. Tim. 
 
 14 ^ Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil : * the 
 y Acts xix. 33. Lord reward him according to his works : 
 
 1 Tim. i. 20. ^ 
 
 2 2 Sam. iii. 15 Of whom be thou ware also ; for he hath 
 4!^" R?v.^^''"' greatly withstood || our words. 
 
 Tor Inr ^^ "^^ ^7 ^^^* auswcr no man stood with me, 
 
 preachings. a -^^^ ^n ^g^ f orsook me : ^ I prav God that it may 
 
 a ch. i, 15. Jr ;r J 
 
 b Acts vii. 60. not bc laid to their charge. 
 
 c Mat. X. 19. 17 c Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, 
 
 Acts xxiii. 11. 
 
 & xxvii. 23, 
 
 14. " The Lord reward him." So E**., K., L., most Cursives, d, e, Vulg. (Amiat.) ; 
 but a, A., C, D*., E*., F., G., fourteen Cursives, f, g, Goth., Syriac, read, "shall 
 reward." 
 
 "The books, but especially the parchments." The "books," 
 probably j)a^2/'*i; the "especially" shows that the parchments 
 were much more valuable. What were written in these books or 
 parchments it is the idlest folly to conjecture ; but being anxiously 
 sent for at such a time by such a man, they must have contained 
 what was very valuable. 
 
 14. " Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil : the Lord 
 reward him." 
 
 15. " Of whom be thou ware also," iScc. The overwhelming 
 majority of the best authorities is in favour of the future tense — 
 *'the Lord will reward him." If, however, it be the optative, we 
 are to remember that this curse upon this evil doer was from the 
 Spirit which inspired St. Paul. He seems to have been an invete- 
 rate persecutor and opponent of the truth. 
 
 16. "At my first answer no man stood with me," &c. This was, 
 in all probability, some trial which he had undergone during his 
 second imprisonment, in which he was an accused person, charged 
 with belonging to a religio illicita, the adherents of which the 
 emperor had accused of setting fire to the city of Eome. " If the 
 words may be taken technically, the ' first defence ' might be on 
 the first hearing, or ' actio prima,^ after which, if the judge was not 
 satisfied, came an adjournment, * ampUatio.' The accused were 
 usually assisted at their trial by an advocate who gave advice, and 
 an orator or patronus who made the speech for his client . . . 
 none such stood with St. Paul " (Bishop Jackson). 
 
 17. "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened 
 me ; that," &c. This brings to our remembrance, " I am not alone, 
 
Chap. IV.] THE LORD SHALL DELIVER ME. 307 
 
 and strengthened me; '^that by me the preaching might be 
 
 fully known, and that all the G-entiles mi^ht hear : ^ Acts ix. 15. 
 
 "^ ^ & xxvi. 17, 18. 
 
 and I was delivered ^ out of the mouth of the lion. Eph. iii. s. 
 
 18 ^ And the Lord shall deliver me from every 2 Pet.^I! 9. * 
 evil woi-k, and will preserve me unto his heavenly ^ ^^- *'*'''• '^• 
 
 ^ •■ g Rom. xi. 36. 
 
 kinordom : to whom he fflory for ever and ever. Gai. i. 5. 
 
 ° & ^ Heb. xiii. 21. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 19 Salute ^Prisca and Aquila, and 'the house- ^ Actsxviii. 2. 
 
 ^ Rom. xvi. 3. 
 
 hold of Onesiphorus. i ch. i. le. 
 
 18. "And the Lord." So E., F., G., K., L., P., most Cursives, Syriac, ^th. ; bat ». 
 A., C, D., d, e, f, g, Vulg., Copt., Arm., omit " and." 
 
 because the Father is with Me." Similarly the Lord strengthened 
 him at Corinth with the words, " Be not afraid ; I am with thee " 
 (Acts xviii. 9). 
 
 " That by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all 
 the Gentiles might hear." This trial of the Apostle seems from 
 this to have presented an opportunity which he never had had 
 before of preaching the Gospel before the highest ones of the earth. 
 It has even been supposed that Nero was present in person, and 
 that the "lion " from whose mouth St. Paul was delivered was the 
 emperor. It seems to have been somewhat of a proverbial saying 
 to express deliverance from some tyrant or oppressor. Mr. Blunt 
 gives two instances from the Apocrypha. 
 
 18. " And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and 
 will," &c. This is accounted by almost all commentators to be a 
 reminiscence of the Lord's Prayer: "But deliver us from evil. 
 For thine is the kingdom." Some notice that if this be the fact 
 (and it seems very likely), the doxology was in the earliest times 
 appended to the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 There was in the Apostle's belief but a very short time inter- 
 vening between this utterance and his death by the sword : so that 
 this deliverance cannot be one from martyrdom, but must be God's 
 upholding him in the crisis he had to undergo. It seems parallel 
 to that in our burial service : " Suffer us not at our last hour for 
 any pains of death to fall from thee." 
 
 19. "Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesi- 
 phorus." For Prisca (Priseilla) and Aquila, see notes on Acts 
 
308 ERASTUS, TROPHIMUS. [II. Tim. 
 
 20 •* Erastus abode at Corinth : but ^ Trophimus have I 
 k Acts xix. 22. left at MiletuiH sick. 
 I Acts XX. 4. 21 "" Do thy diligence to come before winter. 
 
 & xxi. 29. 
 
 m ver. 
 
 20. " Miletum ; " rather, " Miletns." 
 
 xviii. 2. St. Paul from his first acquaintance with them kept up 
 kindly and Christian communication with them all through his 
 life. When he wrote his First Epistle to the Corinthians they were 
 with him, and sent greetings to the Church of Corinth (1 Cor. xvi. 
 19). In Romans xvi. 3, 4, he greets them from Corinth, and here, 
 at the close of his life, he desires to be remembered to them. 
 
 " The household of Onesiphorus." See notes on i. 16 of this 
 Epistle. 
 
 20. " Erastus abode at Corinth : but Trophimus have I left at 
 Miletum sick." If Erastus is the same as the chamberlain or 
 treasurer of Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23), then Corinth was his home. 
 He stayed then at Corinth after (as Bishop Wordsworth conjectures) 
 St. Paul had paid some visit to that city, and evidently at the 
 desire of the Apostle. It is conjectured, and with some probability, 
 that as St. Paul had mentioned with deserved blame the defection 
 of Demas, he made particular mention of these two companions 
 for the purpose of exonerating them from any possible imputation 
 of unfaithfulness. Trophimus could only have been left at Miletus 
 in some interval between the first and second imprisonments. 
 That he was left there in a state of sickness shows that the Apostle's 
 gift of healing was not permitted by God to be employed for 
 private needs, even for the purpose of securing to him the services 
 of his closest friends, but was only to be used when there was some 
 clear intimation of the Spirit that it was fitting. 
 
 21. "Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth 
 thee, and Pudens." This is the only mention of Eubulus. No- 
 thmg is known of him. His name does not appear in the 
 Calendar. 
 
 " Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia." Pudens was an ofi&cer of 
 the Roman army, who married Claudia, the daughter of the British 
 king, Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus. He with his wife and Linus 
 are mentioned frequently by the poet Martial; and probably 
 Pudens' name occurs in an inscription discovered in 1723 in 
 
Chap. IV.] PUDENS, LINUS, CLAUDIA. 309 
 
 Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, 
 and all the brethren. 
 
 Chichester. I give in a note the substance of the article in Smith's 
 "Dictionary of the Bible." ^ A far more exhaustive account the 
 reader will find in a note in Lewin's "Life of St. Paul," vol. ii., 
 p. 392. 
 
 "And Linus." This man was no doubt the first Bishop of Rome. 
 Irenaeus thus speaks of him : " After that the blessed Apostles had 
 founded the Church at Eome they committed the Bishoprick of that 
 city to Linus. This Linus is mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistles 
 to Timothy." Eusebius also mentions him as first Bishop of 
 Eome : " After the martyrdom of Paul and Peter, Linus was the 
 first that received the Episcopate at Eome" (bk. iii., ch. 11). In 
 the Canon of the Mass his name is commemorated immediately 
 
 1 About the end of the sixteenth century it was observed that Martial, the Spanish 
 poet, who went to Rome, A.D. 66, or fsarlier, in his twenty-third year, and dwelt there for 
 nearly forty years, mentions two contemporaries, Pudens and Claudia, as husband and 
 wife (Epig., iv. 13) ; that he mentions Pudens or Aulus Pudens in i. 32, iv. 29, v. 48, vi. 
 58, vii. 11, 97, Claudia or Claudia Rufina in viii. 60, xi. 53, and, it might be added, Linus in 
 i. 76, ii. 54, iv. 66, xi. 25, xii. 49. That Timothy and Martial should have each three 
 friends bearing the same names at the same time and place is at least a very singular 
 coincidence. The Pudens of the poet was his intimate acquaintance, an admiring critic 
 of his Epigrams, an immoral man if judged by the Christian rule. He was an Umbrian 
 and a soldier; first he appears as a Centurion aspii-ing to become a Primipilus ; after- 
 wards he is on military duty in the remote north, and the poet hopes that on his return 
 thence he may be raised to Equestrian rank. His wife Claudia is described as oi British 
 birth, of remarkable beauty and wit, and the mother of a flourishing family. A Latin 
 inscription found, in 1723, at Chichester, connects a [Pud]ens with Britain and with the 
 Claudian name. It commemorates the erection of a temple by a guild of carpenters, with 
 the sanction of King Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, the site being the gift of [Pudjens, 
 the son of Pudentinus. Cogidubnus was a native king appointed and supported by Rome 
 (Tacitus, Agricola, 14). He reigned, with delegated power, probably from A.D. 52 to 
 A.D. 76. If he had a daughter she would inherit the name Claudia, and might, perhaps, 
 as an hostage, be educated at Rome. 
 
 Another link seems to connect the Romanizing Britons of that day with Claudia and 
 with Christianity. The wife of Aulus Plautius, who commanded in Britain from A.D. 43 
 to A.D. 52, was Pomponia Graecina, and the Rufi were a branch of her house. She was 
 accused at Rome, a.d. 57, on a capital charge of *' foreign superstition," was acquitted, 
 and lived for nearly forty years in a state of austere and mysterious melancholy (Tacitus, 
 Ann,, xiii. 32). We know, from the Epistle to the Romans, xvi. 13, that the Rufi were 
 well represented among the Roman Christians in A.D. 58. 
 
 On the whole it is difficult to believe that these facts add nothing to our knowledge of 
 the friend of St. Paul and Timothy. They are treated at great length in a pamphlet 
 entitled " Claudia and Pudens," by Archdeacon Williams, Llandovery, 1848 ; and more 
 briefly by Dean Alford, " Greek Testament," iii. 104, ed. 1856. 
 
310 GRACE BE WITH YOU. [II. Tim. 
 
 n Gal. vi. 18. 22 " The Lord Jesus Christ he with thy spirit. 
 
 Ptiilem.25. ^ -, . . . 
 
 Grace be with you. Amen. 
 
 ^ The second epistle unto Timotheus, ordained 
 the first bishop of the church of the Ephe- 
 t Gr Ccesar siaus, was Written from Eome, when Paul 
 
 i^ero, or, the ^as brouffht bcfore t Nero the second time. 
 
 emperor. '^ ' 
 
 22. " The Lord Jesus Christ," So C, D., E., K., L., P., most Cursives, d, e, f, g, 
 Vulg., Syriac. A. reads, '* the Lord Jesus." S, F., G,, reads, " the Lord," without 
 addition. 
 
 after that of the Apostles : " As also of the blessed Apostles and 
 martyrs, Peter and Paul . . . Simon and Thaddeus, Linus, Cletus, 
 Clement," &c. 
 
 " And all the brethren." This shows that the names just men- 
 tioned were " of note among the brethren." 
 
 22. *' The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with 
 you." These are the last words written by the Apostle in the New 
 Testament. They echo his first words to the Thessalonian Church, 
 to which he wrote, " Grace be unto you, and peace." 
 
 Bishop Jackson remarks: "The salutation is two-fold. To 
 Timothy, and to his flock : ' The Lord Jesus be with thy spirit ' 
 ifieTu Tov TTvev/jiaTog aov) ; and to the flock, ' Grace be with you i 
 
EXCURSUS ON THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 PAKT I. 
 
 The first act of the Lord after His Baptism was the designation 
 of certain men to be His ministers (John i. 35-40). He inaugu- 
 rated the ministry of the Church long before He founded the 
 Church itself. A great principle is involved in this : it is that the 
 Church is in no sense its own creation, neither is the ministerial 
 office the creation of the Church. Now it is quite clear that if it 
 had been His "Will matters might have been ordered very difife- 
 rently. The Church might have been left to itself to choose its 
 own ministry. Instead of appointing the ministry Himself, the 
 Lord might have gathered together all His followers, and bid them 
 select from themselves those whom they esteemed the most highly. 
 On the Ascension of the Lord it might have been in a state like 
 the Society of Friends, or, as I understand it, that of the Plymouth 
 Brethren, having no settled ministry, but each assembly of the 
 Christians in the upper rooms of particular houses (and several 
 thousand persons must have required very many places of assembly), 
 might have been left to assert its oWn independence, and to frame its 
 doctrine and worship according to its own ideas of what is right and 
 fitting. Such would have been the assertion of the absolute freedom 
 ofthe Gospel, as some understand it, from its very outset. Butthevery 
 contrary to this took place. The Lord appointed twelve, to whom He 
 spokevery extraordinary words, "As my Father sent me, so send I 
 you," " Whoso receiveth youreceivethme,"&c. These twelve founded 
 the Church. They preached the salutary words, the Holy Ghost 
 pricked the hearts of the elect to receive those words, and then the 
 Church commenced. Its beginning is described in the words, 
 *' Then they that (gladly) received his word were baptized, and the 
 same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 
 And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, and in (their) 
 
312 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers .... 
 and the Lord added to the Church daily such as were being saved " 
 (Acts ii. 41, &c.). 
 
