The
NewCentury
Bible
Thessalonians
Galatians
MAR 20 1908
Division j t\<=\
Section
The following thirteen volumes, comprising the whole
New Testament, have already been arranged for.
i. MATTHEW, by Prof. W. F. Slater, M.A.
2. MARK, by Principal Salmond, D.D.
3. LUKE, by Prof. W. F. Adeney, M.A.
4. JOHN, by the Rev. J. A. McCLYMONT, D.D.
5. ACTS, by Prof. J. Vernon Bartlet, M.A.
6. ROMANS, by the Rev. A. E. Garvie, M.A., B.D.
7. I and II CORINTHIANS, by Prof. J. Massie, M.A., D.D.
3. EPHESIANS, COLOSSIANS, PHILEMON, PHILIP-
PIANS, by the Rev. G. Currie Martin, M.A., B.D.
9. I and II THESSALONIANS, GALATIANS, by Prof.
W. F. Adeney, M.A.
10. THE PASTORAL EPISTLES, by the Rev. R. F
HORTON, M.A., D.D.
11. HEBREWS, by Prof. A. S. Peake, M.A.
12. THE GENERAL EPISTLES, by Prof.W. H.Bennett,
M.A.
13. REVELATION, by the Rev. C. Anderson Scott,
M.A.
General Editor : Prof. \V. F. Adeney
£fk00afonian0
INTRODUCTION
AUTHORIZED VERSION
REVISED VERSION WITH NOTES
INDEX AND MAP
EDITED. BY
WALTER F. ADENEY, M.A.
PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS, NEW COLLEGE, LONDON
AUTHOR OF 'HOW TO READ THE BIBLE,' &C, AND
JOINT AUTHOR OF 'BIBLICAL INTRODUCTION '
NEW YORK: HENRY FROWDE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, AMERICAN BRANCH
EDINBURGH : T. C. & E. C. JACK
The Revised Version is printed by permission of ike
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
THE NEW-CENTURY BIBLE
THESSALONIANS
AND
GALATIANS
Uw idmbnrgli G«otfr«piiicAl Tuatitai
7
ASIA MOTOR & GHEECS
SHOWING THE JOURNEYS OF ST PAUL
English Miles
C°E3«igte-J<i3i.BartKo"UmCTr& c
CONTENTS
PAGE
Editor's Introduction i
Text of the Authorized Version .... 131
Text of the Revised Version with Annotations . 155
Index 34°
MAP
Asia Minor and Greece, shewing the journeys of
St. Paul Facing Title
THE EPISTLES OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
THESSALONIANS
AND
GALATIANS
INTRODUCTION
THE EPISTLES OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THESSALONIANS and GALATIANS
INTRODUCTION
The Two Epistles to the Thessalonians.
These two short letters are closely associated together,
not merely because they were both addressed to the same
church, but also because there was but a short interval
of time between them, and because they deal with much
the same subjects and have certain features in common
that mark them off from the other writings of Paul.
They form a group by themselves, both chronologically
and in character and teaching. There is good reason
to think that they are the earliest of the Apostle's writings,
or at all events the earliest that have survived, though
there are students of the New Testament who would give
the priority to the Epistle to the Galatians. If they come
first among Paul's writings, we must conclude that, with
the doubtful exception of the Epistle of James, they are the
oldest books of the New Testament. With that one pos-
sible exception, it would seem that the great Apostle had
written all his epistles before any other books of the New
Testament were composed. The next writer whose work
has been included in the Christian Canon is Mark, the
author of our second gospel, and he comes nearly twenty
years after the Thessalonian Epistles. Here, then, we
B 2
4 THESSALONIANS
have the oldest but one, perhaps the very oldest, docu-
ments of Christianity. Simple as they are in thought
and style when compared with Paul's later Epistles, they
must have a peculiar value to us on account of their
extremely primitive position in the history of Christian
literature. One objection to the early date of the Epistle
of James is that if that book is placed before the first of
Paul's Epistles, its conservative Jewish author must be
credited with the invention of a new style of literature —
that which conveys religious instruction in the form of
a letter. But whether this be the case or not, nobody
will suppose that Paul borrowed his method from James.
He was far too bold and original to need guidance as to
his procedure ; and certainly, if he had felt any such
need, the very last person whom he would have imitated
was the head of the Jerusalem church. As far as he
was concerned, then, we must allow that the Apostle
struck out for himself the idea of communicating religious
teaching by means of letters. Nevertheless, though this
was a novel form of literature when it appeared, there
is nothing surprising about it. In this, as in so many
other cases, necessity was the mother of invention. Paul
was in the novel position of a religious leader called upon
to direct his disciples from a distance. The letter was
the natural means by which to carry on that work.
There is nothing artificial about this epistolary form of
the Apostle's writings. We cannot compare it with such
works as The Letters of Junius ■, the appearance of which
as a collection of letters is a mere literary device. These
Epistles of Paul are real letters, and can better be com-
pared with Cyprian's letters to his church at Carthage
written from his retirement in the desert. They were
actually sent by the Apostle to his correspondents as
the best means he had of communicating with them.
If he could have visited them at the time, undoubtedly he
would have dispensed with writing, preferring the word
of mouth communication of personal presence. In that
INTRODUCTION 5
case, though two or three churches might have gained,
the world and all subsequent ages would have been great
losers, for we should have had no Epistles of Paul. The
last thing the Apostle dreamed of in writing these letters
was the composition of permanent literature that would
be treasured up for all time and circulated throughout
the world. He wrote to the occasion for his immediate
readers in the church addressed. This fact will account
for much of the obscurity that some people complain of
when reading his epistles. This is why they need com-
mentaries. Even with the best collateral information
to guide us, we occasionally stumble on obscurities which
are simply due to the fact that we do not possess the
historical key that was in the hands of the readers to
whom the letters were addressed. What is difficult
to us may have been quite simple and easy to them.
On the other hand, we must not forget that Paul was
supremely concerned with eternal truths. Therefore
his letters, though written for an immediate purpose,
remain of permanent value for the church in all ages.
These letters deal with religion, because to Paul religion
was the one supremely important thing in the world;
and their treatment of the great theme is deserving of
constant attention, because their author was one of the
two or three most inspired teachers of religion the world
has ever seen. The letter form bears the stamp of the local
and temporary on its surface ; the underlying substance
contains the essence of the spiritual and eternal.
Thessalonica.
The city of Thessalonica— represented by the modern
Saloniki — was situated at the head of the Thermaic gulf
to the north of the ./Egean Sea. It was the capital of
one of the divisions of the Roman province of Macedonia.
Accordingly Paul, who always uses the Roman political
6 THESSALONIANS
names for the places he refers to, describes the Thessa-
lonians as well as the Philippians as ' Macedonians,' or
'the churches of Macedonia' (2 Cor. viii. 1). There
is no reason to suppose that he ever penetrated to the
region of the original kingdom of Macedon. In race,
these people of Thessalonica were not Macedonian,
but Thracian, the natives of ancient Thrace, though with
a considerable mixture of Celtic blood. They were very
different in character from the quick-witted, lively, dis-
solute Greeks whom Paul met with in Athens and Corinth.
Renan says of this district: 'It was probably the region
the most honest, the most serious, the most pious of the
ancient world.' It is noteworthy that Paul found his
most devoted followers among these solid, reliable
Thracians. He was grievously tried with the moral
failings of his Greek converts and with the doctrinal
errors of his churches in Asia. But he had no serious
complaints on either of these grounds to make against
his Thracian friends in Philippi and Thessalonica, whom
he always found to be loyal followers, stanch supporters,
generous and affectionate helpers.
Under the Romans Thessalonica had become a port
of some consequence in the trade of the Mediterranean,
and it had grown into a wealthy and populous city.
It was the greatest city in the north-east of the Roman
Empire before the rise of Constantinople. This fact adds
some importance to our two small, simple epistles. They
were directed to one of the chief centres of the world's
life. Paul always aimed at these metropolitan centres,
and therefore was most eager to bear his testimony in
the imperial city of Rome itself. The Jews, who had a
keen eye for promising marts of commerce, had flocked
to Thessalonica in considerable numbers, and had built
a fine synagogue, which served also for the neighbouring
towns of Philippi, Amphipolis, and Apollonia. But Paul
drew few, if any, adherents from among the rich and
important citizens. There was a numerous artisan class
INTRODUCTION 7
gathered in this busy city; the weaving industry was
largely followed there, and many men must have been
engaged on the quays in connexion with the shipping.
It was among these working people that most of the
disciples of the new faith were won.
The Apostle Paul visited Thessalonica on the occasion
of his first journey in Europe, accompanied by Silas and
Timothy. Luke had crossed over from Troas with them,
and the three travellers, after touching at Samothrace, had
landed at Neapolis and proceeded thence to the Roman
colony of Philippi. Here Paul planted his first church
on European soil ; it was always his most affectionate
and devoted church, and apparently the one he loved
most. But the persecution he received at Philippi,
although the magistrates were compelled to apologize
for their illegality in scourging him, a Roman citizen,
seems to have hastened his departure, probably so as to
avoid occasioning fresh disturbances, which would have
been a trouble and a danger to the new converts. Leav-
ing Luke behind, perhaps because his home was in this
city, Paul then proceeded with his two other companions
along the famous Via Egnatia, among the dales and rocks
and by the winding river of the beautiful pass of Arethusa,
to Thessalonica. Thus the church he founded there was
the second oldest of his European churches. Being a
Jew, and longing for the salvation of his people, Paul
followed his custom and made the first offer of the gospel
to the Jews, visiting their great synagogue on three
successive Sabbaths, and there delivering his message.
His method was to reason from the Scriptures in order to
prove that 'it behoved the Christ to suffer and to rise
again from the dead.' Then he would apply the result
of his argument and shew that Jesus, whom he must
have described, since the historian says i this Jesus'
(Acts xvii. 3), was the predicted Christ. The brief
epitome of Paul's preaching at Thessalonica in Acts sheds
an interesting light on his method of evangelizing his
8 THESSALONIANS
own people. The main objection to the claim of Jesus
to be the Messiah was that his life was not at all like
what had been expected of the Mighty Deliverer of
Israel, while his death had only completed the incon-
gruity. Accordingly a completely new idea of the Mes-
sianic character and mission must be accepted if the
crucified peasant from Galilee could be regarded as
the long-expected Christ. This necessity controlled
all the gospel preaching among the Jews. We see it in
Peter's speeches at Jerusalem. It appears much later
in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, for Trypho
was a Jew. Here we find Paul endeavouring to break
through the thick wall of prejudice by demonstrating
from the Jewish Scriptures themselves that the coming
of a suffering Messiah was really quite in accordance
with the prophecies contained in those venerated books.
But while the Jewish objections compelled Paul to treat
this subject, we know from his weighty words about it
when writing to his own converts that even apart from
those objections he would have made much of it, because
it was central to his conception of Christianity. 'With
Paul the gospel was rooted in the person of Christ, and
the chief significance of the person of Christ was seen in
his death and resurrection. This, then, was always found
to be the substance and core of the Apostle's message.
The results of Paul's preaching at Thessalonica were
very promising. Converts of various classes began to
declare themselves for the new faith. Luke mentions
three classes : — (i) Some of the Jews. These could only
have been few in number, for it is manifest that the church
of the Thessalonians was mostly Gentile. Still, it is
something to know that even in Thessalonica, where
Paul was to meet with the most violent opposition from
his own countrymen, some of them were won. That
argument from the Scriptures had told on the more
open-minded or susceptible Jews in the synagogue.
(2) Proselytes. These are called 'devout Greeks.' We
INTRODUCTION 9
must not understand the phrase to mean Greeks who
were pious according to their own j pagan light, worship-
ping their national divinities, like Socrates or Marcus
Aurelius. The term is always used in Scripture for
those who had accepted the Jewish faith with more
or less thoroughness, even if they had not actually
become Jews by undergoing the rite of circumcision.
A very considerable proportion of the early Christians
was drawn from people of this class. They were
religious in sympathy and intention to begin with, or
they would not be found worshipping in the synagogue ;
they were in a measure prepared for the new revelation
by their reception of the older revelation which pointed
towards it and led up to it, in spite of the denial of this
by the prejudice and bigotry of the Jews ; and they were
more ready to listen to reason than the Jews, having
already moved one step towards the light out of their
native pagan darkness. (3) Women of position — ' chief
women,' Luke calls them. The poorer women in their
benighted ignorance would be the blindest, most in-
fatuated devotees of the old local Thracian heathenism.
But many women of the upper classes throughout the
Roman Empire at this time were shewing a keen interest
in questions of religion. At Rome, at Alexandria, at
Damascus, women in high social position had adopted
Judaism. The motives which led some to do this in
their search for a deeper religion than the pagan cults in
which they had been brought up would induce others to
accept the Christian teaching. It would be these well-
to-do women in the church who came to make up the
bulk of the contributions that were subsequently sent
by the Macedonian Christians to Paul when he was "in
other places, as it was by the gifts of grateful women
that the temporal necessities of Jesus Christ and his
disciples had been supplied.
This happy state of affairs was soon rudely disturbed —
how soon, we do not know. One objection that has been
io THESSALONIANS
brought against our two epistles is based on the ground
that such a church as they imply to be existing in
Thessalonica could not have been constituted and have
received the amount of teaching the epistles refer to all
within the course of three weeks. But Luke does not
state that Paul's visit only lasted that short time. He
says that the Apostle delivered his message for three
Sabbaths in the synagogue ; but he does not say that
Paul remained no longer in the city. As his converts
were mostly derived from the pagan population, he
must have preached to the Gentiles after the Jews had
refused to hear him any longer. Indeed, the narrative
in Acts suggests that this was the case, for it states
that the Jews were 'moved with jealousy.' They would
not have been so jealous of the offer of the gospel
to their own adherents in the synagogue as of the
fact that Paul was inviting Gentiles to its privileges.
For anything we know, he may have been engaged
in this work during several months. There is really
no contradiction between Acts and the Epistles here.
If there were such a contradiction it would be more
reasonable to doubt the accuracy of Luke's work, since its
author was not present at the time, than to reject what
appears as the well-authenticated writing of the chief
actor in this scene.
Here, as in most other places, the opposition to Paul
arose from the Jews. It had been otherwise at Philippi,
where the pagan master of a supposed Pythoness, or
inspired prophetess, was enraged at the loss of his liveli-
hood by the cure of the poor slave-girl, and later at
Ephesus, where the silversmiths feared loss of trade.
But these were exceptions. As a rule all the early
persecutions were instigated by the Jews. Even as late
as the middle of the second century the martyrdom
of Polycarp was urged on by Jews, But while this
was the origin of the disturbance, the Jews did not
care to undertake the ugly business single-handed,
INTRODUCTION n
or indeed to carry it through with their own hands at
all. They preferred to get more disreputable people
to do their dirty work for them, and therefore they
roused the mob, always easily excited in these Eastern
seaports, which made for the house of a man named
Jason, probably because this house was used by Paul
for his teaching. At all events the Apostle was lodg-
ing there. Although the opposition began in an
uproar, the authority of law and order in a city under
Roman government was too strong for the mob to
proceed to lynch-law. Accordingly, having broken into
Jason's house, and perhaps being disappointed at not
finding his lodger there, they carried the proprietor off
to the police court. This was rather hard on Jason.
Paul was supporting himself by his own labour at tent
making, and was not dependent on Jason's hospitality.
Possibly he was also paying for his lodging. And now
the landlord is made responsible for his tenant's doings.
Still, it is likely that he was a convert, and other Chris-
tians found in his house were taken with him. It may
be remarked in passing that the magistrates of Thessa-
lonica bore a peculiar name — 'politarch' — which Luke
is careful to record, a note of that historian's accuracy.
The charge against the Christians was a serious one
in the eyes of Roman magistrates. First, they were
accused of being social revolutionists— ' turning the
world ' — literally, the ' civilized, inhabited world ' — ' upside
down.' The Romans were intensely conservative. There
was nothing they suppressed more sternly than any
attempt to upset the order of society. Then the Chris-
tians were accused of rebellion — going 'contrary to the
decrees of Caesar ' ; what decrees, we do not know,
though probably the explanation is in the final item
of the charge, that of proclaiming 'another king, one
Jesus ' — rank treason ! No crime could be worse than
that in the eyes of the emperor. The penalty was
death. But the lenient way in which the politarchs
12 THESSALONIANS
dealt with the accused shews that the case broke down.
In fact, they were acquitted. Still, it could not be denied
that there had been disturbances in the city arising out
of the visit of the Christian missionaries. To prevent
the repetition of such scenes, Jason and his friends were
bound over to keep the peace and required to give
security to that effect. This was quite in accordance
with Roman law. It may be compared to the action
of some English magistrates in forbidding processions of
the Salvation Army because of the riots that followed,
although they knew that the Salvationists themselves
were not disturbers of the peace. Professor Ramsay
points out that this magisterial order involved the de-
parture of Paul from the city, and prevented his return
for some time. This may explain the Apostle's language
where he says that he would fain have come to the
Thessalonians once and again, but Satan hindered
him (i Thess. ii.ti8). The mischief-making agency of
the spirit of evil is credited with bringing about this
unhappy state of affairs, which effectually keeps the
Apostle at a distance from his Macedonian friends.
We can gather some information about the character
and condition of the church at Thessalonica from a study
of the two epistles.
I. The church consisted mainly of converted pagans.
This is quite in accordance with what we read in Acts.
In I Thessalonians Paul reminds his readers how they
' turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true
God' (i Thess. i. 9) ; and after referring to the persecu-
tions of the Christians in Judaea, he adds, 'for ye also
suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even
as they did of the Jews' (ii. 14), where the distinction
between ' your own countrymen ' and ' the Jews ' shews
that the people addressed were Gentiles. Then the vices
against which the Apostle warns his readers were more
Greek and pagan than Jewish, such as immoral relations
between men and women (see 1 Thess. iv. 1-8), drunken-
INTRODUCTION 13
ness (v. 7), indolence (2 Thess. iii. 10), mischievous
gossiping (verse 11). The licentiousness of the peoples
of Hellenic civilization was notorious, while the faults
of the Jews lay rather in the direction of bigotry, pride,
censoriousness, and greed of money.
2. Most of the members were of what we call 'the
working classes.' Paul exhorts his converts to keep to
their manual work, and not permit the elation caused
by their enjoyment of rare spiritual privileges to induce
them to become impatient of this drudgery or despise it.
They are to study to be quiet, to do their own business,
and work with their hands (1 Thess. iv. 11). Paul had
done the same while among them, and he is careful to
remind them of the fact in the hope that his example may
stimulate the indolent and sober the flighty. We must
suppose, therefore, that the well-to-do Jewish converts and
the women from a higher social class formed but small
minorities in the church, and that the bulk of the brother-
hood consisted of working people. This church was not
troubled with any of the refined subtleties of thought
that interested the more dreamy, speculative Christians
of Ephesus and the churches in the Lycus Valley, nor
with the ambition of intellectuality in which the Greeks
of Achaia indulged. The members were simple folk, and
they took a simple view of the teachings they had received.
These facts need to be borne in mind when we are
considering the ideas of the Apostle contained in the
epistles. As the earliest of his extant writings, it seems
natural to find them the most elementary. M. Sabatier
has worked out a very definite scheme of the develop-
ment of Paul's mind and thought through the course of
his epistles, beginning with these two. But probably he
has gone too far. It is true that the Apostle does seem
to advance in some respects, especially in his teaching
about the divine nature of Christ in Ephesians and
Colossians. No doubt the controversies with which
he was engaged helped to clarify and accentuate his
i4 THESSALONIANS
leading convictions. Thus the doctrine of justification
by faith is most fully expounded in Galatians and
Romans after the conflict with the Judaizers in Galatia ;
and the most exalted ideas of Christ's relation to the
universe are expressed in the epistles of the Captivity
in order to counteract vague gnostic and theosophic
notions in the churches addressed. But while this is
reasonable enough, there is another side to the case. The
epistles do not only express their writer's views at the
moment, they are especially adapted to the conditions and
needs of his correspondents in the special circumstances
they are designed to meet. This is one important
distinction between real, living letters and mere essays
intended for the reading of the general public, and
perhaps not specially adapted to the particular state
of society when they happen to be published. Certainly
it would be unfair to assume that a writer put all his
beliefs into every one of his letters. We cannot say
that he did not hold a certain belief when writing any
particular letter just because he did not there and then
state it, unless the subject treated in the letter would
naturally lead up to it. If Paul writes to a working man's
church not disturbed by any novelties or irregularities
of doctrine, it is not to be supposed that he has not yet
thought out his ideas concerning certain abstruse subjects
simply because he does not see fit to trouble his corre-
spondents with them. We cannot say that when he
wrote the two simple letters to the Thessalonians his
mind had not yet moved beyond the most elementary
conceptions of Christian truth. If, as seems probable,
he had been engaged in mission work during some
eighteen years before he wrote these epistles, he was no
novice at the time, but an Apostle of wide and long-
continued experience in Christian life, thought, and
teaching. Here we have the utterances of a ripe mind,
although the circumstances do not call for the exposition
of the most profound ideas.
INTRODUCTION 15
Before proceeding to the consideration of the two
epistles, a glance may be permitted at the subsequent
history of the church. The Apostle who was so longing
to revisit his friends, but was prevented from doing so
at the time when he wrote, was able to carry out his
wish three or four years later. After his year and a half
at Corinth, Paul returned to Jerusalem and Antioch
without going to see his friends in Macedonia. His
second missionary tour took him through Galatia and
other parts of Asia Minor to Ephesus, where he remained
two and a half years. After the riot he went north to
Troas and thence across to Europe, as on his previous
journey in this direction. Thus at length, after so long
an interval, he once more found himself among his
favourite disciples, the Macedonians. There he was
much cheered by the good news brought him by Titus
concerning the improved condition of affairs in Corinth,
about which Christian centre he had been feeling
considerable anxiety. At this time he was engaged in
collecting the offerings of his churches for the poor
Christians at Jerusalem, a work into which he threw
himself heartily as a means of reconciling the two great
sections of the church — the Gentile and the Jewish.
He met with the greatest possible encouragement from
his Macedonian friends, whose generosity, in spite of
their poverty, was astonishing, so that he made much
of it in writing to Corinth. Philippi seems to have
taken the lead in giving— as it had done earlier in
sending more than once to the support of the Apostle
during his first missionary visit to Thessalonica. But
it is not to be supposed that the church in the great
Macedonian metropolis was backward with regard to
the generous work. Thus Paul was able to go on south
to Achaia with a good harvest of contribution gathered
in Macedonia. After going to Corinth, Paul returned
through Macedonia, and then no doubt revisited Thessa-
lonica. Another interval of three or four years passes,
1 6 THESSALONIANS
and Paul is a prisoner at Rome. Writing to his friends
at Philippi, he tells them that he expects to be with them
before long (Phil. ii. 24). If the tradition that he was
liberated from this first imprisonment at Rome is correct,
when visiting the Philippians we may be pretty sure that
he would go also to see his Macedonian friends in the
neighbouring city of Thessalonica. In 1 Tim. i. 3 — if
we may accept this as a genuine piece of the Apostle's
writing— Paul refers to yet another visit he had paid
to Macedonia while Timothy was left at Ephesus. After
this, Macedonia, and with it the chief town, Thessalonica,
fade out of the New Testament history, to reappear
in the later history of the church and the Empire.
For three centuries Thessalonica was the principal
city in Greece. It obtained a terrible notoriety in the
reign of Theodosius as the scene of a frightful mas-
sacre. Enraged with the citizens for their murder of
the governor of the garrison — who had offended them
by imprisoning a favourite charioteer of the games for
a gross offence— the emperor issued a savage order.
Evil counsellors had made the worst of the case and
roused his Spanish blood. The citizens were invited
to a fresh exhibition of the games, and while they were
assembled in the amphitheatre the soldiers rushed in
and slaughtered them indiscriminately, men, women,
and children, to the number of 7,000. For this crime
St. Ambrose refused to admit Theodosius to the church
at Milan, or even to see him, till he had given signs
of penitence and humiliation. During the barbarian
invasions the city was the bulwark of the Eastern
empire, the guardian of Eastern Christendom against
wave after wave of heathen and Mohammedan assaults.
It was taken three times during the Middle Ages, by the
Saracens in 904, by the Sicilian Normans in 1185, by
the Turks in 1430. Under the name of Saloniki it
is now a part of the Turkish Empire.
I THESSALONIANS
Genuineness.
This is one of the New Testament books that have
gained ground in the estimation of critics during the last
fifty years until their position may be reckoned established
and virtually unassailable. It was rejected by Baur, in
the middle of the last century, that critic only allowing
four of the Pauline Epistles to be authentic — viz. Galatians,
Romans, I and 2 Corinthians. But now the Epistle is
accepted by most even of those scholars who may be
said to belong to the left-wing of criticism. Thus on the
continent it is acknowledged by Pfieiderer and Holtz-
mann, as well as by Harnack and Jiilicher who are
more moderate in their views, and by the conservative
scholars Godet and Zahn ; and in England and America
it is received by all classes of New Testament students.
It was included in Marcion's Canon (about A. D. 140),
though the earliest writer to quote it by name, as far as
we know, is Irenaeus (about A. D. 180), who says, '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 thus in the first Epistle to
the Thessalonians, " Now the God of peace sanctify you
perfect {fierfectos) ; and may your spirit, and soul, and
body be preserved whole without complaint to the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ V '
1 Adv. Hacr. V. vi. 1 ; cf. 1 Thess. v. 23.
C
18 I THESSALONIANS
By the end of the second century we find Clement of
Alexandria making use of it l, and also Tertullian a little
later2.
Further, the constructor of that anonymous canon
known as the Muratorian Fragment, which may be
dated before the end of the second century, acknowledged
the Epistle as Paul's. It is contained in the most ancient
versions of the New Testament, the Syriac in the East,
and the Old Latin in North Africa. After this it is
needless to cite the testimony of later ages. Clearly
the Epistle was known and recognized as Paul's through-
out the greater part of the second century. The paucity
of earlier literature is quite enough to account for its not
having left still more ancient records of its existence and
use in the church.
Then the Epistle speaks for its own genuineness. One
objection that Baur brought forward against it was the
absence of distinctively Pauline doctrine. But this fact
can better be pleaded as an argument for the defence.
There is not sufficient motive for a pseudonymous writer
to have composed so simple and personal a letter as this
and then published it under the name of the great
Apostle in order to obtain acceptance for it in the church.
It fits in well with the circumstances under which it pro-
fesses to be written. Its silence on the controversy with
the Judaizing Christians, which is so prominent in the
Epistle to the Galatians, may be explained by its very
early date, before that controversy had broken out, or,
if it had already appeared in some quarters, by its not
having extended to Thessalonica. Baur thought that
there was a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem —
which would make the writing later than the lifetime of
Paul — in the sentence, ' but the wrath is come upon them
to the uttermost ' (ii. 16). But the language is too vague
to be fixed to that event, and it may be used of the
1 Paed. v. 19; Strom, i. 9. 53. 2 De Res. Cam., c. 24.
INTRODUCTION 19
preaching of judgement l. Attention has already been
called to the seeming inconsistencies between this Epistle
and Acts. Now if these are as great as some suppose,
the question rises, why should a pseudonymous writer
of a later date, who presumably knew Acts, manufacture
such difficulties for himself, having only plastic imagina-
tions instead of stubborn facts to deal with ? Moreover,
if these inconsistencies are quite fatally irreconcilable
it is Acts that must suffer in its reputation for accuracy,
rather than the Epistle, since the history does not pro-
fess to be written by an eye-witness at this place. But
let us look at these supposed differences a little more
closely. According to Acts, Paul left Timothy and
Silas behind him in Macedonia when he took his
hasty departure from Bercea (Acts xvii. 14). From
Athens he sent back a request that they would join
him there (verse 15). But before they arrived he had
gone on to Corinth, where at length these two friends
came up with him (xviii. 1, 5). Now when we turn to our
Epistle we find that Paul had sent Timothy from Athens
to Thessalonica, and that when that attendant disciple
joined the Apostle at Corinth it was on his return from
this visit of inquiry at Thessalonica. Paul writes, ' Where-
fore when we could no longer forbear '— i. e., as the
previous sentence shews, when he was chafing under
his own inability to return to his Thessalonian friends
because, as he puts it, 'Satan hindered'— 'we thought
it good to be left behind at Athens alone' — 'Athens?
mark, not Corinth — 'And sent Timothy'— plainly from
Athens — '. . . to establish you,' &c. (iii. I, 2). Clearly
then Timothy was with Paul at Athens, unless we are
to suppose that the Apostle forgot that it was not till
he reached Corinth that Timothy rejoined him, and that
he was in fact dispatched from the latter city and not
from Athens ; but that is most improbable. We cannot
1 See note on the passage.
C 2
20 I THESSALONIANS
quite piece the two accounts together. The simplest
explanation is that Luke was not fully informed, that he
did not know of Timothy's return to Thessalonica, and
therefore concluded that his meeting with the Apostle at
Corinth was on the occasion of his first visit to Achaia,
whereas it really was his second visit. Slight dis-
crepancies such as this are met with in nearly all separate
accounts of events. They do not invalidate the general
truthfulness of the narratives. In the present case we
may suppose that what really happened was this. Luke
is right in his explicit and detailed statement about the
staying on of Silas and Timothy in Macedonia, and
Paul's desire to have them with him at Athens and
message to that effect. Then they did actually reach
him while he was in that city. But the news they brought
of the troubles of the Thessalonians was so disquieting
that he immediately dispatched one of them, Timothy,
back to Thessalonica to encourage and fortify the per-
secuted church. Then Paul moved on to Corinth, and
while there welcomed Timothy back from his special
mission. There is really no serious difficulty here.
The one difficulty of any weight is to be found in the
amount of development in the life of the church and
the experience of its members which the Epistle seems
to imply. We have seen that probably Paul stayed on
at Thessalonica some time after the conclusion of those
three weeks during which he was visiting the synagogue.
But we cannot allow more than two or three months
between Paul's leaving Thessalonica and his writing this
letter. The explanation must be sought in the recognition
that those were times of wonderful enthusiasm, of rare
spiritual power. It is not our happy experience to see
new churches planted and fostered by a Paul. On the
other hand, there are signs of a very primitive stage in
the history of the church addressed. It was a trouble
to the members that some of the brotherhood had died
before the coming of Christ. They had been labouring
INTRODUCTION 21
under the delusion that Christ would appear very soon,
and that then they would enter into the joys of the
kingdom with him. Now what would happen to the
brethren who had died in the interval ? would they miss
the great privilege all were eagerly looking for? Such
a question, one that strikes us as so quaint and remote,
could only have occurred very early indeed in the history
of any church, when the first breaches in the family circle
were made by the hand of death. Then there is no
indication of any elaborate church organization, such as
we meet with even before the end of the New Testament
times. We have no mention of bishops and deacons as in
Philippians and the Pastoral Epistles. A vague allusion
to I them that labour among you, and are over you in the
Lord, and admonish you' (v. 12, see note) suggests the
existence of some church officers, possibly corresponding
to the elders of whom we read elsewhere, though as yet
without any title. How very primitive all this is! Further,
Paul, for his own part, expects to be alive at the coming
of Christ. He says ' we that are alive, that are left unto
the coming of the Lord' (iv. 15). No one claiming to
write as Paul would have said that after his death, and
so gratuitously manufactured a delusion.
Occasion, Place, and Date of Origin.
A comparison of our Epistle with the narrative in Acts
will enable us to determine with some exactness the
circumstances under which it was written. Silvanus
and Timothy, who were Paul's travelling companions
when he visited Thessalonica, are with him now, and
have a share in the messages of the Epistle. The Apostle
is still on the same missionary journey. He has been
to Athens, for he says that he sent Timothy back to
Thessalonica from that city (iii. 1). He does not say
in so many words that he has left Athens. But we
cannot suppose that the Epistle was dispatched from
22 I THESSALONIANS
that city. Timothy had returned after his special visit
to Thessalonica, and there is some probability that he
did not reach Paul till the Apostle had gone on to
Corinth. We have seen that this is the natural explana-
tion of the statements in Acts (xviii. I, 5). Besides,
a longer interval of time is required than the dispatch
of the letter from Athens would allow. Paul writes to
the Thessalonians, 'ye became an example to all that
believe in Macedonia and in Achaia (i. 7). The inclusion
of the latter province shews that Paul had evangelized
Achaia to some extent, and this can hardly have been
the case before he had reached Corinth, the capital,
which he made the head quarters of his missionary work
in that district. Then he adds, ' For from you hath
sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Mace-
donia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to
God-ward is gone forth ' (verse 8). Now there were no
other parts of Europe evangelized — Rome being out
of the question. What then does Paul mean by 'every
place ' ? He must be referring to the Eastern churches
in Asia Minor and Syria. But for the fame of the
Thessalonian Christians to have reached those remote
places, and for Paul to have heard of this, requires some
time. Paul has had communications from the Eastern
churches making mention of what they knew about his
missionary work at Thessalonica. ' For they themselves
report concerning us,' he says, 'what manner of entering in
we had unto you ; (verse 9). This is a striking statement,
shewing what close and frequent communication there
was between the churches scattered round the Levant,
and what warm interest they took in one another. In
the flourishing state of trade under the Roman Empire
at this time ships were sailing to and fro in all direc-
tions, and there was ready and frequent communication,
especially between the great provincial capitals, and
Thessalonica, Ephesus, Antioch, and Corinth— the cen-
tres of the chief Christian churches in which Paul was
INTRODUCTION 23
interested — were all capitals of provinces. But while
the communication between these places would be as
easy and rapid as was ever known in ancient times, of
course it would be very slow compared with our rates
of motion — sailing-ships at sea, caravans of camels on
land — and therefore we must allow some time. Paul's stay
at Corinth extended to eighteen months. But we cannot
assign the writing of the Epistle to the latter part of that
period ; its reference to the reception of the news of the
conversion of the Thessalonians in other places shews
that this is a recent event. The Epistle was written
immediately after Timothy's return from his special
mission (iii. 6). The purpose of that mission, which
was in part to relieve the Apostle's anxiety about his
friends at Thessalonica during his enforced absence from
them, would not allow of long stay in the city. A few
months, which would be sufficient for the travelling and
spreading of news, is all that the circumstances require.
Seeing, however, that winter was a close time for navi-
gation we cannot well allow of less than six months.
Probably Paul would travel down the coast to Athens
before the autumn equinoxial gales. At the same time
letters or messengers would go out to the Eastern churches
with the wonderful news of what was happening in
Macedonia. In the spring, when navigation was opened
again, the churches in the East would send back their
congratulations to Paul. By that time the dispatch of
Timothy, and his return, would have taken place. Thus
we come to the conclusion that the Epistle was written
from Corinth after the Apostle's first winter in that
city, which, according to the usually accepted chronology,
would be A. D. 53.
These facts lead us to a pretty clear understanding of
the circumstances under which the Epistle was written
and the Apostle's object in sending it. He had been
compelled to leave Thessalonica before he had finished
his work there. While at Athens he had wondered what
24 I THESSALONIANS
was going on, and longed to be back among his converts
in the north. The prohibition of the politarchs seemed
to him just an instance of Satan's interference with his
work. To relieve his own anxiety and give some coun-
sel and encouragement to the Thessalonians he had sent
Timothy on the special mission, already frequently referred
to. Timothy had returned with cheering news about
the constancy of the Thessalonians, though with painful
information concerning the persecution they had to en-
dure from their cruel neighbours. Besides these general
facts there were certain specific details in the condition
of the church at Thessalonica that called for counsel
from its founder. Dr. Rendel Harris has suggested that
Paul had sent a letter — which has been lost— with
Timothy to Thessalonica, and that the Thessalonians
had replied in another letter which Paul answers in our
first Epistle1.
This is an ingenious suggestion, but our Epistle does
not bear the indications of a reply to another letter which
we meet with in i Corinthians, an Epistle which plainly
shews that it is an answer to a letter received from
Corinth. The more general character of the allusions to
the information brought by Timothy rather implies that
this had been delivered by word of mouth.
The first and chief piece of information greatly relieved
the Apostle's mind and filled him with joy and gratitude.
The young plant, left by the gardener to be exposed to
fiery heat so soon after he had set it in the soil, had
not withered away, but was flourishing bravely and bear-
ing fruit. These new converts from heathenism were
remaining faithful, and were already developing the most
beautiful graces of the Christian life. Nothing could
bring greater joy to the heart of a true missionary.
Nevertheless it was painful to hear of the wrongs and
hardships they had to endure. Paul sympathizes with
1 See Expositor, Sept. 1898.
INTRODUCTION 25
them in their distresses while congratulating them on
their fidelity. He never has to charge his Macedonians
with the grave faults he mentions in writing to other
churches — the factiousness and loose moral discipline of
the Corinthians, the abandonment of the essence of the
gospel for Jewish practices to which the Galatians were
yielding, the philosophic speculations that were fascinating
some in the neighbourhood of Ephesus. The two Mace-
donian churches, the Philippian and the Thessalonian,
are the churches that receive the warmest commendation
from the Apostle. At the same time there are two or
three points in Timothy's report that demand attention.
Something must have called for the Apostle's very explicit
defence of his own conduct and protest of the unselfish-
ness of his aims when at Thessalonica. This indicates
that some suspicion had been raised with regard to his
character and motives. Probably his Jewish antagonists
had attempted to poison the minds of weak, credulous
members of the church, suggesting that Paul was acting
with self-seeking aims in claiming their allegiance.
That distress about the death of some of the members
for fear they should not have their share in the blessed-
ness of Christ's return especially needed to be set right.
Probably the Thessalonians had asked Timothy to con-
sult the Apostle on the point. He gives a definite and
quite reassuring reply. The deceased Christians will miss
nothing. They will accompany Christ in his triumph.
The living will have no precedence over them in welcoming
their Lord. There are certain other matters connected
with Timothy's report on the condition of the Thessalo-
nians that occasion the Apostle some anxiety. He
gravely warns them against lapsing into immorality, the
temptations to which are so frequent in a great, dissolute,
pagan city given up to the habits of the later Greek
corrupt civilization. A certain feverish restlessness, due
to dwelling too much on the expected coming of Christ,
needs to be subdued. The Christians must keep to their
26 I THESSALONIANS
daily work, and earn a good character for sobriety and
industry among their neighbours. The possibility of the
sudden coming of Christ at any time should induce this
combination of sobriety and diligence. Reading between
the lines of the concluding exhortations we may gather
that some were disorderly, some faint-hearted, some weak
and rather trying. There was a tendency to despise and
repress the utterances of the more enthusiastic members
of the church. These defects should be overcome in
a spirit of wise and patient brotherliness.
Characteristics and Leading Ideas.
The Apostle's style in this Epistle, and also in the
following Epistle, is much simpler than in his later works,
just as Carlyle's Essays and Life of John Sterling are
simpler than his French Revolution. There is neither
the vehemence and passion we meet with in Galatians,
nor the vigour and argumentative earnestness of the
Corinthian and Roman letters, nor the rich elaboration of
ideas in thick clusters that are found in the Epistles
of the captivity. The style is limpid and easy ; the
sentences natural and readily intelligible ; the thought clear
and elementary. Nevertheless the essentially Pauline
spirit and temper are here. First we have Paul's sublime
egoism, not so prominent as in 2 Corinthians and Galatians,
but still very marked. The apostle does not shrink from
writing about himself, defending himself, revealing him-
self. Sometimes, as in the case of the other two Epistles,
this is necessary in order to clear up misunderstandings
and refute calumnies that are positive hindrances to his
work ; and possibly to some extent that is so here also.
