Analysis of certain of St. Paul's Epistles

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ANALYSIS

OF CERTAIN OF

ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

ANALYSIS

OF CERTAIN OF

ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

REPRINTED FROM

BISHOP LIGHTFOOT'S COMMENTARIES

WITH PREFACE BY

THE LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM

EonDon:
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1906

[All Rights reserved]

Hatnbrtoge :

PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A.
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

SEP 61979

PEEFACE.

r I THIS little volume has been prepared in
response to suggestions received by the
Trustees of the Lightfoot Fund in their
character of Bishop Lightfoot's literary ex
ecutors.

It was suggested that students of the
Epistles of St Paul would welcome a consecu
tive presentation of the marginal Summaries,
often amounting to short paraphrases, which
the Bishop regularly added to his Com
mentaries on four of these Epistles, Com
mentaries which made so important an epoch
in English work upon the New Testament.

Such a consecutive presentation is now in
the reader's hands. It was found that here
and there a small link was missing. But these
links have been in every case supplied from
the words of the great Commentator himself.

HANDLEY DUN ELM.

AUCKLAND CASTLE,
Feb. 5, 1906.

GALATIANS.

ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE.
I.

PERSONAL, CHIEFLY IN THE FORM
OF A NARRATIVE.

I. 1 — 5. The salutation and ascription of
praise so worded as to introduce the main
subject of the letter.

TAUL AN APOSTLE, whose authority does
not flow from any human source, and whose
office was not conferred through any human
mediation, but through Jesus Christ, yea
through God the Father Himself who raised
Him from the dead — together with all the
brethren in my company — to the CHURCHES
OF GALATIA. Grace the fountain of all good
things, and peace the crown of all blessings, be
unto you from God the Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins that

L. 1

2 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL S EPISTLES

He might rescue us from the tyranny of this
present age with all its sins and miseries,
according to the will of our God and Father,
whose is the glory throughout all the ages.
Amen.'

6 — 10. The Apostle rebukes tfie Galatians
for their apostasy, denounces the false teachers,
and declares the eternal truth of the Gospel
which he preached.

6 — 9. 'I marvel that ye are so ready to
revolt from God who called you, so reckless in
abandoning the dispensation of grace for a
different gospel. A different gospel, did I say?
Nay, it is not another. There cannot be two
gospels. Only certain men are shaking your
allegiance, attempting to pervert the Gospel of
Christ. A vain attempt, for the Gospel per
verted is no Gospel at all. Yea, though we
ourselves or an angel from heaven (were it
possible) should preach to you any other gospel
than that which we have preached hitherto, let
him be accursed. I have said this before, and
I repeat it .now. If any man preaches to you
any other gospel than that which ye were
taught by us, let him be accursed.'

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3

10. ' Let him be accursed, I say. What,
does my boldness startle you ? Is this, I ask,
the language of a time-server ? Will any say
now that, careless of winning the favour of
God, I seek to conciliate men, to ingratiate
myself with men ? If I had been content thus
to compromise, I should have been spared all
the sufferings, as I should have been denied all
the privileges, of a servant of Christ.'

This Gospel came directly from God.

11, 12. He received it by special revelation.

'I assure you, brethren, the Gospel you
were taught by me is not of human devising.
I did not myself receive it from man, but
from Jesus Christ. I did not learn it, as one
learns a lesson, by painful study. It flashed
upon me, as a revelation from Jesus Christ.'

13, 14. His previous education indeed could
not have led up to it, for he was brought up in
principles directly opposed to the liberty of the
Gospel.

'My early education is a proof that I did
not receive the Gospel from man. I was
brought up in a rigid school of ritualism,

]— 2

4 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

directly opposed to the liberty of the Gospel.
I was from age and temper a staunch adherent
of the principles of that school. Acting upon
them, I relentlessly persecuted the Christian
brotherhood. No human agency therefore
could have brought about the change. It
required a direct interposition from God.'

15 — 17. Nor could he have learnt it from
the Apostles of the Circumcision, for he kept
aloof from them for some time after his conver
sion.

1 Then came my conversion. It was the
work of God's grace. It was foreordained,
before I had any separate existence. It was
not therefore due to any merits of my own,
it did not spring from any principles of my
own. The revelation of His Son in me, the
. call to preach to the Gentiles, were acts of His
good pleasure. Thus converted, I took no
counsel of human advisers. I did not betake
myself to the elder Apostles, as I might
naturally have done. I secluded myself in
Arabia, and, when I emerged from my retire
ment, instead of going to Jerusalem, I returned
to Damascus.'

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 5

18 — 24. And when at last he visited Jeru
salem, his intercourse with them was neither close
nor protracted, and he returned without being
known even by sight to the mass of the believers.

' Not till three years were past did I go
up to Jerusalem. My object in doing so
was to confer with Cephas. But I did not
remain with him more than a fortnight ; and
of all the other Apostles I saw only James the
Lord's brother. As in the sight of God, I
declare to you that every word I write is true.
Then I went to the distant regions of Syria
and Cilicia. Thus I was personally unknown
to the Christian brotherhood in Judsea. They
had only heard that their former persecutor
was now preaching the very faith which before
he had attempted to destroy: and they glorified
God for my conversion.'

II. 1 — 10. He visited Jerusalem again, it
is true, after a lapse of years, but he carefully
maintained his independence. He associated with
the Apostles on terms of friendly equality. He
owed nothing to them.

1,2. ' An interval of fourteen years
elapsed. During the whole of this time I had

6 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

no intercourse with the Apostles of the Cir
cumcision. Then I paid another visit to
Jerusalem. My companion was Barnabas, who
has laboured so zealously among the Gentiles,
whose name is so closely identified with the
cause of the Gentiles. With him I took Titus
also, himself a Gentile. And here again I
acted not in obedience to any human adviser.
A direct revelation from God prompted me to
this journey.'

3 — 5. ' But while I held conferences with
the Apostles of the Circumcision, I did not
yield to the clamours of the disciples of the
Circumcision. An incident whch occurred will
show this. Titus, as a Gentile who was
intimately acquainted with me, was singled
out as a mark for their bigotry. An attempt
was made to have him circumcised. Concession
was even urged upon me in high quarters, as
a measure of prudence to disarm opposition.
The agitators, who headed the movement, were
no true brethren, no loyal soldiers of Christ.
They were spies who had made their way into
the camp of the Gospel under false colours and
were striving to undermine our liberty in
Christ, to reduce us again to a state of bondage.

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 7

I did not for a moment yield to this pressure.
I would not so compromise the integrity of the
Gospel, the freedom of the Gentile Churches.'

6 — 9. 'The elder Apostles, I say, who are
so highly esteemed, whose authority you so
exclusively uphold — for myself, I care not that
they once knew Christ in the flesh : God does
not so judge men; He measures them not by
the outward advantages they have had, not by
the rank they hold, but by what they are, by
what they think and do — well, these highly
esteemed leaders taught me nothing new;
they had no fault to find with me. On the
contrary, they received me as their equal, they
recognised my mission. They saw that God
had entrusted to me the duty of preaching to
the Uncircumcision, as He had entrusted to
Peter that of preaching to the Circumcision.
This was manifest from the results. My
Apostleship had been sealed by my work. God
had wrought by me among the Gentiles, not
less than He had wrought by Peter among the
Jews. This token of His grace bestowed upon
me was fully recognised by James and Cephas
and John, who are held in such high esteem,
as pillars of the Church. They welcomed

8 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

myself and Barnabas as fellow-labourers, and
exchanged pledges of friendship with us. It
was agreed that we should go to the Gentiles
and they to the Jews.'

10. ' Henceforth our spheres of labour
were to be separate. One reservation however
was made. They asked me to continue, as
I had done hitherto, to provide for the wants
of the poor brethren of Judaea. Independently
of their request, it was my own earnest desire.'

11 — 21. Nay more: at Antioch he rebuked
Peter for his inconsistency. By yielding to
pressure from the ritualists, Peter was sub
stituting law for grace, and so denying the
fundamental principle of the Gospel.

11 — 14. 'At Jerusalem, I owed nothing
to the Apostles of the Circumcision. I main
tained my independence and my equality. At
Antioch I was more than an equal. I openly
rebuked the leading Apostle of the Circumci
sion, for his conduct condemned itself. He
bad been accustomed to mix freely with the
Gentiles, eating at the same table with them.
But certain persons arrived from James, and
he timidly withdrew himself. He had not

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 9

courage to face the displeasure of the Jewish
converts. The rest were carried away by his
example. Even Barnabas, my colleague, and
fellow-apostle of the Gentiles, went astray.'