 And as it began, so it continued. The ministry of the New 
 Testament from beginning to end is exercised either by these 
 Apostles or under them. Till the conversion of St. Paul, or rather 
 till the time of their dispersion to preach the Gospel, they appear 
 to have acted in concert as one man, and their spokesman and 
 leader seems to have been St. Peter. It is probable that many of 
 them took the persecution after Stephen's speech as a warning for 
 them to disperse, for after that we never read of the twelve, only of 
 " the Apostles which were at Jerusalem." 
 
 During the years which intervened between the Day of Pente- 
 cost and the conversion of St. Paul, two other orders of the minis- 
 try seem to have been appointed or developed. Of that which is 
 called the Diaconate we have a full account in Acts vi. : not so of 
 the Presbyterate ; there is not one word respecting its inaugura- 
 tion, and yet it must have been appointed very soon after Pente- 
 cost. For the circumstances of the case demanded it, which were 
 something of this sort. Shortly after Pentecost there were above 
 five thousand Christians in Jerusalem, and their number was daily 
 increasing. These, no doubt, religiously attended the services in 
 the vast temple, but where did they assemble for the special wor- 
 ship of the Church, the breaking of bread, or for instruction in the 
 pecuhar doctrines of Christianity ? No doubt in the upper rooms 
 of private houses ; but, if so, there must have been a very large 
 number of such rooms, for it would be a very large house which 
 had a room in which one hundred and fifty or two hundred persons 
 could assemble, and the Christians were not a wealthy oommunity. 
 These assemblies were no doubt presided over by the elders, who 
 later on were called by St. Paul overseers, or episcopi, because of 
 their so presiding. All these were, after the dispersion of the 
 Apostles from Jerusalem, under one elder or episcopus, St. James. 
 Whether he was an Apostle or not is uncertain. But one thing is 
 certain, that all the congregations of the Church at Jerusalem were 
 under him. It is impossible to suppose that the elders, if they 
 wished, could displace him, or that they could assemble together 
 and act without his authority, or that any of the separate congre- 
 gations could assert an independence which they might suppose 
 was inherent in them as congregations, according to the supposed 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 313 
 
 principles of Christian liberty/ The presidency or episcopate of 
 St. James, then, was the link with which they were connected with 
 the Apostolic fellowship. Every notice of St. James in the New 
 Testament shows that he was the bishop of Jerusalem in the pre- 
 sent sense of the term bishop. The following deserve attention. 
 
 When St. Peter was delivered from prison he directed that tidings 
 of his release should be conveyed to " James and to the brethren " 
 (Acts xii. 17). This of itself, of course, would prove little or 
 nothing, but taken in connection with other notices, it comes in 
 like an undesigned coincidence between two parallel narratives, 
 confirming the truth of both. 
 
 The next notice of St. James is the account of his presiding at 
 the council held in Jerusalem respecting the circumcision of the 
 Gentiles, and delivering his sentence ex cathedra, as it were : " My 
 sentence is that we trouble not them which from among the Gen- 
 tiles are turned unto God ; but that we write unto them that they 
 abstain," &c. (Acts xv. 19). That he should have so delivered the 
 sentence in the presence of the Apostles is only to be accounted for 
 by the fact that the perpetual oversight of the Church of Jerusalem 
 had been committed to him. 
 
 The third notice is when St. Paul, on his arrival after his third 
 journey, is reported to have *' Gone in unto James, and all the 
 elders were present" (Acts xxi. 18). The mention of his name 
 here, as distinguished from the elders who were present, agrees 
 with the other notices of his governing position. 
 
 He is mentioned in Gal. ii. ,9 as the first of the three which 
 *' seemed to be pillars," and a little further on those Jewish Chris- 
 tians, on account of whose presence even Peter and Barnabas laid 
 themselves open to reproof, are significantly said to have " come 
 from James " (Gal. ii. 12). 
 
 The first of all the churches, then, was as strictly under episcopal 
 regimen as any Church of any succeeding age, and its whole or- 
 ganization must have come direct from the Spirit of God, through 
 the human instrumentality of the Apostles themselves. 
 
 Almost the whole of the remainder of the New Testament, Acts 
 
 1 This is by no means an unlikely supposition. The Assembly of the Council recorded 
 in Acts XV, betrayed an agitated and uneasy state of feeling which, unless overruled by 
 the calm decision of St. James, might have led to a fatal disruption, the basis of which 
 would be the assertion of freedom in different congregations to act according to their 
 respective views of the sort of Christianity to be imposed on the Gentiles. 
 
314 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 and Epistles, is occupied with the Apostolic ministry of St. Paul. His 
 Apostolic commission came, as he expressly states, not *' of men, 
 neither by man," i.e., not by popular election, nor by designation 
 of the other Apostles, but directly from Christ. His solemn setting 
 apart to his office was by the express word of the Holy Ghost: 
 •'The Holy Ghost said. Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the 
 work whereunto I have called them " (Acts xiii. 2). Yet even in 
 his case the laying on of hands was not dispensed with. Though 
 he had seen the Lord, and had been caught up into Paradise, he 
 had yet to submit to the Divinely appointed rite. His life, as re- 
 corded in the New Testament, was spent in preaching the Gospel, 
 founding churches, superintending them, revisiting them, writing 
 letters to establish them in the truth which he at the first had 
 preached to them, and to warn them against false teaching. 
 
 Now in what way, after what fashion, did he exercise his 
 authority ? I say it with the utmost reverence, he exercised his 
 authority autocratically. He never allowed anyone (as, for in. 
 stance, the older Apostles) to share his authority, and he never 
 allowed it to be disputed. He based its exercise upon his Apos- 
 tolical commission, which he asserted in very express terms at the 
 beginning of most of his Epistles. 
 
 The following are instances : " Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, 
 called to bean Apostle ... by whom (i.e., by Christ Jesus) we have 
 received grace and Apostleship " (Eom. i. 1-5). See also 1 Cor. 
 i. 1 ; 2 Cor. i. 1 ; Gal. i. 1 ; Ephes. i. 1. 
 
 When he associates others with himself, as sending the opening 
 salutation, he never joins these persons with himself as Apostles. 
 It is Paul an Apostle, and Sosthenes our Irother, Timothy our 
 h'other. (1 Cor. i. 1 ; 2 Cor. i. 1 ; 1 Coloss. i. 1). 
 
 In the Epistle to the Galatians he intimates that he is equal in 
 authority with Peter and John (Gal. ii. 9). 
 
 In the two Epistles to the Corinthians we find several direct asser- 
 tions of his apostolical authority. "I think that God hath set forth 
 us the Apostles last." " Am I not an Apostle ? " " Have we not 
 power to lead about ... as the other Apostles," &c. " I am the 
 least of the Apostles " (1 Cor. iv. 9 ; ix. 1, 5; xv. 9). Again, 
 "I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles," and 
 " In nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles " (2 Cor. xi. 5 ; 
 lii. 11). 
 
 Now he exercised this authority with all the love and tenderness 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 315 
 
 of a parent. He never exercised it for selfish ends. He called 
 himself, and he acted as, the least of all, and the servant of all. He 
 abased himself; he worked with his own hands rather than be 
 chargeable ; he intreated his converts ; he implored them ; he was 
 with them in meekness, and in fear, and in much trembling 
 (1 Cor. ii. 3) ; he even made their prayers a condition of his own 
 salvation (Phil. i. 19) ; but with all this he never let the reins of 
 power out of his own hands, he never permitted his authority to bo 
 called in question, and he allowed no opposition. 
 
 The following instances will show that I have not overstated 
 this : " I will come to you shortly, and will know, not the speech 
 of them which are puffed up, but the power." " What will ye ? 
 Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of 
 meekness?" (1 Cor. iv. 19, 21). 
 
 The next case is exceedingly remarkable. The Church of 
 Corinth, through its local presbytery or overseers, had passed over 
 a case of the grossest immorality conceivable. This had come to 
 the ears of St. Paul, and instead of mildly requesting them to 
 assemble, and themselves adjudicate upon the matter, he sent to 
 direct them what verdict they should pronounce, and what judg- 
 ment they should inflict. " I verily, as absent in body, but present 
 in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concern- 
 ing him that hath so done this deed. In the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with 
 the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto 
 Satan," &c. (1 Cor. v. 3). 
 
 The reader will perceive that the Apostle leaves nothing to the 
 discretion of the Corinthian Church — to its congregations, its 
 presbyters or overseers — but simply commands them to act accord- 
 ing to his directions. If it be said that this was acting harshly, we 
 reply that a worse case of laxity on the part of persons assuming to 
 be a Church court could hardly be conceived. If he uncere- 
 moniously superseded them they richly deserved it. 
 
 Again, " I command, yet not I, but the Lord ... so ordain I 
 in all Churches." " I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in 
 all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them unto you." 
 " The rest [of the regulations respecting the Eucharist] wiU I set 
 in order when I come." " Concerning the collection for the saints, 
 as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia, even so do ye '* 
 (1 Cor. vii. 10, 17 ; xi. 2, 34; xvi. 1, 10). 
 
316 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 *' If I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes for- 
 gave I it in the person of Christ." " Titus . . . remembereth the 
 obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received 
 him." " Being absent, now I write to them which heretofore have 
 sinned, and to all other, that if I come again I will not spare " 
 (2 Cor. ii. 10 ; vii. 15, 16 ; xiii. 2). "I desire to be present with 
 you now, and to change my voice, for I stand in doubt of you " 
 (Gal. iv. 20). 
 
 "We have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do 
 and will do the things which we command you." " If any man 
 obey not our word by this epistle, note that man." (2 Thess. iii. 
 4. 14.) 
 
 Upon the above I would remark that there is not one word in 
 any Epistle of any organization in any Church which would 
 remove that Church, for any purpose, from under his supervision. 
 We have no word of any bishop, or local presbytery, or synod, or 
 periodical conference, or union of congregations, or chapter, pos- 
 sessing any independent authority. Whatever ecclesiastical organi- 
 zation there was in these Churches the Apostle never recognizes it 
 as a power or estate which had authority to sit in judgment on his 
 letters. 
 
 Now in many of these Churches, particularly in the Corinthian, 
 there must have been many persons endowed with special gifts of 
 the Spirit. We should have thought that the abundant possession 
 of such gifts would have made any Church comparatively inde- 
 pendent of Apostolic control. But it was not so. The Spirit so 
 ordered His influences that they never clashed with that Apostolic 
 authority by which He Himself primarily worked. 
 
 On the contrary the Apostle demands that such persons, in token 
 of their being inspired by the Spirit, should recognize his superior 
 inspiration. " If any man think himself to be a prophet or 
 spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto 
 you are the commandment of the Lord " (1 Cor. xiv. 37). 
 
 At the end of the eleventh chapter of his First Epistle to 
 the Corinthian Church St. Paul tells the Church that when he 
 comes he will set in order certain matters pertaining to the cele- 
 bration of the Eucharist. How was it, seeing that there were 
 in the Church many persons endowed with spiritual gifts, that they 
 could not among themselves settle matters of detail of this sort ? 
 Simply because it was the will of God that all matters of any im- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 317 
 
 portance (and nothing connected with the due celebration of the 
 Eucharist could be of small importance) should come to the Church 
 through the Apostles. 
 
 We have now to consider by what means the Apostle was able to 
 exercise control over Churches in all parts of the world. He must 
 have had some special instrumentality for doing this, for he 
 speaks of there coming daily upon him " the care of all tho 
 Churches " (2 Cor. xi. 28). 
 
 We have no difficulty in ascertaining this, for the Apostle had at 
 least twenty persons attached to him, who were not merely his 
 companions, but his ministers under his orders, like the staff of a 
 commanding officer (Acts xix. 22 ; xx. 4). 
 
 The most prominent of these were Silas, Timothy, Titus, 
 Epaphras, Erastus, Trophimus, Aristarchus, and Tychicus. The 
 names of the rest which are mentioned in Scripture are Sosthenes, 
 Luke, Mark, Apollos, Demas (before his defection), Epaphroditus, 
 Crescens, Artemas, Eubulus, Sopater, Gains (perhaps), Secundus, 
 Jesus called Justus, Zenas. From the notices we have of these 
 men we see that they did not follow him about for the sake of 
 companionship, but to cany his messages to the Churches, and to 
 bring back reports of their state to him. 
 
 First, Timothy. In the first notice of him (Acts xvi. 1-4) we read 
 that the Apostle would have him go forth with him ; then he left 
 him with Silas at Berea (Acts xvii. 14). Then he sent for him 
 again " to come to him with all speed " (xvii. 15). Then when at 
 Athens, being troubled with doubts respecting the spiritual warfare 
 of the Thessalonian Church, he sent him to Thessalonica (1 Thess. 
 iii. 1, 2). Then he was comforted with the good news brought by 
 Timothy, and wrote to them his First Epistle. 
 
 Then, on another occasion, he sent unto Macedonia two of them 
 that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus (Acts xix. 22). 
 Again, " I have sent unto you Timotheus, who shall bring yon 
 into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every- 
 where in every Church." Again 1 Cor. xvi. 10. Again he was sent 
 to the Philippians, that he might report their state to the Apostle 
 (ii. 19), and this too almost immediately after St. Paul had sent 
 Epaphroditus, whom he styles his brother and companion and 
 fellow-soldier. 
 