But apart from these special requirements we must allow
that a natural trait of the Apostle's character here breaks
out. We often see this in men of very pronounced per-
sonality—in Augustine, in Luther, in John Wesley— among
the saints as evidently as in great men of worldly aims
INTRODUCTION 27
such as Julius Caesar, and that prince of egoists, Napoleon
Buonaparte. The remarkable thing in the case of good
men is that their egoism can be separated from selfishness.
Paul was a most wonderfully unselfish man. If he talked
freely about himself it was not that he wanted to gain any
personal end or that he was affected with foolish vanity
and love of admiration. His sublime, self-sacrificing,
whole-hearted devotion to his life-mission excludes all such
unworthy ideas. Paul is an egoist in part because his
subjectivity is very intense. He is a man of deep feelings,
and he cannot prevent his emotions from coming to the
surface. His genius is seen in the power he possesses
for impressing his own personality on others. No doubt
this is one reason why the specific ' Pauline Theology '
fell into neglect in the church immediately after the
Apostle's death. It needed the magnetic influence of his
presence to keep men in touch with great and difficult
ideas that were so much in advance of the age.
Then, closely associated with this egoism as being very
personal to the Apostle, but as the opposite pole in his
character, balancing it and keeping it clear of the septic
influence of selfishness, we have his warm-hearted affection
for his converts. Nowhere is this more apparent than
in the letters he addressed to his Macedonian friends at
Philippi and Thessalonica. If he is egoistic enough to
write ' be ye imitators of us,' he is generous enough to add,
4 ye became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia
and in Achaia.' If he speaks of having been i gentle in
the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own
children,' he is perfectly honest in adding, ' we were well
pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only,
but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear
to us.' That is why the Apostle felt his enforced absence
so keenly. He was devoted to these people, whom he had
won by his short ministry among them, to a degree only
possible with a man of large heart and most warm
affectionateness.
28 I THESSALONIANS
What is regarded as the characteristically Pauline
doctrine is not at all prominent in this Epistle. There are
no definite utterances about the person of Christ and the
atoning influence of his death such as we meet with in
the later Epistles. That the flesh is the seat of sin, that
we are helpless to work out our own salvation, that the
law is of no use for this purpose, that Christians are free
from the law's claims, that Gentiles are on a level with
Jews in the Christian privileges, that justification is by
faith — these well-known, specific Pauline doctrines are
not touched upon, or if in some cases alluded to, are never
expounded and enforced as in the Apostle's subsequent
writings. On the other hand, they are never denied ; there
is nothing inconsistent with them ; all that Paul here says
is in full agreement with them ; some of them are actually
hinted at, and others may be said to underlie statements or
exhortations that imply them. We may feel sure that if
Paul had written this Epistle at a later period of his life
he would not have repressed his intense interest in these
themes ; they would have burst out again and again, as the
waters of a full fountain must overflow. Still the purpose
of the Epistle was not to discuss such subjects, and his
thoughts were not now drawn to them.
Taking the ideas of the Epistle as they occur, we see,
in the first place, how vividly the thought of God is
present to the Apostle's mind throughout. The very
name ' God ' occurs no less than thirty-six times, and the
relation of Christians to God is emphatically stated again
and again. The 'gospel of God' is the name of the
Christian message, and the striking characteristic of the
Thessalonians which is being celebrated among the sister
churches is their ' faith to God-ward ' (i. 8). This may be
explained by the fact that they had been idolaters and
had turned from idols unto God—' to serve a living and
true God.' Jews who knew the God of their fathers
were called on to accept Jesus as their Messiah ; but the
heathen had to be brought to the knowledge of a spiritual
INTRODUCTION 29
God as well as to receive the message about Jesus Christ.
In the next place we see that the relation of Christians
to Christ is also dwelt on. The church is described as
being ' in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.'
The Apostle does not refer to our Lord's earthly life and
teachings, but he mentions the death of Christ in two
aspects of it. (1) As regards the Jews who brought it
about and who are charged with the guilt of it. They
' both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drave out
us ' (ii. 15). (2) As regards Christians, who are appointed
I unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ, who died for us ' (v. 9), literally died on our behalf.
This implies a purpose in Christ's death, that it was not a
mere murder, that it was more than martyrdom, that some
benefit for Christians, the salvation just referred to, was
the end to be obtained by the death of Christ. Thus
even in this earliest Epistle the Apostle hints at his great
doctrine of the cross of Christ. Still he does not explain
and elaborate it here as he does later in the Epistle to the
Romans. Then he mentions the resurrection of Christ as
effected by God, saying f whom he raised from the dead,
even Jesus ' (i. 10). But the dominant idea concerning
Christ running through the whole Epistle is the expecta-
tion of his return to this world in great glory and power.
This 'second coming ' of Christ, known as the 'Parousia,' is
the most prominent thought in the Epistle, in part because
it was a matter of keen interest to the Thessalonians, but
also because the Apostle himself set a high value upon it.
It has been recently argued that it was the principal topic
in the teaching of Jesus Christ himself, who, whenever he
spoke of the kingdom of God, meant that great triumphant
new order of the future which would be set up on his
return to this world in glory with the angels1. While
few will agree with that extreme view of the case, it must
be admitted that the idea of Christ's return bulked largely
in the thoughts of the early Christians. We meet with it
1 See J. Weiss, Die Predigt Jesu vom Reiche Gottes.
3o I THESSALONIANS
throughout the Epistles of Paul, though it is less prominent
in the later than in the earlier Epistles. In John this
expectation is based on the materialistic pictures of the
Messianic Age which are found in Jewish Apocalypses.
The triumph and splendour there portrayed, which were
not realized among the humble scenes of our Lord's
ministry on earth, were thought by his followers to be
postponed to the time of his Second Advent. Thus the
church was in danger of coming down to as earthly a con-
ception of the Messianic blessings as that which the Jews
themselves were holding at the time of Christ. What
these Jews expected at the first coming of Christ the
Christians were inclined to look for at his second coming.
Of course it must not be supposed that the whole differ-
ence between Jew and Christian turned on the merely
arithmetical question of a first or a second advent of the
Messiah to accomplish precisely the same results. Jesus
had revolutionized the whole conception of the kingdom
of heaven and of the Christ who was to bring it about,
lifting it into the atmosphere of the spiritual. Still, old
Jewish notions clung to the Christian hope, and it was
long before they were outgrown. The Thessalonians had
received all their teaching about Christianity from Paul
and his fellow missionaries ; but they had not observed
true proportions in their reception of it. They had seized
on that idea of the second coming of Christ with avidity,
and allowed it to work on their imaginations so as to
colour and rule everything else. Paul too participated in
the belief with the rest of the early Christians, though he
kept it in its place. At this period he seems to have
expected a visible return of Jesus Christ during his own
lifetime. Later he came to anticipate death for himself
followed by union with Christ in the realm of the blessed
(see 2 Cor. v. 1-5 ; Phil. i. 21-25). As sharing the common
Christian belief in the speedy second coming of Christ,
the Apostle writes to the Thessalonians, to whom it means
so much, in order to relieve their minds of needless
INTRODUCTION 31
anxiety about their departed friends and to warn them so
to live that they may be ready for the sudden appearance
of their Lord at any moment — * as a thief in the night'
Now the question arises, was all this a delusion ?
Certainly Christ did not return in the visible way expected
by the early Christians. But ' illusion ' is a better word
than ' delusion ' with which to describe their condition.
We are always being educated by illusions. ' Things are
not w"hat they seem.' Yet they exist. To primitive man
the sun seems to rise and set ; to all of us who know
better it wears that appearance. Yet we are not funda-
mentally deluded about the appearance of the sun. The
phenomena of day and night are real, and they do really
depend on changing relations between the sun and the
earth. Christ might come in other ways than were
expected — in the overthrow of the Jewish persecuting
power, in the spread of Christianity and the victory of his
spirit over the world, in any judgement of evil, in any
triumph of God of which he was the centre and source
and vital power. Then, though the sensation of wonders
appearing in the clouds would not be enjoyed, the real
end of the second coming would be accomplished. But
this was not so understood at the time. When Paul wrote
about the Lord descending from heaven, with the shout,
the voice of the Archangel, the trump of God, the rising
of the dead — i. e. coming out of their graves — and the
living being caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air, all this would be taken literally. And when he
added 'comfort one another with these words,' the
consolation would be found in the vivid anticipation
that these things were shortly about to happen in a visible,
audible, external way exactly according to the literal
meaning of the Apostle's language.
For the rest, the Epistle consists mainly of expressions
of personal interest in the Thessalonians and practical
exhortations concerning their conduct. The Apostle
does not hesitate to congratulate his readers on their
32 I THESSALONIANS
full acceptance of the gospel message and loyalty to it.
But while Christian graces are generally acknowledged,
an increase in them is to be desired. Therefore Paul
exhorts the Thessalonians to make progress, especially
in the supreme Christian duty of love. This he urges
more than once, saying, ' the Lord make you to increase
and abound in love one toward another, and toward all
men' (iii. 12); and again, 'But concerning love of the
brethren ye have no need that one write unto you : for
ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another ;
for indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are
in all Macedonia. But we exhort you, brethren, that ye
abound more and more3 (iv. 9, 10). Then the fussiness
and flightiness of those who are too taken up with the
grand expectation to attend to their duty are rebuked, and
they are urged to give their mind to their daily work.
One effect of this great expectation should be sobriety
and purity of life. Constant care must be taken not to
lapse into the vices of heathendom. Altogether the life of
the church, in its devotion, purity, and brotherly sympathy
should be maintained and strengthened. Thus we see
that the chief purpose of the Epistle is not to establish
doctrine, as in Romans ; nor to refute error, as in
Galatians ; nor to correct irregularities of conduct, as
in I Corinthians ; but to cheer, edify, and encourage the
Christian life. Much the same purpose influenced the
Apostle in sending the second Epistle to the Thessalonians,
and again several years later in writing to the neighbouring
Macedonian church at Philippi. We do not go to such
outpourings of the heart as to a quarry out of which to
extract materials for the construction of a system of
theology. In the first place they throw an interesting
light on the characters of the writer and of the readers
for whom they were primarily intended, and also on the
condition of primitive Christianity ; and then they serve
for all time as guides and inspiring influences for the
encouraging and uplifting of the Christian life.
CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
Salutation, i. i.
Paul, with the two companions whom he brings in as
associates in writing the Epistle, addresses his readers
as a church in union with God the Father and Jesus
Christ, and greets them with the usual Christian expression
of a desire for grace and peace to be with them.
Thanksgivings and congratulations, i. 2-10.
According to his custom Paul begins by thanking God
for the good that he recognizes in the people he is
addressing. They are much in his prayers, and when
he prays for them he gives thanks also. Not only in
their own province of Macedonia and in Paul's present
abode, Achaia, but everywhere else, the wonderful story
of their reception of the gospel and rejection of idols for
the living God is famed abroad.
Reminiscences of the Apostle's ministry at Thessalonica,
ii. 1-12.
This, as he reminds his readers, followed the shameful
treatment he had received at Philippi, and it had met with
much opposition. Yet it was marked by (1) boldness,
(2) purity and truthfulness, (3) fidelity to God, irrespective
of pleasing men, and without seeking human honour,
(4) gentleness, as of a nurse cherishing her own children,
(5) disinterestedness, the Apostle labouring assiduously
with his own hands in order that he might not be burden-
some to the poor men whom he was gathering into
discipleship, (6) a blameless example, and (7) an affec-
tionate, fatherly treatment of the new converts.
Thanksgivings again, ii. 13-16.
Paul thanks God that the Thessalonians have received
his message as no less than the word of God, and have
become imitators of the churches in Judaea, having suffered
persecution as they too had suffered. This leads to a short
digression in which the wickedness of the Jews in killing
the Lord Jesus and carrying on other cruelties is de-
nounced.
(9) D
34 CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
Paul's eager desire to visit the Thessalonians frustrated,
li. 17-20.
More than once he has urgently wished to set out on
a visit to Thessalonica ; but Satan has hindered it. His
reason for desiring it so intensely is that the Thessalonians
are the chief source of his hope and joy.
The mission of Timothy, iii. 1-10.
Unable to go himself, Paul had sent Timothy to encourage
the church and bring him back a report of its condition.
Timothy has returned with most cheering news, for which
the Apostle is very thankful.
Hope of yet visiting1 Thessalonica, iii. n-13.
Paul still cherishes the hope of visiting his friends, and
meanwhile prays that their Christian character may be
made secure in view of the coming of Christ.
Exhortation to purity of life, iv. 1-8.
The Apostle exhorts his readers to increase in the
excellences he already recognizes in them. He reminds
them of his exhortation when with them to avoid the
prevalent heathen immoral practices, to respect and honour
their own wives, and not to wrong any men by their
conduct towards other people's wives.
On hrotherly love and quiet work, iv. 9-12.
It is really unnecessary for Paul to write about brotherly
love, for God has already taught the Thessalonians to
practise this duty. But he urges them to abound in it
more and more, and at the same time to attend quietly to
their businesses, working with their own hands.
The state of the blessed dead, iv. 13-18.
The Thessalonians should not sorrow for their departed
friends, like the rest of the world who have no hope.
These friends will not miss the glory of the coming of
Christ, but will come with him, rising first, and then the
living will be caught up to meet him in the air.
The sudden coming* of Christ, v. i-3.
This will be like the coming of a thief in the night, with
sudden destruction, and as unavoidable as travail in a
woman with child.
Consequent call for watchfulness and sobriety, v. 4-1 1.
As sons of light expecting this great event Christians
should be sober and on their guard, for they are not
appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation through Christ
in order that they may always live with him.
INTRODUCTION 35
Various practical exhortations, v. 12-22.
To honour the leaders of the church.
To be at peace among themselves.
To admonish or encourage according to requirement.
To avoid all retaliation of evil.
To pray and praise unceasingly.
Not to repress enthusiastic utterances, but to test and
sift them.
To avoid all evil.
Final commendations and benediction, v. 23-28.
The Thessalonians are commended to the keeping of
God. Paul seeks their prayers, sends a salutation to ever}'
member, solemnly requiring the Epistle to be read to all
the brethren, and ends with a benediction.
D 2
II THESSALONIANS
Genuineness.
More doubt has been felt about the genuineness of
this Epistle than concerning the question of the origin
of I Thessalonians, and in the present day there are
critics who reject it while accepting the earlier Epistle
as Paul's — Hilgenfeld, for instance. There is no objec-
tion on the ground of lack of early references. On the
contrary, this Epistle appears to have been in the hands
of more ancient writers than any whose testimony can be
cited for the use of I Thessalonians. It seems to have
been known to Polycarp of Smyrna, who was a very
old man when he suffered martyrdom in the middle
of the second century. Writing to the neighbouring
church of Philippi, khe says : ' But I have not found
any such thing in you' — i.e. covetousness or idolatry,
which he has just been denouncing — 'neither have heard
thereof, among whom the blessed Paul laboured, who
were his epistles1 in the beginning. For he boasteth
of you in all those churches which alone at that time
knew God2.'
This seems to be a reference to Paul's words in our
Epistle, 'so that we glory in you in the churches of God'
(2 Thess. i. 4). It is true that the application of the
words by Polycarp is to the Philippians, while Paul
wrote them in a letter to the Thessalonians. But the two
1 No doubt a reference to 2 Cor. iii. 2, fYe are our epistle,
written in our hearts, known and read of all men.'
2 Polycarp, Epist. to Phil. xi.
INTRODUCTION 37
churches were comprehended in the one title ' Mace-
donian,' and we know that when Paul did what he here
mentions, and celebrated the praises of these churches,
it was under their common name, as when he says to
the Corinthians, ' we make known to you the grace
of God which hath been given in the churches of
Macedonia' (2 Cor. viii. 1). In another place Polycarp
uses the expression, ' count not such as enemies, but restore
them as frail and erring members V which appears to be
an echo of the Apostle's words, ' count him not as an
enemy, but admonish him as a brother' (2 Thess. iii. 15).
Then Justin Martyr, writing in the middle of the second
century, says : ' He shall come from heaven with glory,
when the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things
against the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful
deeds on the earth against us the Christians2.' This
seems to be a clear reference to the mysterious passage
in our Epistle about 'the man of sin* (2 Thess. ii. 1-12).
He also has the expression 'the man of sin' in an
earlier passage, where he is discussing the Second
Advent3. Irenasus is the first writer to mention the
Epistle by name. After quoting various other passages
from Paul's Epistles, which he duly ascribes to that
apostle, he writes, 'And again, in the second to the
Thessalonians, speaking of Antichrist, he says, "And
then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
Jesus Christ shall slay with the Spirit of his mouth, and
shall destroy him with the presence of his coming ;
[even him] whose coming is after the working of Satan,
with all power, and signs, and lying wonders 4 ".' This
passage is evidently taken from 2 Thess. ii. 8, 9. A little
later Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian quote from
the Epistle. It was in Marcion's collection of Paul's
Epistles, and admitted into the Canon of the ' Muratorian
Fragment5.' Both the old Latin and the Syriac versions,
1 Pclycarp, Epist. to Phil. xi. ~ Dialogue with Trypho, ex.
3 ibid, xxxii. 4 Against Heresies, in. 7. 5 See p. iS.
38 II THESSALONIANS
dating back to the second century of the Christian era,
contain our Epistle. No one seems to have questioned it
in ancient times. Eusebius, who discriminated between
different books in the Canon, having one list in which he
placed those that were universally accepted and another
for the books which some questioned, placed 2 Thessa-
lonians in the first list. This most learned and fair-
minded historian, writing in the early part of the fourth
century, and having the famous library of Pamphilus
at Csesarea, since scattered and destroyed, at his service,
knew of no objections to the Epistle on the part of any
more ancient author. Thus antiquity speaks with unbroken
unanimity in favour of accepting the Epistle as a genuine
production of the Apostle Paul.
When we examine the Epistle itself we see much that
speaks for its genuineness. In many respects it resembles
1 Thessalonians. We have the same afifectionateness of
manner and the same earnestness and personal interest
in the readers that arrest our attention in the study of
the earlier Epistle. The writer is still grateful for the
good progress that the church has made, and breaks out
into the language of thanksgiving on this account repeat-
edly. At the same time he finds it necessary to ad-
minister practical exhortations and admonitions. All this
strikes us as very natural and real ; it is difficult to
discover the motive for writing it if the Epistle is not
genuine.
No objection appears to have been raised till early
in the nineteenth century. In the year 1804 a German
critic, Schmidt, first suggested doubts on the ground
of the strangeness of the teaching about 'the man of
sin,' the apparent contradiction between the two Epis-
tles to the Thessalonians, the singularity of the pre-
caution against fraud at the end of our Epistle, and other
features of the Epistle. The attack was renewed in 1839
by Kern, and then pushed home by Baur, who was
followed by the Tubingen School in rejecting the
INTRODUCTION 39
Epistle, and by some not of that school. The principal
Continental scholars of recent times who have discussed
the question may be arranged as follows : —
Denying the genuineness: Hilgenfeld, Volkmar,
Holsten, Hausrath, Pfleiderer, Steck, Holtzmann, Weiz-
sacker, von Soden.
In favour of the genuineness : Lipsius, Hofmann,
Weiss, Renan, Reuss, Sabatier, Godet.
Most English and American scholars accept the Epistle.
The objections to its genuineness arrange themselves
under four heads : —
1. The relation of this Epistle to 1 Thessalonians. It
is said to be for the most part but a repetition and
expansion of the earlier work ; and yet it is accused
of contradicting statements about the Second Advent
found in that work.
2. The peculiar statements about cthe man of sin.'
These are said to be not like Paul, and derived from
the Apocalypse.
3. The supposed reference to a forged epistle in ii. 2.
At so early a date this would not be looked for. The
authentication at the close is also said to wear a sus-
picious appearance.
4. Certain variations of style that are said to be un-
Pauline.
1. The relation of this Epistle to 1 Thessalonians
comes to be considered as the first objection. Now
it seems somewhat inconsistent to accuse it at once
of imitating the earlier Epistle and of contradicting that
work. Whether the contradiction be real or only supposed,
the very appearance of it shews a certain independence
of mind that could not be allowed to the mere imitator.
There are close resemblances between Galatians and
Romans, which are both allowed to be Paul's writings,
and again between Ephesians and Colossians, and
between 1 Timothy and Titus. The latter Epistles
even, when denied to Paul, are generally allowed to have
40 II THESSALONIANS
both come from the same pen. The contents of our
Epistle suggest that it was written very soon after the
earlier Epistle. When the same man is writing a second
letter to the same correspondents dealing with the same
subjects shortly after his first letter to them, it is reasonable
to expect to see a good many expressions common to
both letters. This is really no serious objection.
Now what of the contradiction ? In I Thessalonians
Paul had warned the church to be on its guard, watching
and ready for the sudden advent of Christ, which would
be like the coming of a thief in the night (i Thess. v. 2 fF.).
But now the principal purpose of 2 Thessalonians is to
shew that Christ cannot be coming immediately, because
certain events must occur first, and thus, to dissuade the
readers from living in an attitude of daily expectancy, to
the neglect of the common duties of life (see 2 Thess. ii.
1-12). Is there any contradiction here? Did Paul say
in the First Epistle that Christ was coming immediately ?
There is no statement to that effect from beginning to
end of the Epistle. What he does suggest is that Christ
will come suddenly, without warning; he says nothing
about the time when that startling event will occur. The
illustration of the thief in the night implies that we do
not know when it will take place. Jesus Christ uses the
same image to teach this very lesson, when he says, * But
know this, that if the master of the house had known in
what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched,
and would not have suffered his house to be broken
through. Therefore be ye also ready: for in an hour
that ye think not the Son of man cometh ' (Matt. xxiv.
43, 44). Jesus had distinctly said, ' But of that day and
hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father only ' (verse 36). It is not
likely that the Apostle would have professed knowledge
of a question concerning which his Master had confessed
ignorance. The difference between the two Epistles
is this : in the first, Paul teaches that Christ will come
INTRODUCTION 41
suddenly and without warning, whenever that may be;
in the second, he teaches that it cannot be just yet.
We must allow then that there is no actual contradiction
on this point between the two Epistles. Nevertheless
this is not to entirely remove the difficulty. The mental
attitude of the writer in the Second Epistle is very
different from that in the First. Although in 1 Thessa-
lonians Paul does not say that the coming of Christ is
near at hand, he certainly implies that it may be. Indeed,
he rather suggests his own expectation that Christ will
come very soon. The advice to be constantly on the
watch implies a belief that something is likely to happen
before long. It is only reasonable if the possibility of
a speedy occurrence is allowed. When once we are
assured that this cannot yet come about the requirement
of instant and continuous watching for it ceases. There-
fore we must allow that when Paul wrote the First Epistle,
the idea of the intermediate occurrence, the appearing of
' the man of sin,' was not in his mind. But when the
Second Epistle was written, this idea was brought forward
prominently and made the chief object of contemplation,
with the express purpose of postponing the expectation
of the coming of Christ. Such a change of attitude as
the introduction of this new idea involved could not
but gravely modify the readers' views of the admonition
to watchfulness, accompanied as it was by that arresting
image of the thief in the night, to keep people on the
tip-toe of expectation. But to allow of this is not to
disprove the Pauline authorship of the Epistle. Could
not the Apostle's own thought be moving on ? We may
suppose that during the interval his mind had been
brooding over the subject ; perhaps he had been reading
some Jewish Apocalypse l, with the result that he seemed
to see it more clearly and so was able to fill out the
interval of intervening time to some extent. This is
1 See note on 3 Thess. ii. 1-12.
42 II THESSALONIANS
only in accordance with the growth of revelation which we
see going on throughout the Bible. There is no difficulty
in believing that it was taking place in the experience of
the great Apostle.
But there is a serious difficulty in the way of accepting
this as an explanation. In the midst of the passage about
' the man of sin ' Paul says, ' Remember ye not, that, when
I was yet with you, I told you these things?' (2 Thess.
ii. 5). Then this is no new revelation, after all. Paul
had told the Thessalonians of these very things when
he was with them. When was that ? It is just possible
that he had carried out the desire of his heart, so touch-
ingly recorded in the First Epistle, and paid a flying visit
to Thessalonica between the writing of the two Epistles.
In that case the difficulty vanishes. Paul could then
have given the instruction which he now finds it necessary
to explain more fully and enforce again. There is no
reference in Acts to any such journey, but we know
from 2 Cor. xii. that Paul made many journeys that
are not recorded in that historical work. If, however,
this was not the case we may allow for the changes of
treatment of a subject which occur in a thinking mind,
so that ideas which once were prominent may fall back
for a time into obscurity, and then emerge later on into
prominence again.
2. It is said that the peculiar statements about 'the
man of sin ' contained in this Epistle, together with the
whole apocalyptic passage in which they occur, are not at
all like Paul's teaching elsewhere and shew dependence
on the Apocalypse. This objection may be broken up
into two parts : first, the un-Pauline character of the pass-
age ; second, the supposed dependence on the Apocalypse.
(1) As to the first part of the objection, it simply means
that Paul does not discuss this obscure subject on any
other occasion. But surely he might treat it once, and
only once, if special circumstances called for the discus-
sion. While he dwelt much on the coming glory of the
INTRODUCTION 43
victory of Christ in his teaching throughout his ministry,
his mind did not frequently turn to apocalyptic subjects.
That must be allowed. But the circumstances of the
Thessalonians at the moment demanded attention to
them. These Christians had got so ill-proportioned a
conception of Christianity that it was for them primarily
a doctrine of the Second Advent. To correct the notions
of people who had that way of thinking it was necessary
to be as explicit as possible. Therefore the Apostle deals
with this matter, not so much because it is a favourite
theme with him, but rather because his correspondents
require to be set right concerning it. (2) Then as regards
the further difficulty that the idea of ' the man of sin ' in
particular, but also the general apocalyptic picture, are
derived from the Book of the Revelation, it should be
observed that the case is by no means proved. Indeed,
some elements of Paul's teaching here are not at all
harmonious with that book. It seems pretty clear that
the hindrance to 'the man of sin' of which he writes
must be the Roman Government, then restraining the
outbreak of Jewish antagonism to Christianity. Thus
Rome is regarded favourably as an instrument in God's
hand for the protection of His people. But in the Book
of the Revelation Rome is Babylon drunk with the
blood of the saints, and judgement is denounced against
the imperial city for her persecution of the Christians.
Besides, there is a peculiar individuality in this mysterious
'man of sin5 which is not found in the Revelation and
belongs only to our Epistle among New Testament books.
The resemblance may be accounted for in another way.
It is now widely conceded that the New Testament book of
the Revelation is based on some earlier Jewish apocalyptic
writing. That writing, or rather the current ideas re-
produced by it, may have been familiar to Paul, and he
may have adopted them and applied them in a Christian
sense. We must not suppose that the last book of our
Bible, since it is unique in Scripture, is also unique in
44 II THESSALONIANS
all literature. On the contrary, it belongs to a kind of
composition that was very popular at the time when it
was written. It is exceptional in its Christian inspiration,
not in its literary form or doctrinal character. Even in
the New Testament there are other apocalyptic utter-
ances. A great part of what Paul here writes may be
regarded as a development of our Lord's own teaching
on the subject of his Second Advent as that is recorded in
the Synoptic Gospels.
3. The reference to a supposed forged epistle (ii. 2) and
the emphatic authentication of our Epistle at the close
(iii. 17) are pointed out as suspicious signs. Let us look
at the earlier point first. Paul, in exhorting his readers
to be calm, writes, 'to the end that ye be not quickly
shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by
spirit, or by word, or by epistle as fro?n tis, as that the
day of the Lord is now present ' (ii. 2). Some have taken
the Epistle here mentioned for our 1 Thessalonians, and
have supposed that the church had misapprehended that
communication, gathering from it the conclusion that the
return of Christ was to be expected immediately. We
can very well understand how such a mistake might
have been made. After reading Paul's words about the
sudden coming of Christ like a thief in the night, with the
accompanying picture of the dead rising and the living,
among whom the writer included himself, being caught
up to meet their Lord in the air, nothing would seem
more natural to believers than to be keenly excited with
the expectation of seeing these wonders occurring very
speedily. This application of Paul's words fits in well
with the general situation. But it cannot be a true
interpretation of them. The word 'as' is fatal to it.
An 'epistle as from us' cannot mean 'an epistle which
we wrote ' ; it must mean ' an epistle which appears or
pretends to be from us.' If Paul had meant to refer to
his former letter, why did he not write, 'the letter I sent
you previously,' or other words to that effect? Still we
INTRODUCTION 45
need not infer from his language in this place that he
knew of the existence of a forged letter. He may only
mean to suggest a supposititious case. However the
impulse may come — whether by spirit, or by word, or
by a letter purporting to be written by the Apostle himself
—the Thessalonians should not permit themselves to be
disturbed by it. The very mentioning of these alterna-
tives implies that he is dealing with conceivable hypotheses
rather than with known facts. If we must take his
words as a statement of facts, it becomes necessary to do
so throughout. Thus we have to conclude that three
different kinds of influences were at work — represented by
(1) 'spirit,5 (2) 'word,' (3) 'a letter.' But the alternative
form of the sentence with the conjunction 'or' excludes
that interpretation. And yet the phrase certainly implies
the possibility of a forgery, if not the probability of it.
This is sufficiently remarkable. Who could be forging
a letter in the Apostle's name so soon after he had been
at Thessalonica ? What could induce any one to do so
merely in order to lead the readers to believe in the
immediate coming of Christ ? This is very strange. We
can only conclude that there were cross currents and
various movements in the early church of which we have
no knowledge. Anyhow the statement lies before us in
our Epistle. Now if Paul did not write it, somebody else
must have done so. What could have induced such
a person to have gratuitously cumbered his pages with
words that would only add to the difficulty of passing off
his production as a genuine apostolic writing? It may
be said that he wanted to discredit 1 Thessalonians,
while himself setting out a different idea of the Second
Advent from that in the earlier Epistle. But surely
if this were his object he would have stated it more
explicitly.
Now let us turn to the concluding authentication, * The
salutation of me Paul with mine own hand, which is the
token in every epistle : so I write ' (iii. 17). It is said that
46 II THESSALONIANS
this expression reveals a suspicious anxiety on the part
of the writer to have the Epistle accepted as a genuine
work of Paul. Would the Apostle need to say this ?
The sentence must be read in the light of that previously
considered. If Paul knew of the existence of a forged
letter, or if he even suspected the possibility of such
a thing, he would naturally wish to authenticate a genuine
letter beyond the possibility of mistake. Thus the two
passages throw light on one another and support each
other's genuineness. If the Epistle is not genuine, this
concluding statement with its pretended token is nothing
less than a barefaced falsehood of the most inexcusable
character. ' Pseudonymity ' is not the word to apply here.
It is a case of downright forgery, and that with a daring
lie added to give it credence. Is it possible that anybody
who could write the lofty moral and spiritual sentences
contained in this Epistle could be guilty of such wicked-
ness ? A person of such a sinister character would not
trouble himself to commit forgery in order to convey such
teaching as we have here. He would be incapable of
giving the teaching and he could not be credited with
a desire to do so. The case is entirely different from that
of the common practice of apocalyptic and other writers
in affixing the name of some great personage to their own
works— as for instance in the case of the so-called Apoc-
alypse of E?ioch. In such cases there is no solemn
authentication, no plain declaration that the document is
a letter coming with the authorizing mark of the person
whose name is attached to it.
But, it is said, the phrase ' every epistle ' is inappropri-
ate at this early time, in what appears as only the second
of the writer's letters, since it implies the existence of
a number of epistles. We must remember, however, that
we have no proof that our thirteen Pauline Epistles are all
the letters the Apostle ever wrote. Did he never write
any letters during all those eighteen years of Christian life
and work that preceded the sending of our two Thessa-
INTRODUCTION 47
Ionian Epistles ? We have references, apparently, to more
than one lost epistle. Besides, in writing here Paul states
a rule of his correspondence of which he desires his
readers to take notice. He does not say how often it has
been applied in the past. It is for universal application,
and this should be noticed in the present instance and for
the future. That is really all that his words mean. In
point of fact the Apostle did authenticate his letters in the
way he here describes. We have several clear examples,
e. g. ' The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand '
(1 Cor. xvi. 21) ; ' See with how large letters I have written
unto you with mine own hand' (Gal. vi. 11); 'The
salutation of me Paul with mine own hand ' (Col. iv. 18) ;
' I Paul write it with mine own hand' (Philem. 19). We
know that at a later time the Apostle's footsteps were
dogged bymalignant enemies who would spare no means of
thwarting his plans and hindering his work. We do not
know how far suspicion and antagonism had gone already,
but these cases of authentication shew that Paul did
find it necessary to guard against the palming off of
forged documents under his name.
4. In the last place there are phrases and expressions
not in accordance with what we know from his undoubt-
ed writings to be Paul's literary style. This question can
only be thoroughly examined by means of a discussion
of the Greek terms which would be out of place here.
Two points may be noticed, however. Thus twice we
read, ' we are bound to give thanks to God5 (i. 3, ii. 13),
whereas in 1 Thessalonians, instead of this expression,
we have twice simply, f we give thanks to God,' or ' we
thank God' (1 Thess. i. 2, ii. 13). Then this. Epistle is
characterized by a frequent use of the term 'the Lord'
for God, which elsewhere Paul is not accustomed to employ,
excepting in citations from the Old Testament. Thus
we have 'the Lord of peace' (2 Thess. iii. 16), instead of
{ the God of peace ' (1 Thess. v. 23) ; ' beloved of the Lord '
(2 Thess. ii. 13), instead of beloved of God' (1 Thess. i. 4) ;
48 II THESSALONIANS
'the Lord is faithful' (2 Thess. iii. 3) corresponding to
1 faithful is he that calleth you ' (1 Thess. v. 24) ; • the Lord
direct your hearts ' (2 Thess. iii. 5), which we may com-
pare with the sentence, ' Now may our God and Father
himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way unto you'
(1 Thess. iii. 11). Such differences may be accounted for
by a temporary change in habits of language, perhaps
under the influence of some book that is being read at
the time or some person with whom the writer is thrown
into contact. If Paul had been consulting the Old
Testament prophecies about 'the day of the Lord' in
view of a letter which was especially designed to deal
with that subject he may have caught the prophet's
phrase. Or we may account for the change in another
way. Possibly Paul employed a fresh amanuensis for
the Second Epistle. We do not know what latitude he
allowed his literary assistants. It may be that certain
variations of style came in at their instigation. At all
events, it will never do to urge these small points as dis-
proofs of the genuineness of the Epistle in face of the very
powerful evidence we have in its favour. On the whole,
therefore, in spite of all that has been brought forward
on the other side, there seems good reason for resting
assured that we have here a true, original work of the
Apostle Paul.
The Objects of the Epistle.
The Apostle's main purpose in writing this Epistle will
be apparent from the considerations we have been just
looking at. It is manifest, too, in the Epistle itself. Like
the earlier Epistle this short missive is especially concerned
with our Lord's Second Advent. But there is a difference
of standpoint in regarding it — as we have seen already.
In 1 Thessalonians Paul has to comfort his readers with
regard to friends whom they have lost by death, assur-
ing them that these departed friends will not miss the
INTRODUCTION 49
privilege of taking part in the great event. Now he has
to warn his readers against the expectation of its immedi-
ate occurrence. How this expectation has been engendered
the Apostle does not say ; apparently he does not know.
It may have been by means of what was taken for an
inspired utterance of prophecy in the church ; possibly
some saying, attributed to Paul or one of the apostles,
perhaps even said to have been uttered by Jesus Christ
during his life on earth, has been conveyed to Thessalonica
and appealed to as an announcement of the speedy
coming of Christ ; or, lastly, Paul supposes it possible that
the authority is some letter purporting to have emanated
from him — though, as a matter of fact, he has written no
such letter. Be that as it may — the Apostle leaves the
question open, not caring how it might be settled — the
notion having spread abroad in the church and being
bolstered up by some shew of authority, it becomes
necessary to save the Thessalonians from their delusion,
which has brought the church into a state of agitation
that is very inimical to sober work and the healthy
development of the graces of Christianity. A feverish
anxiety about the awful Apocalypse is throwing all other
subjects into the shade. Men cannot even give attention
to their daily tasks. This mischievous condition of
affairs must be corrected. For one thing, when the
disappointment comes, as come it must, since the eager
anticipation is founded on a delusion, there will be a
terrible reaction, in which faith itself will be imperilled.
This is always the penalty of fanaticism. While it lasts it
sweeps all before it with a flood of emotion ; but when
it is disappointed and disconcerted the ebb of the tide
leaves a dreary and desolate region strewn with wrecked
hopes. There is no collapse so desperate as that of
inflated enthusiasm when the bubble is pricked. From
this miserable end to their highly wrought anticipations
Paul desires to save his readers by leading them to
more sober ways of thinking. But this is not all. Even
(rj) E
5o II THESSALONIANS
during the present state of elation mischief is brewing.
Such a condition of mind is morbid. Total absorption
in the contemplation of a vain vision is making idle
dreamers of its victims. Therefore, after correcting the
noxious delusion, Paul will come down to the considera-
tion of very mundane duties and urge a diligent attention
to them.
The process by which the Apostle sets to work to
correct the Thessalonian error is very remarkable. It
must have been quite startling to his readers. Though
he appeals to their memory of what he had said when
with them, this could not have been as explicit as the
statements he now proceeds to set forth with some fullness
of detail. He uses the veil of figurative language because
he cannot tell but that his letter may be intercepted
and fall into unfriendly hands before reaching its destina-
tion in the north. But, difficult as it is for us to thread
our way through the maze of vague hints, since the key
is lost, no doubt the first readers of the Epistle would
understand perfectly well what was meant. Three
persons, or powers, are to be recognized — one of evil
influence — * the man of sin, ' ' the mystery of iniquity ' ;
the second keeping this back and preventing it from
breaking out to effect its malignant purpose ; the third,
the might that is to master and overthrow the dark and
dreadful power after its great outburst. It is now
generally agreed that the evil power is Judaism, or the
Jews regarded as one in their united opposition to the
Christians; and that the restraining influence is the
Roman government, which in maintaining justice and
keeping order prevented the Jews from persecuting the
Christians. The third influence is Christ coming in his
power and glory, no symbolism here disguising the pro-
phecy. Thus the Apostle wishes the Thessalonians to
understand that the Jews, now prevented by Rome from
carrying out their will against the Christians, will at some
subsequent time be released from that restraint; but
INTRODUCTION 51
when they are about to do their worst Christ will come
and destroy their power. As this has not yet happened
he cannot be coming immediately. Therefore the Thes-
salonians are to see that their too eager anticipation of
that event is a mistake.