14, 15. ' Seeing that they had left the
straight path and abandoned the true principles
of the Gospel, I remonstrated with Cephas
publicly. Thou thyself, though born and bred
a Jew, dost nevertheless lay aside Jewish
customs and livest as the Gentiles. On what
plea then dost thou constrain the Gentiles to
adopt the institutions of the Jews ? '

15, 16. ' Only consider our own case. We
were born to all the privileges of the Israelite
race : we were not sinners, as we proudly call
the Gentiles. What then ? - We saw that the
observance of law would not justify any man,
that faith in Jesus Christ was the only means
of justification. Therefore we turned to a
belief in Christ. Thus our Christian profession
is itself an acknowledgment that such obser
vances are worthless and void, because, as the
Scripture declares, no flesh can be justified by
works of law.'

17 — 19. 'Thus to be justified in Christ,
it was necessary to sink to the level of Gentiles,

10 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

to become sinners in fact. But are we not
thus making Christ a minister of sin ? Away
with the profane thought. No ! the guilt is
not in abandoning the law, but in seeking it
again when abandoned. Thus, and thus alone,
we convict ourselves of transgression. On the
other hand, in abandoning the law we did but
follow the promptings of the law itself. Only
by dying to the law could we live unto God.'

20, 21. ' With Christ I have been crucified
at once to the law and to sin. Henceforth
I live a new life — yet not I, but Christ liveth
it in me. This new life is not a rule of carnal
ordinances; it is spiritual, and its motive
principle is faith in the Son of God who
manifested His love for me by dying for my
sake. I cannot then despise God's grace. I
cannot stultify Christ's death by clinging still
to a justification based upon law.'

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 11

II.

DOCTRINAL, MOSTLY ARGUMENTATIVE.

III. 1 — 5. The Galatians are stultifying
themselves. They are substituting the flesh for
the Spirit, the works of the law for the obedience
of faith, forgetting the experience of the past
and violating the order of progress.

1. ' Christ's death in vain ? O ye senseless
Gauls, what bewitchment is this ? I placarded
Christ crucified before your eyes. You suffered
them to wander from this gracious proclamation
of your King. They rested on the withering
eye of the sorcerer. They yielded to the fasci
nation and were riveted there. And the life of
your souls has been drained out of you by
that envious gaze.'

2 — 5. 'I have only one question to ask
you. The gifts of ^he Spirit which ye have
received, to what do ye owe them ? To works
performed in bondage to law, or to the willing
hearing that comes of faith ? What monstrous
folly is this then ! Will you so violate the
divine order of progress ? After taking your

12 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

earliest lessons in the Spirit, do you look to
attaining perfection through the flesh ? - To
what purpose then did ye suffer persecution
from these carnal teachers of the law ? Will
ye now stultify your past sufferings ? I cannot
believe that ye will.'

6 — 9. Yet Abraham was justified by faith,
and so must it be with the true children of
Abraham.

' An offspring, countless as the stars, was
promised to Abraham. Abraham believed, and
his faith was accepted as righteousness. Who
then are these promised sons of Abraham ?
Those surely who inherit Abraham's faith.
Hence the declaration of the Scripture that all
the Gentiles should be blessed in him. These
are the words of foresight discerning that God
justifies the Gentiles by faith; for so only could
they be blessed in Abraham. We conclude
therefore that the faithftd and the faithful
alone share the blessing with him.'

10 — 14. The law, on the contrary, so far
from justifying, did but condemn, and from this
condemnation Christ rescued UA.

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 13

10, 11. 'On the other hand all who depend
on works of law are under a curse. This the
Scripture itself declares. It utters an anathema
against all who fail to fulfil every single
ordinance contained in the book of the law.
Again the same truth, that the law does not
justify in the sight of God, appears from
another Scripture which declares that the just
shall live by faith.'

12. ' Faith is not the starting-point of the
law. The law does not take faith as its
fundamental principle. On the other hand,
it rigidly enforces the performance of all its
enactments.'

13. ' Christ ransomed us from this curse
pronounced by the law, Himself taking our
place and becoming a curse for our sakes : for
so says the Scripture, Cursed is every one that
hangeth on the gibbet.'

14. ' Thus the law, the great barrier which
excluded the Gentiles, is done away in Christ.
By its removal the Gentiles are put on a level
with us Jews ; and, so united, we and they
alike receive the promise in the gift of the
Spirit through our faith.'

14 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

15 — 18. Thus He fulfilled the promise
given to Abraham, which being prior to the
law could not be annulled by it.

' Brethren, let me draw an illustration
from the common dealings of men. Even
a human covenant duly confirmed is held
sacred and inviolable. It cannot be set aside,
it cannot be clogged with new conditions.
Much more then a divine covenant. Now the
promise of God was not given to Abraham
alone, but to his seed. What is meant by
" his seed " ? The form of expression denotes
unity. It must have its fulfilment in some
one person. This person is Christ. Thus it
was unfulfilled when the law came. Between
the giving of the promise then and the fulfil
ment of it the law intervened. And coming
many hundred years after, it was plainly distinct
from the promise, it did not interpret the terms
of the promise. Thus the law cannot set aside
the promise. Yet this would be done in effect,
if the inheritance could only be obtained by
obedience to the law ; since the promise itself
imposed no such condition.'

19 — 23. If so, what was the purpose of the
law?

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 15

It was an inferior dispensation, given as
a witness against sin, a badge of a state of
bondage, not as contrary to, but as preparing
for, the Gospel.

19, 20. ' Had the law then no purpose ?
Yes : but its very purpose, its whole character
and history, betray its inferiority to the dis
pensation of grace. In four points this
inferiority is seen. First; Instead of justifying
it condemns, instead of giving life it kills: it
was added to reveal and multiply transgressions.
Secondly ; It was but temporary ; when the
seed came to whom the promise was given, it
was annulled. Thirdly ; It did not come direct
from God to man. There was a double inter
position, a twofold mediation", between the giver
and the recipient. There were the angels,
who administered it as God's instruments;
there was Moses (or the high-priest) who
delivered it to man. Fourthly; As follows
from the idea of mediation, it was of the
nature of a contract, depending for its
fulfilment on the observance of its conditions
by the two contracting parties. Not so the
promise, which, proceeding from the sole fiat
of God, is unconditional and unchangeable.'

16 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

21. ' Thus the law differs widely from the
promise. But does this difference imply an
tagonism ? Did the law interfere with the
promise ? Far otherwise. Indeed we might
imagine such a law, that it would take the
place of the promise, would justify and give
life. This was not the effect of the law of
Moses.'

22. ' On the contrary, as the passage of
Scripture testifies, the law condemned all alike,
yet not finally and irrevocably, but only as
leading the way for the dispensation of faith,
the fulfilment of the promise.'

24 — 29. And so through the law we are
educated for the freedom of the Gospel.

23 — 25. 'Before the dispensation of faith
came, we were carefully guarded, that we might
be ready for it, when at length it was revealed.
Thus we see that the law was our tutor, who
watched over us as children till we should
attain our manhood in Christ and be justified
by faith. But, when this new dispensation
came, we were liberated from the restraints
of the law.'

28, 29. ' In Christ ye are all sons, all free.

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 17

Every barrier is swept away. No special
claims, no special disabilities exist in Him,
none can exist. The conventional distinctions
of religious caste or of social rank, even the
natural distinction of sex, are banished hence.
One heart beats in all : one mind guides all :
one life is lived by all. Ye are all one man,
for ye are members of Christ. And as members
of Christ ye are Abraham's seed, ye claim the
inheritance by virtue of a promise, which no
law can set aside.'

IV. 1 — 7. Thus under the law we were
in our nonage, but now we are our own masters.

' I described the law as our tutor. I
spoke of our release from "its restraints. Let
me explain my meaning more fully. An heir
during his minority is treated as a servant.
Notwithstanding his expectations as the future
lord of the property, he is subject to the control
of guardians and stewards, until the time of
release named in his father's will arrives. In
like manner mankind itself was a minor before
Christ's coming. It was subject, like a child,
to the discipline of external ordinances. At
length when the time was fully arrived, God
L. 2

18 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

sent His own Son into the world, born of a
woman as we are, subject to law as we are,
that He might redeem and liberate those who
are so subject, and that we all might receive
our destined adoption as sons. Of this sonship
God has given us a token. He sent forth into
our hearts the Spirit of His Son, which
witnesses in us and cries to Him as to a Father.
Plainly then, thou art no more a servant, but
a son; and, as a son, thou art also an heir,
through the goodness of God/

8 — 11. Yet to this state of tutelage the
Oalatians are bent on returning.