 Respecting Titus, we learn from the 2nd Epistle to the Corin- 
 thians that between the sending of the first and second Epistle, 
 
318 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 Titus had brought a report of their state to the Apostle who had 
 sent him to them as his representative, for only in that capacity 
 would such a church have received a subordinate like Titus " with 
 fear and trembling" (2 Cor. vii. 15). 
 
 And he sends Titus again to them, and desires them to consider 
 him as his (St. Paul's) " partner and fellow-helper " (2 Cor. viii. 23.) 
 
 Tychicus was another whom St. Paul actively employed in the 
 same oversight. He dispatched him to Ephesus and to Colosse, 
 evidently to see to the state of these Churches. To the Ephesians he 
 writes : "That ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, 
 a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make 
 known unto you all things," &c. (vi. 21). To the Colossians: "AH 
 my state shaU Tychicus declare unto you .... whom I have 
 Bent unto you .... that he might know your estate " (iv. 7, 8). 
 
 "When in prison at Kome the Apostle sent him to Ephesus 
 (2 Tim. iv. 12), and he also intimates to Titus that he might send 
 Tychicus or Artemas to him, to bring him to the Apostle at Nico- 
 pohs (Titus iii. 12). 
 
 Such was the episcopate or oversight exercised by St. Paul over 
 all the Churches which he had planted or founded — all closely 
 watched or controlled in his absence by means of a large staff of 
 subordinates who were his companions and disciples, and who 
 consequently knew. how he would act under any circumstances 
 which might arise. 
 
 Not a single word respecting any independent action to be exercised 
 by boards of presbyters or single congregations, so that they should 
 be free to oppose him or his delegates in any matter in which the 
 Church was concerned. 
 
 One point yet remains. "What provision did he make for the 
 government of these Churches after his death ? "We have full in- 
 formation on this point in his three last Epistles, one written 
 shortly before his martyrdom (2 Timothy). These letters are 
 written to two of his most active helpers ; and from what they 
 contain and from what they omit we can entertain no doubt as to 
 }iow the Apostle would have the government of the Churches 
 carried on after his decease. 
 
 They contain a solemn transmission of his Apostolical authority 
 (so far as its governing element was concerned) to these two men, 
 through whom, as his ministers, he had so long acted ; and they 
 totally omit to give any intimation that this authority was to cease 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 319 
 
 and to be superseded by some oligarchical or (so called) democratic 
 form. They provide for its continued exercise through individuals. 
 They make no provision for its future exercise in synods of pres- 
 byters all officially equal, and deciding their differences by a 
 majority of votes. 
 
 First they assume the continuance of the Apostolic authority in 
 the persons of Timothy and Titus. 
 
 Proofs are " I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus . . . that 
 thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine " 
 (1 Tim. i. 3). Here is authority given to Timothy over teachers 
 and preachers. In the third chapter the qualifications needful in 
 candidates for two orders of ministers, bishops and deacons, are set 
 forth as if Timothy had both the sole choice of these persons and 
 the sole power of ordaining them, the Apostle distinctly implying 
 (verses 14 and 15) that in the choice or ordination of these men 
 Timothy was to act for him. 
 
 In the fifth chapter the Apostle gives directions to Timothy 
 respecting elders (or older persons), and widows, as if nothing 
 was left to the discretion of the local authorities. The words in 
 chapter vi. 3, " If any man teach otherwise," &c., taken in connec- 
 tion with other intimations which we have before noticed, evidently 
 imply that St. Paul conveyed to Timothy his own authority over 
 all teachers in the Ephesian Church. In 2 Tim. ii. 2, we have 
 a very plain authority given to Timothy to look out and ordain 
 teachers, and in verses 14 and 15, and in chap, iv. 2-4, directions to 
 Timothy respecting his treatment of false teachers. 
 
 Similarly Titus was left in Crete that he might "set in order the 
 things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city " (Tit. i. 5). 
 The qualifications of these bishops, or elders, are afterwards enume- 
 rated, as if Titus alone was responsible for their appointment and 
 ordination. St. Paul also enjoins him to " rebuke sharply " 
 (Tit. i. 13), *'to rebuke with all authority" (ii. 15), and to "reject 
 an heretic after the first or second admonition " (iii, 10). 
 
 Now these three Epistles are the only ones in which there 
 are any directions whatsoever respecting the government of the 
 churches. In no other Epistle is there one word respecting the 
 choice, qualifications, or ordination of ministers, and those three 
 Epistles are not written to Chm-ches, but to Apostolic men to 
 whom the Apostle was committing his authority. 
 
 Now if it had been the will of God that His Church should bo 
 
820 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 ruled on some Presbyterian model, or that each separate congrega- 
 tion should rule itself independently of all other Churches, all such 
 matters as ordinations of ministers would most certainly have been 
 left to the Churches themselves. If God had intended that the lay 
 people should be the source or depository of Church power, or that 
 authority should in future reside in boards of presbyters, would not 
 Epistles bearing on Church rule have been most certainly sent to 
 them ? Would they not have been plainly told that all ecclesiastical 
 power had been entrusted to them — that is, to the laity — that they 
 must in the interests of Christian liberty, religiously guard the 
 deposit from encroachment, and beware lest in the infancy of the 
 Church an evil precedent should be established if they allowed 
 even the companion and fellow-helper of an Apostle to usurp the 
 authority inherent in the x^resbyters of the Church, or in each 
 particular congregation itself? But no such words are written to 
 them ; they are never bidden to watch their rights with jealousy, 
 they are admonished rather to obey and submit themselves. 
 
 Throughout the Pastoral Epistles we have no intimation that 
 the authority committed to Timothy and Titus was transitory and 
 abnormal, for, if so, seeing the uncertainty of human life, we should 
 have had directions to these men to establish a permanent system 
 — indeed such must have been on this hypothesis the main purpose 
 of such Pastoral Epistles. But there is no hint in any part of these 
 Epistles about forming Presbyteries or Apostolic directions as to 
 their action, if already formed — no word to associate others with 
 themselves (Timothy and Titus) as judges of either doctrines or 
 persons. Timothy is directed to receive no accusation against an 
 elder except before two or three witnesses, as if he alone were the 
 judge (1 Tim. v. 19), and Titus is enjoined to reject a heretic after 
 the first and second admonition (Tit. iii. 10). 
 
 If. the office of such men as Timothy and Titus was temporary, 
 I can only say that on all Presbyterian or Congregational principles 
 it was established just at the wrong time ; for the ecclesiastical 
 powers committed to these men in the Pastoral Epistles must have 
 seriously interfered with, or rather rendered impossible, the due 
 action of any Presbyterian or Congregational system which might 
 have been established by Divine authority. Just at the very time 
 when the Churches were learning to walk alone, and with firm 
 step, in their newly acquired Congregational or Presbyterian liberty, 
 we have the Apostle himself binding on them the authority of 
 
THE CHllISTIAN MINISTRY. 321 
 
 individual rulers, and giving to these rulers not one word respecting 
 the temijorary nature of the authority he had committed to them, 
 but actually implying that it should last till the Second Advent 
 itself. (1 Tim. vi. 14 ; 2 Tim. iii. 1 ; iv. 1.) 
 
 From what has been adduced from Scripture in the foregoing 
 pages, we gather that the government of the Churches founded by 
 St. Paul was Apostolic, merging after the Apostle's death into 
 Episcopal. By Episcopal government I mean government centred 
 in one man ; not, of course, so that one man should govern with 
 the absolute autocracy of the inspired Apostle, but that in each 
 place or neighbourhood there should be one centre, not many 
 centres, of rule. 
 
 It is abundantly clear, then, from the Apostolical Epistles, that 
 the power of ordaining and overseeing was not derived from the 
 people through the presbyters to a president, or exercised by the 
 people through deacons, or in popular assemblies, but authority 
 was transmitted by the Apostles to the Apostohc delegates or 
 vicars, and by them to individual overseers. 
 
 In the Epistles of the other Apostles there are no directions 
 whatsoever respecting the government of the Church. 
 
 The messages of the Lord to the Angels of the Churches through 
 St. John, are in all probability addressed to the Bishops of the 
 respective Churches. 
 
 So far as to the principles on which the Apostolic Churches were 
 governed. It must be abundantly clear to the reader that such 
 principles could not develop into the organizations of the Presby- 
 terian or Congregational bodies, and would necessarily develop 
 into the Episcopacy, which early ecclesiastical history presents to 
 us as flourishing in full vigour all over the world. 
 
 All Ecclesiastical history presents to us the phenomenon of the 
 huge cities of the Roman Empire, Rome itself, Alexandria, Antioch, 
 Jerusalem, Ephesus, having each but one ecclesiastical head, not 
 elected annually, and not removable by the popular will. 
 
 Now seeing that, even on heathen testimony, there was an im- 
 mense multitude of Christians in some of these cities, and seeing 
 that the Churches were all this time under persecution, and so 
 could not erect buildings of any size, it is clear that there must 
 have been in these cities a great number of comparatively small 
 congregations, each consisting of as many persons as a large room 
 or court of a house would hold, and yet we read of but one supreme 
 
 T 
 
322 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 ecclesiastical governor or bishop in each of these cities, with whom 
 all the separate congregations were in unison, as the centre or heart 
 of the ecclesiastical Koiviovia. 
 
 Such is the natural outcome of the Apostolic precedent as it 
 existed in the first of all Churches — that of Jerusalem — and as it 
 was exercised by the Apostle St. Paul in all the Churches which he 
 planted. 
 
 The earliest ecclesiastical writers exhibit the Church as governed 
 on the paternal or monarchical principle. 
 
 Ignatius, who in his early years was a contemporary of the 
 generation which knew the Apostles Peter and Paul, and lived 
 long before the death of St. John, writes letters to several Churches 
 in which the Episcopal regimen of the Churches is taken for 
 granted. He speaks of Church government by bishops, presbyters, 
 and deacons, as existing and recognized. He never for a moment 
 supposes that the presidency of the first, the bishops, required to 
 be pressed upon an unwilling Church, or a Church to which such 
 a thing was new. The following is taken from the Epistle to 
 Polycarp (Syrian Eecension), " I will be instead of the souls of 
 those who are subject to the bishop and the presbyters, and the 
 deacons, with them may I have a portion in the presence of God." 
 
 From a multitude of other passages we select the following: 
 " So that ye obey the bishop and the presbyters with an undivided 
 mind, breaking one and the same bread " (To the Ephesians, 
 ch. xx). " But be ye united with your bishop, and those who pre- 
 side over you." "Neither do ye any thing without the bishop 
 and presbyters " (To the Magnesians, vi. vii). In all the places in 
 Ignatius which refer to Episcopal government there is not one 
 which. speaks of it as a new thing that the presbyters, deacons and 
 people should be subject to a bishop elevated from among the 
 presbyters. On the contrary it seems taken for granted in every 
 place that it is the normal constitution of the Church, and normal 
 in the sense of being established by God, and existing in all parts 
 of the world. 
 
 The latest date assigned to the martyrdom of Ignatius is a.d. 116, 
 that is, less than fifty years after the martyrdom of St. Paul. The 
 teaching of his Epistles exactly accords with the Apostolic regimen 
 which St. Paul worked through his large band of subordinates in 
 every Church which he planted. 
 
 At the end of the second century, that is within seventy or eighty 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 323 
 
 years after the martyrdom of Ignatius, we have the testimony of 
 three fathers of the Church to the Ecclesiastical government of 
 their times — and their times, that is, the times to which their 
 memory of ecclesiastical masters reached back, must have extended 
 to the former part of the century, and the elderly men whom they 
 knew in their youth must have lived in the times of St. John. 
 
 One of these, Irenaeus (a.d. 180), writes : " We are in a position 
 to reckon up those who were by the Apostles instituted bishops in 
 the churches, and (to demonstrate) the succession of these men to 
 our own times, those who neither taught nor knew of anything 
 like what these (heretics) rave about. For if the" Apostles had 
 known hidden mysteries, which they were in the habit of impart- 
 ing to the perfect apart and privily from the rest, they would have 
 delivered them especially to those to whom they were also com- 
 mitting the churches themselves. For they were desirous that 
 these men should be very perfect and blameless in all things, 
 whom also they were leaving behind as their successors, delivering 
 up their own place of government to these men." 
 
 I would here interrupt the quotation, and remark that this 
 exactly describes the conduct of St. Paul to the men whom he 
 gathered around him, and through whom, as I have shown, he 
 communicated with the various churches and ruled them. What 
 can show the anxiety of St. Paul that those who were to succeed 
 him should be " very perfect and blameless in all things," more than 
 the Epistles to Timothy? Again, "The blessed Apostles, then, having 
 founded and built up the Church (of Rome), committed unto the 
 hands of Linus the office of the episcopate. Of this Linus, Paul 
 makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded 
 Anencletus, and after him, in the third place after the Apostles, 
 Clement was allotted the bishoprick." Again, " But Polycarp also 
 was not only instructed by Apostles and conferred with many who 
 had seen Christ, but was also by Apostles in Asia appointed bishop 
 of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for 
 he tarried a very long time, and when a very old man gloriously 
 and most nobly suffering martyrdom," &c. (" Against Heresies," 
 took iii. ch. 3.) 
 
 Clement of Alexandria (a.d. 180-200) mentions the three orders 
 in the words, " The promotions of bishops, of presbyters, and of 
 deacons are imitations, as I conceive, of the angelic glory." 
 