But, it will be said, after all was not Paul himself
labouring under almost as great a delusion as that from
which he wished to liberate his readers ? Did the removal
of the power of Rome ever occur to give Judaism an
opportunity for the more violent persecution of Chris-
tianity? Evidently Paul was expecting this to happen
comparatively soon, though not so speedily as the Thessa-
lonians imagined ; and his anticipation of the coming of
Christ to overthrow the power of wickedness was not
satisfied with something that would not happen till 2,000
years had passed away. We have seen that Paul
evidently shared the universal belief of the early church,
that Christ would return during the lifetime of the
generation of Christians then on earth. But he never
made this a part of his gospel message. What he did
preach with emphasis in this connexion was that the
living, risen Christ would certainly return in judgement
and for the deliverance of his people. Further, when he
saw people expecting the great event to happen immedi-
ately he declared that this could not be. But he never
made it part of his message to announce the Second
Advent as an event to happen during his own lifetime.
He may have expected this ; but that is another matter.
The most thoroughgoing champion of Paul is not called
upon to maintain the doctrine of a sort of papal in-
fallibility for his hero. Fallibility in regard to many ideas
which do not enter into the Apostle's message will not
set the message aside.
While the subject just discussed evidently afforded the
main reason for the dispatch of this short letter, the
opportunity was seized by the Apostle to treat of other
subjects with which he was deeply concerned when
E 2
52 II THESSALONIANS
thinking of his friends at Thessalonica. They were still
suffering from persecution ; and the Apostle wished to
cheer and encourage them in the midst of their troubles.
It was hard that this should be their experience so shortly
after the formation of the church ; but it was wonderful
that the church should have been so firm in faith and
so thoroughly consolidated as to be able to withstand
the long-continued trial. Only a few months before its
members were heathens like their neighbours ; now they
are Christians under persecution shewing the spirit of
martyrs. Here is striking testimony to the success of
the Apostle's missionary efforts and to the power of that
new life which it had brought. This is the subject with
which the Epistle opens. Then, after dealing with the
delusion about the Second Advent, it closes with some
practical directions concerning the conduct of certain
disorderly members of the church. These people are
refusing to work, and imposing on the kindness of the
brethren, so as to obtain a livelihood by drawing from the
common funds provided for the poor and needy. Paul
again reminds his readers— as he had done in the earlier
epistle— that he had supported himself by his own manual
labour when he was staying at Thessalonica. That was
an example which he expected to be followed. The lazy
busybodies must not be allowed to feed on the gifts of the
charitable. The proper thing to do is to cease to have
any communication with people who behave so meanly ;
still, only for a time. The Christian spirit must not fail in
the treatment of such unworthy members, even when they
prove to be recalcitrant. A man who acts in the way
described is not to be treated as an enemy, but kindly
admonished, with a recognition that even he is a brother.
Such advice brings out the affectionate, merciful, kindly
spirit which was in the Apostle and which he wished to
see cultivated by the Thessalonians, while at the same
time it shews his practical good sense and his anxiety for
the preservation of order and the suppression of abuses.
INTRODUCTION 53
Date and Place of Origin.
The data already discussed point pretty clearly to the
time and circumstances of the origin of the Epistle.
Nevertheless it has been maintained that this Epistle was
written earlier than our I Thessalonians. The principal
reason for that view is that it bears evidence of having
been composed very shortly after the Apostle's presence
among his friends, in the newly organized church, and
his personal teaching of them. But, apart from the
suggestion that he may have paid a flying visit to Thessa-
lonica of which we have no notice in the history, it should
be observed that the Epistles may both have been written
nearly about the same time, and therefore the second of
them as well as the first but a few months after the
founding of the Macedonian ch niches. The advice,
'Hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by
word, or by epistle of ours' (ii. 15), certainly implies that
the Thessalonians had already received some letter from
Paul when these words were written. The simplest
explanation of them is that the letter referred to was
our first Epistle. Then the treatment of the Second
Advent in the two Epistles best suits the chronological
order commonly given to them. The surprise and dis-
appointment at the occurrence of death in the newly
formed ranks of the brotherhood, discussed in 1 Thessa-
lonians, would be likely to occur early in the history of the
church, if at all. On the other hand, the misapprehension
about the time of the Second Advent, and the restless state
of expectancy referred to in 2 Thessalonians, would very
naturally come in at a rather later period. We are not
bound to insert any considerable interval between the two
letters. If the reference to an 'epistle as from us'
(2 Thess. ii. 2) applied to our 1 Thessalonians, it would
require time for the earlier letter to have reached the
church and produced its impression, and for news of this
to have come back to Paul before he wrote 2 Thessa-
54 II THESSALONIANS
lonians. That would imply quite an appreciable interval.
But if, as seems more probable from the use of the phrase
'as from us,' Paul means some other letter not really his
own, though pretending to be from him, the existence of
which he knows, or which he imagines may have been
written, this argument falls to the ground. It is quite
possible that the news of the state of the church,: which
called forth our Epistle, reached the Apostle very soon
after the dispatch of the first Epistle. In that case the
second may have followed close behind it. The same
two companion missionaries, Silvanus and Timothy, are
associated with the Apostle in both Epistles. As I Thessa-
lonians was written from Corinth, early in Paul's long
residence in that city, probably this second Epistle was also
dispatched from the same place, and perhaps also during
the early part of the Apostle's time there. Thus we have
the year a.d. 53, or at latest 54, according to the accepted
chronology, for the probable date of our Epistle.
Characteristics.
The same elementary nature of the ideas and practical
tone of the writing, which were seen in the earlier Epistle,
is found in this shorter document. There are no argu-
ments such as we meet with in Romans and Galatians,
and very little is said about the doctrinal side of Christi-
anity, that little coming in by way of allusion rather than
in the form of direct statements. The thought of God is
prominent here, as it was in 1 Thessalonians, and in a
way that can be well appreciated when we recollect that
the readers had but recently been rescued from poly-
theism and idolatry and brought into the knowledge of
the one spiritual God. The ' man of sin's ' great crime is
that he f exalteth himself against all that is called God,'
' sitteth in the temple of God,' ' setting himself forth as
God.' The enemies 'know not God.' It is the privilege
of the Christians to be under the blessing of God, whom
INTRODUCTION 55
they know as their Father — 'the Father' and 'our
Father.' Jesus Christ is often referred to in close rela-
tion with God. Thus the opening salutation unites • God
the Father ' with ' the Lord Jesus Christ ' as the source of
grace and peace (i. 2) ; again, later, grace is attributed in
common to God and Christ (verse 12). 'The Spirit,' as
the source of sanctification, is mentioned in association
with 'God' and 'our Lord Jesus Christ' (ii. 13); but
there is no elaboration of statement concerning the
mutual relation of the three. The Epistle contains no
reference to the death or resurrection of Christ, nor does
it mention justification, though it lays stress on the value
of faith (i. 3 : ' We are bound to give thanks to God
alway for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your
faith groweth exceedingly,' &c). On the other hand,
prominence is given to the exaltation of Christ and the
great things he will do when the day of his manifestation
has come. The Second Advent entirely overshadows
the First Advent, though the frequent use of the human
name ' Jesus ' implies the earthly ministry of our Lord.
The same thankful spirit that was manifested in the
earlier writing appears here also. The Apostle has but
little fault to find with his Macedonian friends, and much
good progress and steadfastness under trial for which to
offer them congratulations and to give thanks to God. The
persecutions they are enduring call out his sympathy,
together with his admiration for their fidelity.
But one marked change may be noticed in the tone of
the Apostle's mind. He is more stern and severe in his
denunciation of the opponents of the gospel. Christ will
come ' in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that
know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of
our Lord Jesus ' (i. 8). These people are to ' suffer punish-
ment, even eternal destruction from the face of the
Lord, ' &c. ' The Lord Jesus shall slay ' ' the lawless one '
' with the breath of his mouth.' It looks as though the
continuance of the opposition and the growing spite of the
56 II THESSALONIANS
opponents had roused the Apostle's indignation and
moved him to utter language of an unusually drastic
nature. In this Epistle, perhaps more than in any other,
Paul approaches the tone and temper of the Hebrew
prophets.
At the same time the warm uffectionateness of the
Apostle comes out in this short letter, as in everything
he wrote. It is deeply rooted in his nature. A man of
large-hearted kindliness, he is continually overflowing with
sympathy and affection. Even his rebukes are meant in
love. After describing the treatment to be meted out to
the tiresome, idle busybody, he is careful to add, 'and yet
count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a
brother.' That is Paul writing from the heart.
CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
Salutation, i. i, 2.
Paul, associating with himself his two travelling com-
panions, Silvanus and Timothy, as in the previous Epistle,
addresses the divinely ordered church of the Thessalonians
and wishes them grace and peace from God and Christ.
Congratulations for fidelity under difficulties, i. 3-12.
According to his custom Paul begins by expressing his
thankfulness for the good things he has heard about
his friends, their faith and love, and especially their
patience under persecution. The enemies who work this
mischief will certainly suffer severe punishment. Mean-
while the Apostle prays for the highest blessings to come
to the church, that the Lord Jesus may be glorified in
them.
The mistake about the Parousia, 11. 1-1&
The readers are warned against being disturbed by the
delusion of anticipating the immediate coming of Christ.
There must be a falling away first and the manifestation
of ' the man of sin,' who is at present under restraint.
When the restraining influence is removed, the evil power
INTRODUCTION 57
will break out, only to be destroyed by Christ, who will
then appear. Meanwhile those who are under the influence
of this mysterious evil power are condemned to believe
a lie.
Further thanksgiving and exhortation, ii. 13-17.
Paul cannot but express his thankfulness for the Divine
call of the Thessalonians. He exhorts them to steadfastness,
and prays that they may be cheered and strengthened.
Prayer and Confidence, hi. 1-5.
The Apostle asks for his readers' prayers that his
missionary work may be fruitful and that he may be
delivered from his opponents. He has great confidence
in them, and prays that they may be blessed with love and
patience.
Admonition against disorderly conduct, iii. 6-15.
The church should withdraw from disorderly brethren
who refuse to work for their own living and behave as
idle busybodies. Paul had worked hard for his own living
when at Thessalonica, and they should do the same.
Anybody who will not heed this advice should be shunned,
but still admonished kindly as an erring brother.
Benediction and Salutation, iii. 16-18.
The Apostle prays for peace and the Lord's presence
with his readers. He concludes with his invariable token,
a salutation in his own handwriting, and so prays that
the grace of Christ may be with them.
GALATIANS
Who were the Galatians?
Galatia proper was a compact district towards the
north of Asia Minor, about 200 miles long from east to
west, and 100 miles wide, dreary and monotonous, and
afflicted with a severe winter climate. Its name was de-
rived from the Gauls, warrior tribes who migrated from
Western Europe in the third century and conquered the
native Phrygian population. They came as savages from
the woods, and at first lived a nomadic life with iheir
flocks and herds, making the original population work
for them in the fields as serfs. But, as was inevitable,
in course of time the two races mixed. The advancing
tide of Roman conquest absorbed the kingdom of Galatia ;
according to the custom and policy of the great victors
with their genius for government, first under a native
tributary king and then as an integral part of the empire,
with Ancyra, Tavium, and Pessinus for its chief cities.
This was the condition in which it was to be found at
the time of Paul's journeys in Asia Minor.
Now until recently it has been generally held that
Galatia proper was the region where the Apostle had
planted the churches to which our Epistle was directed,
and that the Galatians therein addressed were the
descendants of the settlers from Gaul. This view is still
maintained in Germany by some scholars, such as Weiss,
Lipsius, and Sieffert. Under the powerful influence of
Bishop Lightfoot it came to be almost universally accepted
in England. Lightfoot drew attention to their Celtic
sensuousness as inclining Paul's correspondents to accept
the external and ritual elements of Judaism, for doing
which the Apostle so sternly rebukes them, and again,
INTRODUCTION 59
the Celtic fickleness to which Paul is supposed to refer in
his expostulations when he writes, ' I marvel that ye are
so quickly removing from him that called you in the
grace of Christ unto a different gospel ' (i. 6), and ' O
foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you ? &c. ' (iii. 1.)
But another view that has been maintained by Renan,
Hausrath, Weizsacker, Pfleiderer, Zahn, and other scholars
on the Continent, is now being widely accepted in Great
Britain owing to the arguments of Professor Ramsay, the
greatest authority on the geography and antiquities of
Asia Minor. In New Testament times the title Galatia
was applied by the Romans to a province which included
the old Gallic kingdom and recognized Ancyra as its
capital, but also extended further south into great parts
of Phrygia, Isauria, Pisidia, and Lycaonia ; and thus in-
cluded Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, the cities in
which Paul planted churches during what we call his
first missionary journey. If we can accept this theory
it will throw a flood of light on the origin and early
history of the churches addressed in our Epistle. In-
stead of the obscure people in the north, of whose con-
version and early Christian history we know absolutely
nothing beyond what might be gathered from the Epistle
itself, if it had been directed to them, we have com-
munities that are well known to us from the full and
graphic narrative in Acts. We must not let this differ-
ence weigh with us in determining the question between
the claims of the two Galatias; but no one can deny
that it adds zest to the inquiry and makes the result
one of more than merely geographical interest. Let us
then look at the merits of the case.
1. The Apostle's habitual style. We find that Paul
invariably wrote of the places he visited under the names
of the Roman provinces to which they belonged. Thus we
have Asia, Achaia, and Macedonia mentioned frequently
in his Epistles. The latter name is particularly striking.
In point of fact Philippi and Thessalonica were not
6o GALATIANS
Macedonian cities. The indigenous race where these
cities stood was Thracian, and the ancient kingdom of
Macedon lay further to the north-west. But a Roman
citizen himself, and greatly interested in the imperial
idea, Paul would not commit the barbarism of calling
the inhabitants of these places Thracians ; he always
addressed them as Macedonians. It is not to be denied
that if he were addressing the people of North Galatia he
would call them Galatians, for they belonged to the same
province as the inhabitants of South Galatia. But it is
equally certain that if he were writing to the people of
the south part of the province, though these were not of
Gallic descent, and therefore ethnologically not Galatian,
he would not use any local names, but, according to his
invariable custom, would address them by the title of
their province in the Roman Empire, and therefore call
them ' Galatians.'
Then there are two or three special reasons why he
would not depart from his settled habit in this place,
why here in particular — if he were writing to the four
cities— he would use the Roman provincial title. In the
first place, he was addressing a group of churches drawn
from different primitive races. Some were Phrygians,
others were Lycaonians. There was no one original
local name to include all the churches. It would have
been clumsy to specify the racial differences or the towns
in each case when a personal appeal was made. The
quick, vehement style of the Epistle would not allow
of descending to details in this way. If a common name
to cover all the four churches could be found, certainly
it would be most convenient to use it. Seeing that in
all other cases Paul used the name of the Roman province
concerned, he would have that name ready to hand in
this case, and it would be as appropriate and serviceable
as it would be in accordance with his favourite view of
the places he passed through, which consisted of large
divisions of the Roman Empire.
INTRODUCTION 61
Secondly, one of the local names was not particularly
flattering. The title Phrygian was used with some
contempt by those to whom it did not apply. In the
dramatists it stands for a drunken slave. If the only
name we had for a Londoner were ' Cockney,' or for an
inhabitant of New York 'Yankee,' when we wished to
speak courteously we should avoid the local title and
seek for some more dignified mode of address. This
would be more especially the case where people of
different districts and names were included together.
The people of Lycaonia would resent the inclusion of
their cities under the name Phrygian, or the association of
them with Phrygia in a common appeal. Paul, who was
always courteous and anxious to be conciliatory, would
not commit so complete a blunder in tact as to alienate
his readers, at the outset, by employing what they might
think an offensive title in addressing them.
Thirdly, the members of the Christian churches would
be townsfolk, and for the most part the younger and
more intelligent persons in the community, at all events
the more liberal-minded, such as were open to the recep-
tion of new, startling ideas. The country folk — ' pagans '
or peasants, * heathen ' or heath men—wzre. long the
most backward to adopt the Christian faith. It must have
happened that in the towns the conservative, old-fashioned
people would have no patience with the preachers of
a new religion, while eager, open-minded young souls
would be more inclined to receive it. But now these latter
would also be the people most influenced by the new
ideas of the Roman Empire. Thus it would be the mem-
bers of the Christian churches in particular who would
like to be addressed as members of the Empire also,
and so would welcome the Roman name of their pro-
vince in a letter addressed to them.
It may be remarked, as a slight confirmation of this
question of usage, that I Peter is addressed to sojourners
of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
62 GALATIANS
Bithynia (i Pet. i. l). Now the last three of these names
undoubtedly designate Roman provinces \ It is probable
therefore that the name ' Galatia ' does also. We cannot
argue certainly from Peter's language to Paul's. But
i Peter is remarkably Pauline in style and phrase.
2. The silence of Acts. We have a full account of
the planting of the South Galatian churches, but no
description of the origin of churches in North Galatia. It
is true that Luke does not, by any means, include a com-
plete itinerary of Paul's journeys in his history, for the
remarkable catalogue of experiences that the Apostle
gives in 2 Cor. xii. contains several items which do
not find a place in the Acts of the Apostles. It must be
allowed therefore that Paul might have visited North
Galatia, and yet Luke might not have described his
missionary tour in that remote region. He mentions
two visits to Galatia (Acts xvi. 6 ; xviii. 23). If he
means North Galatia, the former of these references
may be the occasion of evangelizing that district. But
he gives no details, and yet the first visit immediately
preceded Paul's meeting with Luke at Troas. If that
were the occasion of the founding of the Galatian churches,
Paul would be full of it at the moment of meeting Luke.
Our Epistle shews how enthusiastic his reception had
been, and how promising the conversion of the Galatians.
How then shall we account for Luke's curt treatment
of the whole matter in Acts ? It is much more easy
to explain this slight mention of the district through
which Paul was travelling, if it were an old mission-field
which he was revisiting, than if he were engaged in
breaking up new ground and founding new churches,
amid the scenes of enthusiasm and with the great
results that our Epistle testifies to in regard to the origin
of the Galatian church. By itself this might not amount
1 Pontus may be an exception, but it was constituted a
Roman province under Nero.
INTRODUCTION 63
to a very strong argument. But following the considera-
tion of greatest weight, that Paul invariably used the
names of Roman provinces when it was possible to do so,
it is more likely that Luke's full account of the origin
of the four churches in the south refers to the very
churches addressed in the Epistle, than that he said
nothing specific concerning Paul's Galatian churches, as
would be the case if those churches were up in the north
at Ancyra and the other Celtic cities.
5. The remoteness of North G-alatia. The question
of the locality to which the Epistle is directed has usually
been studied from a distance, with reference only to books
and documentary evidence. Professor Ramsay has a
great advantage over his predecessors in the fact that he
has examined it on the ground, travelling in person over
the very course that Paul is supposed to have taken.
The result is a strong persuasion that this could not have
lain in the remote regions of North Galatia. In the first
place, that is quite an outlying district, off the main
lines of travel which the Apostle was in the habit of
following. Unless we have good evidence to shew that
he travelled up into these parts, the presumption is that
he confined his ministry to the great Greek towns that are
mentioned in Acts and the Epistles. A deflection of his
course in order to evangelize the Celtic population of an
obscure portion of the Roman Empire would be a varia-
tion from his regular mode of procedure, and therefore
would need to be proved on evidence that is not yet
forthcoming before it could be regarded as having taken
place. Then Paul was in the habit of travelling along
great Roman roads, the highways of commerce, or at
all events main, well-known routes. That was the case
when he visited the cities of Southern Galatia. But it
would not have been so if he had gone to Northern
Galatia. In that case he would have had to take a
very rough and little frequented path over a wild
mountainous district. Of course it is not to be asserted
64 GALATIANS
that the Apostle would have shrunk from the toil and
risk of such a journey, liable as it was to the attack of
brigands, if he had seen good reason to take it. But
the circumstances of his first visit to Galatia were some-
what peculiar, as he shews in his Epistles. He reminds
his readers that it was on account of bodily illness
that he came among them at all ; for this is apparently
the meaning of the phrase, ' but ye know that because
of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto
you the first time5 (Gal. iv. 13). Professor Ramsay
conjectures that this illness may have been a malarious
fever contracted when down on the coast of the Levant,
after coming from Crete, the neighbourhood being
notoriously unhealthy ; and he supposes that, in order
to throw it off and escape from the depressing and even
dangerous atmosphere of the sea-shore, the Apostle
struck north among the Balkans for the more salubrious
climate of the great upland interior of Asia Minor.
He further suggests that the reason why Mark left him
at this point and returned to Jerusalem was that this was
a change of plan, and not a part of the tour contemplated
by the missionaries when they left Antioch. The hy-
gienic idea underlying such an explanation of Paul's
movements may strike us as rather modern. Still it
must be acknowledged as possible. At all events, since
sickness is given as the reason for going to Galatia this
fact must be reckoned with when we are considering the
course of the Apostle's journey. It would not seem
likely that the bad state of his health would induce him
to take the long and arduous journey into North Galatia,
and therefore this is a point in favour of the South
Galatian theory. Professor Ramsay considers that the
strange experience described by Paul in 2 Cor. xii.
refers to this time and to the illness then endured. The
'thorn— or rather stake— m the flesh' he takes to mean the
piercing agony of pain in the head that is one of the
symptoms of malarial fever. Certainly such a distressful
INTRODUCTION 65
condition was not in itself likely to induce the Apostle
to undertake what would have been his most toilsome
and adventurous missionary journey.
4. The greater suitability of the Epistle to the
South Galatians. Professor Ramsay's commentary is
largely occupied with an elaboration of this idea. Going
through the Epistle point by point, the author shews
again and again how apt many of the Apostle's phrases
and arguments are when read with reference to what
we know of the four churches in the south, and how
much less suitable they would be for North Galatia.
Some of his arguments will strike the ordinary reader as
subtle and far-fetched. But there are considerations
which all of us can appreciate. Let us glance at one
or two.
In the first place, it is impossible to read the Epistle
observantly without being struck with the tone of author-
ity which the Apostle employs throughout. It is true he
is writing to his own converts. But that is the case in
the Epistles to Corinth, Thessalonica, and Philippi ; yet
in none of those Epistles, not even when rebuking the
Corinthians, does he shew so much the air of a master
correcting his pupils. He wonders at the Galatians5 great
declension, and expostulates with them on account of it in
no measured terms. Now there was no district evangelized
by Paul where such a tone would be more likely to rouse
a spirit of pride and resentment than Celtic Galatia.
The Gauls regarded themselves as the aristocracy settled
in the land, like our Norman barons, and despised the
original inhabitants, those poor Phrygians whom they had
conquered and subdued. To use such an expression as
* O foolish Galatians ! ' to such people would be peculiarly
annoying. Paul had no fear of man before his eyes, and
held to his convictions with the utmost tenacity, no
matter who might dispute them. And yet he declared
that he would become all things to all men if by any
means he might win some, and his conduct on more
CO F
66 GALATIANS
than one occasion evinces great tact. But to address the
proud Gauls, as the Galatians in this Epistle are addressed,
in language which might almost be compared to the
scolding of little children, must strike us as anything but
tactful. The case would be entirely different if Paul
were addressing the Asiatics of Southern Galatia. Those
Phrygians and other races of men who had been in
subjection for generations, always emotional, sometimes
fanatical, would need firm treatment, and could stand it.
Secondly, there are two points of law raised in the
course of the Epistle, each of which would be more suit-
able to the southern than to the northern Galatians,
one touching the law of adoption, the other the law of
inheritance. The Greek custom of adoption carried with
it certain religious rights and obligations. This had been
so with the Roman custom in ancient times ; but it had
ceased to be the case before the commencement of the
Christian era. Now in our Epistle the Apostle assumes
that it is still a current custom. To be made a son of
Abraham by adoption is to come into the privileges of
the patriarch's covenant. This then implies a Greek
civilization, rather than a Roman. Then, according to
the old custom, to be an heir implied sonship, because the
son had a right to inherit his father's property. Thus to
make a will in favour of anybody implied the adoption of
that person. This custom had ceased at Rome by Paul's
time, but in our Epistle he argues that the possession of
Abraham's faith carries with it the sonship, as the inherit-
ance implies the adoption, saying, ' Know therefore that
they which be of faith, the same are sons of Abraham *
(iii. 7). In writing to the Romans, referring to their
different customs, he argues conversely, ' If children,
then heirs' (Rom. viii. 16). Now the civilization of the
southern cities was thoroughly Grecian ; they had been
part of the Macedonian kingdom, and were immersed in
the ideas and habits of the Greeks before they had come
under the Roman authority. But this was not the case
INTRODUCTION 67
with Galatia proper, in the north. Here their own Celtic
king had reigned till he had to give place to the Roman
governor, and Greek influence was much less felt. Con-
sequently any reference to the law of adoption would be
understood in the Roman sense, and therefore Paul's
argument would not be appreciated in North Galatia as
it would be appreciated in the south.
The other legal point is similar. There had come to
be a difference between a Greek will and a Roman will.
The Greek will was irrevocable when once it had been
duly executed ; but the Roman will could be destroyed
or altered by the testator at any time so long as he lived.
Now Paul here assumes the Greek custom, when he
writes, ' Brethren, I speak after the manner of men :
Though it be but a man's covenant (or testament, will,
as the word's primary meaning is in the Greek), yet when
it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or
addeth thereto' (iii. 15). That is to say, once made and
executed it is irrevocable. This is not the Roman
custom ; it is the Greek custom. Therefore it would suit
the people of Southern Galatia with their Greek manners
and customs as it would not suit the Romanized Celts of
the north who knew little of Greek civilization.
In the third place, a small point which yet is not
without its significance may be made out of the Apostle's
references to Barnabas in this Epistle. He is first simply
mentioned as Paul's companion in one of the Apostle's
visits to Jerusalem. Paul writes, ' Then after the space
of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with
Barnabas' (ii. 1). But in describing the dispute with
Cephas at Antioch the Apostle states as the climax of the
mischief ' that even Barnabas was carried away with their
dissimulation' (ii. 13). Why 'even Barnabas'? That
remark would be without significance unless the readers
were sufficiently acquainted with Barnabas to be surprised
at his conduct. But the only place in the scheme of
history as we have it in Acts which would allow of Paul
F 2
68 GALATIANS
visiting North Galatia comes after the breach with
Barnabas, when that great teacher was no longer the
Apostle's travelling companion. The Gauls in the north
could never have seen him. Paul, who always adjusted
himself to the attitude of his readers, would scarcely have
written as he did if that were the case. But in the visit
to the four cities of South Galatia Barnabas was with
Paul, or rather, as we read the narrative, Paul with
Barnabas, for the senior disciple took the lead in that
early mission. At Lystra the native people took Barnabas
for Zeus, the supreme divinity, and Paul for Hermes, the
messenger god, because he was the more eloquent
speaker. The superior honour offered to Barnabas
suggests that in presence he appeared to be the more
imposing personage, as formally he was the leader of the
mission. The two worked together quite harmoniously.
They delivered the same message. The gospel which Paul
preached was also Barnabas' gospel. If then Barnabas
turned aside from the spirit of it and by his example
contradicted its principles, this would be a most surpris-
ing thing for the people of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and
Derbe. They would quite understand the emphasis of
the phrase ' even Barnabas \ ; but in Ancyra, Tavium, and
Pessinus, away in the north, places Barnabas had never
visited, where he had never been heard of, or at best
where he was known only by name, the remark would be
pointless.
There would be little or nothing to say against this
view, that the Galatians of our Epistle are no others than
the members of the churches which Paul and Barnabas
planted during their first missionary journey in Asia
Minor, the South Galatians, if it were not that certain
things in the Acts are thought to point in the opposite
direction. Let us look at these objections.
Objections to the South Galatian theory. In the
first place, it is to be observed that Luke does not usually
adopt the nomenclature of Roman political geography,
INTRODUCTION 69
giving the districts he describes the names of provinces,
but, following the older and local custom, he uses the
native names according to the divisions of races or
ancient kingdoms. Thus when describing the visit of
Paul and Barnabas to the four cities of South Galatia he
does not use the word Galatia, the title of the Roman
province, but has * Antioch of Pisidia' (Acts xiii. 14), 'the
cities of Lycaonia, Lyslra and Derbe ' (xiv. 6), &c. If that
were all we might conclude that while Luke chose to use
the local names Paul preferred the Roman names for the
same regions. But we find Luke also twice mentioning
'Galatia' (xvi. 6, xviii. 23). If then he is adhering to his
custom here he must mean ethnological Galatia, Galatia
proper, in the north, not the Roman province of Galatia.
And in each of these places Luke says that Paul went
through the region of Galatia. That would seem to
indicate two visits to the Celtic district. Thus after all
it would seem that Paul had evangelized that part of Asia
Minor. If so, is it not reasonable to suppose that when
he wrote a letter to the 'Galatians' it was to people living
there ? Luke was the attendant companion of Paul in
some of his journeys. Is it not likely that he used the
word 'Galatia' in the same sense as his master? That
indeed is most probable. But are we sure he does
not mean the province of Galatia ? It is true that this
would be a departure from his custom. But Professor
Ramsay has shewn a good reason why he should have
departed from it in this instance. The churches of South
Galatia formed a certain missionary unit in that they lay
along the same travelling route and were all four planted
at the same time. They were the earliest Pauline churches
in Asia Minor, the harvest of his first missionary journey
on the mainland after leaving Crete. It was desirable
therefore to comprehend the group under one common
name. This could not be done if only the local names
were used. In that case Luke would have to write Pisidia
and Lycaonia. Besides, it is likely that Paul had come to
70 GALATIANS
speak of these churches in his own way as Galatian.
Though when describing the first visit to the district
Luke would follow his custom and use the local names,
after the churches had been formed, and had had some
history, and had often been mentioned by Paul, it would
be natural for Luke to adopt his master's phraseology,
and call them Galatian.
But now in the two passages above referred to we have
mention of ' the region of Galatia and Phrygia,' literally in
the first case 'the Phrygian and Galatian region' (Acts
xvi. 6), and in the other either the same thing, or 'the
Galatian region and Phrygia ' (xviii. 23) — for the order
of the words is different. Now the question is, Do these
phrases mean one district with two names ? That was
Lightfoot's view, on the supposition that as the original
population of North Galatia was Phrygian, the expression
means 'the region which was originally Phrygian and
afterwards Galatian ' — surely a cumbrous notion, and one
dragging in a needless archaeological allusion. If one
and the same district is meant, it is much more probably
one known in Luke's day both as Phrygia and as Galatia.
That would apply to the Phrygian part of South Galatia.
Then the adjectival form of the phrase favours the view
that the larger Galatia of the province and not the original
ethnographical Galatia is meant. Professor Ramsay
adduces an analogous case : ' Lakonia is the old historic
land of Lacediemonia ; but Lako?iikc ge (the Lacedaemo-
nian land) comprises the entire region which had passed
under Spartan rule and had been added to Laconia,
including Messenia and the land near Pylas ' (Hastings'
Dictionary of the Bible, article 'Galatia, Region of).
There is no reason why Luke should say 'the Galatian
region ' if he meant Galatia proper ; but it would be quite
in accordance with Greek usage if, not being so enamoured
of the Roman usage as Paul, he employed it for the larger
district which took its name from the more ancient king-
dom in the north. If in the second passage we read, ' the
INTRODUCTION 71
Galatian region and Phrygia,' we may understand the
latter name to refer to that part of Phrygia which was
not included in Galatia, or we may take 'the Galatian
region ' to be the Lycaonia part of Galatia. In any case
we have no insuperable difficulty here.
What looks more like a serious difficulty comes up in
the content of the earlier phrase. The whole passage
runs thus : t And they went through the region of
Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy
Ghost to speak the word in Asia ; and when they
were come over against Mysia, they assayed to go into
Bithynia ; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not ;
and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas ' (Acts
xvi. 6-8). Let us study this passage with a map open
before us. As we read it in our English versions it
seems to mean that the missionaries were first forbidden
to preach in Asia — i.e. the province called Asia, of
which Ephesus was the capital. Accordingly they turned
aside and went into the region of Phrygia and Galatia,
and thence towards Mysia, and so on to Troas by the
north-west coast. Now if South Galatia is intended, a
difficulty arises on this understanding of the narrative.
In the previous paragraph (verses 1-5) we see that Paul
had just been to Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium. The
province of Asia lies west of those cities, and Mysia is
north of that. It seems absurd to say that, being forbidden
to go into Asia on his journey from the cities of South
Galatia, Paul went back to the province of Galatia,
meaning those very cities, and thence round by Mysia
to Troas. Therefore, it has been said, the passage must
refer to North Galatia. But this is on the assumption that
the dependent clause ' having been forbidden ... to speak
the word in Asia ' must refer to what happened before the
statement of the primary clause and condition it, the
primary clause consisting of the statement, ' And they
went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.' That
this is the natural reading of the passage in English must
72 GALATIANS
be granted. It has been argued that it must also be the
meaning of the Greek text. But there are instances of
a clause with a past participle coming after one in the
indicative mood to describe what followed, not what
preceded and conditioned the action first stated. Thus
in Acts xxv. 13 we read, ' Now when certain days were
passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Cassarea,
and saluted Festus.' The Revisers' margin has ' having
saluted,' and this is the exact translation of the Greek,
which is a dependent clause with a past participle, similar
to that in the passage before us. It would be misleading
to translate it literally here, because 'having saluted
Festus' would mean in English that Festus had been
saluted by the king and queen before they arrived at
the place where they met him — an obvious absurdity.
A similar construction is found in Acts xi. 30 : ' Which
also they did, sending it to the elders by the hands of
Barnabas and Saul.' Here a past participle (Greek
aorist) is translated by the English present participle
'sending,' and it does not mean a previous action1.
Therefore it is perfectly in accordance with Luke's style
to understand the passage before us to mean a series of
events in the following order : —
(1) A journey through the region of Phrygia and
Galatia.
(2) An intention to preach in Asia (Divinely frustrated).
(3) A course of travel by Mysia.
(4) An intention to visit Bithynia (Divinely frustrated).
(5) The course of travel continued through Mysia to
Troas.
These are the principal objections to the South Galatian
theory, and they do not seem to go far to dispose of it,
while we have seen that the reasons for accepting it are
very strong indeed. It may seem superfluous to have
1 For other instances of this form and a full discussion of the
subject the reader may be referred to The Epistle to the Galatians:
An Essay on its Destination and Date, by E. H. Askvvith.
INTRODUCTION 73
devoted so much attention to a mere geographical
question ; but we have this result, that we can now feel
assured that our Epistle was not directed to an obscure
people of whom we know nothing, but was sent to
those converts of Paul's first journey in Asia Minor
concerning whom we have very full information in the
narrative of Acts. Thus we get a frame for our picture,
or rather a background clearly outlined and richly
coloured.
The Four Galatian Cities.
Having now located the destination of the Epistle, we
are in a position to gather some information concerning
the places in which the Galatian churches were founded.
These, we have seen, were four — Antioch, Iconium, Lystra,
and Derbe.
Antioch. The reader of the New Testament meets
with two cities of this name. One is the capital of Syria
and the head quarters of Gentile Christianity in the days
of the apostles, the church in which city had ordained
and commissioned Paul and Barnabas for their mission-
ary expedition (Acts xiii. 1-3). The other is known as
Antioch in Pisidia, or more strictly ' Pisidian Antioch,'
to distinguish it from various Antiochs of which there
were as many as sixteen scattered over Asia Minor and
Syria, all named in honour of the Seleucid kings. This
city had been founded about 300 B. c. by Seleucus
Nikator. Some time before the year 6 B. c. Augustus
made it a Roman colony. Under the emperors a colony
was a city in some conquered territory where soldiers at
the end of a campaign, or those who had completed their
term of service, were allowed to settle with the privileges
of citizenship. The citizens of a military colony possessed
a right called ius Italicum, which apparently included
not only personal freedom, but also immunity from the
poll tax and the payment of tribute. In fact, a colony
74 GALATIANS
was like a piece of Rome carried away into the province
and still retaining the proud rights of Roman citizenship.
Paul would rejoice to preach in such a city, as he always
felt drawn to bring his message to bear on what was most
central and potent in the life of his age. If, as Professor
Ramsay suggests, the Apostle turned his footsteps towards
the uplands where this city was situated in order to
escape the mischievous effects of the malarious sea-coast,
he should have found Antioch bracing and health-giving,
for the city was planted at an elevation of 3,600 feet
above the sea level, on the skirts of a long ridge now
called Sultan-Dagh, overlooking an extensive, fertile
plain that stretches away in a south-easterly direction.
The ruins are said to be imposing and to cover a con-
siderable space, but they have never been thoroughly
explored. The original population was Phrygian, and
the Roman soldiers on account of whom the city was
converted into a colony could only have formed a minority
of the inhabitants. According to the narrative in Acts
(xiii. 50) 'the Jews urged on the devout women of
honourable estate ' as well as ' the chief men of the city '
to persecute Paul and Barnabas. This is a peculiar
feature of the persecution at Antioch, not met with
elsewhere, as far as our information goes. It is interest-
ing to learn that throughout Asia Minor, and in the
Phrygian cities in particular, women of social standing
enjoyed great consideration and even held office. Then
the Jews were also an influential body in Antioch.
Thousands of them were settled in the Phrygian cities.
At Antioch they had a synagogue, and were able to
influence the chief people of the city enough to secure
the expulsion of the Christian missionaries.
Iconium. This city, still existing under the name of
Konia, and now the terminus of the railway that comes
across Asia Minor in a southerly direction from the
Bosphorus, was strictly speaking within the confines of
Lycaonia, though the inhabitants were regarded as
INTRODUCTION 75
Phrygians, a fact which accounts for the statement in
Acts (xiv. 6) that when the apostles were driven out of this
city 'they fled unto the cities of Lycaonia, Derbe, and
Lystra,' as though they were not already in that district.
Antony had conferred the city on Amyntas, the king of
Galatia, after whose death in 25 B. C. it became an integral
part of the Roman Empire. Under Claudius it received
the name Claudiconium. Unlike Antioch, it was not a
Roman colony during the apostolic age, though it became
one under Hadrian in the next century. It remained for
two centuries part of the province of Galatia. Situated
on one of the great routes between Cilicia and the
West, Iconium became an important commercial city,
and accordingly attracted a number of Jewish settlers.
The modern Konia stands in the midst of luxuriant
orchards, and is watered by a stream from the hills on
the west which loses itself in the great central, unculti-
vated plains that spread out to the east from this point.
The natural advantages of the situation must have made
it a garden of beauty and fruitfulness in ancient times
when the city was most flourishing.
Lystra. A journey of eighteen miles in a southerly
and slightly westerly direction from Iconium would bring
the traveller to Lystra, a city which was reckoned as in
the same district with Derbe, but which was really nearer
to Iconium. The road between the two sites rises
considerably, so that Lystra was 430 feet above Iconium
and stood at a height of 3,780 feet above the sea level.
Yet it was situated in a mountain valley at the extreme
north of the hills that form the southern rampart of the
great central tableland. The valley is refreshed with
a stream which flows in an easterly direction till it loses
itself in the plain. About a mile north-west of the
modern village of Khatyn Serai is a large mound which
marks the site of the ancient city ; that, however, must
have extended over the lower, level ground for some
distance, since a large stone basin, bearing an inscription
76 GALATIANS
in honour of Augustus, has been found some distance
from the mound, and apparently on the site of a sacred
place dedicated to the worship of the emperor. In
the year 1885 a coin was discovered with the Latin
legend : Colonia . Iulia . Felix . Gemina . Lustra,
proving that Lystra was a Roman colony. The city
was off the main highway that ran east and west through
Asia Minor, but an imperial military road connected it
with the head quarters of the army at Antioch. In the
apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla it is stated that
when Paul was expelled from Antioch he went along the
' royal road ' that leads to Lystra till he came to the
crossways, where Onesiphorus, who was waiting for him,
induced him to turn aside and visit Iconium. There
would be Latin-speaking veterans of the Roman army at
Lystra as in other military colonies, but the majority of
the inhabitants would be the native Asiatics — Lycaonians,
as they were then called. Here were Jews also ; but as we
do not read of any synagogue in this city, probably they
were not very numerous.