1 Nevertheless, in an unfilial spirit, ye have
subjected yourselves again to bondage, ye
would fain submit anew to a weak and
beggarly discipline of restraint. And how
much less pardonable is this now ! For then
ye were idolaters from ignorance of God, but
now ye have known God, or rather have been
known of Him. Ye are scrupulous in your
observance- of months and seasons and years.
Ye terrify me, lest all the toil which I have
expended on you should be found in vain.'

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 19

[12 — 20. At this point the argument is
broken off, while the Apostle reverts to his
personal relations with his converts, and re
probates the conduct of the false teachers.]

12 — 16. ' By our common sympathies, as
brethren I appeal to you. I laid aside the
privileges, the prejudices of my race : I became
a Gentile, even as ye were Gentiles. And now
I ask you to make me some return. I ask you
to throw off this Judaic bondage, and to be
free, as I am free. Do not mistake me; I have
no personal complaint; ye did me no wrong.
Nay, ye remember, when detained by sickness
I preached the Gospel to you, what a hearty
welcome ye gave me. My infirmity might well
have tempted you to reject my message. It
was far otherwise. Ye did not spurn me, did
not loathe me ; but received me as an angel of
God, as Christ Jesus Himself. And what has
now become of your felicitations ? Are they
scattered to the winds ? Yet ye did felicitate
yourselves then. Yea, I bear you witness, such
was your gratitude, ye would have plucked out
your very eyes and have given them to me.
What then ? Have I made you my enemies
by telling the truth ? '

2—2

20 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

17. 'I once held the first place in your
hearts. Now you look upon me as an enemy.
Others have supplanted me. Only enquire
into their aims. True, they pay court to you :
but how hollow, how insincere is their interest
in you ! Their desire is to shut you out from
Christ. Thus you will be driven to pay court
to them/

19. 'I have a right to ask for constancy
in your affections. I have a greater claim on
you than these new teachers. They speak but
as strangers to strangers ; I as a mother to her
children with whom she has travailed.'

21 — 31. The law indeed bears witness
against itself. The relation of the two cove
nants of law and of grace, with the triumph of
the latter, are typified by the history of Hagar
and Sarah. The son of the bondwoman must
give place to the son of the free.

'Ye who vaunt your submission to law,
listen while I read you a lesson out of the
law. The Scripture says that Abraham had
two sons, the one the child of the bond
woman, the other the child of the free. The
child of the bondwoman, we are there told,

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 21

came into the world in the common course of
nature : the child of the free was born in
fulfilment of a promise. These things may be
treated as an allegory. The two mothers
represent two covenants. The one, Hagar, is
the covenant given from Mount Sinai, whose
children are born into slavery (for Sinai is in
Arabia, the land of Hagar and the Hagarenes),
and this covenant corresponds with the earthly
Jerusalem, which is in bondage with her
children. The other answers to the heavenly
Jerusalem, which is free — I mean the Church
of Christ, our common mother. In her progeny
is fulfilled the prophetic saying, which bids the
barren and forsaken wife rejoice, because her
offspring shall be far more numerous than her
rival's, who claims the husband for herself.'

III.

HORTATORY, PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.

V. 1 — 12. Hold fast by this freedom,
which your false teachers are endangering.

1. 'So, brethren, you as Christians are
children of a promise, like Isaac. Nor does the

22 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

allegory end here. Just as Ishmael the child
born after the flesh insulted Isaac the child
born after the Spirit, so is it now. But the end
shall be the same now, as then. In the lan
guage of the Scripture, the bondwoman and her
offspring shall be cast out of the father's house.
The child of the slave cannot share the inherit
ance with the child of the free. Remember
therefore, brethren, that you are not children
of any slave, but of the free and wedded wife.
I speak of that freedom, whereunto we all are
emancipated in Christ. Remember this, and
act upon it. Firmly resist all pressure, and do
not again bow your necks under the yoke of
slavery.'

2 — 6. 'Let there be no misunderstanding.
I Paul myself declare to you that if you submit
to circumcision, you forfeit all advantage from
Christ. I have said it once, and I repeat it
again with a solemn protest. Every man, who
is circumcised, by that very act places himself
under the law ; he binds himself to fulfil every
single requirement of the law. You have no
part in Christ, you are outcasts from the
covenant of grace, you who seek justification in
obedience to law. There is a great gulf between

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 23

you and us. We, the true disciples of Christ,
hope to be justified of faith, not of works, in
the Spirit, not in the flesh.'

7 — 11. 'Ye were running a gallant race.
Who has checked you in your mid career ?
Whence this disloyalty to the truth ? Be
assured, this change of opinion comes not of
God by whom ye are called. The deserters are
only few in number ? Yes, but the contagion
will spread : for what says the proverb ? A
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Do not
mistake me : I do not confound you with them :
I confidently hope in Christ that you will be
true to your principles. But the ringleader of
this sedition — I care not who he is or what rank
he holds — shall bear a Jieavy chastisement.
What, brethren ? A new charge is brought
against me ? I preach circumcision forsooth \
If so, why do they so persecute me ? It is some
mistake surely ! Nay, we shall work together
henceforth ! there is no difference between us
now ! I have ceased to preach the Cross of
Christ ! The stumblingblock in the way of
the Gospel is removed !'

24 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

13 — 26. But do not let it degenerate into
license. Love is the fulfilment of the law.
Walk in the Spirit, and the Spirit will save
you from licentiousness, as it saves you from
formalism, both being carnal. Your course is
plain. The works of the Spirit are easily dis
tinguished from the works of the flesh.

13. ' They are defeating the very purpose
of your calling: ye were called not for bondage,
but for liberty.'

14. 'Ye profess yourselves anxious to fulfil
the law; I show you a simple and comprehensive
way of fulfilling it.'

15. ' The contest will not end in a victory
to either party, such as you crave. It will lead
to the common extinction of both.'

16 — 18. ' This is my command. Walk by
the rule of the Spirit. If you do so, you will
not, you cannot, gratify the lusts of the flesh.
Between the Spirit and the flesh there is not
only no alliance ; there is an interminable,
deadly feud. (You feel these antagonistic
forces working in you : you would fain follow
the guidance of your conscience, and you are
dragged back by an opposing power.) And if

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 25

you adopt the rule of the Spirit, you thereby
renounce your allegiance to the law.'

19. 'Would you ascertain whether you
are walking by the Spirit ? Then apply the
plain practical test.'

25. ' You have crucified your old selves :
you are dead to the flesh and you live to the
Spirit. Therefore conform your conduct to
your new life.'

Let me add two special injunctions :
VI. 1 — 5. Show forbearance and brotherly
sympathy.

' As brethren, I appeal to you. Act in a
brotherly spirit. I have just charged you to
shun vain-glory, to shun provocation and envy.
1 ask you now to do more than this. I ask
you to be gentle even to those whose guilt
is flagrant. Do any of you profess to be
spiritually-minded ? Then correct the offender
in a spirit of tenderness. Correct and reinstate
him. Remember your own weakness ; reflect
that you too may be tempted some day, and
may stand in need of like forgiveness. Have
sympathy one with another. Lend a ready
hand in bearing your neighbours' burdens. So

26 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

doing you will fulfil the most perfect of all
laws — the law of Christ. But if any one asserts
his superiority, if any one exalts himself above
others, he is nothing worth, he is a vain self-
deceiver. Nay rather let each man test his
own work. If this stands the test, then his
boast will be his own, it will not depend on
comparison with others. Each of us has his
own duties, his own responsibilities. Each of
us must carry his own load.'

6 — 10. Give liberally.

6. ' I spoke of bearing one another's
burdens. There is one special application I
would make of this rule. Provide for the
temporal wants of your teachers in Christ.'

7, 8. ' What ? you hold back ? Nay, do
not deceive yourselves. Your niggardliness
will find you out. You cannot cheat God by
your fair professions. You cannot mock Him.
According as you sow, thus will you reap. If
you plant the seed of your own selfish desires,
if you sow the field of the flesh, then when you
gather in your harvest, you will find the ears
blighted and rotten. But if you sow the good
ground of the Spirit, you will of that good
ground gather the golden grain of life eternal.'

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 27

[11. Conclusion in the Apostle's own hand
writing.]