 Clement could not have written such a sentence if he knew that 
 
324 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 the elevation of the episcopate proper above the other two orders 
 was not from the first, but had taken place in his earlier years, or 
 a little before ; and he was a man of great power of mind and 
 learning, and so could hardly have been in error upon a point like 
 this. 
 
 And, in the third place, TertuUian, flourishing before the end of 
 the century, writes : " But if there be any heresies which venture 
 to plant themselves in the midst of the age of the Apostles, that 
 they may therefore be thought to have been handed down from 
 the Apostles, because they existed under the Apostles, we may say, 
 * Let them then make known the originals of their churches, let 
 them unfold the rolls of their bishops, so coming down in succes- 
 sion from the beginning, that their first bishop had for his ordainer 
 and predecessor some one of the Apostles, or of Apostolic men, so 
 he were one that continued steadfast with the Apostles.' For in this 
 manner do the Apostolic Churches reckon their origin, as the 
 Church of Smyrna recounteth that Polycarp was placed there by 
 John ; as that of Rome doth that Clement was in hke manner 
 ordained by Peter. Just so can the rest also show those whom, 
 being appointed by the Apostles to the episcopate, they have a& 
 transmitters of the Apostolic seed " (De Prsescrip. Haer. xxxii.). 
 
 These testimonies, too, may be said to be from the whole Chris- 
 tian world of that time, for Irenaeus was in Gaul, Clement in 
 Alexandria, and TertuUian in Carthage. 
 
 Now these passages do not so much prove the early existence all 
 over the world of episcopacy, as of episcopacy founded upon Apos- 
 tolical succession. If episcopacy had been a late introduction into 
 the Church, and established, as some suppose, by St. John, it could 
 not have been cited as it is by Irenseus and TertuUian as hand- 
 ing down Apostohc doctrine ; because if St. John went about the 
 parts within easy reach of Ephesus for the sake of elevating worthy 
 presbyters into bishops, who was it who did this good office for the 
 rest of the world ? If St. Paul, for instance, had estabhshed Pres- 
 byterian polity or anything like it in the Churches he had founded, 
 is it in the least degree probable that such Churches would have 
 universally exchanged their apostolically founded polity for the 
 polity of another Apostle to whom they did not owe their conver- 
 sion to Christ ? Would they not have resisted to the uttermost 
 any such an infiringement of their liberties, particularly since St. 
 Paul had in some shape or other constantly claimed the authority 
 
THE CHKISTIAN MINISTRY. 325 
 
 of Christ and of the Holy Ghost for what he said and did, and had 
 asserted very strongly the equality of his commission with that of 
 the other Apostles, including St. John ? (Kom. i. 1-5 ; xv. 15-19 • 
 1 Cor. ix. 1, 2 ; ii. Cor. xii. 12 : Gal. i. 1 ; ii. 6-9). 
 
 For it is to be remembered that each of the three forms of rule 
 which have been established amongst Christians — Episcopacy, 
 Presbyterianism, and Congregationalism — embodies a principle: 
 Episcopacy embodies the principle of Apostolic government con- 
 tinuing in paternal rule ; Congregationahsm, on the other hand, 
 embodies the assertion of such absolute freedom, that any claims 
 to outward unity by the whole mystical body are mischievous. Not 
 only is every congregation absolutely free as against the claims of 
 the Catholic Church, but each member of each particular Church, 
 if he can get two or three to think with him, can estabhsh a Church 
 independent altogether of the Church from which they secede, and 
 licence can scarcely be imagined to go further. In fact the worthy 
 persons who hold this view may be congratulated upon having 
 (humanly speaking) abolished a deadly sin, for on congregational 
 principles no one can commit the sin of schism. Neither the 
 universal Church, the national Church, the diocese, nor the con- 
 gregation have any claims on strictly congregational principles 
 upon the individual unit. 
 
 The mode of government carried on by St. Paul, as it appears in 
 his Epistles, is as far as possible a continuation of the Apostolic. 
 He seems to have had no idea that the Apostolate would cease, but 
 that, as far as possible, it would be carried on in the persons of the 
 Apostolic men whom he had attached to himself, as his disciples 
 and fellow-workers. The existence of such men so trained and 
 disciplined by him demands the continuance of Apostolic oversight 
 or Episcopacy. Let the reader conceive the continuance of such 
 persons in any city or neighbourhood, and he will reahze how im- 
 impossible it would be to maintain Presbyterian parity or congre- 
 gational independence in their presence. 
 
 Now these Apostohc men are recognized in two of the writers 
 whom I have cited — Irenseus and TertuUian — as the link between 
 the Apostolic oversight and post-Apostolic episcopacy. Thus 
 Irenaeus: " They were very desirous that these men should be very 
 perfect and blameless in all things, whom also they were leaving 
 behind as their successors, delivering up their own place of govern- 
 ment to these men." And TertulUan : " Let them unfold the roll 
 
826 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 of their bishops, so coming down in succession from the beginning 
 that their first bishop had for his ordainer or predecessor, some one 
 of the Apostles or of Apostolic men." 
 
 Again, the earliest ecclesiastical historian, Eusebius, takes notice 
 of these " Apostolic men " thus : " That Paul preached to the Gen- 
 tiles, and established Churches from Jerusalem and around as far 
 as lUyrium, is evident both from his own expressions, and from 
 the testimony of Luke in the book of Acts ; and in what provinces 
 Peter also proclaimed the doctrine of Christ — the doctrine of the 
 New Covenant — appears from his own writings . . . throughout 
 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. But how many, 
 and which of these, actuated by a genuine zeal, were judged suit- 
 able to feed the Churches established by these Apostles, it is not 
 easy to say, any further than may be gathered from the writings of 
 Paul. For he, indeed, had innumerable fellow-labourers, or as he 
 himself calls them, fellow-soldiers, in the Church. Of these the 
 greater part are honoured with an indelible remembrance by him 
 in his Epistles, where he gives a lasting testimony concerning 
 them. Luke also in his Acts, speaking of his (St. Paul's) friends, 
 mentions them by name. Timothy, indeed, is recorded as having 
 first received the Episcopate at Ephesus, as Titus also was ap- 
 pointed over the Churches in Crete. . . . But of the rest that 
 accompanied St. Paul, Crescens is mentioned by him as sent to 
 Gaul. Linus, whom he has mentioned in his Second Epistle to 
 Timothy as his companion at Eome, has been before shown as the 
 first after Peter that obtained the Episcopate at Kome," &c. 
 
 " But the manner and times of the Apostolic succession shall be 
 mentioned by us as we proceed in our course." 
 
 This corroborates the statements of Irenseus and Tertullian, to 
 which we have drawn attention, of the origin of Episcopacy 
 through Apostolic succession. So that, under God, the real 
 institutor of Episcopacy was not St. John, but St. Paul. 
 
 On the hypothesis set forth by Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Euse- 
 bius, there is no break in the Apostolical government. On the 
 hypothesis of Bishop Lightfoot and others there is a break of such 
 a sort that the earliest Episcopate proper cannot be called Apostolic 
 as proceeding from the Apostles, but through the action of St. John 
 may have Apostolic sanction. 
 
 But if we are to gather the will of God from the teaching of the 
 whole New Testament, it was never His intention that the Aposto- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 827 
 
 late should cease. It was to be carried on through the successors 
 of the Apostles after their departure, as it had been to a great extent 
 before. 
 
 Has the reader duly considered this fact, that from the Day of 
 Pentecost to the close of the New Testament history, there is no 
 ministry exercised, except that of Apostles ? With the exception 
 of the address of St. Stephen, and two or three sentences spoken by 
 PhiUp the Deacon to the Eunuch, and a sentence by Agabus, there 
 is not one word recorded as spoken by anyone except an Apostle. 
 For instance, we have not one word recorded as spoken by Silvanus, 
 or Barnabas, or Timothy, or Titus, or Tychicus. Not one single 
 independent act of Ordination, or Excommunication, or Confirma- 
 tion by any follower of St. Paul. The whole canvas is, as it were, 
 filled by the Apostle St. Paul. 
 
 Now if such a fact has any significance — and significance, it 
 seems to me, it must have — it is that during all Christian times 
 the Apostolate was not to cease ; as, properly understood, it has 
 not. 
 
 It may be asked, Have not the miracles of the Apostles ceased ? 
 We rejoin, we cannot tell whether God has decreed that there 
 should be no more miracles, or whether the Church has grown 
 cold in faith, so that she has not the faith required by the Lord in 
 Matthew xvii. 20. 
 
 If it be asked, has not Apostolic inspiration ceased ? we must 
 answer that we think not. There are many books or parts of 
 books written by bishops and priests since Apostolic times, which 
 seem to have been written under Divine assistance ; and we must 
 remember that, of the original band of twelve Apostles, monuments 
 of the inspiration of two only have been preserved to us, and that 
 some of the Epistles of St. Paul have perished. 
 
 In all probability God has continued to the present holders of 
 the Episcopate the unifying, and transmitting, and governing 
 powers of the Apostolate ; and this is, if duly considered, a very 
 great thing indeed. 
 
 Note. — The part of the preceding Excursus between pages 312 
 and 322 I have taken nearly verbatim from my chapter on Church 
 Government, in the seventh chapter of " Church Doctrine Bible 
 Truth." What I have thus copied consists almost wholly of 
 citations of passages in the Pauline Epistles, with short remarks on 
 
328 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 their application. This I composed with very great care when I 
 wrote the volume in question ; and I do not see that I am required 
 to alter it in this new volume, in which it seems necessary to have 
 some essay or excursus on the Christian Ministry, in elucidation of 
 the Pastoral Epistles. 
 
 PAET II. 
 
 The question presents itself, what is the conception of the 
 Church of Christ which we find in Holy Writ, and is the idea of 
 a ministry derived from Apostolic succession consonant with it 
 or not ? 
 
 We are at no loss for the scriptural, or should we not say, 
 Divine conception of the Church. We have it in the tersest, and 
 perhaps most condensed form in St. Paul's Epistle to the Colos- 
 sians (ii. 19), " The Head, from which all the body by joints and 
 bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, in- 
 creaseth with the increase of God." There are one or two precisely 
 similar descriptions which I give in a note.^ 
 
 The Divine Conception, then, of the Church is that of an 
 organization, a human body, all the parts of which partake of life, 
 because they are all united in one living frame, under One Head. 
 It is clear, then, that in the Divine Conception or Idea, there must of 
 necessity be means of communicating the life or sensation of the 
 Head to the remotest parts of the Body. The various limbs or 
 members do not hold, so far as the conception of a body is con- 
 cerned, direct or personal communion with the head, but indirect, 
 through the nerves, the joints, and bands. So that the whole 
 
 1 ♦' He gave some (fis) apostles, and some (as) prophets, and some (as) evangelists, and 
 some (as) pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
 ministry, for the edifying (or building up) of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the 
 unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the 
 measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ : . . . may grow up in all things into him 
 which is the head, even Christ : from whom the whole body fitly joined together and 
 compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the 
 measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." 
 (Eph. iv. 11-16.) Again (1 Cor. xii.), "As the body is one, and hath many members . . . 
 80 also is Christ ... ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God 
 hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after 
 that miracles, then gifts of healing . . . Are all apostles ? are all prophets ? " &c. So also 
 Rom. xii. 4-9. 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 329 
 
 system of the human body is a system of interpositions — no 
 member having direct communication with either head or heart ; 
 all the communication is indirect through certain means of con- 
 junction. Now is there no direct communication between God or 
 Christ, and each member? Certainly, most certainly, the spirit 
 of each man must have intercourse with the Father of Spirits. He 
 must come to God as if there was no other being in the universe 
 except himself and God ; but notwithstanding this, it is not the 
 will of God that His kingdom should be looked upon as consisting 
 of Himself and an innumerable number of separate units. His 
 ultimate design is to "gather together in one all things in Christ" 
 (Ephes. i. 10), and the Church is the preparation for this. 
 
 The whole Church, in its primary conception, is a system of 
 means. God might teach each and every member by Himself, 
 and yet He teaches each member of the Church by others. He 
 might preach the Gospel Himself as He preached the law from the 
 top of Sinai by Himself, but He preaches to us through the lips of 
 others, reserving to Himself the power of impression only. The 
 same with admission into the mystical body. He might admit 
 each and every member by some invisible action of His own, but 
 instead of this, His Spirit baptizes by the hands of man. He buries 
 them with Christ, raises them again in Him, grafts them into His 
 Body, and makes them His members by means of earthly human 
 agents, who are His means or mediums for this purpose, and whom 
 at His own will and pleasure He interposes between Himself and 
 each person saved. The same with the mystical feeding in the 
 Eucharist. He blesses the elements through the Ups of others. 
 He distributes them by the hands of others, and that which is 
 bestowed, if we are to measure it by the terms used in the first 
 occasion by the Great Institutor, must be immeasurably great. 
 
 So that the first conception of the Church is that of a system of 
 means — a system of means to take each Christian unit out of its 
 natural isolation, and to make it one, not of a worldly society, 
 but of a mystical body, of whose union under its Divine Head, the 
 most transcendental things are spoken. In accordance with this, 
 the Apostles were prepared by the Lord to be parts of a system of 
 means. Such words as "He that receiveth you receiveth me," 
 " Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," 
 *' As my Father sent me, so send I you," " Whosoever sins ye 
 remit, they are remitted unto them," are only consonant with the 
 
330 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 fact that with respect to His Church, these Apostles were to he 
 mediating ministers — interposed by God Himself, between Him- 
 self and those on whom He desired to confer certain benefits. 
 