Derbe. The last of the four cities, that which marks
the termination of the Apostle's journey in an easterly
direction through Asia Minor, is Derbe, another town of
Lycaonia, still within the large province of Galatia. The
site of this city has been identified with some probability
as Zoska or LosAa, where is a large mound called Gudc-
lissin, which appears to be ancient but has not been
excavated. This site was identified by Professor Sterrett,
and his opinion is accepted by Professor Ramsay, who
states, however, that 'the evidence is not yet perfect.'
Derbe was situated on the main eastern road, to which
therefore Paul had returned after turning aside to visit
Lystra. For a time (from a.d. 41 to 72) it was the
frontier city of the Roman province, and was entitled
Claudio-Derbe, after the Emperor Claudius.
INTRODUCTION }7
The Origin of the Galatian Churches.
The churches in the four cities of Southern Galatia
were all founded in the course of Paul's ' first missionary
journey.' It has been said that the title of this journey
is not strictly correct, since the Apostle had been engaged
in evangelistic preaching for years among the towns
and villages of Syria and Judaea before he set out on
this more distant expedition. But that work was the
spontaneous, irresponsible, independent activity of a
man burning with zeal for the cause he had previously
persecuted, sanctioned by the highest of all authorities
— the authority of the Lord who had called him and
made him an apostle, but not commissioned by any
human community. He always based his right to
teach on this primary, Divine call. But when he set
out as the companion of Barnabas for the wider field
of evangelizing, which included more remote regions
than any hitherto visited, it was with a distinct mandate
from the church at Antioch in Syria. That church
solemnly set apart and sent out the two missionaries.
Their journey was missionary in the sense that they
were commissioned by the Syrian church to undertake
it, and it was the first of Paul's expeditions of this
character, and also the first of his extensive journeys.
The two travellers sailed to the island of Cyprus,
where they were remarkably successful in one respect,
for they actually won over to their faith the Roman
proconsul, Sergius Paulus. Thence they sailed across
to the mainland of Asia Minor, landing in the gulf of
Attalia, opposite to Cyprus. Not staying long at Perga,
they made their way up through the Balkans to Antioch
in Pisidia. We have already noticed the Apostle's
statement that this inland journey was taken, or per-
haps we should say expedited, because of his illness1.
1 See p. 64.
78 GALATIANS
Even in the present day it is the common practice
of the inhabitants of the hot, unhealthy sea-border to
retire to the mountains on the approach of summer.
'When the time arrives, the people may be seen
ascending to the upper grounds, men, women, and
children, with flocks and herds, camels and asses, like
the patriarch of old. If then St. Paul was at Perga in
May, he would find the inhabitants deserting its hot
and silent streets. They would be moving in the
direction of his own intended journey. He would be
under no temptation to stay. And if we imagine him
as joining some such company of Pamphylian families
on his way to the Pisidian mountains, it gives much
interest and animation to the thought of this part of his
progress V
Mark declined to accompany the apostles in this
extension of their expedition and returned to Jerusalem,
leaving Barnabas and Paul to prosecute the mission by
themselves. The first halting-place was Antioch in
Pisidia, the Roman colony and great military centre.
Here, according to custom, they entered the synagogue
on the first sabbath and took their seats among their
fellow Jews. After the usual reading of two lessons,
one from the Tor ah, the sacred book of the law, and
the other from the second volume of the Hebrew
Scriptures, the two visitors were asked if they had
anything to say. This was quite in accordance with
the custom of the synagogue, where the preaching
and teaching were not confined to any order of
ministry, but were open to any capable person who
might be invited to speak by the elders in authority.
Paul, already appearing as the chief spokesman in the
mission, responded to the courteous invitation of the
synagogue rulers, rose to his feet, and attracting attention
1 Conybeare and Howson, Life and Epistles of St. Paul,
chap. vi.
INTRODUCTION 79
with a beckoning wave of his hand, delivered the great
message of the gospel for the first time in the hearing of
any people of Asia Minor. Luke shews that he perceives
the importance of the occasion by giving the speech in
full. It must be allowed that, in harmony with the
recognized licence of the ancient historian, the author
of Acts would feel free to compose such a speech as he
would believe Paul might have uttered on the occasion.
This was the invariable practice of Thucydides, who
nevertheless must be reckoned an honest and trust-
worthy writer. But then we must not forget that Luke
became a travelling companion of the Apostle. In con-
templating the production of his narrative, is it not
likely that an accurate and diligent author, such as
the preface to the Third Gospel leads us to expect Luke
to be, would do his best to learn from the lips of Paul
himself what the Apostle had said on so historic an
occasion? At all events we may rest assured that
we have here the line of thought and the method of
presenting his subject followed by the Apostle. In view
of our Epistle it is important to see how the Galatians
were first approached with the gospel message. Here in
the first discourse in the first of the four towns visited by
Paul and Barnabas we have the first presentation of
Christianity to these people. What form did it take ?
Paul begins with a brief review of the history of
Israel, calling attention to God's choice of the people and
His directing hand at every great crisis. Thus they
should be prepared for some new manifestation of Divine
power and grace. In a few swift strokes the Apostle touches
on leading points - the bondage in Egypt, the obtaining
of Canaan, the mission of the judges up to Samuel, the
appointment of Saul in response to the people's demand
for a king, the substitution of David as king when Saul
was rejected. Here the recital ceases. The mention of
David suggests David's greater son. At this point Paul
plunges at once into his new message. It is all in line
80 GALATIANS
with what preceded. God had sent the judges and kings ;
now God has brought a descendant of David, according
to the promises of Scripture, to be a Saviour. This is
Jesus, for whose coming John the Baptist— of whom the
Galatian Jews must have heard, for he had disciples
even at Ephesus— prepared the way, and to whom the
prophet of the wilderness bore witness as being a much
more honourable personage than himself. This Jesus
came to bring salvation to the Jews ; but the inhabit-
ants of Jerusalem rejected him and induced Pilate to
put him to death. Their opposition was futile, for
God raised him from the dead, in accordance with
prophecy. Through this man forgiveness of sins is now
proclaimed. Every one who believes is justified as he
could not be justified by the law of Moses. A solemn
warning not to despise the message concludes this clear,
virile declaration of the gospel. The statement about
justification should be especially noted. Luke here re-
produces the exact Pauline doctrine. It is the doctrine
which the Apostle enforces in our Epistle — justifica-
tion by faith over against the failure of the Jewish
law to effect it. When writing his letter he expresses
astonishment that the Galatians should have fallen
back from this position, fascinated by the weak and
beggarly elements of the law. He assumes that they
know his teaching of justification by faith perfectly well.
Now in Luke's account of the first sermon preached to
the Galatians we see that this idea is distinctly set forth.
Here we have the very teaching, departure from which
Paul deplores in his Epistle.
The effect of this sermon was remarkable. No one
seems to have taken offence at it, although it was
delivered to Jews in their synagogue. It is to be
observed that while Paul spoke of the ineffectiveness
of the law, assuming that the Jews were conscious of
this in their own experience, he did not announce the
abrogation of the law. It was a moderate, considerate
INTRODUCTION 81
statement of his position. The Jews requested Paul
to speak to them again the next sabbath. They were
interested, , but not yet convinced, and perhaps per-
plexed. Still, after the meeting many of them followed
Paul and Barnabas, who urged them 'to continue in
the grace of God,' implying that they had yielded to
the message and become converts. These were of two
classes — Jews and ' devout proselytes,' i. e. men and
women of the native race who had previously accepted
Judaism. As yet no heathen were included. But the
novel teaching made a great stir. The synagogue was
open to the public, and on the next sabbath it was found
to be crowded with the pagan inhabitants of the city.
This roused the jealousy of the Jews, and as Paul was
preaching, though it does not appear that as yet he was
making any explicit offer of his gospel to the Gentiles —
that came a little later — since his teaching was of such
a character as to break down the wall of privileged
seclusion about the covenant people, they interrupted
him, contradicting his statements, and at length de-
scending to personal abuse. Then Paul made a bold
declaration of policy. It was necessary that he should
first deliver his message to the Jews. But since they
had rejected it the missionaries would turn to the
Gentiles. Of course this pleased the latter class of
people, and many of them came over to the new move-
ment. Not only the city, but the region — a technical
term for the suburban parts under the jurisdiction of the
colony — were affected. Thus quite a considerable church
was gathered. We can see from this narrative how it
was composed. There was first the nucleus of Jews
and Jewish proselytes won over on the first sabbath ;
then there was the much more numerous body of con-
verted pagans from the city and 'the region.' The
majority would be Gentile, but there was a Jewish
minority.
This success was not to go on unmolested. The Jews
(9) G
82 GALATIANS
roused the religious women of influential position and the
chief men of the city, who commenced a persecution
which induced Paul and Barnabas to leave, shaking off
the dust of their feet, according to their Master's direc-
tions. Thence they made their way to Iconium. In con-
nexion with this journey we have the earliest account
of the Apostle's bodily appearance. It is found in the
apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, an early Chris-
tian romance, based to some extent on tradition. We
cannot put much faith in the description contained in such
a work. Still it is so definite that it may contain a
genuine reminiscence of what Paul looked like. Onesi-
phorus, who with his wife and family is waiting at the
crossroads for the Apostle as he comes from Antioch,
recognizes him by the description Titus * had given.
It is as follows : ' He saw Paul coming along, a man
of moderate stature, with crisp hair, . . . scanty,
crooked legs, with blue eyes, and large knit brows,
long nose, and he was full of the grace and pity of the
Lord, sometimes having the appearance of a man, but
sometimes looking like an angel.'
At Iconium the missionaries proceeded on lines similar
to those followed in Antioch. They first went to the
synagogue, and their preaching resulted in the conversion
of many people, both Jews and Greeks. Here too the
Jews aroused opposition on the part of the heathen
population, and the whole city was divided into two
factions. At length the antagonism became serious.
Gentiles and Jews, including the elders of the synagogue,
united in a plot to stone the apostles, hearing of which
they fled from the city. Still they had been there
for some time preaching, and miracles had appeared.
They left a considerable church behind them as the fruit
of their labours.
The next places to be visited were the Lycaonian cities
1 An anachronism; this was before Titus had met Paul.
INTRODUCTION 83
of Lystra and Derbe, with ''the region round about?
The mission was not confined to the towns. Outlying
parts were also evangelized. At Lystra the cure of
a cripple led to a scene of wild enthusiasm. The excited
populace, more devoted to the old pagan cults in the
interior of Asia Minor than people nearer Rome, were for
sacrificing to the missionaries as to two divinities who
were paying them a visit. They actually brought oxen
crowned with garlands for this object. Barnabas, the
leader of the expedition, they took for Zeus, the king of
the gods, and Paul, the chief spokesman, for Hermes, the
herald god. There was a temple or shrine, or perhaps
only an altar of Zeus, at the gate of the city, and here
the sacrifices were to be offered. A stranger scene has
never been witnessed in all the romance of missions. It
was with the greatest difficulty that Paul could restrain the
crowd from their fanatical purpose. Now we know that
our Epistle was addressed in part to converts from these
very people, we can see how suitable some of its expres-
sions are. Thus when Paul writes, 'ye received me as
an angel of God ' (Gal. iv. 14), he may be referring to
their mistaking him for Hermes, the winged messengev
god of the pagans. If so, then his words in an earlier
passage, ' But though we, or an angel from heaven, should
preach unto you any gospel other than that which we
preached unto you, let him be anathema' (i. 8), may
contain an allusion to the same incident. Then his re-
minder of the enthusiasm of the Galatians, which went so
far that Paul could say of it, ' for I bear you witness, that,
if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes and given
them to me ' (iv. 15), might well be based on a recollection
of that frantic attempt to offer garlanded oxen and so
render Divine honours to the apostles.
But the amazing changeableness of temperament to
which the Epistle bears witness as a painful characteristic
of the Galatians was previously witnessed in the city of
Lystra. Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuaded the
G 2
84 GALATIANS
mob to turn against the missionaries, no doubt represent-
ing them to be no better than cheats and charlatans.
Chagrin at their own humiliation in having taken such
people for gods would whip the fickle multitude into
a rage. What was only planned at Iconium was effected
at Lystra. Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city
as a dead man. But while the mourning disciples were
gathered round him he recovered consciousness and was
able to return. The next day the two missionaries left
for Derbe. The mention of 'disciples' shews that at
Lystra there were some converts. But they do not seem
to have been numerous. There is no statement to that
effect, as in the cases of Antioch and Iconium, and
probably Paul's visit to the city was quickly terminated.
The disturbance must have followed almost directly after
the cure of the cripple, and that miracle is described
immediately after the general statement that ' they
preached the gospel ' in these parts. But one important
result of the Apostle's work at Lystra was that Timothy
was won to the faith (see Acts xvi. i).
Luke gives the briefest notice of the Apostle's work in
Derbe, the last of the four Galatian cities visited ; but he
tells us that the missionaries 'made many disciples.'
Here also a church was founded. Paul and Barnabas
retraced their steps, again visiting the cities by the way,
encouraging and instructing the converts and appointing
elders in the churches, after the pattern of Jewish syna-
gogues. Coming down to Perga they now stayed longer
at that place than when they passed through on their
outward journey, and delivered their gospel message
there. Then, embarking at the port of Attalia, they
returned to Antioch, to the church that had sent them
forth, with a report of the adventures and results of their
mission. The chief point was that 'God had opened
a door of faith unto the Gentiles.' We can imagine with
what eagerness the Christians of Antioch would listen to
this report. They had sent out the missionaries under an
INTRODUCTION 85
impulse of the Divine Spirit, perhaps because directed to
do so by prophets in their church. But the mission had
been directed to Jews in the first instance. It would be
known that Paul and Barnabas, both Jews, would visit
the synagogues and preach the gospel in those centres
of the old faith. And yet the majority of the Antioch
church was Gentile ; it consisted of ' Greeks,' as the
name was then used, that is to say, of people of Greek
culture and civilization. And it was liberal in spirit as
well as alive with the passion of evangelizing. Now it
learnt to its delight that the signs of grace manifested
among its own members were also appearing among the
' Greeks ' of Asia Minor. Experience was shewing, the
logic of facts was proving, that the gospel was no narrow
message only for Jews. It was good news for the world
at large. Galatia came in to confirm what hitherto had
been seen at Antioch only, or scarcely anywhere else,
viz. the saving power of the gospel for ' Greeks ' as well
as Jews. This was a confirmation of the Antiochian
position ; and it opened up a magnificent prospect for
the future of Christianity. Like the enlargement of
horizon brought about at the Renaissance by the discovery
of America, and further by the appearance of the Coper-
nican system of astronomy, an immense widening of
outlook, a vast increase of possibilities, now opened up to
the Antioch Christians. The Gentile churches of Galatia
were the firstfruits of a world-wide harvest. This must
be borne in mind when we read of the Apostle's extreme
disappointment at the defection to Judaism of these very
churches. It was like the corruption of his proof-text,
the tearing up of his sheet anchor. He was accustomed
to point to Galatia as affording the Divine proof that his
liberal gospel was true and right, for there God was seen
to be blessing it greatly as a message of grace to the
heathen apart from the Jewish law. Bitter indeed must
have been his disappointment, deep and dark his dismay,
when he found these specimen churches of their own
86 GALATIANS
accord cutting the ground from beneath them by
voluntarily abandoning the position of Christian liberty
which their very existence was vindicating in the eyes of
the timorous Jewish Christians of Jerusalem.
Subsequent Visits to Galatia.
We learn from the narrative in Acts that Paul paid two
later visits to the Galatian churches. The first (described
in Acts xvi. 1-6) was after the Jerusalem council — that
meeting of the church at Jerusalem recorded in Acts xv,
in which the problem of Gentile Christianity was dis-
cussed and in some measure decided (c. A.D. 50). The
proposal came from the Apostle who would have had
Barnabas go also ; but when Barnabas wished to take
his nephew Mark, who had left them in Pamphylia on
the previous occasion, Paul objected, and there was 'a
sharp contention ' between them, with the result that
Barnabas sailed for Cyprus, his native island, with Mark,
and Paul then took Silas as his companion. This time
he approached Galatia from the east, coming round
through Syria and Cilicia. Thus Derbe, the last town
visited on the former occasion, was now reached first.
At Lystra Paul found Timothy, and took him to be his
attendant disciple and assistant evangelist. The de-
cision of the Jerusalem council was communicated to
the Galatian churches. It allowed of Gentile Christianity
apart from circumcision. Paul's great point was gained.
Converts from heathenism were not required to become
Jews in accepting Christianity. They could receive the
salvation of Christ without keeping the law. But certain
simple restrictions, especially aimed at excluding heathen-
ism and its vices, were included in the 'decrees' from
Jerusalem. The result of this visit was an increase
and strengthening of the churches. For the third visit
{c. A.D. 53), which followed a return to Jerusalem and
Palestine after the great tour in Macedonia and Greece,
INTRODUCTION 87
Paul's first visit to Europe, he again travelled to Galatia
from Antioch, though Luke does not say which way he
approached the province. He ' went through the region
of Galatia and Phrygia in order, stablishing all the
disciples' (Acts xviii. 23). The Galatians were included
in the contributors to the fund for the relief of the poor
members of the Jerusalem church.
The Date and Place of Origin of the Epistle.
Date. There is some uncertainty, not only as to the
exact date of the Epistle —a comparatively unimportant
matter — but as to its position in the life and history
of the early church and its order in the list of Paul's
letters. These are questions of some interest, because
a right understanding of the Epistle itself and of its
relation to the Christian life and thought of the day,
of which its ideas are important factors, depends in
some measure on our answer to them. The principal
question is, Eid it precede or follow the 'council of
Jerusalem'? Nanifestly the whole discussion contained
in the Epistle vill take a different complexion according
as we considei Lit to be prior to that decision, and
therefore quite )ut of any relation to it, or subsequent
and perhaps moje or less modified by it.
It was maintained by Lightfoot that the Epistle came
later. But then is a tendency in the present day to
put it earlier, ard even to make it the first written of
all our thirteen ^auline Epistles. Let us look first at
the reasons in fcvour of an early date.
I. In writing tc the Galatians the Apostle expresses his
astonishment at he quickness with which they have per-
1 mitted themselve to be perverted. He says, ' I marvel
that ye are so quckly removing from him that called you
in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel ' (Gal. i. 6).
That is said to inply a perversion very soon after the
founding of the cmrches. A period of some six years,
88 GALATIANS
which would be required if we accepted the later date of
the Epistle, would seem too long to allow of such ran
expression. But how do we know that the Apostle is
counting from the time of the founding of the churches ?
If he had visited them twice since and had found them
steadfast on each occasion, and if he had received letters
and messages even after his last visit, perhaps with
reference to the collection for the Jerusalem church, and
these had conveyed favourable reports, and then all
of a sudden the Galatians had been led astray into
teaching quite contrary to that of their Apostle, this would
strike him as an amazingly quick change. The news
would come on him like a thunder-clap, however long
an interval may have elapsed since the conversion of
the Galatians. Professor Ramsay understands the words
' so quickly ' to mean ' so soon ' after the second visit. But
they may just as well mean so soon after the third visit, or
not even that, but so quickly, taken in an lbsolute sense,
implying that it had been a hasty changj of mind and
belief on the part of the Galatians, no mater when it took
place.
2. In iv. 13 we read, 'But ye know tha because of an
infirmity of the flesh I preached the gosjel unto you the
first time.' Here the Revisers note in tleir margin that
the Greek word rendered ' first ' means ' former.' The
former time would seem to mean the fir.t of two. Thus
this would seem to imply that Paul hal only paid two
visits to Galatia when he wrote the Episle. Accordingly
it should not be dated after the third visi. But if we take
the word more indefinitely as meaning jist 'formerly,' this
difficulty vanishes (see note on the text).
3. In ii. 3 Paul writes, 'But not evea Titus who was
with me, being a Greek, was compelled t> be circumcised.'
Why does Paul say 'being a Greek,' if Titus was known
to the Galatians, as would be the caseat the later date
assigned to the Epistle ? The phrase however, is not
merely introduced in order to infom the Galatians
INTRODUCTION 89
of the fact that Titus was a Greek. The point is that,
inasmuch as Titus was a Greek, Paul would not permit
him to be circumcised.
These arguments for the early date of the Epistle do
not amount to much. They all turn on small verbal
points. On the other hand, the reasons for assigning it
to the later period stand on a broader basis. They are
drawn from the character of the Epistle and the subject
it discusses. Paul's Epistles naturally fall into four
groups according to character and contents as well as
in chronological arrangement. First we have the simple,
practical Thessalonian Epistles, second the great doc-
trinal and controversial Epistles, third the meditative,
spiritual, partly mystical, Epistles of the imprisonment,
fourth the Pastoral Epistle. There cannot be the slightest
question as to which of these groups would claim our
Epistle on the ground of its subject and characteristics.
This Epistle is immersed in the controversy with the
Judaizers. Paul's authority has been challenged, and
he is vehemently defending his apostolic rights. His
specific teaching has been set aside, and he is expounding
and justifying it in a polemical temper. His style has a
peculiar force and incisiveness in keeping with the tone
and spirit of the Epistle. Something of the same spirit
and style may be detected in the other great doctrinal
Epistles. In 1 Corinthians Paul alludes to various parties
in the church, one of which claims his name, while the
rest take other names. In 2 Corinthians he vindicates
his own apostolic authority against opponents. He does
not find it necessary to do this when writing to the distant
church at Rome which he has never visited. But in the
Roman letter he deals with similar doctrinal subjects,
and he uses the same vigorous style. Thus our Epistle
naturally falls into line with the other doctrinal Epistles,
those which belong to the second group. None of
the remaining three groups manifest these character-
istics either of subject-matter or of style. To place
9o GALATIANS
Galatians before I and 2 Thessalonians would be an
anachronism, viewed in the light of the Apostle's personal
history and the development of his own thought and
style. Those Epistles give us no hint of the great
controversy ; they contain no trace of the logical strenu-
ousness found in all the four doctrinal Epistles. Of course
we must allow that if the troubles dealt with in our Epistle
had not broken out in Macedonia Paul might have had
no occasion to refer to them when writing to the Thessa-
lonians. Still it is easier to bring this Epistle into close
connexion with the other doctrinal Epistles than to separate
it from them and place the mild, simple Thessalonian
letters between.
There are some who accept this position, but who
place Galatians before the two Corinthian Epistles, dating
it from Ephesus during the Apostle's long residence in
that city. They thus bring it near to Paul's third visit
to Galatia (or his second visit, if they hold to the North
Galatian theory). But we have seen that if the words
' so quickly ' do not refer to the Apostle's recent presence
in Galatia, then we have no reason for saying that the
Epistle was written soon after Paul had been with the
Galatians. If we may allow a little interval of time, there
is reason for placing our Epistle after the Corinthian
letters. This is found in its close resemblance to the
Epistle to the Romans both in idea and in phrase. The
two Epistles expound the doctrine of justification by faith
with a fullness and force not met with elsewhere, and
they both treat of the relation of Christianity to Judaism
as the one burning question of the hour. Dr. Lightfoot
worked out the comparison in detail, and nothing that
has been said since his time could possibly demolish
the facts of close resemblance which he has set before
us. Both Epistles contain the same appeal to Abraham as
affording the typical example of righteousness obtained
by faith, the same idea that they who have faith are
Abraham's true children. Then both contain what to
INTRODUCTION 91
Jews must have seemed the amazing statements that
the law brings a curse rather than a blessing and that
no man is justified by it. Further, in both it is argued
that this failure of the law is for the ultimate blessing
of those who come to the righteousness of faith. The
result is shewn in both Epistles to be the same— that
those who have faith become sons of God in the power
of the Spirit.
Several striking and peculiar phrases are common to
the two Epistles, shewing that in language as well as in
thought they are often very close together. For instance : —
Gal. ii. 16 : ' Because by the works of the law shall no
flesh be justified.'
Rom. iii. 20 : ' Because by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified in his sight.'
Here we have identically the same variation from the
Old Testament, which is as follows both in the Hebrew
and in the Septuagint : ' For in thy sight shall no man
living be justified' (Ps. cxliii. 2).
Gal. ii. 19 : ' Died unto the law.'
Rom. vii. 4 : ' Dead to the law.'
Gal. ii. 20 : ' Crucified with Christ.'
Rom. vi. 6 : ' Crucified with him.'
Gal. iii. 22 : ' The scripture hath shut up all things
under sin.'
Rom. xi. 32 : ' God hath shut up all unto disobedience.'
Gal. iii. 27: 'As many of you as were baptized into
Christ.'
Rom. vi. 3 : ' All we who were baptized into Christ
Jesus.'
Gal. iii. 27 : ' Did put on Christ.'
Rom. xiii. 14 : ' Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.'
Gal. iii. 29: ' Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.'1
Rom. ix. 8 : ' The children of the promise are reckoned
for a seed.'
92 GALATIANS
Gal. iv. 28 : ' Children of promise.'
Rom. ix. 8 : ' Children of the promise.'
Gal. v. 14: 'The whole law is fulfilled in one word,
even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'
Rom. xiii. 8, 9 : ' He that loveth his neighbour hath
fulfilled the law; ... it is briefly summed up in this word,
namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'
Gal. v. 16: '■Walk by the spirit, and ye shall not
fulfil the lust of the flesh:
Rom. viii. 4 : ' Who walk not after the flesh, but after
the spi?it:
Gal. v. 17 : ' Ye may not do the things that ye would.'
Rom. vii. 15 : 'Not what I would, that do I practise.'
Gal. vi. 2 : ' Bear ye one another's burdens.'
Rom. xv. 1 : * We . . . ought to bear the infirmities of
the weak.'
In each case the context shews that the 'burdens' or
' infirmities ' are faults or moral defects.
It has been suggested that the identity of subject in the
two Epistles may account for the close resemblance of
style, even if other Epistles come between. But some
of these phrases do not belong to the main argument ;
and in all cases it is easier to think that both Epistles
were written at the same time while the Apostle's mind
was deeply stirred with the great question raised by the
Judaizers. This is the more likely when we consider the
peculiarity of the Epistle to the Romans. Unlike all
the other of Paul's Epistles, except Colossians, this
was not written to one of his own churches ; nor was it
called forth by any immediate necessity. There was no
reason for it to be sent at the particular time when
the Apostle chose to dispatch it, excepting that his mind
was then full of the subject. This was so supremely
important that he wished the church in the imperial city
to come to see it clearly and be fully impressed with its
INTRODUCTION 93
significance. Possibly too he desired to write out once
for all a complete exposition of the subject that might
serve for other churches also. It is probable that the
idea would occur to him when the desperate state of
the Galatian churches urgently called for instruction and
expostulation, rather than at some subsequent period.
If Paul wished to do this at all, that would be the time
when he would be most strongly impelled to write the
Roman letter. It seems reasonable then to say that the
two epistles were written about the same time. We
have a parallel case in the close resemblance between
Ephesians and Colossians, the natural explanation being
that they were companion Epistles, composed in the
same period of the Apostle's imprisonment.
These considerations help us also to decide which of
the two letters was written first. It has been said that
Galatians comes after Romans, since it shews an intensi-
fying and further accentuating of the ideas contained in
the earlier epistle. This is a perverse statement ; or
rather, it is not too much to say that it is an inversion of
the case. Nothing can be more certain than that Gala-
tians comes hot from the roused feelings of the Apostle.
He is astonished, distressed, indignant. 'Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.' Here we
have the psychological moment, and in it the psychologi-
cal explanation of the unique phenomena of the Epistle.
This is just the condition in which new thoughts are
brought to the birth and new phrases coined. The
calmer atmosphere in which the longer epistle is written,
the absence of any special need of immediate guidance
and help in the church at Rome, the fact that the Apostle
had no personal relations with that church, these are all
conditions under which the later discussion could best
be developed when based on the strong phrases and
fiery, passionate ideas of the Galatian letter. First we
have the rough draft, then the elaborate treatise ; first
the epistle of urgent necessity aimed at effecting a vital
94 GALATIANS
result, an epistle the writing of which is a deed ; after-
wards the enlarged, finished document which partakes
more of the character of literature.
This position of our Epistle, just before Romans and
therefore next after 2 Corinthians, is confirmed by a com-
parison with the latter epistle. Dr. Jowett called attention
to certain points of resemblance between the two. Thus
in both Paul vindicates his own apostleship and in both
he mentions his bodily weakness or illness, the - thorn in
the flesh ' of 2 Corinthians (xii. 7) corresponding to the
'infirmity of the flesh' mentioned in Galatians (iv. 13).
Accordingly it seems that we should fix the date of our
Epistle between 2 Corinthians and Romans, and probably
near the time of the latter epistle. This will give us the
end of A. D. 57 or the beginning of 58 (according to the
usually accepted chronology of the Apostle's missionary
journeys). The date is fixed thus — the epistle to the
Romans was written in Achaia (Rom. xv. 25, 26), and
therefore probably from Corinth. This must be during
the second visit recorded in Acts (xx. 2). It could not be
the first visit to Corinth recorded in Acts xviii, because
Paul had preached the gospel as far as Illyricum (Rom.
xv. 19), and we have too full particulars of that first visit
when he came down through Philippi, Thessalonica, and
Bercea to allow of an interval for any deviation towards
Illyricum. Besides, Romans evidently belongs to the
second group of epistles, and has 1 and 2 Corinthians as
well as Galatians for its companion epistles. It cannot
possibly be put back to the time of the Thessalonian
letters, which were written during the first visit to Corinth.
If then Galatians belongs to the same period, this too
must have been written during that second missionary
visit to Greece.
An objection to this late date assigned to Galatians has
been raised on the ground that it makes the letter to be
subsequent to the Jerusalem council. We can best
appreciate and meet this objection when wc have
INTRODUCTION 95
considered the occasion and purpose of our Epistle. Let
it stand over for a little while.
Place of Origin. The question where the Epistle was
written is virtually settled when we have decided its date.
According to the theori6s as to the date are the theories
concerning the locality. There are the claims of three
places which demand our attention.
1. Antioch in Syria. The claims of this place are
advocated by Professor Ramsay. He considers that
Paul supported his arguments with the authority of the
church in that city, the church which had sent out the
mission that led to the evangelizing of Galatia, and for
which therefore grateful converts should feel some
deference. The expression, 'all the brethren that are
with me/ in the opening salutation (Gal. i. 2) is taken as
a reference to the church at Antioch. But if that church
were appealed to, why was it not named ? In the Epistle
of Clement the church at Rome addresses the church at
Corinth. And the phrase, 'all the brethren that are with
me,' is not suitable to the church which had commissioned
Paul for his tour. It applies much more aptly to his
own travelling companions. The words ' with me ' point to
inferiors or subordinates rather than to a respected body
such as the great church at Antioch. The phrase is used
elsewhere for the Apostle's personal friends and com-
panions, as in Philippians iv. 21, where we read, 'The
brethren which are with me salute you.' But by far the
most serious difficulty in the way of accepting Professor
Ramsay's view comes from the fact that it runs counter
to the spirit of the Epistle and the line of argument
maintained through the whole writing. Paul's apostolic
authority has been called in question. He has been
accused of presenting a second-hand gospel. His teach-
ing has been discredited by an attempt to lower the
status of the teacher. Paul meets this personal charge
boldly and unequivocally. He maintains his absolute
independence. He ascribes his apostleship to God and
96 GALATIANS
Christ, not to any human being. On the authority thus
secured he expects his readers to shew deference to
his instructions. He would only have weakened his
argument in this direction if he had appealed to
the church at Antioch or associated that church with
himself in his letter. It is the one Epistle above all
others that stands on the personal, independent authority
of the Apostle.
The only other reason for suggesting Antioch as the
place from which the letter was sent which is of any
weight, is dependent on Professor Ramsay's theory of
its early date, a time when Paul would be found at
Antioch. But if there is validity in what has . been
here said about the date, of course that argument
vanishes. If the Epistle was written as late as A.D. 57
or 58 it could not have come from Antioch.
2. Ephesus. The claim for this city as the place from
which the Epistle was dispatched, put forth by Dr. Zockler
and others, especially in Germany, is also dependent on
the question of date. Placing the Epistle earlier than the
two Corinthian letters, though later than the two Thessa-
lonian letters written during the first visit to Corinth,
it finds the Apostle's long stay at Ephesus as the most
likely period for the writing of it. 1 Corinthians was written
at Ephesus at this time. Galatians is assigned to an
earlier part of the Apostle's residence in that city. On
the North Galatian theory it could not be written earlier ;
but on the South Galatian theory, advocated in this Intro-
duction, it is not necessarily confined to this time. The
quickness with which the Galatians were perverted is
given as a reason for preferring Ephesus, during the early
part of Paul's residence there, rather than Corinth, after
the whole time of his stay in the capital of Asia was over.
But we have seen that his words will not bear the con-
struction put on them in this argument l.
1 See p. S7 f.
INTRODUCTION 97
3. Corinth. If we accept the date above assigned to
the Epistle we seem driven towards Corinth for the place
of its origin. Coming later than 2 Corinthians, which was
written in Macedonia, and earlier than Romans, which was
written at Corinth, the only alternative would be Macedonia
or some place on the route round through Achaia. But
Paul would not be likely to stay long at any place during
this journey. He wrote to Corinth, it is true ; but he
had special reasons for doing so, after Titus had come to
him from that city. It is more probable that news of the
state of the churches in Galatia would reach him when he
was in an important metropolis such as Corinth, which was
in constant communication with the East, than while he
was journeying through Macedonia and Achaia. Corinth
then seems to be the most likely place of origin for the
Epistle.
There is no authority for the subscription to the Epistle
in our Authorized Version, ' Unto the Galatians written from
Rome.' This is not found in the oldest MSS., which simply
have, 'To the Galatians/ and even that would not have
been part of the original writing.
The Occasion for Writing the Epistle.
Most of Paul's Epistles were written to meet certain
specific requirements of the moment. They all contain
truths of profound significance and lasting worth. It was
characteristic of the Apostle's depth of spiritual thought
to treat every topic he had occasion to handle from the
standpoint of the 'eternal verities.' That is why his
writings remain of permanent value. They are ' Scripture'
for us to-day, because they are inspired with ideas that live
through all the ages and bring light and life to readers of
every generation. Nevertheless they were not drawn up
as manifestos for the benefit of the church in perpetuity.
We cannot suppose that their author had the least idea of
the immense debt under which he was laying all future
(9) H
98 GALATIANS
Christendom. Such an elaborate work as the Epistle to
the Romans may have been designed for more than local
use. Sent to the church in the centre of the empire, a
church the Apostle had never seen, and for which he was
in no special way responsible, it bears the character of
a careful declaration of his essential gospel intended to
be of general service if widely circulated. But this is
wholly exceptional — though Ephesians and Colossians
approach the great Roman Epistle in their detachment
from local circumstances. For the rest, Paul's Epistles
were all written to meet immediate, pressing requirements.
Thus we must understand what those requirements were
if we would discover the drift and purpose of the Epistles.
These considerations apply with force to the Epistle to
the Galatians. No other Epistle is more clearly stamped
with the marks of its origin. It springs up hot and eager
to meet its provocation. That is really not too strong a
phrase. The Epistle was called forth by nothing less than
provocation. The Apostle was literally provoked into
writing it. Sudden news that fell upon him ' like a bolt
from the blue ' roused the fire of his indignation. Still,
passionate as it is, this is no mere outburst of feeling.
The Apostle never thought more clearly than when he
felt most deeply. Like Byron's English Bards and
Scottish Reviewers, which is said to have been written
in a night under a stinging sense of stupid injustice,
our Epistle owes its point and piquancy to the rousing
circumstances of its origin.
For this was the situation. The Apostle was regarding
the four churches of Galatia as the firstfruits of his
missionary labours. Though he had been successful
elsewhere in his earlier work, there is no evidence that
he had actually succeeded so far as to found and organize
churches before he established the churches at Antioch,
Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. And this remarkably
successful work had been aided and prospered by the
very enthusiastic reception he had received among the
INTRODUCTION 99
Phrygian and Lycaonian people. Here in the course of
what we call his ' first missionary journey ' he had met
with eager souls who had responded to his appeals with
all their hearts. They had received him as an angel of
God ; they would have plucked out their eyes and given
them to him, if he had demanded such a sacrifice. Nor
was this enthusiasm the mere effervescence of transitory
emotion. When the Apostle passed through the cities on
his return journey he was able to thoroughly organize
their churches. Since then he had visited them again,
perhaps twice, and on each occasion he had been well
received and had found everything in a most encouraging
condition. Thus he had every reason for thankfulness
in thinking of these churches of Galatia now ripening in
Christian experience.
Suddenly the Apostle was amazed and confounded by
the receipt of absolutely unexpected information of what
he could regard as nothing less than a revolution in the
beliefs and practices of the Galatians. They had come
to reject his authority as an Apostle, treating it lightly,
as quite inferior to the authority of the Jerusalem
apostles, and no better than a delegated position received
from them and dependent on their good-will. This is the
first surprise, and it calls forth the personal explanations
which occupy the first part of the Epistle. In the second
place, in rejecting the authority of their founder and
guide, the four churches had also abandoned his specific
teaching and adopted that of the Jewish Christians at
Jerusalem. Those Christians continued to observe the law
of Moses as they had observed it from their childhood.
They were loyal followers of Jesus Christ, believers in
him as their Lord and Saviour, his servants, working
out what they could see of his will, for this persecuted
by their unbelieving brethren among the Jews, and ready
to suffer martyrdom for their faith. Still, they did not
abandon the practices of the Jewish law. Circumcision
was not superseded by baptism, nor the passover by
h 2
loo GALATIANS
the Lord's Supper, nor the temple by the church. These
Jerusalem disciples were law-abiding Jews who accepted
Jesus as Christ, Jews who added Christianity to Judaism
and considered that the amalgam made one perfect re-
ligion. Now the Galatians were going over to the same
position. Yet it was really entirely different with them.
For the most part these people were not Jews by birth.
Unlike the Jerusalem Christians they had never been
under the yoke of the law, had never confessed any
obligation to accept it. It was the law of the Jews,
and they were Gentiles. They had received Christian
baptism and had been formed into churches without
the least idea that in so doing they were becoming
Jews. The omission of the rite of circumcision on their
reception into the pale of Christianity was a plain proof
that they were not expected to adopt Judaism. And
then the gospel which Paul had preached, and which
they had received, tacitly excluded Judaism by leaving
no room for it. They had seen his picture of Christ
crucified vividly set before them, and in it the promise and
pledge of full redemption. After that no more could be
needed to secure the very richest blessings which God
could give or man receive. For people with such
a history, men who had been heathen, Gentiles, never
under the Jews' law, and who were now Christians
enlightened with knowledge of the gospel of freedom,
to be adopting Judaism was indeed an astounding piece
of perversity. And the change had come about so
quickly. There had been no premonitory symptoms.