12 — 16. Once more : beware of the Ju-
daizers, for they are insincere. I declare to
you the true principles of the Gospel. Peace
be to those who so walk.

12, 13. ' Certain men have an object in
displaying their zeal for carnal ordinances.
These are they, who would force circumcision
upon you. They have no sincere belief in its
value. Their motive is far different. They
hope thereby to save themselves from persecu
tion for professing the cross of Christ. For
only look at their inconsistency. They advocate
circumcision, and yet they themselves neglect
the ordinances of the law. They would make
capital out of your compliance ; they would
fain boast of having won you over to these
carnal rites.'

14. ' For myself — God forbid I should
glory in anything save in the cross of Christ.
On that cross I have been crucified to the world
and the world has been crucified to me.
Henceforth we are dead each to the other. In
Christ Jesus old things have passed away.

28 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

Circumcision is not and uncircumcision is not.
All external distinctions have vanished. The
new spiritual creation is all in all.'

16. 'On all those who shall guide their
steps by this rule may peace and mercy abide ;
for they are the true Israel of God.'

17. Let no man deny my authority, for I
bear the brand of Jesus my Master.

'Henceforth let no man question my au
thority : let no man thwart or annoy me.
Jesus is my Master, my Protector. His brand
is stamped on my body. I bear this badge of
an honourable servitude.'

18. Farewell in Christ.

PHILIPPIANS.
ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE.

I.

I. 1, 2. Opening salutation.

. 3 — 11. Thanksgiving and prayer for his
converts.

3 — 5. ' I thank my God for you all at all
times, as I think of you, whensoever I pray for
you (and these prayers I o'ffer with joy), for
that you have co-operated with me to the
furtherance of the Gospel from the day when
you first heard of it to the present moment.'

6, 7. 'I have much ground for thanksgiving ;
thanksgiving for past experience, and thanks
giving for future hope. I am sure, that as God
has inaugurated a good work in you, so He will
complete the same, that it may be prepared to
stand the test in the day of Christ's advent.
I have every reason to think thus favourably

30 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

of you all ; for the remembrance is ever in my
heart, how you — yes, all of you — have tendered
me your aid and love, whether in bearing the
sorrows of my captivity or in actively defending
and promoting the Gospel : a manifest token
that ye all are partakers with me of the grace
of God.'

8. ' I call God to witness that I did not
exaggerate, when I spoke of having you all in
my heart.'

9. ' I spoke of praying for you (ver. 4).
This then is the purport of my prayer (TOVTO
Trpoa-ev^ofjiai), that your love may ever grow
and grow, in the attainment of perfect know
ledge and universal discernment/

12 — 26. Account of his personal circum
stances and feelings ; and of the progress of the
Gospel in Rome.

12. ' Lest you should be misinformed, I
would have you know that my sufferings and
restraints, so far from being prejudicial to the
Gospel, have served to advance it. My bonds
have borne witness to Christ, not only among
the soldiers of the imperial guard, but in a far
wider circle. The same bonds too have through

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 31

my example inspired most of the brethren with
boldness, so that trusting in the Lord they are
more zealous than ever, and preach the word
of God courageously and unflinchingly.'

15 — 17. 'But though all alike are active,
all are not influenced by the same motives.
Some preach Christ to gratify an envious and
quarrelsome spirit : others to manifest their
goodwill. The latter work from love, acknow
ledging that I am appointed to plead for the
Gospel : the former proclaim Christ from head
strong partisanship and with impure motives,
having no other aim than to render my bonds
more galling.'

19, 20. ' Is not my joy reasonable ? For I
know that all my present trials and sufferings
will lead only to my salvation, and that in
answer to your prayers the Spirit of Christ will
be shed abundantly upon me. Thus will be
fulfilled my earnest longing and hope, that I
may never hang back through shame, but at
this crisis, as always, may speak and act cour
ageously; so that, whether I die a martyr for
His name or live to labour in His service, He
may be glorified in my body.'

21 — 26. ' Others may make choice between

32 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

life and death. I gladly accept either alter
native. If I live, my life is one with Christ :
if I die, my death is gain to me. Yet when I
incline to prefer death, I hesitate : for may not
my life — this present existence which men call
life — may not my life be fruitful through my
labours ? Nay, I know not how to choose. I
am hemmed in, as it were, a wall on this side
and a wall on that. If I consulted my own
longing, I should desire to dissolve this earthly
tabernacle, and to go home to Christ ; for this
is very far better. If I consulted your interests,
I should wish to live and labour still : for this
your needs require. And a voice within as
sures me, that so it will be. I shall continue
here and abide with you all ; that I may
promote your advance in the faith and your
joy in believing : and that you on your part
may have in me fresh cause for boasting in
Christ, when you see me present among you
once more.'

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 33

II.

27 — II. 4. Exhortation to unity and self-
negation.

27 — 30. 'But under all circumstances do
your duty as good citizens of a heavenly
kingdom ; act worthily of the Gospel of Christ.
So that whether I come among you and see
with my own eyes, or stay away and obtain
tidings from others, I may learn that you
maintain your ground bravely and resolutely,
acting by one inspiration; that with united
aims and interests you are fighting all in the
ranks of the Faith on the side of the Gospel ;
and that no assault of your" antagonists makes
you waver: for this will be a sure omen to them
of utter defeat, to you of life and safety : an
omen, I say, sent by God Himself ; for it is His
grace, His privilege bestowed upon you, that
for Christ — yea, that ye should not only believe
on Him, but also should suffer for Him. For
ye have entered the same lists, ye are engaged
in the same struggle, in which you saw me
contending then at Philippi, in which you hear
of my contending now in Rome.'

L. 3

34 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

II. 1. ' If then your experiences in Christ
appeal to you with any force, if love exerts any
persuasive power upon you, if your fellowship
in the Spirit is a living reality, if you have any
affectionate yearnings of heart, any tender
feelings of compassion, listen and obey. You
have given me joy hitherto. Now fill my cup
of gladness to overflowing. Live in unity
among yourselves, animated by an equal and
mutual love, knit together in all your sympa
thies and affections, united in all your thoughts
and aims. Do nothing to promote the ends of
party faction, nothing to gratify your own
personal vanity ; but be humble-minded and
esteem your neighbours more highly than
yourselves. Let not every man regard his own
wants, his own interests ; but let him consult
also the interests and the wants of others.'

5 — 11. Christ the great pattern of humility.

' Reflect in your own minds the mind
of Christ Jesus. Be humble, as He also was
humble. Though existing before the worlds
in the Eternal Godhead, yet He did not
cling with avidity to the prerogatives of His
divine majesty, did not ambitiously display His

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 35

equality with God; but divested Himself of
the glories of heaven, and took upon Him the
nature of a servant, assuming the likeness of
men. Nor was this all. Having thus appeared
among men in the fashion of a man, He
humbled Himself yet more, and carried out
His obedience even to dying. Nor did He die
by a common death : He was crucified, as the
lowest malefactor is crucified. But as was His
humility, so also was His exaltation. God
raised him to a preeminent height, and gave
Him a title and a dignity far above all dignities
and titles else. For to the name and majesty
of Jesus all created things in heaven and earth
and hell shall pay homage on bended knee ;
and every tongue with praise and thanksgiving
shall declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, and in
and for Him shall glorify God the Father.'

1 2 — 1 6. Practical following of His example.

12, 13. 'Therefore, my beloved, having
the example of Christ's humility to guide you,
the example of Christ's exaltation to encourage
you, as ye have always been obedient hitherto,
so continue. Do not look to my presence to
stimulate you. Labour earnestly not only at

3—2

36 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

times when I am with you, but now when I
am far away. With a nervous and trembling
anxiety work out your salvation for yourselves.
For yourselves, did I say ? Nay, ye are not
alone. It is God working in you from first to
last: God that inspires the earliest impulse,
and God that directs the final achievement :
for such is His good pleasure.'

14 — 16. 'Be ye not like Israel of old.
Never give way to discontent and murmuring,
to questioning and unbelief. So live that you
call forth no censure from others, that you keep
your own consciences single and pure. Show
yourselves blameless children of God amidst a
crooked and perverse generation. For you are
set in this world as luminaries in the firmament.
Hold out to others the word of life. That so,
when Christ shall come to judge all our works,
I may be able to boast of your faith, and to
show that my race has not been run in vain,
that my struggles have indeed been crowned
with success.'

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 37

III.

17 — 30. Explanation of his intended move
ments ; the purposed visit of Timothy; the
illness, recovery, and mission of Epaphroditus.