 Furthermore, the Lord utters the parable of the Vine and the 
 Branches to describe the Kingdom He was preparing them to 
 administer. Now this parable asserts a system of mediation or 
 interposition from beginning to end. The roots are interposed 
 between the ground and the stem, the stem is interposed be- 
 tween the roots and branches — the larger branches into which 
 the stem first divides itself are interposed between the stem and the 
 smaller branches, and the smaller branches again are interposed 
 between the branches which support them and the tendrils — 
 no leaf or tendril having direct communication with the stem. 
 This parable teaches us that the Apostolic connection between 
 Christ and the smallest fruit-bearing branch is never intended to 
 cease — the Apostles are to merge into Apostolic men, and these 
 into ordinary ministers, and these into ordinary Christians. 
 Such, if Christ be Divine, was the Divine idea or conception, and 
 such it appeared in the Pentecostal Church, and the Churches 
 planted among the Gentiles by the Apostles. 
 
 So that this idea of organization was in the Divine Conception, 
 and ruled the outward form of the Church from the very first ; it 
 was anterior to the Church, and was, one may say, the mould into 
 which it was cast. It existed anterior to any needs which might 
 affect the Church from without, and oblige it to alter its form or 
 constitution. 
 
 And now we must set before ourselves an opposite theory of the 
 Church and its ministry, one set before us by one (till lately) of our 
 chief and most honoured ecclesiastical rulers. 
 
 " The kingdom of Christ, not being a kingdom of this world, is not limited by 
 the restrictions which fetter other societies, political or religious. It is in the 
 fullest sense free, comprehensive, universal. It displays this character not only 
 in the acceptance of all comers who seek admission, irrespective of race, or caste, 
 or sex, but also in the instruction and treatment of those who are already its 
 members. It has no sacred days or seasons, no special sanctuaries, because every 
 time and every place alike are holy. Above all, it has no sacerdotal system. It 
 interposes no sacrificial tribe or class between God and man, by whose intervention 
 alone God is reconciled and man forgiven. Each individual member holds personal 
 communion with the Divine Head. To Him immediately he is responsible, and 
 from Him directly he obtains pardon, and draws strength. 
 
 " It is most important that we should keep this ideal definitely in view, and I 
 have therefore stated it as broadly as possible. Yet the broad statement, if allowed 
 to stand alone, would suggest a false impression, or at least would convey only a 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 661 
 
 half truth. It must be evident that no society of men could hold together without 
 officers, without rules, without institutions of any kind ; and the Church of Christ 
 is not exempt from this universal law. The conception, in short, is strictly an 
 ideal, which we must ever hold before our eyes, and which should inspire and in- 
 terpret ecclesiastical polity, but which ncA-ertheless cannot supersede the necessary 
 wants of human society, and if crudely and hastily applied, will lead only to signal 
 failure. As appointed days and set places are indispensable to her efficiency, so 
 also the Church could not fulfil the purposes for which she exists without rulers 
 and teachers, without a ministry of reconciliation, in short without an order of 
 men who may in some sense be designated a priesthood. In this respect the ethics 
 of Christianity present an analogy to the politics. Here also the ideal conception 
 and the actual realization are incommensurate and in a manner contradictory. The 
 Gospel is contrasted with the Law as the spirit with the letter. Its ethical principle 
 is not a code of positive ordinances, but conformity to a perfect Exemplar — incorpo- 
 ration into a Divine Life — the distinction is most important, and eminently fertile 
 in practical results. Yet no man would dare to live without laying down more or 
 less definite rules for his own guidance, without yielding obedience to law in some 
 sense ; and those who attempt to discard all such aids are often farthest from 
 Christian perfection. 
 
 "This qualification is introdnced here to deprecate any misunderstanding to 
 which the opening statement, if left without compensation, would fairly be 
 exposed. 
 
 "This then is the Christian ideal, a holy season extending all the year round— a 
 temple confined only by the limits of the habitable world — a priesthood co-extensive 
 ■with the human race, 
 
 "Strict loyalty to this conception was not held incompatible with practical 
 measures of organization. As the Church grew in numbers, as new and hetero- 
 geneous elements were added, as the early fervour of devotion cooled and strange 
 forms of disorder sprang up, it became necessary to provide for the emergency by 
 fixed rules and definite officers." 
 
 Now in reading this, we cannot help thinking that there must 
 be some mistake, some radical error, for here we have what we 
 must hold to be a Divine Conception or Ideal which never has 
 been, and never can be realized. We are told, for instance, that 
 above all " it has no sacerdotal system," for " each individual 
 member holds personal communion with the Divine Head," and 
 yet a few sentences further on, this is corrected by the words, 
 " The Church could not fulfil the purposes for which she exists, 
 without rulers and teachers, without a ministry of reconciliation, 
 in short, without an order of men, who may in some sense be 
 designated a priesthood." Here then is an ideal of Almighty God 
 which in its working needs to be supplemented, or rather corrected, 
 by the action of men. I cannot see that I am misrepresenting 
 this. I have read over the whole passage many times, I have 
 transcribed it carefully, and I cannot but gather from it that the 
 opinion of the writer is, that the Divine Conception as far as pos- 
 sible excludes means, and yet that it cannot be worked except by 
 
332 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 a system of means. In idea, i.e., in the Divine Idea, it has above 
 all no priests, and yet in its working it must have them, or it 
 cannot " fulfil the purposes for which it exists," that is, we must 
 assume, the purposes for which God caused it to exist. 
 
 There must be some error in some part of the reasoning, and 
 the error is, that an ideal or conception of the Church is imputed 
 to God which is not His. The Church in His Mind is a system of 
 means (at least so He has assured us by His Son and His Holy 
 Apostles, John xv., 1 Cor. xii., Ephes. iv., Col. ii.), and the ideal 
 which is imputed to Him is a system without means — I mean, of 
 course, without means administered by men — without interposi- 
 tion or intervention, or anything of the kind. 
 
 Now the first thing which we have to correct in the above extract 
 is the assumption that there is any inherent antagonism between 
 each individual holding personal communion with God, and what 
 is called Sacerdotalism, or a system of means administered by men. 
 Has there ever been, in the history of the world, anything which 
 can be properly called Sacerdotalism ? Undoubtedly there has, and 
 that is the Jewish sacrificial system. The most pious persons of 
 the Israel of God, as far as we can gather from the Old Testament, 
 came to God through this system ; but did this in any way hinder, 
 or even deteriorate from, their personal access to Him and feeling 
 of dependence upon Him ? Let the book of Psalms testify. The 
 sacerdotal system enabled the Psalmist to say, " I will go into 
 thine house with burnt offerings, and will pay thee my vows which 
 I promised with my lips, and spake with my mouth when I was in 
 trouble : I will offer unto thee fat burnt sacrifices with the incense 
 of rams : I will offer bullocks and goats." Here is as hearty a re- 
 cognition as is possible of the sacrificial or sacerdotal system, but 
 how does the Psalmist proceed ? " come hither and hearken, all 
 ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul. 
 I called unto him with my mouth, and gave him praises with my 
 tongue. If I incline unto wickedness in my heart, the Lord will 
 not hear me. But God hath heard me, and considered the voice of 
 my prayer. Praised be God, who hath not cast out my prayer, nor 
 turned his mercy from me." (Psalm Ixvi. 12-18.) 
 
 Again, in a Psalm a little before this (Ixiii.), " God, thou art 
 my God, early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee ; my 
 flesh also longeth after thee, in a barren and dry land, where no 
 water is. Thus have I looked for thee in hohness, that I might be- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 333 
 
 hold thy power and glory. For thy loving kindness is better than 
 the life itself. My lips shall praise thee." Again, the Psalm before 
 this (Ixii), " My soul truly waiteth still upon God, for of him cometh 
 my salvation. He verily is my strength and my salvation, he is my 
 
 defence, so that I shall not greatly fall Nevertheless, my 
 
 soul, wait thou still upon God, for my hope is in him. In God is 
 my health and my glory, the rock of my might, and in God is my 
 trust. put your trust in him alway, ye people ; pour out your 
 heart before him, for God is our hope." 
 
 Now can language, setting forth individual communion with God, 
 be more direct and loving than this ? and yet these are the utter- 
 ances of men between whom and Himself God had interposed a 
 sacrificial tribe, or class. How is it, then, that their intercourse 
 with God should be so intimate and direct ? For a very simple 
 reason indeed : God had ordained not one, but two things. He 
 had ordained (so, at least, we must assume), that each Israelite 
 should come to Him directly in his own spirit ; and He had also 
 ordained that each Israelite should use sacrifice and burnt offering 
 as a means of approach. If an Israelite was loyal to God, he would 
 endeavour to realize both these means of access, and God would 
 reward him with the sense of His presence and protection ; but if 
 he held up his head aloft, and said to himself, I have intercourse 
 with God in my soul and spirit ; what need I with these sacrifices ? 
 Then God would not come near to that man, He would " behold 
 him afar off." 
 
 It is a great mistake to suppose that the Old Testament dispensa- 
 tion is a system of means, i.e., of priestly interventions, in contrast 
 with the New Testament, which is supposed to be, in its ideal, a, 
 system of direct intercourse. As far as we can ascertain from Scrip- 
 ture, the conception of the two in the Divine Mind is the contrary. 
 There are two parables embodying the Divine conception of each 
 respectively — that in Isaiah v. of the " Vineyard on the very fruitful 
 hill," — that in John xv. of the " Vine and the branches." In the first 
 of these, which is supposed to represent the Israelites under the sacer- 
 dotal system, there is a vineyard of plants, each a separate organism, 
 each receiving its share of rain and sunshine from heaven by 
 itself. In the other (John xv.), there is but one Vine, One Stem, 
 from which the farthest branch receives its nourishment ; and as 
 this vine is supposed to overspread the earth, there must be innu- 
 merable interventions, or interpositions, of branch between branch 
 
664: THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 everywhere, at all times, no one single branch receiving its life 
 alone, by itself, but each and every one through mediation or inter- 
 position. 
 
 And if we look to the Church of the Old Testament, the highest 
 things are said of it. Israel is God's Son, His firstborn. It is 
 His people, His inheritance, but it is never said to be His Body, 
 and it is never said to be His Vine, but only His vineyard. Its 
 quasi-sacraments are never said to be, or implied to be, channels 
 of grace. Its ministry is a ministry of ceremonies, not of Sacra- 
 ments — of law, not of Grace. Its unity is the unity of a nation, 
 not of a Mystical Body. To its ministers are never said the words, 
 *' As my Father sent me, so send I you." They are never commis- 
 sioned to feed men with the Body and Blood of one at the right 
 hand of God. 
 
 So that the Christian Church is far more than the Jewish National 
 Polity a system of "interpositions" and "interventions." The 
 fact that the Christian system of intervention is for spiritual ends 
 increases its importance, dignity, and essential necessity. 
 
 We shall now be able to see what truth there is in certain state- 
 ments which we find in this celebrated excursus. 
 
 1. " The Christian idea, therefore," the Bishop writes, "was the re- 
 stitution of this immediate and direct relation with God which was 
 partly suspended, but not abolished, by the appoiniment of a sacer- 
 dotal tribe." Now let the reader remember that the Christian system 
 was not the restitution of something wholly, or partially suspended, 
 but the creation of an absolutely new thing, the joining together 
 or inherence of believing men in one Body in Christ. We have 
 shown that, so far as its spiritual results in men's souls were con- 
 cerned, the Book of Psalms shows that direct intercourse with God 
 was not even partially suspended under the Levitical system, and 
 the Church of Christ, from the first, adopted the devotional Book of 
 the Old Covenant as its own : but the New Testament commenced 
 with, and to its close maintained, the most astonishing principle of 
 exclusive mediation : " No man cometh unto the Father but by 
 Me." Now, by saying this, does the Eternal Son mean to shut the 
 door against any poor isolated soul who would approach to God, 
 not having heard of Christ, and so not naming His Name ? No, but 
 He means that, wherever His Gospel is preached — the Gospel of 
 His Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension — there must 
 be preached contemporaneously with it its unifying principle of 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 335 
 
 one life in Him : the Gospel, that is, of the true Vine, of the one 
 Body, of the New Creation (/cWfftf), the Gospel of the living and 
 unifjdng Bread. (John vi. ; 1 Cor. x.) 
 
 Now the first conception of this Gospel demands means, or inter- 
 positions, such as the similitude of the Vine and the human body 
 demands ; and, as a system of means, it began to be at the day of 
 Pentecost; and, as a system of means, it was taught and adminis- 
 tered by St. Paul, and, though with many distortions and many 
 misapplications and exaggerations, such it has continued ever since. 
 The system of means, as it appears in 1 Cor. xii., one of the first 
 of the Epistles, written within twenty-five years after the Lord's 
 Ascension, contains the whole conception. 
 
 The New Dispensation, then, is not a return to an old state of 
 things, but it is an altogether new state of things, a new organiza- 
 tion, a new system of new means, a new and living way, all things 
 new. 
 
 2. The Bishop makes the institutions of Christianity to be, not the 
 creation of the Divine Will at the first, but the creatures of circum- 
 stances. "As the Church grew in numbers, as newand heterogeneous 
 elements were added, as the early fervour of devotion cooled, and 
 strange forms of disorder sprang up, it became necessary to provide 
 for the emergency by fixed rules and definite officers." 
 