It was not like the case of Newman's recession to Rome,
a slow movement through successive stages of deep
meditation, soul struggle, and agony, as the story is
set forth in his Apologia pro Vitd sud. When last seen
by the Apostle these Galatians were apparently un-
changed, still steadfast in the faith they had learnt from
their founder. And now they are in full pursuit of the
Jewish gospel, quite infatuated with it.
INTRODUCTION lot
How could so great a change have come about so
suddenly? Dr. Lightfoot puts it down to Celtic fickle-
ness. But we have seen that the Galatians were not
Celts, but Phrygians and Lycaonians. These people
of Central Asia Minor were exceptionally liable to be
captured by appeals to religious excitement. Their
very enthusiastic reception of the Apostle on the occasion
of his first visit is a revelation of their temperament.
People who had behaved in that extravagant manner
once would be ready to do so again if some equally
novel, though not equally deserving, influence were
brought to bear upon them. Like those Jews of the
following cf James who went down to Antioch and
disturbed the peace of the church there, some Jewish
Christians, perhaps jealous for the position of the
primitive apostles, possibly sincerely anxious for the
good of the new heathen converts, and fearing that
Paul had given them a one-sided representation of
Christianity, went over to visit the four Galatian churches,
the fame of whose prosperity had reached Jerusalem.
There they set to work to depreciate the authority of
Paul, and so to undermine his teaching, at the same
time introducing their own teaching of Judaistic Chris-
tianity. This they would assert to be more authentic
since they would claim to represent the original Chris-
tianity of the apostles in Palestine. The idea was that
the Gentile converts should accept the ordinances of
Judaism as these were observed by the Jewish Christians
who constituted the primitive church at Jerusalem.
The Galatians were fascinated. Paul in his indignant
amazement can only describe their condition as that of
people bewitched. Still, it must be admitted that the
intruders could make out a specious case. They would
support it on the highest authority, that of Christ's twelve
apostles. There is not the faintest evidence to shew that
they were authorized by the apostles at Jerusalem. We
have no indication that James at the head of the mother
102 GALATIANS
church had commissioned them for their unfortunate task.
We do not even know that they claimed to be the emis-
saries of those authorities, though it is quite possible that
they would pose as such. But at all events they would
be able to cite the precedent of Jerusalem, telling the
Galatians how the venerated community in the parent
church thought and acted ; and this would go for much.
Then the substance of their teaching would have a fascina-
tion for the people of Central Asia Minor. These people
had been brought up in a religion of outward rites and
ceremonies. Judaism presented itself as a system of
outward rites and ceremonies. So similar in spirit and
character were the heathen and Jewish cults in this
respect, that Paul could describe the adoption of Judaism
— new as it was to the Galatians in name and form — as
nothing less than a return to the 'weak and beggarly
elements ' which they had abandoned at their conversion.
In the Apostle's opinion their adoption of Judaism was
tantamount to a reversion to heathenism. Then the
natural tendency to return to the primitive type which is
seen as much among men and women as it is in the
cultivation of gardens and orchards would aid the
Judaizers. The introduction of a new ritual would
awaken the old habit of ritual observance in the minds
of the Galatians.
But now it is said that all this is inconsistent with the
decision of the council of Jerusalem as described in Acts
xv. The supposed inconsistency is variously interpreted.
Baur and the early Tubingen critics used it as an argu-
ment for discrediting the historicity of Acts. A modern
Dutch school, represented by Steck, reverses the reasoning
and endeavours to upset the genuineness of the Epistle.
Lastly, Professor Ramsay, and others who agree with
him on this point, consider that it makes for the early
date of Galatians, since the trouble in the Galatian
church could not have arisen after the Jerusalem settle-
ment of the status of Gentile Christians ; or, at all events,
INTRODUCTION 103
that if it did arise later— though most inconsistently—
Paul would certainly have appealed to the decision of the
council in this letter. Yet he never does so.
Now to take up the last of these ideas in the first place,
we have to face the question, Why did not Paul refer to
the council and its decision if he was writing after that
event ? According to the chronological arrangement here
set forth he had already done so, lor he had gone through
the Galatian cities with ' the decrees ' some time before
the date of our Epistle. Still, it must be granted to be
somewhat perplexing that he makes no reference what-
ever to the subject in the Epistle. This point, however,
should be considered. Paul's personal authority had been
assailed. His originality had been challenged. It was
said that he was only the lieutenant of the primitive
apostles and the bearer of a second-hand gospel. Under
such circumstances he would not feel inclined to fall
back on the authority of the Jerusalem church. He
must base his contention on completely independent
grounds.
When we turn to the question of the introduction of
Judaism into the churches of Galatia after the decision at
Jerusalem two facts should be considered.
First, it is not at all probable that the whole church
loyally held to that decision. There must have been at
least a minority who were overawed by the weight of the
great leaders Peter and James, and compelled, for the
time being, to be silent in face of the very remarkable
testimony concerning the conversion of the heathen,
which so trusted a member of their community as
Barnabas joined with Paul in presenting to the church.
But though silenced for the time they would not be
convinced, much less would they be finally suppressed.
The spirit that shewed itself in the meddlesome visit of
the Judaizers to Antioch would prompt a similar inva-
sion of the liberties of Galatia. The disturbance may
have come from this minority, disloyal to the decision
io4 GALATIANS
at Jerusalem, and determined if possible to frustrate its
influence.
Second, the question decided at Jerusalem was not the
same as that subsequently brought up in Galatia. The
point on which the Christians at Antioch had consulted
the mother church concerned the reception of the heathen
into the privileges of Christianity. Should the rite of
circumcision be insisted on? In becoming Christians
must they also become Jews ? Was Christianity only a
phase of Judaism, and should it be bound down to the
rules and customs of that religion even when it received
Gentiles into its fold ? This question was answered
in the negative. The heathen need not be circumcised ;
the Gentiles were under no obligation to keep the law.
Thus the main position Paul contended for was gained,
though some slight restrictions in regard to the ritual of
diet were imposed on the Gentiles, as well as obligations
of moral purity. Now quite another question had come
before the four churches of Galatia. They had been
recognized as Christian, quite apart from the observance
of the Jewish law. But the Judaizers who had come
among them were persuading them to adopt and practise
the rites of the Jewish religion in order to perfect their
Christian life. This was not presented as the preliminary
to Christianity, but as the perfection of it : not as the
foundation on which to build, but as the crowning
pinnacle. And it was not demanded as obligatory ; but it
was made out to be eminently desirable. Having become
Christians by faith in Christ while Gentiles, free from the
Mosaic law, the Galatians were invited to go on to
perfection by voluntarily adopting that law and practising
it. This is the situation Paul had to face. Thus he
writes, ' Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or
by the hearing of faith ? ' (Gal. iii. 2). The Galatians had
welcomed the gospel message with faith, and the result
was that they had received the gift of the Spirit, always
regarded in apostolic times as the sure sign that God
INTRODUCTION 105
was acknowledging those on whom it descended. It was
their Divine seal, the proof that they were duly authenti-
cated Christians. Then Paul proceeds with his expostu-
lation : ' Are ye so foolish ? having begun in the Spirit,
are ye now perfected in the flesh ? f (verse 3)—' perfected
in the flesh.' The idea is that some bodily rite is to
perfect what was begun in a spiritual way. Circumcision,
then, was not the door of entrance to the church, as it
was to the synagogue, but a subsequent performance in
which the further advance of a Christian life already
commenced was aimed at.
The Judaizers might argue thus :— * It is true you have
been excused the rite on your entrance into the church,
and with it the obligation to keep the law. Thus you
have a religion made easy for you as an accommodation
to your Gentile habits. But do you desire an easy religion ?
See ! We observe all these regulations about days and
diet, fastings and washings. We grant that they are
somewhat of a burden. But we are eager to live the
highest life, to do our utmost in religious service. The
same id open to you. Accept these rules from that of
circumcision onwards and you will not only be Christians
just admitted within the gate of the fold ; you will be
advanced Christians following on to perfection.' Some
such presentation of the case would appeal to enthusiastic
natures. These Phrygians and others of Asia Minor who
had witnessed the wild, orgiastic rites of Cybele, who
had even known fanatics mutilate themselves in the
frenzy of their devotion, were not the men to shrink
from a religion that exacted much. They were ready
to despise an easy road if a more arduous path were set
before them. The very severity of the discipline would
constitute its fascination. Reading between the lines, may
we add yet another idea ? These people of Asia Minor
had been brought up in all the dissoluteness of a most
corrupt heathen society. Suddenly they were called to
live a life of spotless purity. When the first enthusiasm
io6 GALATIANS
died down, old habits would threaten to reassert their
power. How were they to be kept under ? Turning with
wistful hope to the rules of Judaism, the Galatians would
be tempted to think that here perhaps was the aid they
needed. If so, there is something very pathetic in their
delusion. They were engaged in a desperate struggle for
which every possible assistance was requisitioned.
Purpose and Teaching of the Epistle.
The Apostle's aim in writing this Epistle was to counter-
act the mischievous influences that were at work among
the Galatian churches. Since these were twofold in their
ends, though of common origin, the reply and refutation
were necessarily also twofold. Paul's personal authority
as an Apostle had been attacked, and the gospel which
he proclaimed had been assailed. Accordingly he had
in the first place to defend his apostleship and in the
second to justify his doctrine. These two subjects, though
so different in form and in the treatment they called for,
were vitally connected. K was only because of his
teaching that the Judaizers had made their personal attack
on the Apostle, seeking to undermine his influence in
order to discredit his message. And it was only in order
to secure what he saw to be his all-important message
and its hold upon the Galatians that Paul set himself
to the distasteful task of vindicating his office. This
was necessary in the first instance, if only in order to
gain a hearing for the exposition of the great truths with
which he followed in the doctrinal part of the Epistle.
The personal claim. The ground Paul takes in the
vindication of his own apostleship is the highest possible.
He claims to have received it direct from God and
Christ, through no human instrumentality whatever. The
same claim extends to his message. He has not
received this from the older apostles, nor from any other
INTRODUCTION 107
Christian teachers. It has come to him by revelation from
heaven. In proof of this high claim he describes all his
interviews with the apostles previous to the missionary
journey when he founded the Galatian church. That is
the object of the autobiographical reminiscences with
which the Epistle opens. Paul declares that after his
conversion he did not go up to Jerusalem in order to
learn from its custodians the principles of the new faith
which he had just adopted ; he went direct to Arabia, to
the desert, to solitude. There, alone with God, meditating
on the facts that he had now come to see in a new light,
especially the death and resurrection of Jesus whom he
now acknowledged to be the Christ, he was led to perceive
the gospel that grew out of them. This perception, since
it came to him when under the influence of the Divine
Spirit, was reckoned by him as a revelation from heaven.
It is true he met the apostles on subsequent occasions.
These he distinctly enumerates and exactly describes.
They all occurred later than his adoption of that form of
Christian truth which he preached as in an especial
sense his own gospel, and they were too brief to account
for his knowledge of that gospel. They did not allow
of the idea that he had ever sat at the older apostles' feet,
as their disciple.
With this negative conclusion to be drawn from the
recital of the autobiographical incidents there are as-
sociated two deductions of a positive character. It shews
that his apostleship, with its peculiar claims and the
mission to which it was dedicated, was fully recognized
by the older apostles ; and it also shews that he did not
shrink from asserting his full equality with the chief among
them. The first comes out in the description of the
interview at Jerusalem, in which the leading apostles gave
him the right hand of fellowship ; the second in the meeting
with Peter at Antioch, when Paul ' withstood him to the
face ' and rebuked him sternly for what he regarded as
cowardly vacillation. These two deductions account for
108 GALATIANS
the introduction of the incidents that lead to them, and
are themselves important factors in the main argument
by which Paul establishes his right to full, independent
apostleship.
In thus claiming originality for his message, as well
as independence for his office, Paul must not be under-
stood to assert that he was in no way helped by human
testimony in regard to the facts of the life of Christ.
To suppose that he knew those facts by revelation
and not by report from eye-witnesses is to bring in a
needless supernatural agency. Luke tells us that he
gathered his information for the life of Christ from the
testimony of witnesses. He was a disciple of Paul. If
the Apostle had received the story direct from heaven,
why did not Luke take it down from the lips of his
master ? Why did he resort to the laborious process
of the secular historian in hunting up his facts, if they
were all ready to hand in the information that had been
flashed into the mind of Paul? If we are to understand
the Biblical idea of revelation by studying the character
of revelations received through prophets and apostles, we
shall recognize that they are not vehicles for conveying
information about the events of external history, which
could be obtained from earthly sources— mere expedients
to save the trouble of historical research. Besides, the
Apostle does not despise or ignore testimony in regard
to these matters. He cites the evidence for our Lord's
resurrection, carefully specifying the witnesses. In giving
his account of the Lord's Supper he states that he had
received it 'of the Lord' (i Cor. xi. 23). Yet the narra-
tive is parallel to the synoptic accounts, and even in
verbal texture very like that of Luke, who has told us
that he got the materials for his book from eye-witnesses.
Are we to understand that a revelation from heaven
would shape itself in words agreeing with the synoptic
tradition ? When we examine Paul's language in the
Greek, we find that it does not point to a direct com-
INTRODUCTION 109
munication. He uses words that are applied to tradition,
therefore suggesting not that what he is about to com-
municate was given to him immediately by Jesus Christ,
but that ' the Lord ' was the original source of it, so
that it has his authority, though it reached Paul through
the channels of human testimony. In referring to his
own original message the Apostle calls it his gospel—
'the gospel which was preached by me.' Now the word
P gospel ' is never used by Paul, is never used anywhere
in the New Testament, for a narrative of the life of Jesus
Christ. The meaning attached to it when it stands
as the title of four books in our Bible is not met with
before the second century, certainly not before Ignatius,
not definitely before Justin Martyr in the middle of that
century. In apostolic times the word invariably stands
for the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Paul's
gospel was his conception and presentation of that
message. It was based on the crucifixion and resur-
rection of Christ. These were facts widely known, the
first in the world, the second in the church. Viewing
them in relation to human sin, the Jewish law, and
the failure of the struggle for deliverance from sin by
way of the law, Paul was led, under the influence of
the illuminating Spirit that he felt he possessed, to strike
out new paths and shape his message of salvation on
broader lines and with a freedom from Jewish prejudices
not yet attained by the older apostles. That was his
gospel. He had not received it from Peter, or John, or
James, or any other human teacher. It had come to
him from God. It was a revelation.
And now the question arises, What differences between
Paul and the older apostles does this Epistle make
apparent? According to Baur they are in open and
pronounced antagonism ; the church is divided into
two by a wide cleft, and we have Pauline Christianity on
the one side and the Christianity of the Twelve Apostles
on the other, each disowning and opposing its rival.
no GALATIANS
In arguing against this extravagant representation of
the case Bishop Lightfoot went to the other extreme,
denying that there was any appreciable difference
between the two schools of teaching. More moderate
views have been maintained by Hort, Harnack, and
McGiffert, and even by Pfleiderer and Weizsacker,
although the two latter are more inclined to the left
wing of criticism.
It is sheer perversity to maintain that there was an
irreconcilable quarrel between Paul and his seniors in
the apostleship. They recognized him as an apostle,
and he acknowledged them. This Epistle is sufficient
to demonstrate the fact of their fundamental agreement
and mutual respect. Paul says, 'and when they per-
ceived the grace that was given unto me, James and
Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars,
gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship '
(Gal. ii. 9). What could be more explicit ? what more
definite ? The elder apostles, suspicious at first, origin-
ally questioning the legitimacy of Paul's free preaching
of the gospel to the heathen, apart from Judaism,
but subsequently convinced by the logic of facts, were
compelled to allow that the conversion of the heathen,
their changed lives, the appearance of the Christian
graces among them of which Paul had given evidence,
were signs that the work was of God, that it had
the stamp of His approval. Seeing this, they ceased
to criticize, withdrew their opposition— if indeed they
had ever really opposed, and we have not clear evidence
to that effect — and generously welcomed Paul and
Barnabas to their fellowship.
At Antioch there was a sharp contest between Paul and
Peter. But according to the account of it in our Epistle
there was no fundamental difference between the two
apostles. Peter had been eating with the Gentiles till his
scruples were roused, or his fear of criticism excited, by
the advent of strict Judaizers from James. Then he
INTRODUCTION m
had turned round and ceased to have brotherly intercourse
with the Greek section of the church. Paul was indignant.
What most roused his anger was the appearance of moral
weakness and culpable inconsistency in the older disciple.
Peter appeared to be acting contrary to his own con-
victions. If they had taken different lines all along Paul
would not have been surprised at Peter's exclusiveness,
nor would he have had any occasion to rebuke it as
hypocrisy.
On the other hand, it must be allowed that there were
considerable differences of view and method of work
existing between Paul and the Jerusalem church with
its leaders. I Peter, which is essentially Pauline in spirit,
and the Epistles and Gospel of John, which are as anti-
Jewish and as liberal towards the Gentiles as Paul's own
writings, shew that the two senior apostles came over to
Paul's position in later years. The Epistle of James is
not anti- Pauline. Even Pfleiderer admits this, holding
that it is directed against an extravagant perversion of
Paulinism by disciples who misinterpreted their master.
But at the time covered by the Acts, and when our Epistle
was written, it is not clear that these three reputed 'pillars'
accepted Paul's position. Probably the Jerusalem church
never reached it. To the last that church was essentially
Jewish, observing the law, and frequenting the temple, as
long as the temple stood. After the destruction of the
city by Titus it returned from Pella, where it had been in
retreat, appointed Symeon, a relative of James, as its
bishop, and apparently resumed the James tradition
of Jewish Christianity. After the revolt of Bar Cochbar,
in the reign of Hadrian, when no Jews were permitted to
approach the site of Jerusalem — now occupied by a pagan
city named Aelia Capitolina with its temples of Jupiter
and Venus— the Jewish Christians were scattered. Some
passed into the Catholic Church. But those who held
together still maintained I their Judaism, and were ac-
cordingly regarded as heretics by the Catholic Church.
ii2 GALATIANS
Thus the Jerusalem church right down its history was
Jewish, observing circumcision, keeping the law. In
this respect, then, James and the Jewish Christians differed
from Paul and the Greek Christians who followed that
Apostle's leading. This was so even on the grounds of
the compact contained in the Jerusalem treaty. Jewish
Christians were to keep the law ; Gentile Christians were
to be exonerated. But our Epistle goes much further
than that compact. It proclaims the abolition of the law
for Jews as well as for Gentiles. The Jerusalem Christians
had never faced such a revolutionary proposal. It must
have shocked them greatly when they heard of it. But
Paul was anxious to preserve the peace of the church. In
this condition of affairs we can see why he attached great
importance to the collection of money in the Greek churches
for the assistance of the poor members of the Jerusalem
community. We must not regard this in the light of a
vulgar bribe. It is not to be supposed that sincere men
would change their views on receipt of a dole. But it was
an evidence of brotherly sympathy ; the generosity it im-
plied was to be recognized as a fruit of Christian grace.
Paul hoped that the freedom practised by his converts
would be pardoned in view of the spirit of love and peace
and self-sacrifice they were manifesting towards their
more conservative brethren in Jerusalem.
The teaching of the Epistle. This was both posi-
tive and negative ; but its negation was the necessary
result of its affirmation. It asserted justification by
faith in Christ crucified, and maintained that this was
so complete, so all-sufficient, that no room was left for
any additional justification by means of the Jewish law.
Thus the perfection and triumph of the Christian method
abolished the Jewish by superseding it. The older
method was no longer needed. It had been proved to be
inefficient. To introduce it in addition to the Christian
method was to detract from the latter by usurping some of
its offices, since it covered the whole ground and effected
INTRODUCTION 113
the whole work of salvation from beginning to end much
better than the old method could do with any part of it.
The Judaizing proposal might be compared to a sugges-
tion from the rural owners of stage-coaches, when the
railway was constructed from London to Edinburgh, to
the effect that they admitted the higher power and
speed of the trains, and would accept them for the
greater part of the journey, say as far as Berwick, but
thought the rest of the route should be taken by road.
Paul was sure that his gospel introduced the one efficient
means of salvation. To allow any space for the clumsy,
ineffectual Jewish method was to detract so much from
the range and scope of the gospel, and so to check and
retard the Christian progress, not to carry it a stage
further on towards perfection, as the Judaizers main-
tained. ^
The theme of the doctrinal part of the Epistle appears
in the Apostle's speech at Antioch, his expostulation with
Cephas, or perhaps his comment on that speech. ' Know-
ing,' says Paul, ' that a man is not justified by the works
of the law, save (or rather, ' but only ') through faith in
Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we
might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works
of the law : because by the works of the law shall no
flesh be justified' (Gal. ii. 16).
The object then aimed at by both methods is 'justifica-
tion.' The only question is as to the means of reaching
that object. The word justification is legal and technical \
It means the establishment of a claim to stand right in
the eyes of the law. Such a term with its forensic asso-
ciations, would be especially appropriate in an argument
1 It would be suggested to Paul by his professional training,
for while by trade he was a tent-maker, by profession he had been
a lawyer. As we should say, he had been educated for the bar,
the Jews considering that the work of a trade, as the means of
a livelihood, was by no means incompatible with the practice
of a profession as the chief interest of life.
ii4 GALATIANS
with people who were posing as champions of law.
Paul uses their own term to shew that the legal status
they aim at acquiring by their method is reached by his
method. Some of our difficulty in understanding the
Apostle arises from the necessity of reading his words
from the standpoint of Jewish law and Rabbinical dis-
cussions if we would see their exact force. Under the
influence of modern science we are more accustomed to
discuss religious problems in terms of biology. But the
technicality of the Apostle's language is not really abstruse,
nor is it very difficult to understand. From the legal stand-
point he uses the word 'justify5 in the sense it invariably
bears both in the Old Testament and in the New, and that
is the sense we usually attach to it, viz. to clear from a
charge of guilt, to acquit. What is special is rather in
the application of the word. With Paul it represents not
the clearing of the innocent from a false charge, but the
clearing of the guilty from a true charge. In other words,
it stands for forgiveness when looked at from the stand-
point of law. This we may regard as Paul's limiting,
specific application of the word. It is not really far
from the Jewish application. In so far as Christianity
awakened a keener sense of guilt than Judaism, Paul's
justification gave more prominence to the idea of pardon,
while Jewish justification admitted of self-complacency,
as when a self-righteous man attempted to justify himself,
not admitting his guilt, excusing and defending his con-
duct. Yet even here the idea of the final result was the
same, viz. to stand right in the eyes of the law, to stand
right with God, the Judge of all.
Then, further, Paul continually identifies justification
with righteousness. This is most manifest in Romans ;
but it is more or less apparent throughout all his writings
on the subject. When a man was accounted righteous
by being justified, Paul would say that he possessed right-
eousness. He guarded himself against an immoral use
of this teaching by continually insisting on the fact of
INTRODUCTION 115
experience, that the faith which justifies also brings anew
life, because it is the act of surrender to Christ, through
union with whom the transformation of character takes
place. Therefore if the transformation of character is
not there, this is a proof that the faith which would bring
it about is absent, and therefore that there can be no
justification.
Now Paul teaches that this justification is realized
by faith in Jesus Christ. How does he prove it ? In
two ways— by an appeal to experience, and by an appeal
to Scripture.
(1) The appeal to experience. The Galatians had
received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and it was working
wonders among them (Gal. iii. 5). These facts were not to
be denied. The Galatians themselves were conscious of
the gift, and they saw its good effects in their community.
What was the source of the wonderful gift ? Originally
heathen, living in idolatry and all kinds of gross
corruption, these people had heard Paul and Barnabas
preach. They had received the message, they had
yielded their faith to what it had set before them. This
is all they had done. There had been no performance
of the rite of circumcision, no attempt to practise the
requirements of the Jewish law. And yet unmistak-
able spiritual results had followed. The substance of the
preaching had been the setting forth of Christ crucified
(Gal. iii. 1). Then it was faith in Christ thus made known
that had effected all this. Here was the proof of
experience. But this seems to imply that the receipt of
the Spirit was equivalent to justification, for what is
sought is justification, but what is received is the Spirit.
The Apostle's idea is that this great gift is a result of
justification, or at all events is only given to the justified,
and therefore is a proof of justification. Moreover it
contains the promise and potency of every needful grace.
Paul reverts to this phase of the subject in the practical
exhortations with which he draws the Epistle to a close.
I 2
n6 GALATIANS
The Galatians possess the gift of the Spirit; then let
them live in accordance with their high privilege, and
it will work out in their lives all the Christian graces.
1 Walk by the Spirit,' he says, ' and ye shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh' (Gal. v. 16). A little further on he
appends a catalogue of fruits of the Spirit to shew how
those who have received this gift have implicitly received
these graces, and will enjoy them in actual experience
if they make use of the gift. What more could they
want ?
(2) The appeal to Scripture. Paul cites the example
of Abraham. This was especially apt in dealing with
people who had been fascinated by the glamour of the
Jewish law, because the story of Abraham was to be
found in the law. Paul will answer them from their own
much-vaunted authority. We have here a specimen of
the argumentum ad hominem which was a favourite
method of reasoning with the Apostle. This is not a
mere ad captandum argument. It is valid for all who
accept the inspired authority of the Old Testament. He
cites the classic text, 'Abraham believed God' — though
he does not now complete it as when he is writing his
more deliberate Epistle to the Romans. Still the point
on which he lays emphasis is here. It was Abraham's
faith that was commended, not his submitting to a rite.
And a promise of blessing to all nations was connected
with the name of Abraham. Then the source of his
own blessings, faith, must be the source of the Gentile
blessings also. Paul adds a second Old Testament
testimony to the value of faith, this time citing a text
from the prophets— * The just shall live by his faith'
(Hab. ii. 4), and then he returns to the example of
Abraham on which he mainly relies.
The negative position is necessarily associated with
this positive position, as its complement or counterpart.
If faith does everything, there is no room for the Jewish
law. Still the law exists. How then can it be ignored
INTRODUCTION 117
or evaded? It is not ignored or evaded. It is satisfied
and superseded. At this point Paul brings in his doctrine
of the cross. The law pronounced a curse against every-
body who did not keep all its requirements. Hence the
strenuousness of the Jewish endeavour. But Christ had
died a death which the law itself had pronounced to be
accursed, for he had been crucified, and the law had said,
'Cursed is every one that hangeth on the tree.' Then
Christ had experienced the worst thing that the law had
threatened— not merely death, its more common supreme
penalty, but the accursed death. What more could it do,
since Christ had endured its very worst ?
Now it is possible for some one to object here that the
logic halts. Christ did not break the law, and his death was
not a legal infliction in consequence of any such action,
but a grossly illegal crime on the part of its perpetrators.
This Paul does not stop to consider. It is enough for
him that Christ did endure the fate which the law
accounted accursed. This could not be required a second
time. But, it will be objected further, even if Christ
could not receive the doom a second time, how does that
affect us ? We have not experienced it, and we are the
offenders, not he. Christian theology has endeavoured
to solve the problem by the doctrines of imputed sin
and imputed righteousness. Our sin is said to be imputed
to Christ, and then he is punished for it as though he
were the guilty person ; Christ's righteousness is said to
be imputed to us, and then we are acquitted as though we
were innocent people. This is not the place in which to
discuss a much controverted theological dogma. All we
are endeavouring to do here is to understand Paul's teach-
ing in our Epistle. It cannot be said that the doctrines
referred to are here explicitly set forth. Probably we
should look for his explanation of what he leaves unex-
plained in quite another direction— not along the lines of
what might be called a legal fiction, but rather in the
region of the Apostle's mysticism. On one side of his nature
n8 GALATIANS
a lawyer arguing according to the Rabbinical logic of the
schools, on the other he was a mystic penetrating to the
deep things of God beyond the reach of words. These
two phases of thought are never far apart. The Apostle
passes swiftly, easily, unconsciously, from the one to the
other. The mystical supplements the arguments of the
logical and furnishes data for further reasoning. In
the present case Paul does not reason about the relation
of Christians to Christ. He assumes it. He takes it as
a fact, realized in mystical experience, that there is a union
so close between the Redeemer and his people that what
he does is equivalent to their doing it, so that if he
satisfies the law by enduring the curse they are redeemed
from that curse.
Moreover, Paul argues, returning to his main position,
even while the law held good it could not set aside the
promise to Abraham : even a human covenant once
confirmed cannot be thus treated, nor can it have fresh
clauses inserted. The covenant with Abraham was
older than the law. That law, only appearing, accord-
ing to the conventional Jewish reckoning, 430 years
later, could not interfere with the venerable covenant.
Once confirmed this stands for all time. If then Chris-
tians become Abraham's heirs by sharing his faith, they
have a right to claim the permanent covenant, not-
withstanding the interlude of law which appears in
Jewish history.
What then was the purpose of the law ? What end
did it serve? Here we must see that, while Paul
separated himself from the Judaizers, he did not take
the position assigned to him by Marcion in the second
century. He did not treat the law as an evil thing, or
deny its inspired origin. He regarded it as a Divinely
ordered system, intended to benefit the people to whom
it was given. The benefit was not what the Judaizers
claimed. It was not to confer the gift of justification.
It was to prepare the people for Christ. Paul does not
INTRODUCTION 119
here say how the preparation was carried on, though
he hints at the process when he adds, ' the scripture
hath shut up all things under sin, that the promise by
faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe '
(Gal. iii. 22). This idea is developed and explained in the
Epistle to the Romans, where the Apostle shews that
the law awakens conscience, creates the sense of helpless
guilt, and so shews the need of Christ and drives us to
him as our only refuge and hope. There is no thought
that the law carries us a little way towards goodness
and then Christ meets us and completes the process.
It does not take us a step. What it does is to reveal
the necessity of redemption in Christ.
But now in representing the law to be the tutor or
attendant slave who brings to Christ, Paul does more
than indicate its inferiority of function, he hints at its
temporary nature. This he declares more explicitly
a little later. Tutors and governors are only set over
the heir $0 long as he is an infant in the eyes of the law.
As soon as he is of age he is liberated from their
authority and surveillance. After this he has nothing
more to do with them. Therefore Christians, who are
regarded as God's adult sons, are entirely free from
the Jewish law. This argument only applies directly
to Jews, since they were formerly under the law.
But a fortiori Gentile Christians must be very foolish
if they subject themselves to such a yoke.
Thus Paul comes to the absolute abolition of the law
of Moses. It was a great step to take, a daring step.
It went far beyond the Jerusalem decision, for it not
only exempted Gentiles, it made Jewish Christians
equally free from the law, the sanctity of which they had
been brought up to venerate from their childhood. Paul
writes as the conclusion of the whole matter, 'For
neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature' (Gal. vi. 15). The situation among
the Galatian churches had evoked that great utterance.
120 GALATIANS
We may almost thank the mischievous intruders for
having provoked so complete an answer to their con-
tention. It is impossible to say how far Paul had gone
in this direction in his earlier teaching. But for all
we know, never before had he made this explicit
announcement. It might be regarded as a logical
necessity. Even the half measures of the Jerusalem
council pointed in this direction. If Gentiles could be
saved without the law, why not Jews also? If there
was a better method of salvation which could be preached
to the Greeks, why should the chosen people be ex-
cluded from it ? Still, few people have the courage to
be logical in face of prejudice. It is Paul who saw
distinctly to the end of the argument, and then dared to
pronounce the conclusion in clear, ringing words that
nobody could misunderstand. It is Paul, therefore, who
liberated the church from the Ghetto and secured for
all future ages that Christianity should go forth as a
religion for mankind, free from the shackles and fetters
of an antique, provincial cult. And yet he was but
developing the teaching of his Master who had said,
'No man putteth new wine into old wine-skins.'
The practical application to the condition of the four
churches was obvious. The Galatians would gain no-
thing by adopting the Jewish law as a counsel of perfec-
tion. It would be a degeneration, not a progress, and it
would put them under the intolerable burden of com-
plying with impossible obligations from which they were
now free. Paul therefore exhorts them to stand fast in
the liberty which Christ has given them.
It is beyond the scope of an Introduction, which is con-
fined to the literary and historical problems of the book
it seeks to explain, to discuss the application of its teach-
ing to the circumstances of later ages. Yet it cannot
be ignored that the great controversy of Paul with the
Judaizers has been repeated more than once in the
history of Christendom, whenever the doctrine of faith
INTRODUCTION 121
and the claims of ritual have come into collision. Most
markedly was this the case at the time of the Reformation.
Luther, with an eye of genius for the true inwardness
of the situation, selected the Epistle to the Galatians as
the chief weapon in his armoury with which to do battle
against Rome ; and the most beautiful of his writings
is his early work Concerning Christian Liberty, in which
he urges on behalf of Christianity, as opposed to priestly
and Papal tyranny, exactly the same claims which Paul
here puts forth in opposition to the interference of Jewish
legalism.
It has already been remarked in connexion with the
discussion on the date of the Epistle 1 that the topics of
Romans and Galatians are closely similar. But there
is a great difference in the methods of treatment followed
in the two epistles respectively. While Galatians is
written in a tone of vehement expostulation, Romans is
courteous in manner and without any fault-finding ; for in
writing to Rome Paul is addressing strangers, and these
are people against whom he has no cause of complaint.
To them he is simply sending an exposition of his gospel
for their edification. The earnestness of his argument
implies that they need it, that they have not yet clearly
seen it. That is all. While the Galatians are blamed for
an amazing falling back, the Romans are encouraged to
advance to what the Galatians were supposed to have
attained previously and lost. The positive doctrine is
the same in both cases — justification through faith based
on the redeeming death of Christ. But the negative
attitude is not the same in the two epistles. Among the
Galatians the opponents are Judaizing Christians. No
such persons are contemplated in the case of the Roman
church. At Rome the rival influence is that of the un-
believing Jews. Therefore in Romans Paul's doctrine
is opposed to Judaism pure and simple— not to Judaism
'See pp. 90 ff.
122 GALATIANS
as an addition to Christianity, the Galatian position, but
to Judaism as claiming to be superior to Christianity and
so to make out the gospel to be needless.
Literary Style and Characteristics.
This is the most characteristic of all Paul's writings.
He reveals himself in the sincerity of his argument and
the eagerness with which he presses it home. The last
thing that he is thinking of is the production of a finished
piece of literature to stand the criticism of the fastidious
in all ages. He is too terribly in earnest. Cicero worked
up his correspondence with an eye to effect. Pope wrote
letters for the express purpose of publication. No such
thought entered Paul's mind while he was dictating these
fiery sentences. We shall not expect to find in such an
unstudied composition the delicacies of phrase that delight
the admirers of Mr. Walter Pater. But there is a style the
very excellence of which is to be found in its ruggedness.
Fors Clavigera does not emulate the richly embroidered
sentences of Mode?-n Painters. But Mr. Ruskin's style is
as great in vehement expostulation as in elaborate de-
scription. This Epistle of Paul is more than a word ;
it is a deed. As we read it we watch the swing of the
sledge-hammer that is breaking the fetters of Judaism.
Even for us in these late days, when the controversy
with which it deals is relegated to the museum of theo-
logical antiquities, the Epistle burns and throbs with life ;
it speaks to us in trumpet notes that we cannot keep
apart from the vexed controversies of our own religious
thought. There is immortality in such an inspired utter-
ance.
The Apostle's tone in this Epistle differs from that of
any other of his writings, except the latter part of 2 Corin-
thians, with which it may be closely compared. It is
vehement, indignant, sometimes approaching sarcasm, at
other times indicative of profound concern. The opening
INTRODUCTION 123
and close differ markedly from the corresponding parts
of all the rest of Paul's Epistles. Elsewhere it would
appear to be his invariable habit to commence with
congratulations and thanksgiving and to conclude with
affectionate messages. Even in writing to Corinth, when
he had several complaints to make about the conduct of
the church, he was able to find some ground of congratu-
lation. He could not praise the Corinthians for their
love one to another, nor for their spiritual attainments, as
for instance he praised the Philippians and Colossians.
But he knew that they were gifted with intelligence and
faculty of speech. Therefore he expressed his thankful-
ness to God that they ' were enriched in him, in all utter-
ance and all knowledge5 (1 Cor. i. 5) — meagre praise for
a Christian church, but still indicating so much to the
good. Paul cannot even say that of the Galatians. The
Epistle opens without a word of congratulation or thanks-
giving. The Apostle begins with an assertion of his high
claims and their Divine authority. He proceeds to greet
his correspondents with language of earnest well-wishing ;
for he is writing in love and for their good, although he
is constrained to adopt a tone of severity. Then he
plunges right into his subject with the indignant out-
burst, ' I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him
that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different
gospel ; which is not another gospel, ' &c. (Gal. i. 6). It
is the same at the close. There is an entire absence of
those pleasant personal greetings with which Paul usually
ends his letters. He wishes peace for those who will
follow his advice — '■ as many as shall walk by this rule ' ;
and then he flings off the painful controversy with the
almost disdainful words, ' From henceforth let no man
trouble me : for I bear branded on my body the marks
of Jesus ' (Gal. vi. 17). The briefest possible benediction is
appended. There is a sternness about Paul's method of
addressing his old friends that might well strike them
with consternation. This was necessary. If they were
/24 GALATIANS
* bewitched/ caught in the toils of an evil fascination, they
needed a rude awakening.
For the rest, we notice that Paul's method is by way
of vigorous argument. Here is no hectoring and brow-
beating, no mere scolding, no denunciation on the bare
authority of the apostleship. Paul always treats his
correspondents as persons of intelligence who are free to
cherish their own opinions and who, if they are to be
saved from error, must be convinced in their own reason.
He is opposing what he regards as a deadly heresy, but
it is not in the spirit of the Inquisition. His very conten-
tion is that Christians are God's free sons, and he is
careful to treat even erring Christians with due respect to
their liberty and independence.
While he argues his point, however, Paul does not
write like a scholastic divine, more interested in the
abstract theme than in the personal relations of the
disputants. He would care nothing for a barren logical
victory such as the Rabbis of the schools or the Greek
sophists delighted in. His concern is wholly practical.
He is a father pleading with his children — though for the
moment a somewhat stern father, since a severe treat-
ment is what they need. His one desire is to rescue
them from the snare of a most disastrous delusion. Their
welfare, not the mere triumph of his doctrine, is what he
is labouring to secure. This gives an intensely human
interest to the Epistle. We do it an injustice when we
discuss it with cold criticism, as though it were an abstract
theological treatise. The humanity of Paul is revealed in
the passion that stirs the pages, and the humanity of his
readers is suggested by all he says about them. The key-
note of the motive of the Epistle is struck in the sentence,
1 1 am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed
labour upon you in vain ' (Gal. iv. n).
And now in conclusion the question arises, What
was the effect of this letter ? If we could accept one of
the earlier dates assigned to it Ave should have good
INTRODUCTION 125
reason for considering that it had accomplished its purpose.
For in that case we should have a record of at least one
more visit of Paul to Galatia in Acts, and even of two if
we could admit Professor Ramsay's very early date. The
fact that these visits are but briefly alluded to would
imply that nothing remarkable had happened. If Paul
had found the trouble still working, painful scenes
would have ensued, and Luke could scarcely have
passed them over in silence. But with the date assigned
in this Introduction we have no record of a later visit
to Galatia. Still we have some light on the question.