17, 18. ' I spoke of rny severe labours for
the Gospel. I am ready even to die in the same
cause. If I am required to pour out my life-
blood as a libation over the sacrificial offering
of your faith, I rejoice myself and I congratulate
you all therein. Yea, in like manner I ask you
also to rejoice and to congratulate me.'

19 — 24. 'But though absent myself, I
hope in the Lord to send Timotheus shortly to
you. This I purpose not for your sakes only
but for my own also ; that hearing how you
fare, I may take heart. I have chosen him
for I have no other messenger at hand who can
compare with him, none other who will show
the same lively and instinctive interest in your
welfare. For all pursue their own selfish aims,
reckless of the will of Christ. But the creden
tials of Timotheus are before you : you know
how he has been tested by long experience,

38 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

how as a son with a father he has laboured
with me in the service of the Gospel. Him
therefore I hope to send without delay, when
I see what turn my affairs will take. At the
same time I trust in the Lord, that I shall visit
you before long in person.'

25 — 30. ' Meanwhile, though I purpose
sending Timotheus shortly, though I trust
myself to visit you before very long, I have
thought it necessary to despatch Epaphroditus
to you at once ; Epaphroditus, whom you com
missioned as your delegate to minister to my
needs, in whom / have found a brother and
fellow -labourer and a comrade in arms. I have
sent him, because he longed earnestly to see
you and was very anxious and troubled that
you had heard of his illness. Nor was the
report unfounded. He was indeed so ill that
we despaired of his life. But God spared him
in His mercy; mercy not to him only but to
myself also, that I might not be weighed down
by a fresh burden of sorrow. For this reason
I have been the more eager to send him, that
your cheerfulness may be restored by seeing
him in health, and that my sorrow may be
lightened by sympathy with your joy. Receive

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 39

him therefore in the Lord with all gladness,
and hold such men in honour ; for in his
devotion to the work he was brought to death's
door, hazarding his life, that he might make
up by his zeal and diligence the lack of your
personal services to supplement your charitable
gift.'

IV.

III. 1. The Apostle begins his final in
junctions; but is interrupted and breaks off
suddenly.

' And now, my brethren, I must wish you
farewell. Rejoice in the Lord. Forgive me, if
I speak once more on an old topic. It is not
irksome to me to speak, and it is safe for you
to hear.'

He resumes; and warns them against two
antagonistic errors :

3 — 14. Judaism.

He contrasts the doctrine of works with the
doctrine of grace; his former life with his
present. The doctrine of grace leads to a pro
gressive morality.

40 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

2 — 6. 'Be on your guard. Shun these
shameless dogs, these workers of mischief, these
mutilators of the flesh. I call it mutilation, for
we are the true circumcision, we offer the
genuine service ; we — you and I — Gentile and
Jew alike — who serve by the Spirit of God,
who place our boast in Christ Jesus and put
no trust in the flesh. And yet, whatever be
the value of this confidence in the flesh, I
assert it as well. If any other man claims to
put trust in the flesh, my claim is greater. I
was circumcised on the eighth day, a child of
believing parents. I am descended of an old
Israelite stock. I belong to the loyal and
renowned tribe of Benjamin. I am of a lineage
which has never conformed to foreign usages,
but has preserved throughout the language and
the customs of the fathers. Thus much for
my inherited privileges ; and now for my
personal career. Do they speak of law ? I
belong to the Pharisees, the strictest of all
sects. Of zeal ? I persecuted the Church.
This surely is enough ! Of righteousness ? In
such righteousness as consists in obedience to
law, I have never been found a defaulter.'

6. ' All such things which I used to count

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 41

up as distinct items with a miserly greed and
reckon to my credit — these I have massed
together under one general head as loss.'

8. 'I suffered the confiscation, was mulcted,
of all things together.'

10. ' That I may know Him. And when
I speak of knowing Him, I mean, that I may
feel the power of His resurrection ; but to feel
this, it is first necessary that I should share
His sufferings.'

Thus he is brought to speak secondly of

15 — IV. 1. Antinomianism.

He points to his own example; and warns
his converts against diverging from the right
path. He appeals to them as citizens of heaven.

12 — 16. 'Do not mistake me, I hold the
language of hope, not of assurance. I have
not yet reached the goal ; I am not yet made
perfect. But I press forward in the race, eager
to grasp the prize, forasmuch as Christ also
has grasped me. My brothers, let other men
vaunt their security. Such is not my language.
I do not consider that I have the prize already
in my grasp. This, and this only, is my rule.
Forgetting the landmarks already passed and

42 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

straining every nerve arid muscle in the onward
race, I press forward ever towards the goal,
that I may win the prize of my heavenly rest
whereunto God has called me in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore, who have put away childish
things, who boast that we are men in Christ, so
resolve. Then, if in any matter we lose our
way, God will at length reveal this also to us.
Only let us remember one thing. Our footsteps
must not swerve from the line in which we
have hitherto trodden.'

17 — 21. ' My brethren, vie with each other
in imitating me, and observe those whose walk
of life is fashioned after our example. This is
the only safe test. For there are many, of
whom I told you often and now tell you again
even in tears, who professing our doctrine walk
not in our footsteps. They are foes to the cross
of Christ ; they are doomed to perdition ; they
make their appetites their god ; they glory in
their shame; they are absorbed in earthly
things. Not such is our life. In heaven we
have even now our country, our home ; and
from heaven hereafter we look in patient hope
for a deliverer, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall change the fleeting fashion of these

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 43

bodies — the bodies of our earthly humiliation —
so that they shall take the abiding form of His
own body — the body of His risen glory : for
such is the working of the mighty power
whereby He is able to subdue all things alike
unto Himself.'

Here the digression ends ; the main thread
of the letter is recovered ; and

2, 3. The Apostle once more urges them to
heal their dissensions, appealing to them by
name.

'I appeal to Euodia, and I appeal to
Syntyche, to give up their differences and live
at peace in the Lord. Yes I ask you, my
faithful and true yokefellow, who are now by
my side, who will deliver this letter to the
Philippians, to reconcile them again : for I
cannot forget how zealously they seconded my
efforts on behalf of the Gospel. I invite
Clement also, with the rest of rny fellow-la
bourers, whose names are enrolled in the book
of life, the register of God's faithful people, to
aid in this work of reconciliation.'

4 — 9. He exhorts them to joy fulness, to
freedom from care, to the pursuit of all good
aims.

44 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

' Let your gentle and forbearing spirit
be recognised by all men. The judgment is
drawing near. Entertain no anxious cares,
but throw them all upon God. By your
prayer and your supplication make your every
want known to Him. If you do this, then the
peace of God, far more effective than any
forethought or contrivance of man, will keep
watch over your hearts and your thoughts in
Christ Jesus/

V.

10 — 20. He gratefully acknowledges their
alms received through Epaphroditus, and invokes
a blessing on their thoughtful love.

' It was a matter of great and holy joy
to me that after so long an interval your
care on my behalf revived and flourished
again. I do not mean that you ever relaxed
your care, but the opportunity was wanting.
Do not suppose, that in saying this I am
complaining of want; for I have learnt to be
content with my lot, whatever it may be. I
know how to bear humiliation, and I know also

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 45

how to bear abundance. Under all circum
stances and in every case, in plenty and in
hunger, in abundance and in want, I have been
initiated in the never-failing mystery, I possess
the true secret of life. I can do and bear all
things in Christ who inspires me with strength.
But, though I am much indifferent to my own
wants, I commend you for your sympathy and
aid in my affliction. I need not remind you,
my Philippian friends ; you yourselves will
remember; that in the first days of the Gospel,
when I left Macedonia, though I would not
receive contributions of money from any other
Church, I made an exception in your case.
Nay, even before I left, when I was still at
Thessalonica, you sent more than once to supply
my wants. Again I say, I do not desire the
gift, but I do desire that the fruits of your
benevolence should redound to your account.
For myself, I have now enough and more than
enough of all things. The presents which you
sent by Epaphroditus have fully supplied my
needs. I welcome them, as the sweet savour
of a burnt-offering, as a sacrifice accepted by
and well-pleasing to God. And I am confident
that God on my behalf will recompense you

46 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

and supply all your wants with the prodigal
wealth which He only can command, in the
kingdom of His glory, in Christ Jesus.'

VI.

21 — 23. Salutations from all and to all.
The farewell benediction.

COLOSSIANS.

ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE.

I.

INTRODUCTORY.
I. 1, 2. Opening salutation.