 Now what does this mean ? It means that the first principle of 
 the Church, the principle which discountenanced interposition and 
 intervention, could not last for twenty years, or, indeed, anything 
 like it, for in Corinthians xii. we have a system of officers as com- 
 plete as at any future time, and we have also the recognition of 
 traditions respecting Divine worship (xi. 1), which must have had 
 their beginning some, if not many, years before. Now, if we take 
 into consideration what I have shown to be the fact, that the Lord 
 prepared His Apostles to be the ministers of a system of mediations 
 or interventions, and that He Himself describes it beforehand as 
 such (John xv.) ; then the first principle of the Church has never 
 been contravened. The conception in the Divine Mind was em- 
 bodied from the first in the then first planted Church at Jerusalem, 
 and in the churches planted by St. Paul. (Acts ii. 42, xi. 30, xiv. 
 23, &c.) The Church was never unofficered. 
 
 3. Again, the Bishop writes, " The Apostles never lost sight of 
 the idea (that the perfection of the Church was to be without 
 means) in their teaching. They proclaimed loudly that ' God 
 
336 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 dwelleth not in temples made with hands,' they indignantly de- 
 nounced those who ' observed days and months, and seasons, and 
 years.' This language is not satisfied by supposing that they con- 
 demned only the temple worship in the one case — that they repro- 
 bated only Jewish Sabbaths and New Moons in the other. It was 
 against the false principle that they waged war ; the principle 
 which exalted means into an end, and gave an absolute intrinsic 
 value to subordinate aids and expedients." ^ Now I say it with all 
 reverence to the memory of the departed Bishop, it would have 
 been a new thing to St. Paul to have been told that in the Epistle 
 to the Galatians he waged war against the false principle which 
 " exalted the means into an end ; " on the contrary, he was most 
 certainly reprobating the use of certain means themselves, which 
 were characteristic of an effete system which some of his Galatian 
 converts, through a deep-seated unbelief in the Divine Greatness 
 of Christ, were adopting. If St. Paul was waging war against 
 this false principle alluded to, the first thing which he would have 
 done would have been to forbid the celebration of the Eucharist 
 on the first day of the week. He would have said, " I lay it 
 solemnly upon you to have no fixed day of the week for the cele- 
 bration of the Eucharist ; especially do not have it on the first 
 day of the week ; by so doing you will introduce into the Church 
 an evil principle, contrary to the first principle of its existence, 
 which is, that in the Divine conception it has no sacred days or 
 seasons." 
 
 Again, the Bishop proceeds, " These aids and expedients (of ob- 
 servances of days, &c.), for his own sake and for the good of the 
 society to which he belonged, a Christian could not afford to hold 
 lightly or to neglect. But they were no part of the essence of God's 
 message to man in the Gospel ; they must not be allowed to obscure 
 the idea of Christian worship." 
 
 At first one might think that this might be dismissed with such 
 a remark as, "Whoever in his senses thought that they did form 
 part of such essence ? The great fact of St. Paul's Gospel is the 
 
 1 Bishop Lightfoot explains the *♦ days and seasons and months and years " of Gal. ir. 
 10, as JeTfish ones. I have shown in my notes on this verse (along with others) that the 
 observance of such days on the part of a converted Gentile would betray disloyalty 
 to Christ, and a deep-seated unbelief in the all-snfficiency of His system, as compared 
 with that of Moses. 
 
THE CHEISTIAN MINISTRY. 337 
 
 Lord's Resurrection. How is it possible that the keeping of a 
 weekly, or an annual commemoration of such an event could 
 obscure the idea of Christian worship ? Nevertheless, it may be 
 instructive to dwell for a moment on the principle which under- 
 lies such a matter as the keeping of the day of the Resurrection. 
 We have in England and Scotland two established churches. In 
 one of these there is an annual as well as a weekly commemora- 
 tion of the day of the Lord's Resurrection, as well as of other 
 great events concerning Him, such as His Birth, Death and 
 Ascension. In the other such annual commemorations are sternly 
 forbidden. But when we come to look into the matter a little 
 closer, we find a very marked difference between the conception 
 of the Gospel put forth by the two Christian bodies respectively. 
 The one puts in the foreground the historical form — the record of 
 the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of the Eternal Son, including, 
 of course. His Incarnation, Birth, and Human Life. The other 
 (the Kirk) keeps these things in the background, and has as its 
 real creed certain abstract doctrines as predestination, election, 
 reprobation, and final perseverance. Now the Church, holding 
 forth the historical Gospel, naturally, we may say, retains such 
 annual commemorations as that of the Nativity and Ascension. She 
 could not do otherwise, holding, as she does, such historical facts 
 as the Incarnation of the Word, His appearance amongst us in 
 human nature, the Divine character manifested in His human life, 
 Crucifixion at the Passover, the Burial, the life-resuming, and life- 
 imparting Resurrection on the third day, and Ascension on the 
 fortieth day, to be the Gospel ; and a Christian body which on 
 principle puts certain abstract doctrines as her foremost exhibition 
 of Divine truth, as naturally could not have a Christian year. 
 
 4. " But," the Bishop proceeds, " the careful student will also 
 observe that this idea (of an universal priesthood — of the religious 
 equality of all men,) has hitherto been imperfectly apprehended ; that 
 throughout the history of the Church it has been struggling for 
 recognition, at most times discerned in some of its aspects, but at 
 all times wholly ignored in others," &c. Now the principle alluded 
 to by the bishop is not alone in this. Many are the truths — even the 
 aspects of Christianity which have been struggling for recognition 
 all through its history; but what does the bishop mean by 
 *' religious equality " ? — he surely must confound it with " official 
 equality " (i.e., in the Christian Church), There never has been 
 
338 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 from the earliest history of the Christian Church, " official 
 equality " (Acts v. 13) ; St. Paul ignores it, and in his very first 
 Epistle (1 Thess. v. 12) says what is directly contrary to it ; but if by 
 "religious equality" be meant the equality of a layman's personal 
 religion with a clergyman's, then it appears to me that this, when- 
 ever and wherever it is known, has always been most fully recog- 
 nized. I can only say for myself (and I may say also for all those 
 with whom I have acted in my ministerial life) that I have always 
 regarded personal religion in a layman with more respect than the 
 same in a clergyman, because the layman's personal religion seems 
 always more voluntary, and less required by the needs of his 
 official position. But in saying this I am not fighting with a mere 
 shadow, but with a misconception whicli is doing a vast amount 
 of mischief, for those who now lay out their whole strength in 
 order to rob the Church of England (of whicli the writer of the 
 Essay is a high official), of its revenues, are doing it on the ground 
 of asserting "religious equality," and the Bishop ought to have been 
 careful not to lend his sanction to such ambiguity of expression. 
 
 But I have made this last quotation from the Bishop's Excursus 
 for another purpose. I believe that it maybe said with infinitely more 
 truth respecting what I have shown to be the Divine Conception, or 
 Ideal of the Church, viz., that it is an organization in and under 
 Christ — that " the cayeful student will observe that this idea has 
 hitherto been very imperfectly apprehended." If it had been at all 
 adequately apprehended, it would have saved the Catholic Church 
 from the Papacy on the one side, and from such disuniting prin- 
 ciples as Congregationalism on the other. For the Papacy is, as 
 it were, a new branch springing out of the Church after all the 
 original branches had been divided from the stem, and so assert- 
 ing itself as to demand that all the branches, large or small, of the 
 whole universal Church, should be re-engrafted into it, and made 
 to spring from it, and be in fellowship with it on peril of loosing 
 their hold on Christ. And Congregationalism, on the other side, 
 asserts that there must not be any intervening branches whatso- 
 ever between any twig or tendril, and Christ ; the Church is an 
 unnatural tree, having no branches, but the huge trunk covered 
 with sprigs having no connection with either the branches or 
 with one another. 
 
 The strength of the ministry is the realization of the Apostolical 
 Succession. This is outwardly or ecclesiastically assured to us by 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 339 
 
 the bishops, but each individual minister has to realize that he has 
 not spiritually ascended from the people, but that he is spiritually 
 descended from Christ through the Apostles. The constant falling 
 back upon this, the continual making acts of faith in this, will 
 more than ought else save him from being proud and overbearing 
 in the exercise of his priestly functions. The proud, overbearing 
 bishops, as is very vt^ell known, are just those who disclaim any 
 connection by succession with the Apostles. The true realization 
 of the Apostolic succession is, " looking to the rock whence we are 
 liewn, and to the hole of the pit whence we are digged " (Isa. xli. 1 ) — 
 looking to the self-sacrificing, humble, homeless, persecuted men 
 whom God set forth as the first ministers of His Church 
 (1 Cor. iv. 9-13). 
 
 And now we must, as it were, gather into a focus the teaching of 
 the Bishop's Essay, or Excursus. It seems to be written with the 
 view of establishing Episcopacy upon what the author assumes to be 
 a lower basis than that of direct Apostolical Succession, and that is 
 upon Apostolical Sanction, the Sanction being apparently that of 
 St. John, as contrasted with that of St. Paul and the other Apostles. 
 Now this seems strange. The action of St. Paul, as described in 
 the New Testament, is eminently fitted to train men as successors 
 of the Apostles (see above, pp. 318, &c.) ; and, respecting the action 
 of St. John in this matter, we can gather nothing from the Sacred 
 Volume. 
 
 Moreover, two of the most ancient ecclesiastical writers, and the 
 chief ecclesiastical historian, as I have shown, consider the Apostles 
 generally as the originators of episcopacy. Eusebius evidently 
 does this with reference to St. Paul in words which, from their im- 
 portance, I shall quote again : " But how many, and which of 
 these, actuated by a genuine zeal, were judged suitable to feed the 
 Churches established by these Apostles, it is not easy to say, any 
 further than may be gathered from the writings of St. Paul. For 
 he indeed had innumerable fellow-labourers, or, as he calls them, 
 fellow-soldiers in the Church. Of these the greater part are 
 honoured with an indelible remembrance by him in his Epistles, 
 where he gives a lasting testimony concerning them." Then 
 having mentioned Timothy as appointed by him Bishop of Ephesus, 
 and Titus of Crete, he goes on, " But of the rest that accompanied 
 Paul, Crescens is mentioned by him as sent to Gaul. Linus, whom 
 he has mentioned in his Second Epistle as his companion at Rome, 
 
340 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 has been before shown to have been the first after Peter that ob- 
 tained the Episcopate at Kome. Clement also, who was appointed 
 the third Bishop of this Church, is proved by him to have been a 
 fellow-labourer and fellow-soldier with him." 
 
 And what St. Paul did we may be sure that the rest of the 
 Apostles did also. It was only natural if they wished the Churches 
 which they had planted to continue under something of Apostolic 
 oversight. 
 
 Now the Bishop seemingly takes no notice of this, the most 
 salient point in the history of Church government, but assumes 
 that the Pauline churches were under some sort of Presbyterian or 
 Congregational government, all memory of which had utterly 
 perished in the course of less than half a century, and which, in 
 twenty years, had grown so effete, that another Apostle, St. John, 
 had to supersede it in about twenty or twenty-five years after St. 
 Paul's death. 
 
 Now this action on the part of St. John seems to me attended 
 with very great difficulty indeed, for, as I have said, it assumes 
 that an almost universal presbyterate, established by the rest of the 
 Apostles, was superseded by an episcopate ordained by one who was 
 not their father in Christ. 
 
 Very weighty words on this subject were written by the late 
 Dean Millman (" History of Christianity," vol.ii., book ii., ch. iv.), 
 " The later the date which is assumed for the general establishment 
 of the Episcopal Authority, the less likely it was to be general. It 
 was only during the first period of undivided unity that such an 
 usurpation, for so it must have been according to this theory (the 
 earlier establishment of a presbyterian polity), could have been 
 universally acquired. All presbyters, according to this view, al- 
 lowed themselves to be deprived of their co-ordinate and co-equal 
 dignity. The further we advance in Christian history, the more we 
 discover the common motives of human nature to work. In this 
 case alone are we to suppose them without influence. Yet we dis- 
 cover no struggle, no resistance, no controversy. The uninterrupted 
 line of bishops is traced by the ecclesiastical historians up to the 
 Apostles ; but no murmur of remonstrance against this usurpation 
 has transpired." 
 
 This appears to me incontrovertible, but Bishop Lightfoot seema 
 not to have apprehended it in the least, and supposes the original 
 presbyterian polity to have been so weak that an aged Apostle^ 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 341 
 
 living far from the centre of the world's or the Church's influence, 
 was, by his mere breath, able to supersede it. But Presbyterianism 
 seems to me to be by no means a weak polity. It is very strong 
 and decisive against opinions which it holds to be heretical; it 
 maintains, or has in times past maintained, a very effective dis- 
 cipline against what it conceives to be wrong-doing. The fault 
 which is inherent in its very essence is that it appears to be disin- 
 tegratory. There are now three powerful bodies of Presbyterians 
 in Scotland, all of which hold precisely the same creed (and a very 
 long one), and yet there is, I am told, not an approach to anything 
 like a basis of union between them. The traditions of their elders 
 keep them apart. 
 
 The Bishop of Durham ackno wledges that Episcopacy is so in- 
 separably interwoven with all the traditions and beliefs of men like 
 Irenaeus and Tertullian, that they betray no knowledge of a time 
 when it was not. He has altered his opinion respecting the 
 genuineness of the Greek Eecension of the letters of St. Ignatius, so 
 that he acknowledges that some of the strongest assertions of the 
 Divine origin of the Episcopal office are written by him early in the 
 second century. He acknowledges that the mother Church of 
 Christendom, that of Jerusalem, was Episcopal long before the 
 Apostles were removed from the scene. So also with Antioch. So 
 with Asia Minor. So with Kome. So with the churches of Gaul. 
 He considers them closely connected with, and probably descended 
 from, the churches of Asia Minor. So with the churches of Africa, 
 (224). He acknowledges that the Church of Alexandria had always 
 one ruler, though he contends that there are doubts respecting his 
 having boen Episcopally ordained.^ 
 
 Crete and Thrace and Athens received Episcopacy certainly very 
 early in the century. But there is a doubt about Corinth, which, 
 considering the state of anarchy in the Church there, is probably 
 not unlikely ; and the Bishop of Philippi is not mentioned in Poly- 
 carp's Epistle.^ These two last surmises seem the sole argument 
 
 * The reader will find a full examination of this matter in Mr. Gore's work on " The 
 Ministry," note B, p. 357. 
 