I Peter is addressed to Galatians, among other peoples
of Asia Minor (1 Pet. i. 1) ; and this Epistle is
thoroughly Pauline in tone. But it is not in any way
controversial on the question of the law. Thus it implies
that the vexed controversy is over, and it assumes that
its readers agree with its author, sharing with him the
spirit of liberty from the law. Subsequently when we
meet with Judaistic Christians it is not in Galatia.
Known as Ebionites, these people were found in Judsea,
and they even penetrated to Rome in the second century.
But we meet with no reference to their presence in the
cities to which this Epistle was written. Then about
the same time, that is, before the middle of the second
century, there arose in Phrygia, the very district of
some of the Galatian churches, an enthusiastic move-
ment known as Montanism, which magnified the gifts
of the Spirit and claimed the widest freedom for the
exercise of them. It was in part a revolt against the
growing clericalism of the Catholic Church, and it
claimed liberty of prophesying for laymen and even
for women. This was regarded as a breach of discipline
and an abuse of Christian liberty. Therefore it exhibited
tendencies in some respects the very opposite to that
fascination for legalism against which Paul contends.
Accordingly we may safely conclude that the Epistle was
successful, that its powerful arguments and its urgent
126 CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
appeals were effectual, that the mischievous leaven was
purged out and the churches brought back to their old
allegiance to the gospel they had received from Paul, its
liberty, its faith, its spirituality.
CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
Introductory Statements, i. i-io.
Opening- salutation, i. 1-5.
Paul, claiming a Divine appointment for his apostleship,
but associating his companions with the letter, greets the
churches of Galatia with good wishes for their spiritual
prosperity.
The Galatian perversion, i. 6-10.
The Apostle expresses astonishment at the quickness
with which the Galatians are being turned aside from his
gospel. No matter how high the authority of any one
who proclaims another kind of gospel, he deserves to be
accursed. Paul will not consider whether he pleases
men in expressing such a sentiment.
I. Personal Defence, i. 11 — ii. 21.
Paul's account of his own conversion, i. 11-17.
This is shewn to have been wholly God's work. Paul
did not even see the apostles till much later. He could
not have received his gospel from them. His first step
was to seek retirement in Arabia.
Pirst visit to Jerusalem, i. 18-24.
Three years later he went up to Jerusalem, stayed only
a fortnight there, and saw none of the apostles except
Peter and James the Lord's brother. Thence he went to
Syria and Cilicia without becoming personally known
to the churches of Judaea.
Another visit to Jerusalem, ii. 1-10.
After fourteen years Paul went up again to Jerusalem,
under the influence of a ' revelation,' accompanying
Barnabas, and taking Titus, who though a Greek was
not compelled to be circumcised. He then learnt nothing
from the leaders of the church ; but they recognized his
mission to the Gentiles and greeted him cordially as
a brother apostle.
INTRODUCTION 127
."Dispute with Peter, ii. 11-14.
At Antioch Paul boldly rebuked Peter because that
apostle had gone back from social intercourse with Gentile
Christians under the influence of some messengers from
James, Barnabas being carried away by the same influence.
The new life in Christ, ii. 15-21.
Even Peter and Paul, though Jews, were not justified
by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ.
This faith, by identifying the Christian with the crucified
Christ, brings about a new life, together with the conquest
of sin. The preaching of that truth destroys the religion
of law, to reintroduce which, after this, would be to become
a transgressor of the Law.
II. Doctrinal Argument, iii. 1 — v. 1.
An appeal to experience, iii. 1-5.
The Galatians must be bewitched. Had they received
the Spirit by way of the law, or through the gospel which
they had heard ? They are stultifying their own past.
The example of Abraham, iii. 6-9.
Abraham's faith, according to the law itself, was reckoned
to him for righteousness. Then it must be the same with
those who have become his sons by sharing his faith.
The curse of the law, iii. 10-14.
They who go the way of the law come under its curse,
since they cannot perfectly keep it. But Christ has
redeemed us from this curse by becoming a curse for us
in dying the accursed death of the cross.
The ancient covenant, iii. 15-18.
A covenant once confirmed cannot be subsequently set
aside or even altered. Therefore God's covenant with
Abraham cannot be affected by the law which came
hundreds of years later.
The place and function of the law, iii. 19-29.
It was a temporary necessity for the sake of transgressors
to convict them of sin and so drive them to Christ for
deliverance.
Sonship, iv. 1-7.
Christians are like sons come of age, and so liberated
from tutors and governors, i. e. from the restraints of the
Jewish law.
128 CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
The return to the old bondage, iv. 8-n.
The adoption of Jewish legal rules by the Galatians
was essentially a return to the old bondage of their
heathenism.
The earlier sympathy between Paul and the Galatians,
iv. 12-20.
Though it was a phj'sical infirmity that had led the
Apostle to preach to them in the first instance they had
given him a most enthusiastic welcome. Has he now
become their enemy because he tells them the truth ? He
is most affectionately concerned for them.
The allegro ry of II agar, iv. 21— v. 1.
Hagar corresponds to Sinai and the present Jerusalem
with the law, Sarah to Jerusalem which is above, the
mother of all Christians. As the son of the bondwoman is
cast out after persecuting Isaac, so will it be with the Jews
after persecuting Christians.
III. Practical Expostulation, v. 2— vi. 18.
The danger of Judaizing, v. 2-12.
In becoming circumcised the Galatians were putting
themselves under an obligation to keep the whole law,
and in seeking justification in that way they were making
their connexion with Christ ineffectual. The leaven would
spread and work greater mischief if it were not removed.
Love the fulfilment of the law, v. 13-15.
Christians should not abuse their freedom, but practise
it in love, thus fulfilling the law.
The spirit and the flesh, v. 16-26.
Christians are urged to live in the Spirit and so escape
the tyranny of the senses. Indulgence in the flesh
produces a multitude of evil works ; life in the spirit, fruits
of good conduct.
On burden-bearing, vi. 1-5.
The more spiritual should restore a fallen brother in
a spirit of meekness.
On well-doing, vi. 6-10.
Church teachers should receive temporal support. The
harvest will be according to the sowing, and patient labour
will be rewarded.
Conclusion, written by Paul himself, vi. 11-18.
Writing with his own hand, Paul gives a final warning
against the Judaizers, desires that he may be no more
troubled, and ends with a brief benediction.
LITERATURE
THESSALONIANS.
Ellicott, C. J., A Critical and Grammatical Commentary on
St. Paul's Epistle to the Thcssalonians, with a revised
translation. 3rd edit. Longmans, 1865.
Eadie, John, A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Epistle of
Paul to the Thcssalonians, edited by W. Young, with
Preface by Principal Cairns. Macmillan, 1877.
Hutchinson, John, Lectures chiefly Expository on PauFs First
and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, with Notes and
Illustrations. T. & T. Clark, 1884.
Denney, James, The Epistles to the Thessalonians (' Expositor's
Bible '). Hodder & Stoughton, 1892.
Garrod, G. W., The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, also
The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, Analysis and
Notes. Macmillan, 1900.
Schmiedel, Paul Wilh., Die Briefe an die Thessalonicher und
an die Korinther (' Hand-Commentar zum Neuen Testa-
ment '). Freiburg and Leipsic, 1893.
Bornemann, W., Kritisch-exegetischcr Kommentar iiber das Neue
Testament (Meyer, vol. x, 6th edit.). Gdttingen, 1894.
GALATIANS.
Luther, Martin, Commentarium in Epistolam S. Pauli ad
Galatas.
Ellicott, C. J., St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, with a Critical
and Grammatical Commentary and a Revised Translation.
3rd edit. Longmans, 1863.
Eadie, John, Commentary on the Greek Text of the Epistle of Paul
to the Galatians. T. & T. Clark, 1869.
Findlay, G. G., The Epistle to the Galatians (' Expositor's Bible').
Hodder & Stoughton, 1888.
(9) K
i ;o
LITERATURE
Lightfoot, J. B., St. PauTs Epistle to the Galatians. a
Revised Text, with Introductions, Notes, and Disserta-
tions. 5th edit., 1880. 20th thousand, 1895, Macmillan.
Beet, Jos. A., A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the
Galatians. 4th edit. 1896, Hodder & Stoughton.
Askwith, E. H., The Epistle to the Galatians : an essay on its
destination and date, with an Appendix on the visit to
Jerusalem, recorded in chap. ii. Macmillan, 1899.
Ramsay, W. M., A Historical Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle
to the Galatians. Hodder & Stoughton, 1899.
Lipsius, R. A., Die Bricfc an die Galater, Romer, Philipper
(' Hand-Commentar zum Neuen Testament'). Freiburg
and Leipsic, 1893.
Sieffert, F., Kritisch-excgetischcr Komntcntar iiber das Neue
Testament (Meyer, vol. vii, 9th edit.) Gottingen, 1899.
Schmidt, P. V. , Der Galatcrbrief im Fcucr dcr neucsten Kritik.
Leipsic, 1892.
Valuable light on these Epistles may be obtained from
Jowett, The Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, Galatians,
and Romans, third edition, edited and condensed by Lewis
Campbell John Murray, 1894); Conybeare and Howson, The
Life and Epistles of St. Paul; Ramsay, Paul the Traveller and
the Roman Citizen, and Cities and Bishopricks of Phrygia;
McGiffert. History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age ;
Bartlet, Vernon, The Apostolic Age; Stevens, G. B., The
Theology of the New Testament-, Weizsacker, The Apostolic Age
of the Christian Church (English translation) ; articles in
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, and in the Encyclopaedia
Biblica, especially Mr. Turner's article in the former on
4 Chronology ' for the date of the Epistle, on which question
see also Moffatt, The Historical New Testament.
THE EPISTLES OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
THESSALONIANS
AND
GALATIANS
AUTHORIZED VERSION
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THESSALONIANS
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the Chap.i
church of the Thessalonians which is in God the saiuta-
Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ : Grace be tlon-
unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
We give thanks to God always for you all, Thanks-
making mention of you in our prayers ; remember- Snappy
ing without ceasing your work of faith, and labour ^"^tion
of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Tnessa-
Christ, in the sight of God and our Father ; lonians-
knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
For our gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance ; as ye know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake. And ye became
followers of us, and of the Lord, having received
the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy
Ghost : so that ye were ensamples to all that
believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you
sounded out the word of the Lord not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place
your faith to God-ward is spread abroad ; so that
we need not to speak any thing. For they
i34 I THESSALONIANS
Chap, l themselves shew of us what manner of entering
in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God ; and 10
to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised
from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us
from the wrath to come.
Adescrip- For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in 2
Apostle^ unt0 vou> tnat ft was not m vam : but even a^ter 2
conduct of that we had suffered before, and were shamefully
his mis- t ' " . 1,1
sionat entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold
ionicaf m our God to speak unto you the gospel of God
with much contention. For our exhortation was 3
not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile :
but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust 4
with the gospel, even so we speak ; not as pleasing
men, but God, which trieth our hearts. For 5
neither at any time used we flattering words, as
ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness ; God is
witness : nor of men sought we glory, neither of 6
you, nor yet of others, when we might have been
burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. But we 7
were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth
her children : so being affectionately desirous of 8
you, we were willing to have imparted unto you,
not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls,
because ye were dear unto us. For ye remember, 9
brethren, our labour and travail : for labouring
night and day, because we would not be chargeable
unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel
of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how 10
holily and justly and unblameably we behaved
ourselves among you that believe : as ye know i r
how we exhorted and comforted and charged every
I THESSALONIANS 135
12 one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye Chap. 2
would walk worthy of God, who hath called you
unto his kingdom and glory.
13 For this cause also thank we God without Thanks-
ceasing, because, when ye received the word of fhe^ay^
God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as in which
, / , ... , , the Thes-
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word saionians
of God, which effectually worketh also in you that ceived"the
14 believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of apostolic
che churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ m
Jesus : for ye also have suffered like things of your
own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews :
15 who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own
prophets, and have persecuted us ; and they please
16 not God, and are contrary to all men : forbidding
us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be
saved, to fill up their sins alway : for the wrath
is come upon them to the uttermost.
17 But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short The Apos-
time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the pointmenu
more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even
I Paul, once and again ; but Satan hindered us.
19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ?
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord
20 Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our
glory and joy.
3 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, Timothy's
we thought it good to be left at Athens alone ; SUre?
2 and sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister P°rt*
of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of
Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you con-
cerning your faith :
*3*
I THESSALONIANS
Chap. 3
A fervent
desire for
the pro-
gress of
the Thes-
salonians.
Exhorta-
tion to
purity of
life.
That no man should be moved by these afflic- 3
tions : for yourselves know that we are appointed
thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, 4
we told you before that we should suffer tribulation ;
even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this 5
cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to
know your faith, lest by some means the tempter
have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.
But now when Timotheus came from you unto 6
us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and
charity, and that ye have good remembrance of
us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also
to see you : therefore, brethren, we were comforted 7
over you in all our affliction and distress by your
faith : for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. 8
For what thanks can we render to God again for 9
you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes
before our God; night and day praying ex- 10
ceedingly that we might see your face, and might
perfect that which is lacking in your faith ? Now 1 1
God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus
Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord 12
make you to increase and abound in love one
toward another, and toward all men, even as we
do toward you : to the end he may stablish your 13
hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even
our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
with all his saints.
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, 4
and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have
received of us how ye ought to walk and to please
God, so ye would abound more and more. For 2
ye know what commandments we gave you by the
I THESSALONIANS 137
3 Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even chap. 4
your sanctification, that ye should abstain from
4 fornication : that every one of you should know
how to possess his vessel in sanctification and
5 honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even
6 as the Gentiles which know not God: that no
man go beyond and defraud his brother in any
matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of
all such, as we also have forewarned you and
7 testified. For God hath not called us unto
8 uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore
that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who
hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
o But as touching brotherly love ye need not Exhorta-
, r 1 1 tion to m*
that I write unto you : for ye yourselves are taught crease of
10 of God to love one another. And indeed ye do JJJ'vSn'uie
it toward all the brethren which are in all Mace- church
donia : but we beseech you, brethren, that ye industry
increase more and more ; world
11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your
own business, and to work with your own hands,
1 2 as we commanded you ; that ye may walk honestly
toward them that are without, and that ye may
have lack of nothing.
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, The Par
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that
ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God
1 5 bring with him. For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
16 prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord
138 I THESSALONIANS
Chap. 4 himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first :
then we which are alive and remain shall be 17
caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another 18
with these words.
Sons of But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye 5
have no need that I write unto you. For your- 2
selves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
cometh as a thief in the night. For when they 3
shall say, Peace and safety ; then sudden destruc-
tion cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child ; and they shall not escape. But ye, 4
brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children 5
of light, and the children of the day : we are not
of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us 6
not sleep, as do others ; but let us watch and be
sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night ; 7
and they that be drunken are drunken in the
night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, S
putting on the breastplate of faith and love ; and
for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God 9
hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died 10
for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should
live together with him. Wherefore comfort your- n
selves together, and edify one another, even as also
ye do.
Practical And we beseech you, brethren, to know them 12
tioii?rta" which labour among you, and are over you in the
I THESSALONIANS 139
13 Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them Chap. 5
very highly in love for their work's sake.
14 And be at peace among yourselves. Now we
exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly,
comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be
15 patient toward all me?i. See that none render
evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that
which is good, both among yourselves, and to
all men.
17 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing,
a 8 In every thing give thanks : for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
20 Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesy-
2 1 ings. Prove all things ; hold fast that which is
22 good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; Conciu-
and / pray God your whole spirit and soul and slon*
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
24 our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth
you, who also will do it.
26 Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren
27 with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that
this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you. Amen.
The first epistle unto the Thessalonians was
written from Athens.
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THESSALONIANS
Chap, l Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the
SauTtaT church of the Thessalonians in God our Father
tion. an(j the Lord Jesus Christ : Grace unto you, and
peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Congratu- We are bound to thank God always for you,
fidim/^ brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith
under dif- groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one
of you all toward each other aboundeth ; so that
we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God
for your patience and faith in all your persecu-
tions and tribulations that ye endure : which is a
manifest token of the righteous judgment of God,
that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom
of God, for which ye also suffer : seeing it is a
righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation
to them that trouble you; and to you who are
troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know
not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ : who shall be punished with ever-
II THESSAL0N1ANS 141
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, Chap. 1
:o and from the glory of his power ; when he shall
come to be glorified in his saints, and to be ad-
mired in all them that believe (because our testi-
mony among you was believed) in that day.
1 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our
God would count you worthy of this calling, and
fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and
2 the work of faith with power: that the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you,
and ye in him, according to the grace of our God
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming Mistake
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering to- Parou'sia.
2 gether unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in
mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ
3 is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any
means : for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
4 revealed, the son of perdition \ who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in
the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you,
6 I told you these things? And now ye know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:
only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken
8 out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the bright-
9 ness of his coming : even him, whose coming is
t42 II THESSALONIANS
Chap. 2 after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of 10
unrighteousness in them that perish ; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might
be saved. And for this cause God shall send them 1 1
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie : that 12
they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Further But we are bound to give thanks alway to God 13
g*ivingSand f°r vou> brethren beloved of the Lord, because
exhorta- q0(j nath from the beginning chosen you to salva-
tion through sanctification of the Spirit and belief
of the truth : whereunto he called you by our 14
gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and 15
hold the traditions which ye have been taught,
whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord 16
Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father,
which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting
consolation and good hope through grace, comfort 17
your hearts, and stablish you in every good word
and work.
Prayer Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of 3
dence?n " tne Lord may have free course, and be glorified,
even as it is with you : and that we may be de- 2
livered from unreasonable and wicked men : for
all men have not faith.
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, 3
and keep you from evil. And we have confidence 4
in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will
do the things which we command you. And the 5
Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and
into the patient waiting for Christ.
II THESSALONIANS 143
6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of chap. 3
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves j
from every brother that walketh disorderly, and tion
not after the tradition which he received of us. disorderly
7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us : conduct,
for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among
8 you ; neither did we eat any man's bread for
nought ; but wrought with labour and travail night
and day, that we might not be chargeable to any
9 of you : not because we have not power, but to
make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
10 For even when we were with you, this we com-
manded you, that if any would not work, neither
11 should he eat. For we hear that there are some
which walk among you disorderly, working not
12 at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are
such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus
Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat
13 their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary
14 in well doing. And if any man obey not our
word by this epistle, note that man, and have
no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish
him as a brother.
16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace Benedic-
always by all means. The Lord be with you all. saiuS^
17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, tion.
which is the token in every epistle : so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all. Amen.
The second epistle to the Thessalonians was
written from Athens.
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
GALATIANS
Opening
saluta-
tion.
Chap, i Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, 1
but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who
raised him from the dead ;) and all the brethren 2
which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia :
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, 3
and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself 4
for our sins, that he might deliver us from this
present evil world, according to the will of God
and our Father : to whom be glory for ever and 5
ever. Amen.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him 6
that called you into the grace of Christ unto an-
other gospel : which is not another ; but there be 7
some that trouble you, and would pervert the
gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel 8
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now 9
again, If any man preach any other gospel unto
you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I 10
seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men,
I should not be the servant of Christ.
The Gala
tian per-
version.
GALATIANS 145
n But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel Chap. 1
1 2 which was preached of me is not after man. For Pau^~~
I neither received it of man, neither was I taught account
13 it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye conver-
have heard of my conversation in time past in sion*
the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I
persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 and profited in the Jews' religion above many my
equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly
15 zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when
it pleased God, who separated me from my
16 mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to
reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him
among the heathen ; immediately I conferred
1 7 not with flesh and blood : neither went I up
to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before
me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again
18 unto Damascus. Then after three years I went First visit
up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with saiem.U
19 him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw
20 I none, save James the Lord's brother. Now
the things which I write unto you, behold,
21 before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into
22 the regions of Syria and Cilicia; and was un-
known by face unto the churches of Judaea which
23 were in Christ : but they had heard only, That
he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth
24 the faith which once he destroyed. And they
glorified God in me.
2 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Another
Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me jS-usaiem.
2 also. And I went up by revelation, and com-
municated unto them that gospel which I preach
W L
146 GA1ATIANS
Chap. 2 among the Gentiles, but privately to them which
were of reputation, lest by any means I should
run, or had run, in vain. But neither Titus, who 3
was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be
circumcised : and that because of false brethren 4
unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy
out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus,
that they might bring us into bondage : to whom 5
we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour ;
that the truth of the gospel might continue with
you. But of these who seemed to be somewhat, 6
(whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me :
God accepteth no man's person :) for they who
seemed to be somewhat in conference added no-
thing to me : but contrariwise, when they saw 7
that the gospel of the uncircumcision was com-
mitted unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision
was unto Peter; (for he that wrought effectually 8
in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision,
the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles :)
and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed 9
to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given
unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right
hands of fellowship ; that we slwuld go unto the
heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only 10
they wou/d that we should remember the poor;
the same which I also was forward to do.
Dispute But when Peter was come to Antioch, I with- it
with Peter. st00<3 nim to tjie faCGj because he was to be blamed.
For before that certain came from James, he did 1 2
eat with the Gentiles : but when they were come,
he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them
which were of the circumcision. And the other 14
GALATIANS 147
Jews dissembled likewise with him ; insomuch Chap. 2
that Barnabas also was carried away with their
14 dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked
not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel,
I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being
a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and
not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the
15 Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are The new
Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, JjJr^t#
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works
of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even
we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might
be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by
the works of the law : for by the works of the
17 law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we
seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also
are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister
18 of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the
things which I destroyed, I make myself a trans-
19 gressor. For I through the law am dead to the
20 law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified
with Christ : nevertheless 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, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
2 1 I do not frustrate the grace of God : for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead
in vain.
3 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, An appeal
that ye should not obey the truth, before whose ence*Pe"
eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth,
2 crucified among you? This only would I learn
of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of
(9) l 2
148 GALATIANS
Chap. 3 the law, or by the hearing of faith ? Are ye so 3
foolish ? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now
made perfect by the flesh ? Have ye suffered so 4
many things in vain ? if it be yet in vain. He 5
therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and
worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ?
The ex- Even as Abraham believed God, and it was 6
Abraham. accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye 7
therefore that they which are of faith, the same
are the children of Abraham.
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would 8
justify the heathen through faith, preached before
the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall
all nations be blessed. So then they which be of 9
faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
The curse For as many as are of the works of the law are 10
of the law. un(jer tne curse : for it is written, Cursed is every
one that continueth not in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them.
But that no man is justified by the law in the n
sight of God, it is evident : for, The just shall
live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, 12
The man that doeth them shall live in them.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the 13
law, being made a curse for us : for it is written,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree : that 14
the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gen-
tiles through Jesus Christ ; that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Brethren, I speak after the manner of men ; 15
covenant. Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be
confirmed, no man disannulled!, or addeth thereto.
GALATIANS 149
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises Chap. 3
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ;
but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was con-
firmed before of God in Christ, the law, which
was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot
disannul, that it should make the promise of none
iS effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is
no more of promise : but God gave it to Abraham
by promise.
19 Wherefore then serveth the law ? It was added Thf Place
and func-
because of transgressions, till the seed should tkm of the
come to whom the promise was made ; and it was law"
ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God
is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God?
God forbid : for if there had been a law given
which could have given life, verily righteousness
22 should have been by the law. But the scripture
hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by
faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that
23 believe. But before faith came, we were kept
under the law, shut up unto the faith which
24 should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ,
that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer
26 under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children
27 of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as have been baptized into Christ have put
28 on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
150 GALATIANS
Chap. 3 female : for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And 29
if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise.
Sonship. Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, 4
diftereth nothing from a servant, though he be
lord of all; but is under tutors and governors 2
until the time appointed of the father. Even so 3
we, when we were children, were in bondage under
the elements of the world : but when the fulness 4
of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem 5
them that were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, 6
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into
your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore 7
thou art no more a servant, but a son ; and if a
son, then an heir of God through Christ.
The return Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did 8
bondage^* serv"ice unto them which by nature are no gods.
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather 9
are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak
and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again
to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, 10
and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest ir
I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Theeariier Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am 12
between7 as ve are '• ve have not injured me at all. Ye 13
Paul and know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached
tians. the gospel unto you at the first. And my tempta- 14
tion which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor
rejected ; but received me as an angel of God,
even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessed- 15
ness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if
GALATIANS 151
it had been possible, ye would have plucked out Chap. 4
your own eyes, and have given them to me.
16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I
17 tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but
not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye
1 3 might affect them. But it is good to be zealously
affected always in a good thing, and not only
19 when I am present with you. My little children,
of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be
20 formed in you, I desire to be present with you
now, and to change my voice; for I stand in
doubt of you.
21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, Theaiie-
22 do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Hagar!
Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid,
23 the other by a freewoman. But he who was of
the bondwoman was born after the flesh ; but he
24 of the freewoman was by promise. Which things
are an allegory : for these are the two covenants ;
the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth
25 to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is
mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusa-
lem which now is, and is in bondage with her
26 children. But Jerusalem which is above is free,
27 which is the mother of us all. For it is written,
Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break
forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the
desolate hath many more children than she which
28 hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac
29 was, are the children of promise. But as then
he that was born after the flesh persecuted him
that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out
152 GALATIANS
Chap. 4 the bondwoman and her son : for the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the
freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children 31
of the bondwoman, but of the free.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith 5
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled
The dan- again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul 2
judafzing. say unto y°u' tnat ^ ye be circumcised, Christ
shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to 3
every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor
to do the whole law. Christ is become of no 4
effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified
by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we 5
through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteous-
ness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circum- 6
cision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision ;
but faith which worketh by love. Ye did run 7
well; who did hinder you that ye should not
obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of S
him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth 9
the whole lump.
I have confidence in you through the Lord, 10
that ye will be none otherwise minded : but he
that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, who-
soever he be. And I, brethren, if I yet preach n
circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution?
then is the offence of the cross ceased. I would 12
they were even cut off which trouble you.
Love the For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty ; 13
of theTaw. onty use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh,
but by love serve one another. For all the* law 14
is fulfilled in one word, even in this ; Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and 15
GALATIANS 153
devour one another, take heed that ye be not Chap. 5
consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye The Spirit
1 7 shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the ^h. e
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh : and these are contrary the one
to the other : so that ye cannot do the things
18 that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit,
19 ye are not under the law. Now the works of
the flesh are manifest, which are these ; Adultery,
20 fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
21 strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the
which I tell you before, as I have also told you
in time past, that they which do such things
22 shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
23 gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance :
24 against such there is no law. And they that
are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
25 affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let
26 us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous
of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one
another.
8 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye On tmr-
which are spiritual, restore such an one in the ing#" ear"
spirit of meekness ; considering thyself, lest thou
2 also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens,
3 and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man
think himself to be something, when he is nothing,
4 he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove
his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in
154 GALATIANS
Chap. 6 himself alone, and not in another. For every 5
man shall bear his own burden.
On well- Let him that is taught in the word communicate 6
unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be 7
not deceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he 8
that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall
of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not 9
be weary in well doing : for in due season we shall
reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore oppor- 10
tunity, let us do good unto all ;/ie/t, especially unto
them who are of the household of faith.
Concia- Ye see how large a letter I have written unto n
written by you with mine own hand.
himself ^s manv as desire to make a fair shew in the 12
flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised ; only
lest they should suffer persecution for the cross
of Christ. For neither they themselves who are 13
circumcised keep the law ; but desire to have you
circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the 14
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth 15
any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace 16
be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of
God. From henceforth let no man trouble me : 17
for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 18
he with your spirit. Amen.
Unto the Galatians written from Rome.
THE EPISTLES OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
THESSALONIANS
AND
GALATIANS
REVISED VERSION WITH ANNOTATIONS
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
THESSALONIANS
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of 1
i. i. Salutation. Paul and his two companions salute the
Thessalonian church, wishing them grace and peace.
1. Paul. The name is given without any title. This is quite
unusual in Paul's Epistles. In all other cases, except the Second
Epistle to the Thessalonians, there is some descriptive name or
phrase. Usually Paul designates himself an 'apostle,' sometimes
very emphatically, as 'an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will
of God,' ' an apostle not from men, neither through men, but
through Jesus Christ, and God the Father,' &c. In writing to
the Romans and to Titus he also describes himself as ' a servant
of Jesus Christ/ and ' of God ' ; and in writing to the Philippians
he unites the name of Timothy with his own name, describing both
as ' servants of Christ Jesus ' ; in this case, the only one beside
the letters to the Thessalonians and that to Philemon, he does not
name himself as an apostle. In the beautiful little Epistle to
Philemon— quite a private letter— he is simply ' a prisoner of Jesus
Christ.' Thus out of the thirteen Epistles —
In nine Epistles Paul introduces himself as an ' apostle.'
In two of these he is also a 'servant.'
In one, joined with Timothy, he is only a 'servant.'
In one he is a 'prisoner of Christ Jesus.'
In two he appears without any title.
The omission of the title in the two Thessalonian letters implies
that when he wrote them he had no reason to assert his claims.
This was early, before the opposition of Judaizing Christians had
arisen.
Silvanus : a lengthier form of the name ' Silas,' and indicating
158 I THESSALONIANS 1. i
the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ : Grace to you and peace.
Paul's travelling companion, of whom we read in Acts under that
name. He had been a prominent member of the Jerusalem church,
and as such he was sent, together with another member named
Judas, by the apostles and elders of that church to Antioch
with Paul and Barnabas on their return, in order to convey the
answer of the church at Jerusalem to a momentous question
on which the Antioch Christians had sought advice. Paul having
had a difference of opinion with Barnabas, his travelling companion,
on what we call his 'first missionary journey,' chose Silas instead
for the second journey, that in which, having travelled through
Asia Minor, he crossed to Europe. Thus Silas was with the
Apostle when the Thessalonians — who were evangelized during
this mission — received the gospel. He remained behind at Bercea
when the Apostle went on to Athens, and joined Paul later at
Corinth. There he took an active part in preaching the gospel.
Possibly he was with Peter some years later, as the name Sil-
vanus occurs in i Pet. v. 12, an epistle directed to Christians
residing in districts that Silvanus had traversed when he
was Paul's travelling companion. There is a tradition that
Silvanus was bishop of Thessalonica, but it is late and of little
value.
Timothy : named last as junior to Silvanus. Paul's favourite,
most trusted, and most useful disciple and helper. The son of
a Greek father and a Jewess mother named Eunice (Acts xvi. 1;
2 Tim. i. 5\ he had been trained in the Hebrew Scriptures when
he first met Paul. He was living at Lystra, and apparently he was
there won to the Christian faith by the preaching of the Apostle
during the first missionary tour in Asia Minor. On his second
visit to Lystra Paul took Timothy to be his personal attendant
and fellow worker, according to 'Acts' first having him submit
to the Jewish rite of initiation, that he might be received among
the Jews. He accompanied the Apostle to Europe, and was
present at the founding of the church in Thessalonica, and
he remained behind at Beroea when Paul hurried on to Athens.
There he joined the Apostle, to be sent back, however, to
Thessalonica, as our Epistle shews (iii. 1, 2). He had just returned
a second time to the company of Paul, coming up with him at
Corinth, when this letter was written. It is therefore most
appropriate for Timothy's name to appear in the salutation of an
Epistle to the Thessalonians. The three names — Paul, Silvanus,
and Timothy — recur precisely in the same way in the opening of
2 Thessalonians.
the church of the Thessalonians. The word ecclesia,
I THESSALONIANS 1; i 159
rendered ' church,' was the name of the lawful assembly of free
citizens in a Greek city. But it seems to have come to be
employed loosely for an assembly of any kind, in accordance
with the less accurate usage of later Greek, for we find this name
given to the riotous mob at Ephesus in Acts xix. 32, 41. In the
O. T. it is used for the assembly of the Israelites, ' the congregation
of Israel.' It only occurs at two places in the gospels, both of
them being in Matthew (i.e. xvi. 18, and xviii. 17). We meet
with it frequently in Acts, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse.
Most commonly it is used for a local community of Christians,
defined by the town in which it is situated. It is used in this
sense here ; ' the church of the Thessalonians ' is the Christian
community at Thessalonica. In Ephesians and Colossians the
Apostle uses the word ' church ' for the communion or mystical
assembly of all Christians. In that sense of the word there
is but one church, geographically coextensive with Christen-
dom, but everywhere limited by individual discipleship to Jesus
Christ.
the Thessalonians. See Introduction, p. 5ff.
in : a preposition very extensively used by Paul to express
the idea of mystical union between God or Christ and Christian
people. They are so closely united to God and Christ, so much
under Divine influence, so entirely drawing their life from above,
that they are said to live in the Divine Being.
God the Father: a peculiarly Christian name for God,
consequent on our Lord's revelation of the Fatherhood of God.
This Paul had made known to the Thessalonians.
the Iiord Jesus Christ. The first title, ' the Lord,' is one of
honour and reverence, carrying with it a confession of loyalty
from the servant who uses it. 'Jesus ' is the personal name by
which our Lord was known among all acquaintances from his
childhood. 'Christ' is just the Greek rendering of the Hebrew
1 Messiah,' literally the ' Anointed-one,' but in usage meaning the
expected Deliverer and King of Israel. With Paul it has become
a surname of Jesus.
Grace : an echo of the Greek salutation — ' All hail ! ' but with
a Christian meaning. The word in N. T. usage means the free
favour of God and its happy effects, manifested in the Christian
gospel.
peace : an echo of the Hebrew salutation — the * Salaam ! '
but having a deepening of its meaning with Christian ideas,
Christians having the privilege of peace with God and peace
in their own hearts and in their happy relations one with
another.
The additional clause in the A. V., 'from God our Father, and
the Lord Jesus Christ,' is omitted by the Revisers as it is absent
from some of the best MSS., though found in others. There could
160 I THESSALONIANS 1. 2,3
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making
3 mention of you in our prayers ; remembering without
ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and
patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our
be no reason for cutting it out. But it may easily have been
inserted by some scribe copying the Second Epistle, where it stands
on undoubted MSS. authority.
i. 2-10. Thanksgiving for the happy condition of the Thessalonians.
Paul thanks God for the graces seen in the Thessalonians.
They prove that his preaching has not been ineffectual. These
people, manifesting joy in spite of persecution, have become an
example to others north and south of them, the word of the
gospel thus sounding out from Thessalonica in both directions ;
and thus the report of their conversion has come round to the
Apostle from Macedonia and Achaia.
2. We: not the 'editorial we,' but meaning the Apostle together
with Silvanus and Timothy. This plural continually recurs
throughout the Epistle, and for the same reason. Still, it is used
in courtesy, not because the two companions are really joint
authors with the Apostle. It is Paul's Epistle.
for you : lit. i about ' or ' concerning you.'
3. Paul here mentions the three Christian graces of which he
writes later in 1 Cor. xiii. 1. In both cases he names faith first,
not for its pre-eminent importance, because in Corinthians he
expressly gives the palm to love, but no doubt because he regards
it as coming earlier in experience than the other graces, and in
a measure laying the foundation for them. In the passage before
us the graces are not by themselves, but associated with their
fruits. It is these fruits that the Apostle describes himself as
remembering. They are more concrete and perceptible than the
graces, but they are valued as evidences of the existence of those
graces.
work of faith : work that springs from faith, or is characterized
by faith.
labour of love : ' labour ' is a stronger word than ■ work.' In
the Greek original, as well as in the English translation, the term
used points to painful effort. Love is capable of going beyond
faith in inspiring and sustaining painful efforts. This labour
springs from love, or is characterized by love — the phrase ad-
mitting of either interpretation.
patience : more than uncomplaining submission. There is
an active sense in the Greek word which points to a sustaining by
effort, a bearing up.
hope. The patience is based on hope, or is characterized by
I THESSALONIANS 1. 4, 5 161
God and Father ; knowing, brethren beloved of God, 4
your election, how that our gospel came not unto you in 5
word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
hope, a similar alternative being open to us in interpreting each
of these three phrases.
in our Lord Jesus Christ. This must not be connected with
the whole phrase 'patience of hope,' nor with all three phrases,
but only with the word 'hope.' It is not the work or labour or
patience, but the hope that is in Christ. In Col. i. 27 Paul writes
of Christ as our hope. The meaning is that the Christian
expectation is based on Christ and what he will do. It may-
mean the hope of Christ's return, that subject occupying attention
later in the Epistle (iv. 13-18). But the word ' hope ' occurs three
times again in this Epistle, at iv. 13, where it refers to the condition
of the blessed dead, and at v. 8, where its object is ' salvation/ or
final deliverance from all evil. It is best therefore to take it here
in a wide, general sense. The gospel instils hopefulness with
regard to the future generally ; this rests in Christ and what he
will accomplish ; meanwhile it gives the power to bear up amid
present adverse circumstances.
4. beloved of God: the reading of R.V., preferable to the
arrangement in A. V., which is 'brethren beloved,' the following
phrase then being 'your election of God.' That arrangement
disjoints the phrases.
your election : the selection of these people out of the great
population of the city of Thessalonica.
5. how that: not 'for' as in A. V. The words that follow
expand the notion of the selection of these people, shewing for
what end they were chosen.
our gospel: the gospel which Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy
had preached. The word ' gospel ' is never used in the Bible for
a book, as we use it for the works of the four Evangelists, but
always for the preachers' message, the good news they were
proclaiming.
in power : manifested in the effects of the mission. This was
at Thessalonica. Now Paul is in Corinth. Writing subsequently
to the Christians of the latter city he refers to the ' power' of his
preaching witnessed there also, describing ' the word of the cross'
as 'the power of God ' (1 Cor. i. 18).
in the Holy Ghost : the coming of the Spirit of God on the
converts as spiritual gifts conferred by the apostles. This may be
illustrated by an incident at Ephesus, where Paul, finding twelve
converts who had not heard of this gift, laid his hands on them,
with the consequence that ' the Holy Ghost came on them ; and
they spake with tongues and prophesied ' (Acts xix. 6). Probably
<9> M
162 I THESSALONIANS 1. 6
and in much assurance ; even as ye know what manner
of men we shewed ourselves toward you for your sake.
6 And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having
similar signs which expressed the extraordinary enthusiasm of the
new movement were witnessed at Thessalonica. Still the deeper,
more permanent, and more valuable effects of the working of
the Divine Spirit were also seen there, as this Epistle clearly
shews.
assurance : rather, ' fullness.' The word admits of both
senses ; but as here it follows references to the power of the
preaching and the accompanying outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
it is not so likely that we should have the thought of the Apostle's
own confident mood as the third idea brought before us; it is
much more probable that the abundant working of the gospel
among the Thessalonians should be the idea that crowns the
other two. Besides, the preposition ' in ' is not repeated the third
time. We have (i) 'in power,' and (2) 'in the Holy Ghost
and fullness' — one common, complex idea. There was a wealth
of grace and good effects in association with the gift of the Holy
Ghost.
even as ye know, &c. Paul appeals to his readers' experience.
They had seen the missionaries who had preached in the effective
way just described to be themselves living witnesses of the power
of the gospel they proclaimed.
we shewed ourselves: lit. 'we became,' not merely 'we
were,' as in A. V. The expression occurs several times in the
Epistle, and is generally equivalent to ' we proved to be ' this or
that. Still it might be read more literally here. In point of fact
the missionaries adapted themselves to the requirements of their
converts, toiling for their daily bread (see ii. 9), labouring in
teaching, denying themselves innocent delights, almost incurring
martyrdom, as the history in Acts shews. All this they became for
the sake of the Thessalonian Christians; and that the people
themselves knew right well. This was the secret of their
influence. We see the same thing repeated in the story of
Robert and Mary Moffat, where the Africans are impressed
by their self-denying kindness in coming out from England
and living among the native people solely for the good of these
people.