' PAUL, an apostle of Christ Jesus by no
personal merit but by God's gracious will alone,
and TIMOTHY, our brother in the faith, to the
consecrated people of God in COLOSSI, the
brethren who are stedfast in their allegiance
and faithful in Christ. May grace the well-
spring of all mercies, and peace the crown of
all blessings, be bestowed upon you from God
our Father.'

3 — 8. Thanksgiving for the progress of the
Colossians hitherto.

48 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

' We never cease to pour forth our thanks
giving to God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ on your account, whensoever we pray
to Him. We are full of thankfulness for the
tidings of the faith which ye have in Christ
Jesus, and the love which ye show towards all
the people of God, while ye look forward to the
hope which is stored up for you in heaven as
a treasure for the life to come. This hope was
communicated to you in those earlier lessons,
when the Gospel was preached to you in its
purity and integrity — the one universal un
changeable Gospel, which was made known to
you, even as it was carried throughout the
world, approving itself by its fruits wheresoever
it is planted. For, as elsewhere, so also in you,
these fruits were manifested from the first day
when ye received your lessons in, and appre
hended the power of, the genuine Gospel,
which is not a law of ordinances but a dis
pensation of grace, not a device of men but
a truth of God. Such was the word preached
to you by Epaphras, our beloved fellowservant
in our Master's household, who in our absence
and on our behalf has ministered to you the
Gospel of Christ, and who now brings back to

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 49

us the welcome tidings of the love which ye
show in the Spirit.'

9 — 13. Prayer for their future advance in
knowledge and well-doing through Christ.

II.

DOCTRINAL.

The Person and Office of Christ.

13, 14. Through the Son we have our de
liverance, our redemption.

9 — 14. 'Hearing then that ye thus abound
in works of faith and love, we on our part have
not ceased, from the day when we received the
happy tidings, to pray on your behalf. And
this is the purport of our petitions ; that ye
may grow more and more in knowledge, till ye
attain to the perfect understanding of God's
will, being endowed with all wisdom to appre
hend His verities and all intelligence to follow
His processes, living in the mind of the Spirit
— to the end that knowledge may manifest
itself in practice, that your conduct in life may
be worthy of your profession in the Lord, so as
in all ways to win for you the gracious favour
L. 4

50 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

of God your King. Thus, while ye bear fruit
in every good work, ye will also grow as the
tree grows, being watered and refreshed by
this knowledge, as by the dew of heaven : thus
ye will be strengthened in all strength, accord
ing to that power which centres in all and
spreads from His glorious manifestation of
Himself, and nerved to all endurance under
affliction and all long-suffering under provoca
tion, not only without complaining, but even
with joy: thus finally (for this is the crown of
all), so rejoicing ye will pour forth your thanks
giving to the Universal Father, who prepared
and fitted us all — you and us alike — to take
possession of the portion which His goodness
has allotted to us among the saints in the
kingdom of light. Yea, by a strong arm He
rescued us from the lawless tyranny of Dark
ness, removed us from the land of our bondage,
and settled us as free citizens in our new and
glorious home, where His Son, the offspring
and the representative of His love, is King;
even the same, who paid our ransom and thus
procured our redemption from captivity — our
redemption, which (be assured) is nothing else
than the remission of our sins.'

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSI ANS 51

The Preeminence of the Son;

15 — 17. As the Head of the natural Crea
tion, the Universe;

'He is the perfect image, the visible re
presentation, of the unseen God. He is the
Firstborn, the absolute Heir of the Father,
begotten before the ages ; the Lord of the
Universe by virtue of primogeniture, and by
virtue also of creative agency. For in and
through Him the whole world was created,
things in heaven and things on earth, things
visible to the outward eye and things cognisable
by the inward perception. His supremacy is
absolute and universal. AH powers in heaven
and earth are subject to him. This subjection
extends even to the most exalted and most
potent of angelic beings, whether they be
called Thrones or Dominations or Princedoms
or Powers, or whatever title of dignity men
may confer upon them. Yes : He is first and
He is last. Through Him, as the mediatorial
Word, the universe has been created ; and
unto Him, as the final goal, it is tending. In
Him is no before or after. He is pre-existent
and self-existent before all the worlds. And in

4—2

52 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

Him, as the binding and sustaining power,
universal nature coheres and consists.'

18. As the Head of the new moral Creation,
the Church.

'And not only does He hold this position
of absolute priority and sovereignty over the
Universe — the natural creation. He stands
also in the same relation to the Church —
the new spiritual creation. He is its head
and it is His body. This is His prerogative,
because He is the source and the beginning of
its life, being the First-born from the dead.
Thus in all things — in the spiritual order as in
the natural — in the Church as in the World —
He is found to have the preeminence.'

19. Thus He is first in all things; and
this, because the pleroma has its abode in Him.

The Work of the Son — a work of recon
ciliation ;

20. Described generally.

19,20. 'And this absolute supremacy is
His, because it was the Father's good pleasure
that in Him all the plenitude of Deity should

EPISTLE TO TEE COLOSSIANS 53

have its home ; because He willed through
Him to reconcile the Universe once more to
Himself. It was God's purpose to effect peace
and harmony through the blood of Christ's
cross, and so to restore all things, whatsoever
and wheresoever they be, whether on the earth
or in the heavens.'

21 — 23. Applied specially to the Colossians.

' And ye too — ye Gentiles — are included
in the terms of this peace. In times past
ye had estranged yourselves from God. Your
hearts were hostile to Him, while ye lived
on in your evil deeds. But now, in Christ's
body, in Christ's flesh which died on the
Cross for your atonement, ye are reconciled
to Him again. He will present you a living
sacrifice, an acceptable offering unto Himself,
free from blemish and free even from censure,
that ye may stand the piercing glance of Him
whose scrutiny no defect can escape. But this
can only be, if ye remain true to your old
allegiance, if ye hold fast (as I trust ye are
holding fast) by the teaching of Epaphras, if
the edifice of your faith is built on solid found
ations and not reared carelessly on the sands,

54 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

if ye suffer not yourselves to be shifted or
shaken but rest firmly on the hope which ye
have found in the Gospel — the one universal
unchangeable Gospel, which was proclaimed to
every creature under heaven, of which I Paul,
unworthy as I am, was called to be a minister.'

24 — 27. St Paul's own part in carrying
out this work. His sufferings and preaching.
The ' mystery ' with which he is charged.

' Now when I see the full extent of God's
mercy, now when I ponder over His mighty
work of reconciliation, I cannot choose but
rejoice in my sufferings. Yes, I Paul the
persecutor, I Paul the feeble and sinful, am
permitted to supplement — I do not shrink
from the word — to supplement the afflictions
of Christ. Despite all that He underwent, He
the Master has left something still for me the
servant to undergo. And so my flesh is privi
leged to suffer for His body — His spiritual body,
the Church. I was appointed a minister of
the Church, a steward in God's household,
for this very purpose, that I might administer
my office on your behalf, might dispense to you
Gentiles the stores which His bountiful grace

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 55

has provided. Thus I was charged to preach
without reserve the whole Gospel of God, to
proclaim the great mystery which had remained
a secret through all the ages and all the gene
rations from the beginning, but which now in
these last times was revealed to His holy
people. For such was His good pleasure. God
willed to make known to them, in all its
inexhaustible wealth thus displayed through
the call of the Gentiles, the glorious revelation
of this mystery — Christ not the Saviour of the
Jews only, but Christ dwelling in you, Christ
become to you the hope of glory.'

28, 29. His anxiety on behalf of all :

'This Christ we, the Apostles and Evan
gelists, proclaim without distinction and with
out reserve. We know no restriction either
of persons or of topics. We admonish every
man and instruct every man. We initiate
every man in all the mysteries of wisdom. It
is our single aim to present every man fully
and perfectly taught in Christ. For this end
I train myself in the discipline of self-denial ;
for this end I commit myself to the arena of
suffering and toil, putting forth in the conflict

56 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

all that energy which He inspires, and which
works in me so powerfully.'

II. 1 — 8. And more especially of the
Colossian and neighbouring Churches.

' I spoke of an arena and a conflict in
describing my apostolic labours. The image
was not lightly chosen. I would have you
know that my care is not confined to my
own direct and personal disciples. I wish you
to understand the magnitude of the struggle,
which my anxiety for you costs me — for you
and for your neighbours of Laodicea, and for
all who, like yourselves, have never met me
face to face in the flesh. I am constantly
wrestling in spirit, that the hearts of all such
may be confirmed and strengthened in the
faith ; that they may be united in love ; that
they may attain to all the unspeakable wealth
which comes from the firm conviction of an
understanding mind, may be brought to the
perfect knowledge of God's mystery, which is
nothing else than Christ — Christ containing in
Himself all the treasures of wisdom and know
ledge hidden away.'