 ' May not the Valens, whose conduct is so severely blamed in ch. x. as having fallen 
 into some temptation from avarice, have been the Bishop? The words seem to imply 
 that he had been a Presbyter, but had been advanced to some higher post. The words 
 (Hefele) are'^Nimis contristatus sum pro Valente, qui Presbyter factus est aJiquando 
 apud vos, quod sic ignoret is locum qui datus est ei." 
 
342 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 which the Bishop can adduce for the revolution effected by the in- 
 fluence of St. John. Now I would ask the reader to consider for 
 what purpose the origin of Episcopacy is made to depend upon St. 
 John's influence. It is for the purpose of making a break, or gap, 
 between the Apostolic and the present Church — a gap, or break, 
 which the Bishop says, "will not allow us to unchurch other 
 Christian communities differently organized." This, no doubt, is 
 at the bottom the reason why Episcopal government is dated as 
 late as possible — I do not say by the Bishop, but by the German 
 writers whose opinions he reproduces. It is that a previous Presby- 
 terianism, or Congregationalism, being assumed, these " other- 
 wise constituted Christian communities " may yet be acknowledged 
 as parts, "visible parts," of the Catholic Church. Now I can as- 
 sure the reader that this consideration weighs with me, I hope, 
 quite as much as with the Bishop, but it is to be remembered that 
 we do not think of unchristianizing them — on the contrary, we hold 
 that many of them are better Christians than ourselves. But we 
 believe that they repudiate the things by and'for which the Catholic 
 Church, as a visible community, maintains its succession from the 
 Apostles. 
 
 For instance, the Catholic Church maintains that Episcopacy 
 carries on that government in the hands of one man, which the 
 Apostles undoubtedly -exercised ; this the " otherwise constituted 
 communities " deny, and its denial is one of the first terms of their 
 existence as bodies or communities separate from the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Then the Catholic Church holds an historical Gospel, whereas 
 the Christian bodies alluded to, without denying the facts of the 
 Divine History of Redemption, put the facts in the background, 
 and certain doctrines, principally abstract, in the foreground. Now, 
 according to such very ancient witnesses as Irenaeus and Tertullian, 
 the Apostolic succession was the guard and guarantee of a certain 
 body of truth. Catholic truth, as contained in the creeds handed 
 down from the Apostles themselves. But the leading principle of 
 the transmission of Christian truth amongst these bodies is, that 
 each man, and certainly each community, derives its creed direct 
 from the Bible, as if the Church had begun to exist with the sect, 
 or even the individual, who first discovered the truth which is held 
 to the fore. I am not exaggerating this. Thje whole past of the 
 Church, as the transmitter of the truth, is either ignored or denied. 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 343 
 
 It is a fact that a very pious writer, some of whose hymns are sung 
 by all of us, declared, in very express terms, that if any man had 
 learnt some Christian truth by the teaching of others without 
 having learnt it himself direct from the Bible, that man was 
 a thief. 
 
 Then the Catholic Church holds its own Unity as an outward 
 Visible Body, and holds that the continued Episcopate is a most 
 essential factor in this Unity. Now this the "otherwise con- 
 stituted bodies " absolutely disclaim. They contend that the Unity 
 is only inward and invisible. So that it is absurd to claim on 
 behalf of a number of souls united by religious sentiment only, the 
 succession which is given for an exactly opposite purpose — that 
 there should be an outward body having a corporate union over 
 and above the bond of mere sentiment. 
 
 Then in the next place the " otherwise constituted bodies " 
 absolutely repudiate Sacerdotalism in every form and shape. It is 
 difficult to define this sacerdotalism. The Bishop of Durham 
 never actually defines it. I should think from carefully consider- 
 ing the first pages of his essay, that in his eyes it would be a 
 system of means, such as the Sacraments, Church government, 
 &c., administered by agents more or less distinctly authorized. 
 
 As far as I know, there is not one of the " otherwise con- 
 stituted bodies " which holds anything like absolution, as set forth 
 in the formularies of the Church of England, and yet if there is 
 any one thing in the Christian system which would seem to 
 require a commission, it is this absolution ; if penitent sinners, 
 that is, are to have any faith in it, and to receive any comfort 
 from it. 
 
 Another of the functions which would seem to require a com- 
 mission, is the celebration of the Eucharist. If the Eucharist is 
 the distribution of mere emblems — outward signs with no inward 
 part, though they may have some edifying effect on a devout re- 
 ceiver — then it would seem that no commission is required in the 
 ministrant ; but if we are to accept the words in which St. Paul 
 speaks of the Eucharist as a most mysterious means of Union in 
 the One Body (1 Cor. x. 17), then it would seem that if any thing 
 in the Church requires a commission, it would be this, seeing that 
 the Apostle makes the Oneness of the Church to depend upon it. 
 
 The administration of the rite of Confirmation seems to require 
 a commission, transmitted from those who in the first age laid 
 
844 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 hands on the disciples. That a Church minister should go about 
 a diocese and say to God, " We make our humble supplications 
 unto thee for these thy servants, upon whom (after the example of 
 Thy Holy Apostles) we have now laid our hands to certify them, 
 by this sign, of thy favour and gracious goodness towards them " 
 — this I say certainly seems to require some authority from the 
 Church, and that authority transmitted downwards from the first 
 administrators of the rite. 
 
 And lastly, with reference to Ordination itself, which is the 
 means of Church continuity, and of handing down from one 
 generation to another all power to perform the functions wliich 
 pertain to the Church as a visible and yet mystical body, these 
 " otherwise constituted bodies " with which we have most to do, 
 seem to have, of set purpose, held it as of little consequence, and so 
 taken no pains respecting its continuity. I am told that this has 
 been the case with the Presbyterians of Scotland in times past. 
 It has certainly not been continuous in the most powerful sect in 
 this country, the Wesleyan. The Congregationalists, as far as I 
 can understand, look upon election by the members of their com- 
 munities as constituting the minister's only valid title to exercise 
 his functions, though they have certain services which are simply 
 the recognition by neighbouring ministers of what the people have 
 done. 
 
 We then do not unchurch any of these " otherwise constituted 
 bodies." If there be an outward visible body with continuous 
 life, they unchurch themselves. They dehberately reject all the 
 things which the Church Catholic holds as constituting its Catho- 
 licity in all times and places. They repudiate all acts and func- 
 tions which require authority transmitted from the past. We are 
 not their judges. We only carry out their judgment on themselves 
 in cutting themselves off from the past, not only in the matter of 
 its superstitions or extravagances, but in the matter of its trans- 
 missive functions, of its testimony to the Apostolic doctrine of the 
 Percon of Christ in its creeds, and of its sacraments, as being veri- 
 table means of the highest conceivable grace and pledges of its 
 unity as one Body. 
 
 Again, I repeat, we do not unchristianize them, for we hold that 
 they may be, and numbers of them are, better Christians than we 
 are ; but their action, and indeed their existence in a state of 
 separation destroys, as far as it is possible for man to destroy, the 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 345 
 
 Divine Conception of the Church as the Vine of which Christ is 
 the Stem, and the Body of which He is the Head. 
 
 Note. — The above excursus was written a short time before the 
 death of the great prelate whose essay on the ministry in his notes 
 on the Epistle to the Philippians I have been forced to consider. 
 I would gladly have declined the task, but this I felt to be im- 
 possible. If excursus, or short essays, on the teaching of books of 
 Scripture are to be admitted at all, there must be one on the bearing 
 of the Pastoral Epistles on the Christian ministry. Some com- 
 plained that I had not published such an excursus at the end of 
 my volume on the Acts. But the proper place for such an essay 
 would be in connection with the Pastoral Epistles. If I undertook 
 such a work at all reference must be made to the Bishop of Durham's 
 excursus. Respect for the Bishop's position, and the influence of 
 his celebrated essay demanded it. And as I have the misfortune 
 to difier from him on so fundamental a principle as the Divine 
 Conception of the Christian ministry, I must write what I conceive 
 to be the truth on this matter, and I trust that I have done so with 
 all respect and charity. 
 
 CHISWICK press:— C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE. 
 
New and cheaper Issue in Twelve monthly vols. 
 Crown 8vo, red edges, 4/6 each. 
 
 CHURCH COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 WITH NOTES, CRITICAL AND PRACTICAL, 
 INTRODUCTIONS, AND EXCURSUSES. 
 
 By the Rev. M. F. Sadler, 
 
 Late Rector of Honiton and Frehendary of Wells. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. [BeadAj. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. [Bea&y. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. [Bea&y. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. [Beady. 
 
 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [Beadnj. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [BeadAj. 
 
 THE EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS. 
 
 [BeadAj. 
 
 THE EPISTLES TO THE GALATIANS, 
 EPHESIANS, AND PHILIPPIANS. [Nov.l. 
 
 THE EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, 
 THESSALONIANS, AND TIMOTHY. [Bee. 1. 
 
 THE EPISTLES TO TITUS, PHILEMON, AND 
 THE HEBREWS. [Jam.. 2, 1899. 
 
 THE EPISTLES OF SS. JAMES, PETER, 
 JOHN, AND JUDE. [Fel.l. 
 
 THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE 
 DIVINE. [Ma/rchl. 
 
 LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS. 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
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 From The Church Qxtarterlt, October, 1883. 
 "It is far the best practical Commentary that we know, being plain- 
 spoken, fearless, and definite, and containing matter very unlike tbe milk 
 and water which is often served up in [so-called] practical Commentaries. 
 . . . For solid Church teaching it stands unrivalled. Nothing could be 
 better than the notes on the Sermon on the Mount, and the practical lessons 
 drawn with convincing clearness from our Lord's words on the subject of 
 Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. Throughout the whole book the writer 
 is ever on the watch for general principles and teaching applicable to the 
 wants of our own day, which may legitimately be deduced from the Gospel 
 narrative." 
 
 From The. Church Times, February 23r(Z, 1883. 
 " The question of the origin of the Four Gospels is well treated, and a 
 more succinct account of the real standing of the Evangelists with respect to 
 each other, or to a supposed original document from which all copied, could 
 scarcely be found than that contained in these few pages. Some few pages 
 introductory to the critical portion of the volume, and explaining the 
 elements of textual criticism, bring us to the text of the Commentary itself 
 Throughout the whole of its pages the same evidence of scholarship and 
 critical acumen, which distinguishes all the author's work, is apparent ; 
 while the faculty of conveying such knowledge to. the minds of the least 
 learned in a simple and forcible manner, is abundantly preserved, and will 
 procure for this work the position of one of the best of popular commentaries. 
 Many of the notes extend beyond the scope generally implied by the term, 
 and become full explanations of doctrinal subjects such as will prove of 
 immense value to the student as well as to the general reader. We may 
 cite as an instance of this exhaustive process the lengthy note on St. Matt, 
 xvi. 18, and those notes on the Parables, which, severally treated in their 
 entirety, present a more intelligible meaning than when explained in short 
 disjointed notes. Finally, it remains to mention the fact, which, however, 
 goes without saying, that the tone of the Commentary is thoroughly 
 Catholic, so that the reader will find here a firm defence of the supernatural 
 and divine character of the Gospel story, which never condescends to the 
 tone of much of modern criticism, but remains true to primitive Catholic 
 teaching." 
 
 From Church Bells, November l^th, 1882. 
 " It is written in a clear and sensible style, with a healthy tone ; and its 
 practical portions are devout without being wearisome or ' goody.' " 
 
 From The Church Review, November, 1883. 
 " A valuable and substantial contribution to the literature of the New 
 Testament is made by Mr. Sadler in the volume now before us. . . . It 
 might be said that every page of the work lights up the grand historical 
 character of the Church as the one supreme authority for the authenticity 
 and interpretation of the books of Scripture." 
 
From The Church Times, December 21st, 1883. 
 " We have much pleasure in announcing the issue of * The Gospel according 
 to St. John, with Notes, Critical and Practical,' by the Rev. M, F. Sadler 
 (George Bell and Sons), a companion volume to his gloss on St. Matthew, 
 and a redemption of the pledge he gave therein to carry on his labours 
 to the remaining Gospels. This is admirably done, being exactly what 
 is wanted for that large and increasing class of readers who need the results 
 of genuine scholarship and sound vigorous thought, but who are repelled by 
 any surface display of erudition, and still more by dryness of treatment, 
 
 The admirable lucidity, which is the distinctive quality of Mr. 
 
 Sadler's style, comes out markedly in his annotations, whether they take 
 the form of pithy clearings up of verbal difficulties or more elaborate 
 dissertations on important points of doctrine ; and he is a good judge in 
 selecting the best matter supplied by his precursors, such as Olshausen, 
 Stier, Godet, and, above all, St. Augustine, whose commentary on St. John 
 is one of that Father's ablest works. This is much less of a mere 
 grammatical inquiry than Professor Westcott's volume in the ' Speaker's 
 Commentary,' but it is much more of a theological explanation, and that of a 
 far sounder and deeper school." 
 
 From The Literary Churchman, December 7tJi, 1883. 
 