6. ye became: corresponding to the 'we became' of the
previous verse.
imitators : better than ' followers/ as in A. V. The Greek
word is that from which our term 'mimic' is derived, but it does
not convey the belittling associations of the English derivative.
It points to the grave imitation of the master by the pupil.
I THESSALONIANS 1. 7,8 163
received the word in much affliction, with joy of the
Holy Ghost ; so that ye became an ensample to all that 7
believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you 8
hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to
and of the Lord. The Thessalonians were led on to the
imitalio Christi by first of all copying the conduct of those of
Christ's servants who were living among them.
affliction : the persecution described in Acts xvii. 5-9, where
we read how the Jews of Thessalonica collected • vile fellows of
the rabble' with whom they assaulted the house of Jason, Paul's
host, and dragged him before the Roman tribunal.
joy of the Holy Ghost : the joy that springs from the
reception of the Spirit of God. Elsewhere in specifying l the
fruit of the Spirit' Paul gives 'joy' as the second item in his
list of products — the first being 'love' (Gal. v. 22). Prof.
Harnack has pointed out that the two great characteristics of
the early Christians were brotherly love and an enthusiasm of
gladness.
*7. an ensample. As the Thessalonians had imitated the mis-
sionaries, so they in turn became examples to neighbouring Chris-
tians, and particularly in this, that they cheerfully surmounted
persecution. The idea is that gladness of soul shining out of the
troubles of life furnishes an attractive example to others.
Macedonia : the Roman province of northern Greece.
Achaia: the Roman province of southern Greece. Paul
always uses these large names of the political divisions of the
Roman Empire when referring to the districts they include.
Thus he writes of ' Asia,' ' Cilicia,' &c.
8. sounded forth. This can scarcely point to missionary
enterprises undertaken by the Thessalonians. It seems to mean
that the fame of their glad endurance of persecution was itself
a powerful declaration of the gospel. Their joy was like a merry
peal of bells ringing out the good news of the Christian message,
and reverberating far and wide.
the word of the Lord: either (1) 'the Lord's word,' his
teaching and commands, or (2) 'the word about the Lord,' the
gospel story of his grace. The very frequent use of the expression
in the O. T., and always with the first of these meanings, points to
that meaning here (cf. Isa. i. 10). Thus the idea is the Divine
word, the word from God and Christ.
every place : besides Macedonia and Achaia ; therefore the
Eastern Churches, see Introduction, p. 22.
M 2
i64 I THESSALONIANS 1. 9, 10
God-ward is gone forth ; so that we need not to speak
9 anything. For they themselves report concerning us
what manner of entering in we had unto you ; and how
ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and
10 true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he
raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivereth us
from the wrath to come.
we need not to speak anything : i. e. in commendation of
the Thessalonians, their character being so well known.
9. they themselves. These people having heard the fame of
the Thessalonians are sending to congratulate the Apostle on the
wonderful reception his message has met with in the Macedonian
city.
idols. Those marble statues that we now admire as works
of art were to Paul mere idols, and rightly so, since in his day
incense was burnt before them as though the gods lived in them.
living": in contrast to the lifeless stone.
true : in contrast to the false, the unreal divinity of the
images. The first and most fundamental change in the religion of
these Greeks was their abandonment of idolatry and their com-
mencement of the spiritual worship of God.
10. This verse indicates the second great change in the
Thessalonians, viz. their reception of the Christ-thought.
to wait for his Son : i. e. for the return of Christ. It is
characteristic of this Epistle to direct attention forward to our
Lord's second Advent, rather than back to his earthly life, his
death and resurrection, mention of which only comes here in
a subsidiary clause, the main thought being that of the attitude of
expectancy. These two things characterize the new faith of the
Thessalonians — (i) abandonment of idolatry for the worship of
the living, true God, and (2) expectation of the return of the risen
Christ.
whom he raised. This is Paul's usual manner of describing
our Lord's resurrection. It is not that Christ rises ; but that God
raises him up (e. g. Rom. iv. 24, vi. 4, 9 ; 1 Cor. vi. 14, xv. 12, &c).
The fact is mentioned here as a ground for the expectation of
our Lord's return.
even Jesus : our Lord's personal name.
delivereth. The verb is in the present. The process is now
going on.
us. In humility, and truth also, the Apostle associates
himself with these converts from heathenism. He too as well as
they was in danger of the wrath, and was being saved from it by
Christ.
I THESSALONIANS 2. i, 2 165
For yourselves, brethren, know our entering in unto 2
you, that it hath not been found vain : but having suffered 2
before, and been shamefully entreated, as ye know, at
Philippi, we waxed bold in our God to speak unto you
the wrath to come : lit. ' the coming wrath ' ; the participle
is in the present, not to indicate that the wrath is on the way, but
to shew the certainty of its future advent, whenever that may be.
Paul is referring to the anger of God that will descend in vengeance
on the guilty race.
ii. 1 -1 2. A description of the Apostles conduct of his mission at
Thcssalonica. The Thessalonians know how Paul and his com-
panions came to them after having been shamefully treated at
Philippi, preaching boldly the pure, true message that was
entrusted to them. They did not flatter, they did not seek their
own profit, but they cherished their converts, giving them their very
selves. Not to be a burden to the Thessalonians, they supported
themselves by their own labour, and lived a good and holy life
among them, treating them as a father treats his children, and so
encouraging them in the Christian life.
1. our entering in: the coming of the missionaries to the city
of Thessalonica.
hath not been found: lit. 'did not become' — i.e. did not
prove itself to be.
vain : lit. ' empty.' They did not come as helpless fugitives,
as pauper immigrants, empty-handed and useless. They came in
fullness of power and with gifts for the people they visited.
2. shamefully entreated ... at Philippi. Luke gives a full
account of this shameful treatment in Acts xvi. 19-23. In this
case it was not Jewish jealousy that raised opposition to Paul, but
a much more rare source of antagonism, an alarmed commercial
self-interest in heathen circles. Some soothsayers were enraged
because Paul had cured a supposed Pythoness, a girl said to be
possessed by a divining demon, out of whose performances they
were making their living. These men got Paul and Silas arrested
and dragged before the praetors in the forum as disturbers of the
peace and innovators in opposition to Roman customs. The mob
were excited against the apostles, and the magistrates had them
stripped and scourged with the lictor's rods and then flung into
prison, conduct for which Paul subsequently exacted an apology
on the ground of his Roman citizenship.
Philippi : a city in the east of Macedonia situated on a steep
hill at the edge of a great plain. It was named after Philip of
Macedon, its founder, but in Paul's time it was a Roman colony.
166 I THESSALONIANS 2. 3, 4
3 the gospel of God in much conflict. For our exhortation
4 is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile : but
even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted
with the gospel, so we speak j not as pleasing men, but
Our Epistle to the Philippians was addressed to the church in
this city.
waxed bold. The Apostle's courage grew all the stronger in
face of opposition. The word, taken literally, means ' became bold
in speech.'
in our God: by the help of God, the source of the courage.
the gospel ©f God: God's gospel, meaning the gracious
message which He sends, not the glad-tidings about God. The
subject of the gospel is Christ. The expression is a favourite one
with the Apostle, and his use of it is clear in Rom. i. 1-3, where
after referring to 'the gospel of God,' he adds that it is ' concerning
His Son.'
much, conflict: the opposition at Thessalonica already referred
to. See note on i. 6.
3. exhortation: the appeal that follows the 'preaching' or
proclamation of the gospel, and 'teaching' or exposition of its
truths.
of error: meaning 'out of error,' 'having its source in error.'
Compare the phrase in the Creed, ' light of light,' i. e. derived light
coming from original light. The apostolic exhortation did not
spring from a delusion.
uncleanness: 'impure motives,' i.e. low, self-interested
aims, as the words that follow shew the Apostle's meaning to
be. He was not deceiving and flattering, with secret motives
of covetousness. The Greeks were familiar with such conduct
on the part of sophists and rhetoricians, travelling lecturers,
clever to gather audiences with taking speech, but caring only for
the fees they could extract.
nor in gruile. All was open and above board in the apostolic
exhortation. There were no sophistical attempts to entrap the
unwary.
4. approved of God : as regards their characters.
intrusted with the gospel : with reference to their mission.
God had considered Paul and his companions fit and proper
persons to have the responsibility of expounding His message of
grace intrusted to them. In the pastoral epistles the Apostle says
that the gospel 'was committed to my trust' (1 Tim. i. n), and
calls it ' the message wherewith I was intrusted according to the
commandment of God our Saviour' (Titus i. 3).
so we speak : i. e. in accordance with their character, the
I THESSALONIANS 2. 5-7 167
God which proveth our hearts. For neither at any time 5
were we found using words of flattery, as ye know, nor
a cloke of covetousness, God is witness ; nor seeking 6
glory of men, neither from you, nor from others, when
we might have been burdensome, as apostles of Christ.
But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse 7
character of which God so much approved that He intrusted them
with the gospel.
provetii: tries and tests, and so discovers the true inner
character.
5. a cloke of covetousness: some trick to disguise covetousness,
flattering the people with pleasant phrases only to get money out
of them.
God is witness. He only can see if there is any hidden
selfish motive or deceitful aim. Therefore here the Apostle
appeals to God. When dealing with external conduct, visible
to all, he appeals to his readers.
6. been burdensome. The alternatives are 'used authority'
(margin of A.V.) and ' claimed honour' (margin of R. V.). If we
accept either of these the idea is that the apostles did not assert
their dignity as they might have done. The previous statement,
that they did not seek ' glory of men,' and the following words in
which Paul writes of their gentleness favour this view. But
a little further on he uses a form of the same Greek word here
rendered ' burdensome,' saying, ' that we might not burden you/
when reminding the Thessalonians how he had worked for his
living rather than take anything from them. It seems reasonable
therefore to conclude that the meaning is the same here.
7. we were : or ' proved to be,' the word so frequently met
with before in this sense.
gentle. Curiously enough some of the oldest MSS. — including
the two most ancient of all, the Vatican and the Sinaiiic — have
' babes ' instead of this word : ' But we were babes in the midst of
you.' But this is quite inappropriate to the immediate context,
where Paul compares himself to a nurse cherishing her children.
The change of the word is easily accounted for. In the Greek
it only involves the addition of one letter. ' Gentle ' = epioi;
'babes' = ncpioi. Moreover in the Greek text the previous word
ends with this letter n. In the old MSS. there is no division
between the words. If that final n got detached from its own
word and joined to the following word in reading, the result
would give us 'babes' instead of 'gentle'; or the carelessness
of a scribe in writing the n twice would produce the text as it
i68 I THESSALONIANS 2. 8-10
8 cherisheth her own children : even so, being affection-
ately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart
unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our
own souls, because ye were become very dear to us.
9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail :
working night and day, that we might not burden any of
10 you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Ye are
witnesses, and God a/so, how holily and righteously and
stands in the MSS. referred to. This is an instance of how the
best MSS. may sometimes be demonstrably wrong, and of how
therefore we must sometimes prefer the readings of inferior
MSS.
a nurse: a nursing mother, not a slave or a hired nurse,
because she is described as cherishing ' her own children.'
8. affectionately desirous : a single word in the Greek,
indicating the keen interest the Apostle felt in the Thessalonians.
our own souls : our very selves, and even our lives.
9. labour : toil with the idea of its weariness.
travail : work with the idea of its effort and strenuousness.
working' night and day. The Apostle supported himself at
Thessalonica by his own labour. In writing to the Corinthians
Paul reminds them how he had worked among them also, as he
says, with his 'own hands' (i Cor. iv. la). We learn from Acts
xviii. 2 that his trade was tent-making, an employment in which
Priscilla and Aquila joined the Apostle when at Corinth. This
work by which he earned his daily bread, added to his missionary
labours, necessarily involved long hours. After preaching the
gospel and discussing questions arising from it with all possible
inquirers during the day-time, instead of taking his much needed
rest he would have to sit late into the night, cutting the coarse
goat's-hair cloth and sewing it to the requisite shape for the
shelters of the Greek shepherds out on the hills.
that we might not burden any of you: the reason for
undertaking this manual work. Note Paul's delicacy of feeling in
this matter.
10. holily. This is not a form of the word commonly rendered
'holiness,' which really means being dedicated and set apart for
God ; but a term pointing to purity and elevation of character,
and therefore meaning more nearly the same as our word
'holiness.'
righteously : with integrity and uprightness of conduct,
morally right.
I THESSALONIANS 2. 11,12 169
unblameably we behaved ourselves toward you that
believe : as ye know how we dealt with each one of you, 1 1
as a father with his own children, exhorting you, and
encouraging you, and testifying, to the end that ye 12
should walk worthily of God, who calleth you into his
own kingdom and glory.
unblameably. Nobody could sustain any accusation against
the missionaries.
11. each one of you. There was personal care and attention
given to every individual convert separately.
as a father. Previously Paul had spoken of his being like
a nursing mother (verse 7). Thus he heaps up the images of most
affectionate solicitude.
exhorting1 : to rouse the sense of duty.
encouraging: to cheer with the prospect of a glad per-
formance of it.
testifying: solemnly charging. The word is used in this
sense in Eph. iv. 17, 'This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles,' &c.
12. walk: a Hebraism pointing to the common course of
daily life.
calleth: according to the best MSS., not 'called' as in A. V.
The call is continuous, (i) This may mean that one and another
are called successively, the gospel invitation being continually
repeated to bring in new converts. (2) Or it may mean that the
whole church is being continually called to an inheritance not yet
enjoyed. Perhaps the reference to the ' glory ' which is a privilege
of the future rather favours this second view. But it is not at all
in the line of Paul's usual teaching. The Apostle always regards
the call of each individual as one act of God. Therefore probably
we should fall back on the first meaning. The evangelistic work
in Thessalonica has not ceased ; although the Apostle has left
the city God is still calling new followers of Christ into His
Church.
his own : an emphatic pronoun. This is the high privilege
of Christians, not to be treated as aliens, but to be made citizens
of God's own kingdom. Paul is a Jew; the kingdom of God was
regarded as the privilege of his race. The Thessalonians are
Gentiles ; yet they are being called into it.
kingdom : the most familiar word in the teaching of Jesus ;
much less frequent in the apostolic writings. The idea was
Jewish in origin — the Jews looking forward to the coming of the
kingdom of God. The Greek world was not familiar with the idea,
170 I THESSALONIANS 2. 13
13 And for this cause we also thank God'without ceasing,
that, when ye received from us the word of the message,
and therefore would not so readily apprehend the presentation of
the gospel in this form. Still occasionally it is so described even
for Greeks, for the idea itself is true and important. In Christian
teaching, as our Lord has shewn, it represents the spiritual, inward
rule of God in the hearts of His people with all the benefits
personal and in the social system that result from that rule.
Here the union of the idea of glory with it shews the kingdom to
be regarded as something future, not yet realized, just as we are
taught to pray, 'Thy kingdom come/ with a view to its future
advent. It is to be observed that Paul had made the preaching of
the kingdom prominent at Thessalonica, since there the Christians
were accused of 'saying that there is another king, one Jesus,'
and thus ' acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar ' (Acts xvii. 7).
May it be that the misunderstanding here made apparent induced
the Apostle to avoid references to the Jewish conception of
Christianity as a kingdom in his subsequent work among the
Greek cities ? Thus we can account for the rarity of the occurrence
of the term in the Epistles compared with the Gospels.
ii. 13-16. Thanksgiving for the way in which the Thessalonians
had received the apostolic message. Turning from the description
of his own work at Thessalonica the Apostle makes mention of
the good reception of it on the part of his converts in that
city. This is a matter of ceaseless thankfulness on his part. The
Thessalonians received the gospel as the word of God, and it
continued to work in them so that they followed the example of
the Judaean Christians, enduring from their fellow countrymen
persecutions like those the Jewish Christians were suffering from
Jews. This leads the Apostle to describe the guilt of those Jews
who both reject Christ for themselves and refuse the gospel to
the Gentiles.
13. for this cause. For what cause? The Apostle might be
referring to the call of the Thessalonians into God's own kingdom ;
but as the mention of that call only occurs in a subordinate
clause it is more likely that his reference is to the whole of the
previous sentence. That is to say, he never ceases to thank God
for his work at Thessalonica.
we also : we who conferred the benefit, as well as you who
have received it.
thank. The Greek word is that from which the term
'Eucharist' is derived.
the word of the message : lit. ' the word of hearing,' i. e.
the word heard, corresponding to ' the preached word.' It was
I THESSALONIANS 2. 14 171
even the 7vord of God, ye accepted it not as the word
of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which
also worketh in you that believe. For ye, brethren,
became imitators of the churches of God which are
in Judaea in Christ Jesus : for ye also suffered the
a word that reached the Thessalonians, a message they themselves
had been able to hear.
the word of God : not the word about God, but the word that
came from God, God's word, as is proved by the antithesis of f the
word of men,' a word of merely human origin. The Thessalonians
had perceived that what the Apostle taught had its origin in God.
This word of God is not Scripture, but the preaching of Paul and
his companions.
which also worketh. This Divine word has power, and
makes itself felt by its influence. The present condition of the
Thessalonians which has been reported to Paul is a fruit and
sign of the working of the truth in them.
you that believe. The Pauline teaching is that the benefit
of the gospel is conditional on the faith of those who receive it.
Observe the present tense of the verb. The word is operative
while the hearers believe. The two things are continuous. If
the faith ceased the influence of the message would cease also.
14. "became imitators: a consequence of the operation of
the word just mentioned. Previously Paul had described the
Thessalonians as imitators of their missionaries (i. 6). Now he
notes that they are imitators of the primitive churches in Judaea.
churches ... in Judaea. It has been said that there was no
friendliness, that there was even bitter antagonism, between the
Jewish Christian in Palestine and Paul. This passage does not
favour that notion. Still the Epistle to the Galatians shews that
at a later period the party of James in Jerusalem was opposed
to the Apostle, and the subsequent history of the old Jewish
communities of Christians in Palestine tells how they gradually
got out of sympathy with the Greek churches, till at last they
were regarded as heretics under the title of ' Ebionites ' and
'Nazarenes' for clinging to the law and Jewish notions of
Christianity by the general body of the Christians elsewhere.
Then the Greek churches would not dream of imitating the
churches of Judaea. But at the early date of this Epistle the
schism had not appeared, and the primitive churches were
naturally regarded as patterns whose example the new, raw
converts from the heathen would do well to follow.
suffered the same thing's : a third reference to the persecu-
tions endured by the Thessalonians. The two earlier references
172 I THESSALONIANS 2. 15/16
same things of your own countrymen, even as they
15 did of the Jews ; who both killed the Lord Jesus
and the prophets, and drave out us, and please not
16 God, and are contrary to all men ; forbidding us to
speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved ; to fill up
are at i. 6 and ii. 2. Here, as in the earlier of the two passages
just cited, where the Apostle says the Thessalonians were
imitators of their missionaries, the imitation is in the endurance
of persecution. The martyr spirit of the Judaean Christians
inspired the fidelity of the Thessalonians when under similar
trials.
yotir own countrymen. The persecution had been carried
on by the rabble of the city, fellow Macedonians, though it had
been instigated b}r the Jews (see Acts xvii. 5).
15. killed the Lord Jesus. The Apostle lays the charge of
this supreme crime against the Jews generally. Their present
attitude shewed their consent to the deed. They did not repudiate
it ; they continued to act in the spirit of it. It could be regarded
as their national action.
the prophets: not the Christian prophets — there is no
sign that these had been killed by the Jews— but the Hebrew
prophets of former ages. The mention of them here resembles
the accusation Jesus brought against the Jews of being the
murderers of the servants sent to his vineyard by the husband-
man in the parable (Mark xii. 4, 5), and his warning that on
them would ' come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from
the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son
of Barachiah,' &c. (Matt, xxiii. 35).
drave out us. The narrative in Acts describes the expulsion of
Paul and his companions from Thessalonica (see Acts xvii. 5-10).
Prof. Ramsay considers it to imply that the magistrates settled the
case that was brought before them on the understanding that
the missionaries, as disturbers of the peace, left the city forthwith.
contrary to all men. The exclusiveness of the Jews led
to their being regarded by the Gentiles as misanthropic. This
is mentioned by Tacitus. But here Paul suggests that their
antagonism to the preaching of the gospel rendered them really
enemies of the human race.
16. forbidding- vlc to speak to the Gentiles. The Jews, while
rejecting the gospel for themselves, were wildly jealous of Paul's
work in evangelizing the Gentiles. In this jealousy we may see
the ground of the persecution they stirred up.
to fill up. The idea is an allusion to the common Jewish
image of the cup. When this is filled to the brim it will overflow.
I THESSALONIANS 2. 17 173
their sins alway : but the wrath is come upon them to
the uttermost.
But we, brethren, being bereaved of you for a short 17
There will then be no more scope for sinning ; the judgement
will follow.
alway : i. e. the Jews always act in this way. They never
cease from the dreadful work of filling up their sins.
the wrath: i.e. God's anger, mentioned thus simply with
the definite article, both as known from previous warnings, and
also because it is so dreadful as not to be confounded with any
other being's anger. It is emphatically the wrath.
is come. This is clearly a verb in the past tense, for the
form of the Greek word is the aorist. It cannot mean ' is coming,'
or ' will come.' Accordingly it has been argued from the phrase
that the great outpouring of Divine wrath in the destruction
of Jerusalem had already taken place. This would place the
Epistle later than a. d. 70. Baur pointed to this as a reason for
concluding that it is not a genuine work of Paul's. But the
context does not bear out this view, since there we read of the
Jews still filling up their cup of sin, indicating that the great
outpouring of wrath is yet to come. Besides, the whole passage
has manifest reference to a time but shortly after the evangeliz-
ing of the Thessalonians. Perhaps the Apostle means that the
preaching of judgement which goes with the gospel message
is the coming of the wrath. In this preaching, wrath hangs over
the heads of the Jews like a thundercloud ready to burst at
any moment, sure to burst directly the cup of sin is full.
to tlie uttermost: to be connected with the verb — 'is come
to the uttermost,' i. e. has completely come.
Schmiedel considers verses 14 to 16 to be a late interpolation,
both because of the harsh language used concerning the Jews,
and also because of the complete accomplishment of their doom
here affirmed. Thus the Epistle may be still regarded as genuine
and of early date, although a late date is given to this passage.
But this theory is not needed if we may regard the 'wrath' as
coming in the message of judgement delivered the by Apostle.
Possibly the troubles caused by the insurrection of Theudas
(Acts v. 36), the Jerusalem famine (xi. 27-30), and the expulsion
of the Jews from Rome by Claudius (xviii. 2) were taken by Paul
as signs of Divine wrath against the Jews. The recent Jewish
persecution of the Christians at Thessalonica would account for
Paul's stern thoughts concerning his people.
ii. 17-20. The Apostle s disappointment. Temporally separated
from the Thessalonians — in presence, though not in heart —
i74 I THESSALONIANS 2. iS, 19
season, in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more
18 exceedingly to see your face with great desire : because
we would fain have come unto you, I Paul once and
19 again ; and Satan hindered us. For what is our hope,
the Apostle has made several attempts to visit them, but has
been hindered by Satan. He rejoices, exults in them before
Christ at his coming.
bereaved. A very expressive compound Greek word is used
here, including the two ideas of separation and bereavement,
i. e. ' bereaved by separation.'
a short season: lit. 'a season of an hour.' In point of fact
it was a few months. There was the time of the Apostle's visit
to Bercea, his journey to Athens and stay there during which
he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica, and Timothy's return
to the Apostle, then at Corinth.
IS. we would fain : lit. ' we wished.'
I Paul. Throughout the Epistle Paul associates Silvanus and
Timothy with himself by writing in the plural. But evidently
that is an act of courtesy towards the two companions. It is the
Apostle who writes, and his personal references are really to
his own feelings and experience. At this point he breaks from
the plural form of language to emphasize the idea of his in-
dividual wish to visit the Thessalonians. Indeed the plural would
be out of place here, since one of the three, Timothy, had been
to Thessalonica.
once and again. We have no particulars as to these two
occasions. Possibly one was when the Apostle was rejoined
at Athens by his travelling companions who would bring news
from Macedonia. The other occasion might well be on the receipt
of the news that Timothy brought to Corinth. Then this letter
would have to take the place of the visit.
Satan: lit. ' the adversary.' Accordingly some have under-
stood the word in that general sense here, as meaning that some-
body or something that Paul called his adversary hindered him.
But throughout the N. T. it clearly stands for the Prince of Evil,
and therefore so we must understand it here. In Job i. 6 Satan
appears among the sons of God as the Patriarch's accuser. But
in i Chron. xxi. i he is the evil spirit who tempts David to
take a military census of his people. In Ps. cix. 6 and Zech. iii. i, 2
he appears rather as an adversary than as a tempter. These are
the only O. T. books in which Satan is mentioned. In the N. T.
he is the (1) Evil Spirit as the great tempter and promoter of
wickedness. It is Satan who tempts Jesus in the wilderness
(e. g. Mark i. 13) and later through Peter (Mark viii. 33). (2" Satan
is also referred to as the Prince of the demons who is exorcised,
I THESSALONIANS 2. 19 175
or joy, or crown of glorying ? Are not even ye, before
together with his instruments, when the possessed are cured
(Mark iii. 23). This is coming near to some physical power,
and that is distinctly referred to in the case of a woman bowed
together with 'a spirit of infirmity,' for Jesus speaks of her as
one 'whom Satan had bound' (Luke xiii. 16). Paul seems to
have this way of regarding disease as the work of Satan in mind
when describing the ' thorn in the flesh ' with which he was
afflicted as 'a messenger of Satan' (2 Cor. xii. 7), and perhaps
also when recommending as an act of discipline on an offender,
that the church 'deliver such a one unto Satan' (1 Cor. v. 5).
(3) He is the evil world-power, because tempting men to sin, and
thus ruling through human wickedness, as the ' Prince of this
world' (John xii. 31), and the 'Prince of the power of the air*
(Eph. ii. 2).
hindered. The expression is vague, and we are left to
conjecture as to the way in which Paul conceived Satan to have
prevented him from going to Thessalonica. (1) The Apostle
cannot possibly be thinking of temptation here, as though some
morally evil influence on himself held him back. (2) He may
mean illness ; but if that were the case probably he would be
more explicit. (3) It would seem then that the third form of
Satan's influence is in the Apostle's mind — Satan mismanaging
human affairs. This might take the form of some adverse
conjunction of circumstances, some hindrance to the arrangements
of travel, perhaps the watchful opposition of the Jews, or perhaps
the attitude of the magistrates at Thessalonica in theirdetermination
to prevent fresh disturbances of the peace.
19. crown of glory in g- : better, 'garland of exulting.' The
word rendered ' crown ' does not stand for the gold and jewelled
decoration worn by a king ; it is used for the wreath of laurel,
myrtle, or olive, given to a victor or honoured person, and for
the garland worn by a guest at a banquet. The ' crown of life '
(Rev. ii. 10) is the victor's wreath. But here the idea of a festive
garland is more appropriate. The Thessalonians are like this
sign of joy to the Apostle, for he can exult and rejoice in them,
so noble has their Christian character proved to be when under
trial.
"before our Lord Jesxts. The Apostle looks forward to
the happy time when he shall see his Lord. It will be like
a banquet, and he will appear there with his festal garland,
of which the Thessalonians will be the flowers. To put it in
plain prose : the Apostle will be proud of these disciples, full
of joy and exultation about them, when he appears before Christ.
It is they of all his converts in Asia and Europe who will have
this first place of honour. Some years later he called the
176 I THESSALONIANS 2. 20— 3. 1
20 our Lord Jesus at his coming ? For ye are our glory
and our joy.
3 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we
neighbouring church at Philippi his 'joy and garland' (Phil. iv. i).
These Macedonian Christians seem always to have held the first
place in the Apostle's heart. When writing to the Corinthians
he cites their example with enthusiasm (2 Cor. viii. 5).
his coming* : lit. ' his presence ' — the Paronsia. This
thought is very prominent in both the Epistles to the Thessalonians.
It bulked largely in the minds of the early Christians, who lived in
the hope of the return of Christ to establish his kingdom, deliver
his people, and call their enemies to judgement. Now this was
very like the Jewish expectation concerning their Messiah. Thus
it would appear that the Christians were transferring to the Second
Advent what Jesushad not fulfilled atthe first, namely, the fulfilment
of Jewish Messianic hopes. No doubt this was largely so. But
there were differences. The Christian expectation of the Parousia
was not merely for Jews, but for Christians, and therefore to the
exclusion of unbelieving Israelites, but admitting Gentile believers.
Then though probably many Christians like the Jews were only
too ready to take materialistic views of the future and regard the
good time coming as one of temporal prosperity, in so far as
the Christians had received the teaching and spirit of Christ they
must have risen to his more spiritual ideas. It is to be observed
that the expectation is less prominent in the later period of
Paul's life.
20. glory : a different word from that translated ' glorying ' in
verse 19 R. V., which would have been better rendered -exulting,'
to maintain the distinction. ' Glory ' is the right word here. It
does not point to the Apostle's own feelings of pride and joy in the
Thessalonians, but indicates that they are to him like the radiance
of the sun, like the light that gilds, the source of the honour to
be given him at the appearing of Christ. This accounts for the
word -for' with which the verse opens. Here is the reason for
the exultation, viz. that the Thessalonians are a credit to the
Apostle of highest value.
iii. i-i'O. Timothy's mission and report. Unable to bear his
separation from the Thessalonians without intercourse with
them, the Apostle sent Timothy with the object of encouraging
them to the faithful endurance of persecution. He had warned
them of the danger when with them, and now it has come. He
was dreading lest they should succumb to the temptation and
thus his labour among them be in vain. But Timothy on his
return has brought tidings of the fidelity of the Thessalonians.
I THESSALONIANS 3. 2 177
thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone ; and 2
sent Timothy, our brother and God's minister in the
They have not forgotten their evangelist. This news greatly
cheers Paul. Now he is full of thankfulness, but he does not
cease to pray that he may see them in person.
1. Wherefore : because of what is stated in the previous
paragraph, i. e. that the Thessalonians are the Apostle's ' garland
of exulting.'
we : plainly meaning the Apostle himself, and not including
Silvanus and Timothy. This verse would suggest that Paul is
using the editorial ' we ' throughout the Epistle. But that would
be contrary to his custom. Moreover, since he expressly associates
two companions with himself at the opening of the Epistle (i. i),
the pronoun 'we' in the next sentence would naturally include
all three. And yet we often meet with expressions of such intense
personal feeling associated with this plural pronoun that we must
assign them to the Apostle individually. The explanation seems
to be that he chose the plural pronoun in order to associate the
two companions with the letter, and then held to it even when he
was writing what really only expressed his own thoughts. In
this verse he can only mean himself, as he speaks of being left
alone.
forbear : endure separation from the Thessalonians without
having communication with them.
Athens : where the Apostle had stayed for a time when on
his way from Macedonia to Corinth. From Acts xvii. 14, 15 we
learn that he arrived there before his travelling companions.
From this Epistle we discover that he sent Timothy to Thessalonica
from Athens. Acts only mentions a separation before coming to
Athens ; our Epistle only refers to a separation after arriving
there. It has been said that there is a contradiction here.
But it is not difficult to piece the two accounts together, and
understand that the news of the distressed state of the Thessa-
lonians which Timothy brought to Paul at Athens induced the
Apostle to send him back with a message of encouragement and
to obtain later information.
2. minister. The Greek word is diakonos, from which our word
* deacon ' is derived. It means a servant viewed in regard to his
work, and not with reference to his relations with his master. It
is not here used as an official title. The minister is one who
renders service. The addition, 'and our fellow-labourer,1 which
was in the A. V. disappears from the text in the R. V. because it
is not found in the best MSS. There is a reading found in old
Western Greek and Latin MSS. which gives ' fellow-worker '
instead of ' minister' ; but it is not well attested.
in the gospel. This is the sphere of service. Timothy labours
(9> N
178 I THESSALONIANS 3. 3
gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you
3 concerning your faith ; that no man be moved by these
in preaching and expounding the gospel. He is not 'serving
tables,' like the ' Seven ' who were appointed for that work at
Jerusalem, although we might think the word ' deacon' pointed to
such service. Plainly it is used here in a general sense, which,
however, is limited by the qualifying words confining the ministry
to ' the gospel.'
to establish : a familiar Pauline metaphor (e. g. 1 Cor. viii. 1,
x. 23, xiv. 17) derived from the O. T., e. g. in the expressions,
'he established a testimony' (Ps. lxxviii. 5), ' I will build them,
and not pull them down' (Jer. xxiv. 6), 'And I will cause the
captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will
build them, as at the first ' (xxxiii. 7). But while in the older usage
the idea is national prosperity, in the N. T. the metaphor refers to
individuals, and indicates spiritual progress in the enlargement,
advance, and strengthening of the Christian life.
comfort. The word has four meanings : — (i^ ' exhort,' as in
ii. 11 and iv. 1 ; (2) ' beseech,1 as in Eph. iv. 1 ; (3) ' encourage,' as
in Eph. vi. 22 where the English is that ' he may comfort your
hearts'; since there is no idea of trouble needing consolation,
1 encourage ' would be a better word here ; (4) ' comfort,' the
usual word in the English versions. This word formerly included
the ideas of strengthening and cheering, apart from sorrow. Thus
in the treaty between England and Scotland in the reign of
Richard III it is agreed that neither of the kings ' shall maintayne,
fauour, ayde, or comfort any rebell or treytour.' Wycliffe
translates Isa. xli. 7, ' And he coumfortide hym with nailes,
that it shulde not be moued,' where the A.V. has 'fastened.'
Frequently where our English Bible has 'comfort' it would be
better to read 'encourage.' In the present case, as the word
is connected with faith, and not with the troubles from which the
Thessalonians were suffering, it would be desirable to render
it 'encourage,' especially as it is associated with the word
' establish' or strengthen. We meet with the same association in
2 Thess. ii. 17, ' comfort your hearts and stablish them,' where
again ' encourage ' would be more suitable than ' comfort,' with
our modern idea of consoling.
concerning yonr faith. In these early times the word 'faith '
is always used subjectively. It does not mean the creed or the
religion, i. e. the object of faith ; it means the internal state of
trusting. This would be much tried by the persecutions the
Thessalonians were passing through, and therefore in need of
strengthening and encouragement.
3. moved : agitated, disturbed. In its primary sense the word
is used of a dog wagging its tail.
I THESSALONIANS 3. 4, 5 179
afflictions ; for yourselves know that hereunto we are
appointed. For verily, when we were with you, we told 4
you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction ; even as
it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause I also, 5
when I could no longer forbear, sent that I might know
your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted
these afflictions : the persecutions before referred to.
yourselves know: an allusion to warnings the Apostle had
given the Thessalonians when he was with them, as the next verse
explains.
we. Paul here associates himself with his correspondents.
He too is appointed to persecution. It is the common lot of
the Christians. By using the first person the Apostle reminds
the Thessalonians that they were not being treated with ex-
ceptional severity.
appointed: by God's arrangement. The trouble should be
borne patiently, seeing that it is really no accident or misadventure,
but a part of God's previous plan concerning His people. Why
it is so the Apostle does not attempt to say in this place, although
subsequently he describes trouble as a wholesome discipline (e. g.
see 2 Cor. iv. 17). For the present it is enough to know that
it is God's ordinance. The knowledge of that fact should
encourage those who trust God to bear it patientfy.
4. beforehand : or ' plainly/ as in the margin of R. V. The
same word occurs at 2 Cor. xiii. 2 and at Gal. v. 21, in both of
which cases 1 1 tell you plainly ' seems more suitable than ' I tell
you beforehand,' or ' forewarn you.' But here the meaning in
the text fits best, as it is followed by the statement ' even as it
came to pass.'
ye know : now from experience.
5. Por this cause. Paul was not only anxious because of his
separation from his recent converts, he was especially concerned
for them on account of the persecutions they were enduring.
that I might know your faith : a second reason for
sending Timothy to Macedonia. The first was to strengthen and
encourage the Thessalonians. The Apostle also wants a report
of the state of the church. Have the persecuted people stood firm
under persecution ? or has their faith failed ? It was an anxious
time for Paul. He could not endure the suspense. He must
know the worst.
the tempter : Satan.
tempted : by fear of suffering inducing the Thessalonians to
lose faith.
N 2
180 I THESSALONIANS 3. 6, 7
6 you, and our labour should be in vain. But when
Timothy came even now unto us from you, and brought
us glad tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have
good remembrance of us always, longing to see us, even
7 as we also to see you ; for this cause, brethren, we were
comforted over you in all our distress and affliction
our labour, &c. : the work of the Apostle and his fellow
missionaries at Thessalonica. If the Thessalonians had yielded
before the temptation to save themselves from persecution by
renouncing Christianity, the church would have been broken up
and Paul's work in the city brought to nothing.
6. when Timothy came: Timothy's return from this journey
with its double purpose of encouraging the Thessalonians and
obtaining information for the Apostle.
even now. This shews that the Epistle was written immedi-
ately after Timothy had reached Corinth and given in his report.
glad tidings. This was the answer to Paul's anxious inquiry.
Though sorely tried, the young church was standing firm. Then
the Apostle's labour was not in vain.
faith : the one subject of the Apostle's inquiry. Faith had
not failed.
love : love to one another. A grateful addition. Faith was
bearing fruit in brotherly love.
good remembrance : a kindly recollection. In his unselfish-
ness the Apostle had not pressed for an inquiry on this point.
But Timothy brings the additional information : not only have the
Thessalonians not lost faith in God and Christ while under
persecution ; they have not forgotten the founder of their church,
nor turned against him as the cause of this trouble, nor even grown
cold towards him, their enthusiasm damped by disappointment.
always: even in the most trying times, when persecution
tempts them to regret the Apostle's ever having come among
them.
7. for this cause : because of the good news brought by
Timothy, especially its items of personal interest just referred to.
distress: lit. 'necessity,' and so 'hard straits,' 'distress.'
affliction. While the Christians were being persecuted at
Thessalonica, Paul in Corinth had his troubles to face. According
to the narrative in Acts the violent opposition of the Jews at
Corinth, following on Paul's preaching Jesus as Christ, compelled
him to leave the synagogue and commence work with the Gentiles
in a private house. That the situation was dangerous is indicated
by Paul's vision in which the Lord said to him, ' Be not afraid,
I THESSALONIANS 3. 8-10 181
through your faith : for now we live, if ye stand fast in 8
the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we render again 9
unto God for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy
for your sakes before our God : night and day praying 10
but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee,' &c. (see
Acts xviii. 9-1 1). The disturbance which led to Paul being
brought before the proconsul Gallio occurred at a later period —
about a year and a half after his coming to the city.
your faith. It was the faith of the Thessalonians about
which Paul had directed Timothy to make inquiry. Now it is
their faith that cheers the Apostle. The brotherly love and the
kindly remembrance were fruits of this faith. If faith had failed,
they would have vanished. Although the Apostle does not here
develop his doctrine of faith as in the Epistle to the Romans, even
this early Epistle reveals his consciousness of the unique importance
of the fundamental grace.