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 57

III.

POLEMICAL.
Warning against errors.

4 — 8. The Colossians charged to abide in
the truth of the Gospel as they received it at
first, and not to be led astray by a strange
philosophy ivhich the new teachers offer.

' I do not say this without a purpose.
I wish to warn you against any one who
would lead you astray by specious argument
and persuasive rhetoric. For I am not an in
different spectator of your doings. Although
I am absent from you in my flesh, yet I am
present with you in my spirit. I rejoice
to behold the orderly array and the solid
phalanx which your faith towards Christ
presents against the assaults of the foe. I
entreat you therefore not to abandon the
Christ, as you learnt from Epaphras to know
Him, even Jesus the Lord, but to walk still in
Him as heretofore. I would have you firmly
rooted once for all in Him. I desire to see
you built up higher in Him day by day, to

58 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

see you growing ever stronger and stronger
through your faith, while you remain true
to the lessons taught you of old, so that you
may abound in it, and thus abounding may
pour forth your hearts in gratitude to God the
giver of all.'

The truth stated first positively and then
negatively.

Positively.

9, 10. The pleroma dwells luholly in Christ
and is communicated through Him.

11, 12. The true circumcision is a spiritual
circumcision.

Negatively. Christ has

14. Annulled the law of ordinances ;

15. Triumphed over all spiritual agencies,
however powerful.

8 — 15. 'Be on your guard ; do not suffer
yourselves to fall a prey to certain persons who
would lead you captive by a hollow and deceit
ful system, which they call philosophy. They
substitute the traditions of men for the truth
of God. They enforce an elementary discipline

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 59

of mundane ordinances fit only for children.
Theirs is not the Gospel of Christ. In Christ
the entire fulness of the Godhead abides for
ever, having united itself with man by taking
a human body. And so in Him — not in any
inferior mediators — ye have your life, your
being, for ye are filled from His fulness. He,
I say, is the Head over all spiritual beings —
call them principalities or powers or what you
will. In Him too ye have the true circumci
sion — the circumcision which is not made with
hands but wrought by the Spirit — the circum
cision which divests not of a part only but of
the whole carnal body — the circumcision which
is not of Moses but of Christ. This circum
cision ye have, because ye were buried with
Christ to your old selves beneath the baptismal
waters, and were raised with Him from those
same waters to a new and regenerate life,
through your faith in the powerful working
of God who raised Him from the dead. Yes,
you — you Gentiles who before were dead, when
ye walked in your transgressions and in the
uncircumcision of your unchastened carnal
heathen heart — even you did God quicken
into life together with Christ ; then and there

60 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

freely forgiving all of us — Jews and Gentiles
alike — all our transgressions ; then and there
cancelling the bond which stood valid against
us (for it bore our own signatured, the bond
which engaged us to fulfil all the law of
ordinances, which was our stern pitiless tyrant.
Aye, this very bond hath Christ put out of
sight for ever, nailing it to His cross and
rending it with His body and killing it in
His death. Taking upon Him our human
nature, He stripped off and cast aside all
the powers of evil which clung to it like a
poisonous garment. As a mighty conqueror
He displayed these His fallen enemies to an
astonished world, leading them in triumph on
His cross.'

Obligations following thereupon.
Consequently the Colossians must not

16, 17. Either submit to ritual prohibitions,

18, 19. Or substitute the worship of inferior
beings for allegiance to the Head.

'Seeing then that the bond is cancelled,
that the law of ordinances is repealed, beware
of subjecting yourselves to its tyranny again.

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 61

Suffer no man to call you to account in the
matter of eating or drinking, or again of the
observance of a festival or a new moon or
a sabbath. These are only shadows thrown
in advance, only types of things to come.
The substance, the reality, in every case be
longs to the Gospel of Christ. The prize is
now fairly within your reach. Do not suffer
yourselves to be robbed of it by any stratagem
of the false teachers. Their religion is an
officious humility which displays itself in the
worship of angels. They make a parade
of their visions, but they are following an
empty phantom. They profess humility, but
they are puffed up with their vaunted wisdom,
which is after all only the mind of the flesh.
Meanwhile they have substituted inferior
spiritual agencies for the One true Mediator,
the Eternal Word. Clinging to these lower
intelligences, they have lost their hold of the
Head ; they have severed their connexion with
Him, on whom the whole body depends ; from
whom it derives its vitality, and to whom it
owes its unity, being supplied with nourish
ment and knit together in one by means of
the several joints and attachments, so that it

62 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

grows with a growth which comes from God
Himself.'

On the contrary this must henceforth be their
rule :

20 — 23. They have died with Christ; and
with Him they have died to their old life, to
earthly ordinances.

'You died with Christ to your old life.
All mundane relations have ceased for you.
Why then do you — you who have attained
your spiritual manhood — submit still to the
rudimentary discipline of children ? Why do
you — you who are citizens of heaven — bow
your necks afresh to the tyranny of material
ordinances, as though you were still living in
the world ? It is the same old story again ;
the same round of hard, meaningless, vexatious
prohibitions, 'Handle not,' 'Taste not,' 'Touch
not.' What folly ! When all these things —
these meats and drinks and the like — are
earthly, perishable, wholly trivial and unim
portant ! They are used, and there is an end
of them. What is this, but to draw down
upon yourselves the denunciations uttered by
the prophet of old ? What is this but to

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 63

abandon God's word for precepts which are
issued by human authority arid inculcated by
human teachers ? All such things have a show
of wisdom, I grant. There is an officious parade
of religious devotion, an eager affectation of
humility ; there is a stern ascetic rigour, which
ill-treats the body : but there is nothing of any
real value to check indulgence of the flesh.'

III. 1 — 4. They have risen with Christ;
and with Him they have risen to a new life, to
heavenly principles.

' If this be so ; if ye were raised with
Christ, if ye were translated into heaven, what
follows? Why, you must realise the change.
All your aims centre in he'aven, where reigns
the Christ who has thus exalted you, enthroned
on God's right hand. All your thoughts must
abide in heaven, not on the earth. For, I say
it once again, you have nothing to do with
mundane things : you died, died once for all to
the world : you are living another life. This
life indeed is hidden now : it has no outward
splendour as men count splendour ; for it is
a life with Christ, a life in God. But the
veil will not always shroud it. Christ, our

64 ANALYLIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

life, shall be manifested hereafter; then ye
also shall be manifested with Him and the
world shall §ee your glory.'

IV.

HORTATORY.

Practical application of this death and this
resurrection.

Comprehensive rules.

5 — 11. What vices are to be put off, being
mortified in this death.

' So then realise this death to the world ;
kill all your earthly members. Is it forni
cation, impurity of whatever kind, passion,
evil desire ? Or again, is it that covetousness
which makes a religion, an idolatry, of greed ?
Do not deceive yourselves. For all these
things God's wrath will surely come. In these
sins ye, like other Gentiles, indulged in times
past, when your life was spent amidst them.
But now everything is changed. Now you
also must put away not this or that desire,
but all sins whatsoever. Anger, wrath, malice,
slander, filthy abuse ; banish it from your lips.

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 65

Be not false to one another in word or deed ;
but cast off for ever the old man with his
actions, and put on the new, who is renewed
from day to day, growing unto perfect know
ledge and refashioned after the image of his
Creator. In this new life, in this regenerate
man, there is not, there cannot be, any dis
tinction of Greek or Jew, of circumcision or
uncircumcision; there is no room for barbarian,
for Scythian, for bond or free. Christ has
displayed, has annihilated, all these ; Christ is
Himself all things and in all things.'

12 — 17. What graces are to be put on, being
quickened through this resurrection.

12—15. 'Therefore, as- the elect of God,
as a people consecrated to His service and
specially endowed with His love, array your
selves in hearts of compassion, in kindliness
and humility, in a gentle and yielding spirit.
Bear with one another, forgive freely among
yourselves. As your Master forgave you His
servants, so ought ye to forgive your fellow-
servants. And over all these robe yourselves
in love ; for this is the garment which binds
together all the graces of perfection. And let
L. 5

66 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

the one supreme umpire in your hearts, the
one referee amidst all your difficulties, be the
peace of Christ, which is the destined goal of
your Christian calling, in which is realised the
unity belonging to members of one body.
Lastly of all ; show your gratitude by your
thanksgiving.'