 "... Apart from these longer and more continuous glosses, the reader 
 constantly meets with single pithy notes, which by their clear common 
 sense solve a difficulty at once, and satisfy the understanding promptly, 
 so that this is quite the best popular commentary on S. John we know, 
 without implying by that epithet that even advanced students of Biblical 
 literature will not find ample profit in consulting it." 
 
 From The Church Times, October Srd, 1884. 
 u ^g gladly chronicle the third instalment of Prebendary Sadler's clear 
 and sensible Commentary on the Gospels, which exactly meets the needs 
 of that large and increasing class, which, without pretending any interest 
 in the more abstruse problems of scholarship in connection with the Greek 
 Testament, is desirous of having in its hands a trustworthy guide to the 
 actual meaning of the sacred writers, and some plain statement of the 
 results accepted by that calmer type of scholars who understand the nature 
 of evidence, and are not disposed to admit the validity of unsupported con- 
 jecture, however original and brilliant, as proof. .... The notes, as 
 always with Mr. Sadler, are singularly lucid, pithy, and to the point." 
 
 From Church Bells, November 22nd, 1884. 
 " This is a work of a veteran scholar and divine to whom the Church 
 owes much. Prebendary Sadler's writing is characterized by great clear- 
 ness of style, and he has a remarkably persuasive way of putting things. 
 His sermons, as well as his ' Church Doctrine Bible Truth,' &c., have done 
 much towards furnishing the parochial clergy with materials for feeding 
 their flocks. In this commentary he aims at a yet more important object, 
 the instruction of the educated classes. He has carefully compared the 
 original Scriptures with the authorized and revised versions, and has set 
 himself to meet objections of scientific sceptics, and he has achieved great 
 
 success The volume is full of thoughts and suggestions for preachers 
 
 as well as for general readers." 
 
From The Saturday Review, Februa/ry 21stj 1885. 
 
 " We can recommend his book to devout and cultivated Churchmen who 
 want to read the Gospels for instruction as well as for edification." 
 
 From The Church Quarterly, January, 1885. 
 "In reading the notes upon the text, the feature which strikes us 
 most is their intensely practical character. Mr. Sadler has a remarkable 
 faculty of bringing the teaching of the incidents of our Lord's life on 
 earth to bear upon the circumstances of our own time. Even where 
 the points brought out are well worn and familiar, there is a freshness in 
 his manner of treating them which adds greatly to the charm and value of 
 the Commentary." 
 
 From The Church Times, Jtily Srd, 1886. 
 " Indeed, one great merit in this commentary and its companion volumes 
 is the frequency with which notes are found, which are capable of being each 
 expanded into useful sermons. They are like very strong essences or tinc- 
 tures, which will bear considerable dilution before being employed medically, 
 though for convenience they are usually kept in the more portable form." 
 
 From The Church Quarterly, July, 1886. 
 " We must begin our notice of this volume by offering Prebendary Sadler 
 our hearty congratulations on the completion of his work on the four 
 Gospels. The previous volumes were all reviewed in our columns as they 
 appeared, and we have no hesitation in extending the welcome which we 
 gave to them to their present companion. It is no slight distinction for a 
 writer, after having made his reputation by what is confessedly the best 
 popular work on Church doctrine, to have produced what we hold to be the 
 best popular commentary on the Gospel narrative. There is no other 
 occupying quite the same ground, and we cordially recommend these four 
 volumes, in the now familiar blue binding, as for practical purposes the 
 most useful to the general reader." 
 
 From Church Bells, July 2nd, 1886. 
 " Mr. Sadler's excellent qualities as a theological writer and expositor 
 are so well known that we need only introduce the reader to this, his last 
 Commentary on the Gospels, completing the series, by saying that it 
 presents the same features as its predecessors. It is somewhat longer than 
 any of the other three, a circumstance quite intelligible to those who con- 
 sider how a commentator's view of his responsibility must enlarge as he 
 proceeds with his work. To begin at the beginning, the Introduction is 
 excellent, clear, concise, and full. In short, it says all that need be said on 
 the authorship of the Gospel, and says it well." 
 
 From The Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette, Nov. 6th, 1886. 
 
 " Originality of treatment, depth of insight, and thorough grasp of the 
 practical side of Divine truth characterize these commentaries of Mr. Sadler 
 on the four Gospels." 
 
THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES. 
 
 From The Guardian, July, 1887. 
 
 " We find, however, in the notes on St. Luke and the Acts the same 
 freshness in thought and style, the same direct and independent considera- 
 tion of the themes brought up on the sacred pages, the same knowledge of 
 what has been said by others, the same masterly use, alike without sub- 
 servience and without neglect, of the great and varied stores which our 
 predecessors have left to us of these days who study the New Testament. 
 The result is that Mr. Sadler's Commentary is decidedly one of the most 
 unhackneyed and original of any we have. It will often be found to give 
 help where others quite fail to do so, and its special value will be to the 
 preacher or teacher who has to give oral and practical instruction ; Mr. 
 Sadler's strong point being decidedly in pointing the application to con- 
 temporary thought and to life, its trials and its duties, of the divine words 
 with which he has to deal." 
 
 From Church Bells, July Sth, 1887. 
 
 " We can hardly imagine a commentary better adapted than Mr. Sadler's 
 for giving to the reader an antidote to that unsettling influence which is 
 now going about in the world, making people have a different set of 
 religious opinions every month or so." 
 
 From The Church Quarterly Reyiew. 
 
 " There is vigour and freshness about his writings which makes it 
 a pleasure to read them, while there is certain to be much that is in- 
 structive, and their tone and tendency are equally certain to be sound and 
 edifying. This short commentary on the Acts of the Apostles is no 
 exception to the rule, and it well supports the established reputation of its 
 author." 
 
 From The Church Times, August 26th, 1887. 
 
 " Prebendary Sadler's useful commentary on the New Testament is 
 advanced another important stage by the issue of this volume on the Acts 
 of the Apostles, a part of Scripture whose interest and value seems to 
 increase daily, as investigation into the beginnings of the Christian Church 
 are pressed on with fresh vigour, alike by those who wish to prove 
 Christianity a mere human evolution out of materials lying to hand in 
 the Augustan era, and those who accept it as a divine revelation. Much of 
 the work which has been done of late years in connexion with the Acts and 
 other Pauline records has been devoted chiefly to the externals of history, 
 geography, antiquities, and the like, rather than to the religious teaching 
 which they contain ; and this fact makes a gloss from a theologian like 
 Mr. Sadler all the more welcome." 
 
THE EPISTLES. 
 
 From Church Bells, May 18th, 1888. 
 
 " Mr. Sadler carries on his work with unabated vigour, and now we have 
 some hope of his being able to give us a commentary on the whole of the 
 New Testament. Undoubtedly such a work when completed will be of 
 great value, as giving a well-thought-out exposition of the whole of the 
 sources from which we derive the history of the founding, as well as the 
 doctrines, of the Christian Church, and this, too^ an exposition which sup- 
 plies, not the mere personal opinions of its writer, although it is everywhere 
 tinged by his individuality, but the historical meaning of the teaching of 
 individual writers and of the Church at large. The ' introduction ' to the 
 present volume is excellent, giving all the requisite information without 
 any unnecessary waste of words." 
 
 From The Church Times, June, 1888. 
 
 " There are three excursuses at the end of the volume, on Justification, 
 on Election, and on the Christology of St. Paul, all carefully written, but 
 with most pains bestowed upon the second. We do not know a better book 
 than this Commentary to put into the hands of an intelligent Evangelical 
 who is beginning to doubt the soundness of the system he has heretofore 
 accepted, and is striving to find his way out and up into a higher and 
 clearer atmosphere." 
 
 From The Church Quarterly Review. 
 
 " We hail with pleasure this addition to the Commentary on the New 
 
 Testament We think this volume will certainly sustain the high 
 
 position which Mr. Sadler has gained as a practical interpreter of Holy 
 Scripture." 
 
 From The Irish Ecclesiastical Gtazette, April ISth, 1890. 
 "Incomparably the best Commentary on the New Testament extant." 
 
 From The Banner, Mmj 2Srd, 1890. 
 
 " Ordinary readers could hardly have a better exposition of the sacred 
 books." 
 
 From The Literary Churchman, February 6th, 1891. 
 
 " This volume will be found to present all the characteristic excellences 
 of Mr. Sadler's method ; and it would be hard, indeed, to find any points of 
 objection to these terse, thoughtful. Church-like notes." 
 
Uniform with the Church Commentari/. 
 
 Second edition. Orown Svo, 5s. 
 
 SEEMON OUTLINES 
 
 FOE THE CLEEGY AND LAY-PEEACHEES. 
 
 321 Outlines arranged according to the 
 Church's Year. 
 
 This book, a book of suggestions rather than of mere divi- 
 sions, or skeletons as they were formerly called, has been 
 composed with a view to meeting the objection heard on all 
 sides that sermons at the present day are very deficient in 
 setting forth Christian doctrines. 
 
 From The Guardian, April 12th, 1893. 
 " It is easy to prophesy a considerable sale for this volume. . . . We 
 meet here all the well-known characteristics of his writings. The style is 
 straightforward and vigorous. There is never any doubt about his meaning. 
 His remarks are always pointed, and the arrangement of his material is 
 excellent." 
 
 From The Church Times, Februarij 17t7i, 1893. 
 ''This volume differs in three respects from most similar volumes: (1) 
 It aims, primarily, at supplying sketches of sermons on Christian Doctrine, 
 couched in clear, definite language. (2) It is a book of ' suggestions, rather 
 than of mere divisions or skeletons.' (3) It includes lists of texts and 
 subjects for courses of Lenten and other sermons. The well-earned reputa- 
 tion of its author will be a sufficient guarantee for the soundness and 
 usefulness of the work." 
 
 From Church Bells, December I6th, 1892. 
 
 " They are adequate, and they are helpful ; they set forth the elementary 
 teaching of the Church's seasons, the redemption, salvation, and sanctifica- 
 tion of mankind. Each Sunday of each Church season has several appro- 
 priate texts and heads of discourses, and these are rich in wise suggestions 
 as to helpful teaching. There is much simplicity and strong meat for 
 learners. Prayer-book lines are made the rule throughout — the best rule 
 of all." 
 
 From The Eock, November Uh, 1892. 
 
 " We should think that it would be difficult to find anywhere such a real 
 help for preachers as these outlines afford. . . . Such depth of spiritual 
 teaching is seldom to be found." 
 
 From The Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette, Nov. Wth, 1892, 
 " This should be among the most popular and useful of Prebendary 
 Sadler's writings." 
 
 From The Clergyman's Magazine, December, 1892. 
 " These outlines are both Evangelical and doctrinal. They occupy 
 exactly one page of the book, and therefore afford ample opportunity for 
 the preacher's own powers of expansion." 
 
WORKS BY THE REV. M. F. SADLER, 
 
 Rbctor of Honiton and Prebendary of Wells. 
 
 New and cheaper Issue, price 2s. 
 
 CHURCH DOCTRINE— BIBLE TRUTH. 4>9th 
 
 Thousand. 
 "Mr. Sadler takes Church Doctrine, specifically so called, subject by subject, and 
 elaborately shows its specially marked Scripturalness. The objective nature of the faith, 
 the Athaaasian Creed, the Baptismal Services, the Holy Eucharist, Absolution and the 
 Priesthood, Church Government and Confirmation, are some of the more prominent sub- 
 jects treated. And Mr. Sadler handles each with a marked degree of sound sense, and 
 with a thorough mastery of his subject." — Guardian. 
 
 New and cheaper Issue, price 2s. 
 
 THE CHURCH TEACHER'S MANUAL OF 
 CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION. Being the Church Catechism 
 expanded and explained in Question and Answer, for the Use of 
 Clergymen, Parents, and Teachers. 46tk Thousand. 
 " Far the best book of the kind we have ever seen." — Literary Churchman. 
 
 Confirmation : An Extract from the " Church Teacher's 
 Manual." 10th Thousand. Price Id. 
 
 THE ONE OFFERING: a Treatise on the Sacrificial 
 Nature of the Eucharist. 11^^ Thousand. Price 2s. &d. 
 
 "A treatise of singular clearness and force, which gives us what we did not really 
 possess till it appeared." — Church Times. 
 
 JUSTIFICATION OF LIFE: its Nature, Antecedents, 
 and Kesults. 2nd Edition, Revised. Price 4s. &d. 
 
 THE SECOND ADAM and THE NEW BIRTH; 
 
 or, The Doctrine of Baptism as contained in Holy Scripture. \2th 
 Edition. Price 4s. 6d. 
 
 " The most striking peculiarity of this useful little work is that its author argues almost 
 exclusively from the Bible. We commend it most earnestly to Clergy and laity, as con- 
 taining in a small compass, and at a trifling cost, a body of sound and Scriptural doctrine 
 respecting the New Birth, which cannot be too widely circulated." — Guardian. 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY; 
 
 or, Testimony of the Scripture to the Teaching of the Church on 
 Holy Baptism. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 Cheap Edition. 8th Edition. Price 6d. 
 
 THE COMMUNICANT'S MANUAL; being a Book 
 
 of Self- Examination, Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving. 32mo. 114th 
 Thousand. Price Is. %d. 
 
 Cheap Edition for Distribution. Price 8d. 
 
 A Larger Edition. Red rubrics. Fcap. 8vo. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 SERMONS. Plain Speaking on Deep Truths. 8th Edi- 
 tion. Price 6s. 
 Abundant Life, and other Sermons. 2nd Edition. Price 6s. 
 
 LONDON: G. BELL AND SONS, York Street, Covent Garden. 
 

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