16, 17. 'Let the inspiring word of Christ
dwell in your hearts, enriching you with its
boundless wealth and endowing you with all
wisdom. Teach and admonish one another
with psalms, with hymns of praise, with
spiritual songs of all kinds. Only let them
be pervaded with grace from heaven. Sing
to God in your hearts and not with your lips
only. And generally ; whatever ye do, whether
in word or in deed, let everything be done in
the name of Jesus Christ. And (again I
repeat it) pour out your thanksgiving to God
the Father through Him.'

Special precepts.

The obligations

18,19. Of wives and husbands ;

20, 21. Of children and parents ;

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSI ANS 67

' Ye wives, be subject to your husbands, for
so it becomes you in Christ. Ye husbands,
love and cherish your wives, and use no harsh
ness towards them. Ye children, be obedient
to your parents in all things ; for this is com
mendable and lovely in Christ. Ye parents,
vex not your children, lest they lose heart and
grow sullen.'

22 — IV. 1. Of slaves and masters.

1 Ye slaves, be obedient in all things to
the masters set over you in the flesh, not
rendering them service only when their eyes
are upon you, as aiming merely to please
men, but serving in all sincerity of heart, as
living in the sight of your Heavenly Master
and standing in awe of Him. And in every
thing that ye do, work faithfully and with all
your soul, as labouring not for men, but for the
great Lord and Master Himself; knowing that
ye have a Master, from whom ye will receive
the glorious inheritance as your recompense,
whether or not ye may be defrauded of your
due by men. Yes, Christ is your Master and
ye are His slaves. He that does a wrong shall
be requited for his wrong-doing. I say not

5—2

68 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

this of slaves only, but of masters also. There
is no partiality, no respect of persons, in
God's distribution of rewards and punishments.
Therefore, ye masters, do ye also on your part
deal justly and equitably by your slaves, know
ing that ye too have a Master in heaven.'

2 — 4. The duty of prayer and thanksgiving;
with special intercession on the Apostles behalf.

5, 6. The duty of propriety in behaviour
towards the unconverted.

2 — 6. 'Be earnest and unceasing in prayer;
keep your hearts and minds awake while pray
ing : remember also (as I have often told you)
that thanksgiving is the goal and crown of
prayer. Meanwhile in your petitions forget
not us — myself Paul — my fellow -labourer
Timothy — your evangelist Epaphras — all the
teachers of the Gospel ; but pray that God
may open a door for the preaching of the word,
to the end that we may proclaim the free offer
of grace to the Gentiles — that great mystery
of Christ for which I am now a prisoner in
bonds. So shall I declare it fearlessly, as I
am bound to proclaim it. Walk wisely and
discreetly in all your dealings with unbelievers;

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIAXS 69

allow no opportunity to slip through your hands,
but buy up every passing moment. Let your
language be always pervaded with grace and
seasoned with salt. So will you know how to
give a fit answer to each man, as the occasion
demands.'

V.

PERSONAL.

7 — 9. Explanations relating to the letter
itself.

'You will learn everything about me from
Tychicus, the beloved brother who has mini
stered to me and served with me faithfully
in the Lord. This indeed was my purpose
in sending him to you :" that you might be
informed how matters stand with me, and that
he might cheer your hearts and strengthen
your resolves by the tidings. Onesimus will
accompany him — a faithful and beloved brother,
who is one of yourselves, a Colossian. These
two will inform you of all that is going on here.'

10 — 14. Salutations from divers persons.
'I send you greeting from Aristarchus who
is a fellow-prisoner with me ; from Marcus, Bar-

70 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

nabas' cousin, concerning whom I have already
sent you directions, that you welcome him
heartily, if he pays you a visit ; and from
Jesus, surnamed Justus ; all three Hebrew
converts. They alone of their fellow-country
men have worked loyally with me in spreading
the kingdom of God ; and their stedfastness has
indeed been a comfort to me in the hour of
trial. Greeting also from Epaphras, your fellow-
townsman, a true servant of Christ, who is ever
wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, that ye
may stand firm in the faith, perfectly instructed
and fully convinced in every will and purpose
of God. I bear testimony to the earnestness
with which he labours for you and the bre
thren of Laodicea and those of Hierapolis.
Greeting also from Luke the physician, my
very dear friend, and from Demas.'

15 — 17. Salutations to divers persons. A
message relating to Laodicea.

'Greet from me the brethren who are in
Laodicea, especially Nymphas, and the church
which assembles in their house. And when
this letter has been read among you, take
care that it is read also in the Church of the

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 71

Laodicean s, and be sure that ye also read the
letter which I have sent to Laodicea, and
which ye will get from them. Moreover give
this message from me to Archippus ; Take
heed to the ministry which thou hast received
from me in Christ, and discharge it fully and
faithfully/

18. Farewell.

'I add this salutation with my own hand,
signing it with my name Paul. Be mindful of
my bonds. God's grace be with you.'

PHILEMON.

1 — 3. 'PAUL, now a prisoner of Christ
Jesus, and TIMOTHY a brother in the faith,
unto PHILEMON our dearly- beloved and fellow-
labourer in the Gospel, and unto APPHIA our
sister, arid unto ARCHIPPUS our fellow-soldier
in Christ, and to the Church which assembles
in thy house. Grace and peace to you all
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.'

4 — 7. 'I never cease to give thanks to
my God for thy well-doing, and thou art
ever mentioned in my prayers. For they
tell me of thy love and faith — thy faith which
thou hast in the Lord Jesus, and thy love which
thou showest towards all the saints ; and it is
my prayer that this active sympathy and
charity, thus springing from thy faith, may
abound more and more, as thou attainest to
the perfect knowledge of every good thing

EPISTLE TO PHILEMON 73

bestowed upon us by God, looking unto and
striving after Christ. For indeed it gave me
great joy and comfort to hear of thy loving-
kindness, and to learn how the hearts of God's
people had been cheered and refreshed by thy
help, my dear brother.'

8 — 17. 'Encouraged by these tidings of
thy loving spirit, I prefer to entreat, where
I might command. My office gives me au
thority to dictate thy duty in plain language,
but love bids me plead as a suitor. Have
I not indeed a right to command — I Paul
whom Christ Jesus long ago commissioned
as His ambassador, and whom now He has
exalted to the rank of His prisoner ? But
I entreat thee. I have a favour to ask for
a son of my own — one doubly dear to me,
because I became his father amidst the sorrows
of my bonds. I speak of Onesimus, who in
times past was found wholly untrue to his
name, who was then far from useful to thee,
but now is useful to thee — yea, and to myself
also. Him I send back to thee, and I entreat
thee to take him into thy favour, for in giving
him I am giving my own heart. Indeed I
would gladly have detained him with me, that

74 ANALYSIS OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLES

he might minister to me on thy behalf, in these
bonds with which the Gospel has invested me.
But I have scruples. I did not wish to do
anything without thy direct consent ; for then
it might have seemed (though it were only
seeming) as if thy kindly offices had been
rendered by compulsion and not of free will.
So I have sent him back. Indeed it may
have been God's providential design, that he
was parted from thee for a season, only that
thou mightest regain him for ever ; that he
left thee as a slave, only that he might return
to thee a beloved brother. This indeed he is
to me most of all ; and, if to me, must he not
be so much more to thee, both in worldly
things and in spiritual ? If therefore thou
regardest me as a friend and companion, take
him to thee, as if he were myself.'

18 — 22. 'But if he has done thee any
injury, or if he stands in thy debt, set it down
to my account. Here is my signature — Paul —
in my own handwriting. Accept this as my
bond. I will repay thee. For I will not insist,
as I might, that thou art indebted to me for
much more than this ; that thou owest to me
thine own self. Yes, dear brother, let me

EPISTLE TO PHILEMON 75

receive from my son in the faith such a return as
a father has a right to expect. Cheer and refresh
my spirits in Christ. I have full confidence in
thy compliance, as I write this ; for I know
that thou wilt do even more than I ask. At
the same time also prepare to receive me on
a visit ; for I hope that through your prayers I
shall be set free and given to you once more.'

23 — 25. 'Epaphras my fellow-captive in
Christ Jesus salutes you. As do also Mark,
Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow-
labourers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with thee and thy household, and sanctify
the spirit of you all.'

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BS Light foot

2650 Analysis of certain

•L7 of St Raul's Epistles

105566

J2S

./-7