8. now we live. It has been suggested that the Apostle
regards his depressed state before Timothy arrived with the good
news from Thessalonica as like a condition of death. This glad
tidings has revived him, and he will continue to live if only the
Thessalonians will continue faithful.
stand fast: a change of phrase, indicating the result of faith.
Faith produces steadfastness.
in. The use of this preposition in the N. T. is very varied
and extensive, partly owing to the fact that it is often a rendering
of the Hebrew b' a preposition which means 'by' as well as 'in.'
and partly because it lends itself readily to certain specifically
Christian ideas. To be in Christ is one of these ideas. The
phrase is distinctly a Christian idiom. It signifies close vital union
with Christ, like the branch that abides ' in the vine.'
the Lord: Jesus Christ. See i. i, where this title is given
together with the personal name.
9. for you: lit. 'concerning you.' It is not giving God the
thanks which was due from the Thessalonians themselves, but
thanking God because of the good news that had come from
Thessalonica.
all the joy. This is the immediate occasion of the thanks-
giving. Paul does not know how to thank God enough for giving
him this great gladness.
for your sakes: simply 'because of you' as the occasion of
the joy, not, on your behalf, as its end and purpose.
before our God. Surely not to indicate ' the pure nature of
the joy . . . such as could bear the scrutiny of the eye of God,' as
Bishop Ellicott says. That would be a thought too remote from
182 I THESSALONIANS 3. n
exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect
that which is lacking in your faith ?
Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord
the context. The Apostle is thinking of his prayers and thanks-
givings when he presents himself before God. These are made
glad by the news from Macedonia.
10. nigM and day. This cannot merely refer to morning
and evening prayers, at the two set hours of devotion. The
same phrase was used earlier for the Apostle's twofold work of
preaching the gospel and supporting himself by manual labour —
'working night and day' (ii. c,\ where continuity was indicated.
The same idea is in mind here. Paul is continually praying
this prayer. It is in his heart in the quiet night and in the busy
day.
perfect : lit. ' adjust,' ' put in right order ' ; but the word is
used in a secondary sense with the idea of completing. It is not
of the same root as the word usually rendered 'perfect,' as, for
instance, where Jesus says, 'Ye therefore shall be perfect, as
your heavenly Father is perfect' (Matt. v. 48). It has nothing to
do with what is technically called 'Christian perfection.' The
real meaning of the word ' perfect ' in the N. T. is adult or mature.
Here the idea is of setting to rights what is defective.
your faith. The faith of these new Macedonian converts
could not but be defective as to its contents, however strong it
might have been in its sense of loyalty and confidence. There
is no evidence that the Thessalonians were deficient in trust-
fulness of spirit or fidelity to Christ. What they lacked was
a clear and reassuring view of truth, as the subsequent words
of the Apostle about the Second Advent shew. By giving them
further enlightenment the Apostle would enlarge and strengthen
the contents of their faith.
iii. 11-13. A fervent desire for the progress of the Thessalonians.
The Apostle earnestly prays that his way may be Divinely directed
so that he may come to his friends. He also prays that they may
abound in love, in order that they may be well established in
holiness at the coming of Christ.
our G-od and Father : a favourite expression of the Apostle.
It also occurs in i. 3, and again in iii. 13 ; in i. 1 Paul writes of
' God the Father.' Then in the Second Epistle he has ' God our
Father' (2 Thess. ii. 16), and 'our God' (2 Thess. i. 11, 12). The
full phrase brings before us (1) the personal relation with God as
'our God,' and (2) the Divine Fatherhood, a doctrine especially
revealed and expounded in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and
fully accepted by the Apcstle Paul.
I THESSALONIANS 3. 12 183
Jesus, direct our way unto you : and the Lord make you 13
to increase and abound in love one toward another, and
direct : lit. < make straight.' The verb is in the singular, and
yet there are two subjects to it, ' our God and Father ' and ' our
Lord Jesus Christ.' This indicates that to the Apostle the two
were one. We must not deduce any elaborate Trinitarian doctrine
from this simple expression, as Paul is not here formulating a
creed. It took the church three centuries to arrive at the meta-
physical refinement of the Nicene Creed. But Paul could not
possibly write as he does here unless he viewed our Lord in
closest union with God. The very casualness of the phrase
where another subject is in mind shews that the idea in it was
familiar to the Apostle. The optative form of the verb approaches
the language of prayer. In breathing this wish the Apostle is
virtually praying that God and Christ will make a way for him to
visit Thessalonica.
our way unto you. The desire to see his friends is on the mind
of the Apostle, and therefore repeatedly coming out in his letter.
This sentence must be set off against the earlier statement that
Satan was hindering the journey (ii. 18). If the hindrance is
from Satan the help must come from God and Christ. Circum-
stances are too strong for the Apostle. But the supreme Providence
can frustrate the machinations of the great mischief-maker.
12. the Lord. It may be questioned whether Paul here means
God, or Christ. Throughout the Epistle he writes of Jesus as
Lord, sometimes with the personal name added, as 'our Lord
Jesus,' or 'the Lord Jesus.' Here, as in verse 8, it stands alone,
and therefore it might mean God according to the frequent usage
of the O. T. But then Paul elsewhere plainly uses the title by
itself for Christ. Thus in iii. 13 he has 'the coming of our Lord
Jesus,' but in iv. 15, 'the coming of the Lord,' manifestly with
reference to the same future event. In the latter passage, and in
the verses that follow, \ the Lord ' is evidently Jesus Christ. It
is likely that the intended application is the same here. But the
indefiniteness of the expression agrees with the inference deduced
from the previous verse, viz. that Paul is assuming the Divinity of
Christ. Otherwise he would scarcely use a term so familiar to
readers of the O. T. as a name of God without guarding it against
misapprehension. Right feeling, a shrinking from what might
seem to approach blasphemy, would lead him to avoid this
danger.
increase: pointing to the process of growth.
abound : pointing to superlative attainment.
in love : or ' in your love.' It already exists ; the prayer is
for its advance to overflowing fullness. Love is the one Christian
i84 I THESSALONIANS 3. 13
13 toward all men, even as we also do toward you ; to the
end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness
grace which the Apostle here expressly desires to see flourishing.
His following words shew that he regards it as the foundation of
holiness and of a ripe Christian character generally. This was
the most marked characteristic of primitive Christianity. There
had come into the world a new religion distinguished from the
old religions especially in this, that its followers were cultivating
a spirit of unselfish kindness.
one toward another : the peculiarly Christian grace known
in the N. T. as ' love of the brethren.'
toward all men : philanthropy. By what looks like a cruel
irony of fate the Christians were hated as enemies of mankind.
Thus, referring to Nero's persecution of the Christians after the
burning of Rome, Tacitus writes, • a vast multitude was convicted,
not so much of arson, as cf hatred for the human race.' Never-
theless history gradually dispelled this monstrous illusion. Charity
was a visible feature of the new religion. Rich men would give
all their property to the poor. Orphanages were established,
hospitals supported, prisoners relieved, slaves treated kindly, and
in some cases emancipated, by the Christians. Seeing that they
held a gospel of salvation, their missionary zeal in spreading it
abroad was the outcome of their large and warm philanthropy.
as we also. It was the broader philanthropy that led
the missionaries to preach to the Greeks at Thessalonica after
they had been repelled by the Jews. Then after the church was
established there grew up between the converts and their teachers
the new, strong emotion of brotherly love. This Epistle affords
abundant evidence of Paul's affection for the Thessalonians.
13. to the end. This twofold love is not the end of all per-
fection. It is the basis on which the complete Christian character
is to be built. The Apostle therefore proceeds to describe the
object he has in view when desiring the Thessalonians to abound
in love.
stablish: the same Greek word that the Apostle had used
in verse 2 when expressing his desire that he could visit the
Thessalonians in order to ' establish ' them. Here again it suggests
the notion of making firm and strong. But while in the former
passage Paul wrote as though he could bring about this result, now
he prays that God may do it. Unable to visit the Thessalonians in
person as yet, he prays that God may make up his lack of service
to them. We must not suppose, however, that he would think
of the Divine strengthening as a mere alternative to his own, to
be substituted simply because he is not able to go to Thessalonica in
person. If he went, it would be as God's messenger and servant,
I THESSALONIANS 3. 13 185
before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord
Jesus with all his saints.
and as the human instrument through which the Divine grace
would be bestowed. What he prays is that, while he is unable
to go, God will bestow that grace directly, apart from the instru-
mentality of the Apostle.
your hearts. Throughout the Bible, both in the O. T. and
in the N. T., the heart stands for the whole inner life— the will
and thought as well as the affections. It is the inner life that
the Apostle desires to see made firm and strong.
unblameable : in view of the judgement at the paronsia
referred to further on.
holiness. The primary idea of holiness is consecration. In
the O. T. it represents what is set apart for God, and therefore
sacred in contrast with the common things of the world ; but
even there the moral character of holiness gradually emerges.
God cannot endure sin. Therefore what is devoted to God must
be separated from sin. God Himself is holy as being perfectly
good and as not permitting the approach of evil. Thus in Isa. vi.
while the seraphs adore Jehovah as holy the prophet shrinks in
contrast as a man of unclean lips. In the N. T. the physical con-
ception of holiness in ritual disappears and the moral and spiritual
are exclusively present. Thus holiness is purity considered as
a condition of approach to God, freedom from sin in His sight.
It is the same moral state as goodness, but with the addition that
it is goodness in God's presence and fcr His sake. This idea of
holiness is clear in 2 Cor. vii. 1, where we read of 'perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.' In the present instance the Apostle
bases holiness on love. He prays that the love of his friends ma}*
abound in order that their hearts may be made strong in holiness.
Since sin is selfishness, love which expels selfishness must make
for purity, the ethical aspect of holiness.
before our God and Father. The clause might mean (1) that
the blamelessness was to be such as God would recognize, or (2)
that the holiness should be that which would stand in His sight,
or (3) taking the two ideas together, that to be blamelessly holy
in God's sight is what the Apostle desires for the Thessalonians.
This third interpretation is the more probable, as the words are
all closely connected together. There is a blamelessness that
may stand with men, but while this is inoffensive and not chargeable
with crime, it may not amount to holiness. To be blameless before
God, holiness must be added to virtue, internal purity to external
goodness. Then there is a holiness that is not without blame,
being imperfect and defective. The conjunction of the two ideas
is necessary for satisfying God and standing clear in His presence
— blamelessness as regards holiness.
1 86 I THESSALONIANS 3. 13
the coming: //'/. 'the presence,' the parousia; see note on
ii. 19. This will be the occasion of the judgement of Christians
as well as of godless people. It is necessary, therefore, that
Christians should be ready for the presence of Christ by having that
blamelessness of holiness that is the only fit condition for being
presented to God.
with all his saints. It is usual to address Christians, the
members of the apostolic churches, by the title ' saints.' Thus
the Roman Christians are 'called to be saints' (Rom. i. 7N.
Similarly the Corinthians (i Cor. i. 2) and the Christians of Achaia
(2 Cor. i. 1). The title is not given to the Galatians, with whom
the Apostle was much displeased ; but neither is it applied to the
Thessalonians, with whom he was greatly pleased. The Christians
in the churches to which the epistles of the captivity are directed
are all addressed as ' saints ' (Eph. i. 1 ; Phil. i. 1 ; Col. i. 2 ; Philem.
5, 7). Thus the saints are not the blessed dead, but men and
women living in this world ; nor are they a selection of eminent
souls that have been canonized in distinction from their brethren,
but all the Christians. The case is different here : Christ does not
come to his saints as he would come if they were the members
of the churches on earth at his advent ; he comes with them. They
accompany him. This is only a variation of the Jewish picture
of the Messiah coming with his angels which our Lord himself
adopted when he said, * when he cometh in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels ' (Mark viii. 38). Pearson in his work On
Creed understands that the word ' saints ' here simply means
the angels. But that is contrary to usage. Paul believes in the
usually accepted idea that Christ will come attended by angels,
for he states it in the next Epistle, describing ' the revelation of
the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power ' (2 Thess.
i. 7). There he uses the word 'angels.' If he has 'saints' here
his meaning cannot be the same. It will not do to say that the
word 'saints' includes both men and angels. That too is quite
contrary to usage. It seems clear that in the present case Paul
substitutes the saints for the angels. The saints are to be Christ's
attendants at his parousia. The Apostle can only mean the spirits
of the departed servants of God. This is further explained by
IV. 14, where Paul says that they 'that are fallen asleep in Jesus
will God bring with Him.' As that was a very important idea in
the mind of the Apostle just now, and in some measure the occasion
of writing the Epistle, Paul hints at it here, though he intends to
explain it fully later on. Perhaps the idea may be traced back
to the primitive apocalypse of Daniel, where, after the vision of
one like a son of man coming in the clouds of heaven (Dan. vii.
I3)> we read how ' the saints of the Most High shall receive the
kingdom,' &c. (verse 18).
I THESSALONIANS 4. i 187
Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in 4
the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought
to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk, — that ye
iv. 1-8. Exhortation to purity of life. Paul urges his readers to
continue as they have begun to live, but going further in the same
direction. So he charged them before. God's will is for their
sanctification, which in their case means especially abstinence
from sexual impurity. They should know how to keep the body
holy in contrast to the lustfulness of the heathen, and not wrong
one another in this matter, since God is the Avenger. The Divine
call was not for uncleanness, but for holiness. He who rejects this
message goes beyond the rejection of a man, he is renouncing
God and His gift of the Holy Spirit.
1. Finally. How can this word occur when we are only half-
way through the Epistle ? The Revisers have substituted it for
' Furthermore,' which was the rendering of the A. V., and this is
more correct as a translation of the original, which means literally
1 For the rest.' But the Greek word does not necessarily imply
that the writing is coming to an end. Here we see it occurs
before half the Epistle is written. Similarly we have it in the
middle of the Epistle to the Philippians (iii. i\ It has been said
that it indicates an intention to close ; but that the rush of fresh
thoughts leads in each case to additions previously not con-
templated. But the word does not mean this. It rather points
to a transition than to a termination. It contemplates all the
subjects that remain to be dealt with, but these need not be few,
nor the treatment of them brief.
then: in view of what has just been said about being
blameless in holiness at the coming of Christ. This is a great
motive for the purity of life about which the Apostle is about to
speak.
"brethren : the specific title of Christians among themselves.
in the I»ord Jesus : not ' by the Lord Jesus ' as in the A. V.
This is not a form of adjuration. The language is in what we
may call the Christian dialect. It is not to be interpreted by the
ordinary usages of Greek literature. It is as Christians, with
reference to their close relation to Jesus Christ, that the Apostle
exhorts his readers.
as ye received of us: when the missionaries were at
Thessalonica.
to walk: a Hebraism for the conduct of life. Thus it is
said, 'Enoch walked with God' (Gen. v. 22). According to Paul
Christianity is not merely concerned with the crisis of conversion,
or public worship, or the blessedness of heaven. It is for the
continuous course of life in the world day by day.
188 I THESSALONIANS 4. 2-4
2 abound more and more. For ye know what charge we
3 gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will
of God, eve?i your sanctification, that ye abstain from
4 fornication ; that each one of you know how to possess
and to please God: i.e. by the way in which they walk,
walking so as to please God.
abound: in walking so as to please God. This expression
delicately implies that the Thessalonians are already living in the
right way in accordance with the apostolic injunctions. They
are not rebuked as though their walk were wrong, or urged to
commence the right course as though they were sitting in
indolence, but simply encouraged to do better in the course they
are now following.
2. charge: literally, ' precepts,' ' commands.' The Apostle had
not merely given the Thessalonians the invitations of the gospel,
he had followed these up with practical directions to guide the
conduct of his new converts.
through the Lord Jesus: on the ground of the authority
of Christ. It was as Christ's messenger that Paul gave these
commands. They were not his own ideas urged by his own will.
The mind and will of Christ were behind him when he issued
them. It was therefore by reason of their relation to Christ that
they had weight. Cf. ' I beseech you, brethren, through the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same
thing,' &c. (1 Cor. i. 10). Cf. Rom. xii. i, xv. 31 ; 2 Cor. x. 1.
3. the will of God : the thing that God wills.
sanctification. The Greek word signifies the process of
being sanctified. This is God's will, that His people should be
sanctified. To sanctify means primarily 'to set apart for God.'
Thus it has the same original meaning as 'to make holy.' But
for those who are morally evil this necessarily involves a cleansing,
because impurity cannot be brought into the presence of God.
Thus we come to the secondary meaning of sanctifying, the
process of purification which fits souls to be consecrated to God.
In the N. T. the two ideas are interwoven, and sanctification
is purification for the sake of devotion to God. See note on
' holiness,' iii. 13. The words that follow shew that sanctification
is directly related to purity of character. In writing to new
converts from heathenism Paul felt it necessary to be very urgent
on the point of sexual morality. Nothing is more wonderful in
the progress of Christianity among the Greek cities than its
maintenance of a standard of purity in startling contrast to the
comparative indifference of paganism in regard to this matter.
4. know hew. A mere effort of will was not enough. The
I THESSALONIANS 4. 5 189
himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honour,
not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles which 5
lofty ideal must be conceived and comprehended, and then the
way to attain it by the grace of Christ understood.
his own vessel. The commentators have been divided
between two explanations of this metaphor, some taking it to
mean 'his own body,' others 'his own wife.' Most now incline
to the latter meaning ; the language is more easily explained
with this reference in mind, (i) The word 'possess1 is out of
place with regard to a man's body. It fits in better with the
idea of having a wife. (2) The strong phrase ' his own ' seems
superfluous if the body is intended ; it would be enough to say
'his vessel' for 'his body.' But with reference to a wife it
excludes adultery with other women who are not 'his own.*
(3) While we never meet with the image of a 'vessel' for the
body, we do meet with it elsewhere for a wife in the passage
' giving honour unto the woman, as unto the weaker vessel ' (i Pet.
iii. 7), where the mention of 'honour' in connexion with the
'vessel,' as in the passage before us, suggests that Peter actually
had our passage in mind when writing. It is now generally
admitted that i Peter contains several allusions to the Epistles
of Paul. Elsewhere the image of a vessel is used for men, e. g.
' vessels of wrath ' (Rom. ix. 22). In such passages it does not
represent the body, but the whole person. For these reasons
it would seem that the Apostle is here following up his admonition
to abstain from the licence of pagan immorality by urging each
man to be faithful to his own wife.
5. even as the Gentiles. This might seem to imply that the
readers were Jews ; but other passages make it certain that such
was not the case, e. g. ' how ye turned unto God from idols ' (i. 9 ;
see Introduction, p. 12). But Paul is a Jew, and to the Jew
Gentile and heathen are equivalent terms. Then he regards
Christians as spiritual Israelites, the true Israel of God, in contrast
with whom the unconverted pagan world is still Gentile. He is
here referring to the vicious habits of the heathen.
which know not God. In analysing the genesis and develop-
ment of the world's wickedness Paul traces it back to a suppression
of the knowledge of God which even the heathen had obtained
from the observation of His works in nature. This led to idolatry ;
idolatry to immorality (see Rom. i. 18-25). Or perhaps ignorance
of God might be thought some excuse for the vices of paganism.
That excuse the Thessalonians do not possess. Then it would be
peculiarly wicked for them with their new light to fall back into
the practices of heathen darkness.
igo I THESSALONIANS 4. 6
6 know not God ; that no man transgress, and wrong his
brother in the matter : because the Lord is an avenger
in all these things, as also we forewarned you and
6. transgress. The A. V. has ' go beyond,' the literal meaning
of the Greek ; but it makes no sense here. The Revisers suggest
'overreach,' in the margin, which is a classic usage of the word.
This meaning will suit very well if the words further on rendered
'in the matter' be translated 'in business,' but, as we shall see
when we come to them, that is not their probable meaning. The
word does not necessarily involve the idea of the cunning that
cheats. It will be suitable for any case in which a man wrongfully
gets the better of another. ' Transgress ' is too vague. Injustice to
some other person is what is intended.
wrong : lit. ' get an advantage over.'
Ms brother: his fellow Christian. The early Christians
treated one another as brothers.
in the matter : i. e. the matter just referred to. With tins
meaning the passage must be a warning against adultery. A man
is not to overreach his brother or get an advantage over him by
an intrigue with his brother's wife. The indefinite expression of
the A. V., 'in any matter/ is clearly wrong, because the definite
article is employed. ' In business ' would be a possible meaning
of the words — though for this the Greek should be in the plural —
'in affairs.' Then the passage would be a warning to Christians
not to take advantage of their fellow Christians and wrong them
in commercial transactions, a very suitable admonition in itself.
But the context is against it. We have seen that the subject of
the morality of the sexes precedes this passage ; the same
subject follows in verse 7, and that verse is connected with the
intermediate sentences by the word 'For'; i.e. verse 7 gives
the reason for what is said here. This seems to make it clear
that one and the same subject is under treatment throughout the
whole paragraph.
avenger : even against Christians if they fall into the sins of
the heathen. Paul does not teach that the forgiveness of all past
sin with which the Christian life commences carries with it im-
munity in regard to the future. The coming judgement will be
for Christians who fall away as well as for those who have never
been brought into the kingdom of grace.
ail these things: the immorality mentioned first as well as
the adultery referred to later.
forewarned: rather, 'said before,' not meaning 'before the
day of vengeance,' as 'forewarned' implies. The Apostle must
be alluding to his utterances at a previous time when in Thessa-
lonica. The margin of R. V. has, ' told you plainly,' but there
I THESSALONIANS 4. 7, 8 191
testified. For God called us not for unclean ness, but in 7
sanctification. Therefore he that rejecteth, rejecteth not 8
man, but God, who giveth his Holy Spirit unto you.
are no clear instances of this meaning in the N. T. (cf. Gal. i. 9).
See also Acts i. 16, where the same Greek word is used in
the phrase, ' which the Holy Ghost spake before by the mouth of
David.'
testified: charged. A strong word which in Grimm's
Dictionary is rendered 'testify earnestly/ 'solemnly affirm.'
In 2 Tim. ii. 14 it is rendered ' charge ' — ' charging them in
the sight of the Lord.' So it is in 2 Tim. iv. 1, 'I charge
thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus.'
i7. Tor : introducing the reasonable justification of the preceding
admonition. Immorality is not merely to be shunned for fear
of God's vengeance. It is the contradiction of the Christian
vocation. This fact makes the Divine vengeance on it especially
just. Such a breach of the condition of discipleship and complete
missing of its end deserves severe punishment.
for uncleanness: pointing to the purpose and end. There
is a similar expression in Gal. v. 13, • For 3'e, brethren, were
called for freedom.' Similarly, 'created ... for good works'
(Eph. ii. 10). The same preposition is used in each case. The
statement is not superfluous, since there were pagan cults that
involved their votaries in immoral ceremonies.
"but in sanctification. Schmiedel takes this to mean ' in order
to be sanctified ' ; but observe the change of preposition. Besides,
sanctification is a process, not an end. Christians are undergoing
the purifying and consecrating which is to fit them for future
union with God. Therefore the meaning seems to be that the
vocation brings Christians into the condition of being sanctified.
This is the opposite state to one of indulgence in immorality.
8. he that rejecteth : he who sets this advice at nought and
takes no account of it.
hut God : because the call came from God, and this call is not
for uncleanness, but its opposite. The Christian who indulges in
immorality is flouting the character and purpose of his call, and
therefore repudiating the message of God.
•who giveth: in the present (as R. V.) according to the best
MSS., not 'who hath . . . given,' as in the A. V. The phrase refers
to a continuous process. This might mean the giving of the
Spirit to a succession of people, each new convert in turn receiving
it. But as the Apostle adds ' unto you,' and as he is writing to
the members of a Christian church who have already all received
the first gift of the Spirit, he must mean that God is continually
giving more and more of His Spirit to each one of them. Paul more
192 I THESSALONIANS 4. 9
9 But concerning love of the brethren ye have no need
frequently writes of the Holy Spirit as given in the past by one
definite act, e. g. ' the Holy Ghost which was given unto us '
(Rom. v. 5) ; • God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts '
(Gal. iv. 7) ; see also 2 Cor. i. 22, v. 5. Here we have an ad-
ditional plea. Not only did God call the Thessalonians at the
first. He is continually breathing His Spirit into them. But
the purpose of this is sanctification ; the Spirit of God is the Holy
Spirit. To live licentiously while receiving this gift is grossly
insulting to the Giver. The obligation to purity, growing out of
the reception of the Holy Spirit, is similarly urged by the Apostle
when writing to the Corinthians, ' know ye not that your body
is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
from God?' (1 Cor. vi. 19).
iv. 9-12. Exhortation to increase of brotherly love in the church,
and quiet uidustry in the ivorld. The Thessalonians being taught
by God to love their fellow Christians, and practising the duty
among all their brethren in Macedonia, do not need to be reminded
of it. Still the Apostle exhorts them to increase in this funda-
mental grace of character. At the same time he recommends a
quiet life of diligent activity at their handicraft work, that they
may stand honourably with the world without and duly provide
for their own necessities.
9. But : better, ' Now.' The word is frequently used to indicate
a transition to a fresh subject, e. g. ' Now concerning spiritual gifts '
(1 Cor. xii. 1), ' Now concerning the collection for the saints ' (xvi. i),
&c. It recurs with this meaning at iv. 13, v. 1, 12.
love of tlie "brethren: this is expressed in the Greek by
one word, Philadelphia, which has a fixed and definite meaning
wherever it occurs in the N. T., standing for the affection of
Christians for one another. It involves the esprit de corps
of an organized community to which the members are devoted,
but it is much deeper, and partakes of a family nature. Jesus had
exhibited this love in his own person and character, not only
honouring but claiming as brothers and sisters all who did the will
of God (Mark iii. 35) ; and nothing is more indicative of the way
in which his spirit went with his gospel than the fact that even
in remote Greek cities no sooner was faith in Christ obtained than
this family feeling also sprang up among the converts. Nothing
approaching it is recorded of the pagan religious societies that
were spreading through the empire at this time, an external
resemblance to which might be seen in the Christian churches.
Harnack points to ' love of the brethren ' as one of the two
most marked peculiarities of the early Christians, the other
being ' enthusiasm.'
ye have: the Syro-Latin text (here represented by the MSS.
I THESSALONIANS 4. 10, n 193
that one write unto you : for ye yourselves are taught of
God to love one another j for indeed ye do it toward all 10
the brethren which are in all Macedonia. But we exhort
you, brethren, that ye abound more and more ; and that 1 1
D*FG, and the Vulgate and one of the Syrian versions) has ' we
have,' a not uncommon change which Nestle points out may be
due to the habit of the reader of Scripture in public worship of
thus associating himself with his hearers. Similarly perhaps it is
owing to the use of Scripture in the church services that we some-
times meet with the change of direct statements into exhortations.
no need. Ellicott treats this remark as a 'rhetorical turn,'
meaning a polite and insinuating way of conveying advice ; but
there is reason to conclude from other statements of the Apostle
that the Thessalonians were exceptionally marked by kindliness
and generosity of spirit (e. g. 2 Cor. viii. 1).
one. A.V. has 'I.' The Greek verb is in the infinitive
without any pronoun. Thus the phrase is general. The Thessa-
lonians did not need an exhortation on this matter from any
human correspondent.
taught of God: by the influence of the Spirit of God on their
hearts. This is why they did not need a human counsellor
concerning brotherly love.
to love. The form of the Greek is peculiar here. It has a pre-
position signifying an end or purpose. The exact expression
means, ' ye are God's pupils for this purpose — that ye may love
one another.' This is the great object that God has in view, the
supreme reason why He is schooling them.
10. all the brethren, &c. : not only in their own church, but
in neighbouring churches. We only know of two of these centres
of Christian life, viz. Philippi and Bercea. But possibly there were
also scattered believers who had heard the missionaries when
marketing in the towns.
all Macedonia : the Roman province of that name. Wherever
there were Christians in Macedonia the Thessalonians manifested
brotherly love for them. The expression 'a// Macedonia' was
in accordance with the Apostle's large way of speaking in the
sanguine spirit that anticipated winning all for Christ. Thus
he writes of 'all Achaia' (2 Cor. i. 1).
abound more and more : i. e. in love of the brethren.
11. study : lit. ' make it your ambition.' The primary meaning
of the word is ' to be fond of honour ' ; thence comes the secondary
meaning, ' to be ambitious.' Paul uses it in two other places —
Rom. xv. 20, where according to the R. V. we read, ' making it my
aim to preach the gospel,' &c, and 2 Cor. v. 9, 'we make it our
(9> o
i94 I THESSALONIANS 1. u
ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and
12 to work with your hands, even as we charged you ; that
ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and
may have need of nothing.
aim ... to be well-pleasing unto him.' This milder sense of
the word is adopted by Ellicott here ; but Schmiedel adopts the
stronger meaning ', which is more in accordance with usage as well
as etymology.
to be quiet. The paradox is striking. Ambition is usually for
publicity, noise, stir in the world. Paul would have the end of
ambition to be the attainment of quiet. This advice, together with
what follows, suggests the idea that the Apostle fears the Thessa-
lonians are too restless. In his second letter he distinctly says
that he hears that some of them are ' busybodies' (a Thess. iii. n).
work with your hands. This shews that they were artizans.
It was a working-man's church. Probably many of them were
weavers, as weaving was an industry carried on at Thessalonica.
Thus their position was not unlike that of Paul the tent-maker.
But the advice here given suggests that they were becoming
indifferent to their daily toil in the new enthusiasm that had
taken possession of them. There was no fault to be found with
them in the matter of brotherly love ; but this must not be pleaded
as an excuse for the neglect of daily duty.
even as we charged you. The enthusiasm had appeared as
early as the time of the Apostle's missionary labours in Thessa-
lonica, and even then he had felt it necessary to warn his converts
not to be so carried away with religious emotion as to fail in
attention to their business affairs. This advice is not often
called for in the present da}r.
12. honestly: lit. 'becomingly,' 'decorously.' An idle habit
indulged in with negligence of the work of life is most unseemly.
them that are without: the pagan neighbours. For
Christians to be seen neglecting the duty of earning their daily
bread while giving themselves up to religious excitement would
prejudice their cause in the eyes of the world, which could
appreciate the value of sober work, while it could not understand
the spiritual pursuits of the new faith.
have need of nothing". Ellicott translates this, f have need of
no man,' i. e. not to be dependent on any one. The Greek admits
of either interpretation. But Schmiedel points out that the
reference to persons rather than things would be far-fetched and
not so clear. Moreover, it would be somewhat harsh. We do
1 rEure Ehre darein zu setzen.'
I THESSALONIANS 4. 13 u)S
But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, con- 13
cerning them that fall asleep ; that ye sorrow not, even
not want to feel that wc have need of nobody. The notion is
churlish. But it is reasonable that people should make proper
provision for themselves and their families by their own industry.
Thus Paul advances two reasons for assiduity in common work :
(1) Seemliness of behaviour in the eyes of the world, and (2)
avoiding want.
iv. 13-18. The Parousia. The Thessalonians are not to be
without the hope of seeing their departed friends again. God
will bring them back when Jesus returns, and we who are alive
at the time shall not then have precedence of them, because at the
coming of the Lord the dead Christians will rise in the first place,
and after that those living at the time will join them.
13. But: rather, ' How,' indicating transition to another topic.
See note on verse 9.
we would not have you ignorant : a favourite expression of
the Apostle when he is about to introduce some new assertion or
to impart some new teaching (e. g. Rom. i. 13, xi. 25 ; i Cor. x. 1,
xii. 1 ; 2 Cor. i. 8), and so to be contrasted with such expressions
as ' know ye not?' (1 Cor. iii. 16, v. 6, vi. 2, &c), or ' ye re-
member ' (1 Thess. ii. 9), where an appeal is made to what should
be already in mind as previously taught or learnt by experience.
them that fall asleep. The best MSS. have the present
participle, not the perfect, which gave the A. V. the expression
• them which are asleep ' — a reading of the Syro-Latin text. This
present tense points to what is now going on. The temptation to
despair is most keen at the moment of loss. The thought is that
as one and another of the Christians are taken away, even while
this very thing is happening hope must not be lost. The image of
sleep is the specifically Christian idea of death, though it is found
in the O. T., e. g. ' So David slept with his fathers ' (1 Kings ii.
10), and even in pagan writers — Homer, for instance, who has
'He slept an iron sleep ' {Iliad, ii. 241), Sophocles, and others. But
it is most frequent in the N. T. ; and it is peculiarly suitable to the
Christian idea of death, first as being a safe and peaceful rest free
from terror, and then as giving the prospect of an awakening.
that ye sorrow not. The comma at the end of this clause is
important. The idea is that there should not be sorrow at all
among Christians, not that their sorrow should not be the same in
kind and degree as that of the heathen. Human nature forbids the
absolute following of such advice. But when we think of the
wild abandonment to grief that accompanied an oriental mourning
we can understand how the Apostle would deprecate anything of
the kind in the case of Christians.
O 2
196 I THESSALONIANS 4. i4
14 as the rest, which have no hope. For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are
the rest : other people in Thessalonica, the pagan neighbours.
no hope: i.e. of again meeting departed friends. The old
Greek cemetery at Athens, containing pathetic expressions of
love for the departed, and its sad ' Farewells,' without any hope
of meeting the beloved parent or wife or child again, is in striking
contrast with what we read in the catacombs at Rome of the
Christian hope of life beyond the grave. Classic writers abound
with dreary expressions of the hopelessness of death. Thus
among the Greeks Theocritus says, ' Hopes are among the living,
but the dead are without hope ' {Idyll iv. 42), and Catullus among
the Romans, 'Suns can set and rise again. When once our brief
life sets, there must be the sleep of one perpetual night ' (v. 4 ; see
Jowett's commentary in loc). On the other hand, an inscription in
the catacomb of Callistus begins, ' Alexander is not dead, but
he lives above the stars and his body rests in this tomb V (Quoted
in Smith's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, art. 'Catacombs.')
14. if we toelieve that Jesus died and rose again. As the re-
surrection of our Lord was thecorner-stone of the Apostle's faith, he
must have made it prominent in his preaching at Thessalonica, and
must have looked for belief in his testimony to it among his converts.
Therefore he could say, 'we, on the assumption that they as well
as he accepted it as an established fact. Observe, this verse is
the earliest written statement of our Lord's resurrection, occurring
as it does in the first of Paul's Epistles. Thus we have a docu-
mentary record of it from little more than twenty years after the
event, according to the accepted chronology, and even with less
interval of time if we admit Harnack's scheme of dates. This may
be compared to an assertion made to-day of the fall of the
Beaconsfield Cabinet and the return of Mr. Gladstone to power
on the occasion of the agitation about the Bulgarian atrocities
made by a contemporary of those events.
Jesus: our Lord's personal name on earth, very rarely used
by itself in Paul's Epistles. Whenever it is so used the Apostle is
directing attention to Christ in his life on earth.
died. Observe, it is never said that Jesus slept. He died ;
there is no softening of that fact. It stands out in grim horror by
its close juxtaposition to what Is asserted of his people who are
said to sleep.
even so. Paul takes the resurrection of Christ as at once the
assurance and the type of the resurrection of Christians. Both
these ideas are elaborately worked out in 1 Cor. xv.
1 ' Alexander mortuus non est sed vivit super astra et corpus in hoc
tumulo quiescit.'
I THESSALONIANS 4. 15 197
fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this 1
them also that are fallen asleep. This is more correct than
the A. V., 'them also which sleep,' for the verb is in the aorist
tense, and therefore indicates not a continuous present condition,
but a single past action. It would be more accurate to say, 'them
also that were put to sleep,' since the verb is in the passive voice ;
it is the very act of dying compared to putting to sleep, as with
a child whom his mother hushes to slumber.
in Jesus. This cannot be a correct translation. The pre-
position ' here used primarily signifies ■ through.' Then it means
'by' in the sense of the relation of an agent or an instrument.
When it expresses the state through which one is passing, it may
sometimes be rendered by the English word ' in,' e. g. 'those who
believe, though they be in ' uncircumcision ' (Rom. iv. n), i.e.
while passing through that condition of life. For this sense of the
preposition, however, there must be some indication of a continuous
state or process. But that cannot be the case here, since the aorist
form of the verb indicates a single action. Therefore we must say
4 by,' or 'through Jesus.' Two interpretations are now possible:
(1) To connect this phrase with the falling asleep. Then it will
mean 'those who were put to sleep by Jesus,1 a beautiful idea
of Christian death, but one nowhere else met with in the N.T.
(2) To connect the phrase with the words that follow, reading the
whole sentence thus, ' even so them also that were put to sleep
will God through Jesus bring with Him.' This view, perfectly
legitimate as a translation of the original Greek, is accepted by
Schmiedel. It indicates that while it is God who effects the
resurrection, He will do this through the instrumentality of
Christ, with whom after they have been raised the departed
Christians will return. This conception is more in harmony with
Paul's teaching generally, in which Christ is seen as the Divine
agent through whom God creates (Col. i. 16) and redeems
(Rom. v. 1). In i Cor. xv. 22 the Apostle expressly describes
Christ as bringing about the resurrection, saying, 'As in Adam all
die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.'
will God bring1. The originating power of the resurrection
is always ascribed to God who raises Christ from the dead ;
though here it is also through him that God raises His people.
bring: lit. 'lead,' without indicating direction, in the sense
of ' lead to us,' implied by the word ' bring.' The idea is explained
by the context. When Christ comes back from the unseen world
the departed Christians will come with him. Paul conceives of this
earth as then revisited by the blessed dead. Thus, though the
word rendered ' bring ' does not imply all that the English term
1 5«d.
xg8 I THESSALONIANS 4. 15
we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that
contains, that term goes no farther than what is suggested in the
sequel. The same Greek word is used in Heb. x. 10 where we
read of God ' bringing [lit. ' leading '] many sons to glory.'
15. For : pointing to the explanation of the previous verse, as
that verse, introduced by the same conjunction, is the justification
of its predecessor. This is one of the common features of the
Apostle's st3rle. He pushes his explanations further and further
back, sometimes with quite a string of sentences each beginning
with ' For.' These are not parallel sentences, giving several
reasons for one earlier statement; but each sentence supports that
which goes before. Still the whole series is intended to sub-
stantiate the statement with which the paragraph opens.
this we say : an emphatic introduction of some new, impor-
tant assertion.
by : lit. ' in.' The preposition does not point to the authority
that gives Paul a right to speak, but to the nature of what he is
saying. This preposition is very common in the N. T. as an
equivalent of the Hebrew b\ which may mean 'with' as well
as 'in.' Similarly we read, 'We speak of God's wisdom in
a mystery' (i Cor. ii. 7), and, 'Unless I speak to you either
in a revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophecy, or in
teaching' (xiv. 6), where the A. V. has ' by,' and the R. V. ' by
way of,' e. g. ' by way of revelation,' &c, i. e. indicating the
kind of speech. The case before us is analogous. The kind
of utterance Paul is about to give is a word of the Lord. We
might render the phrase, 'as a word of the Lord' (Schmiedel).
the word of the Lord : lit. ' a word of the Lord,' one specific
word. By 'the Lord' Paul here means Jesus Christ; that is
indicated by other references to the same title in the words that
follow, e.g. 'the coming of the Lord,' 'the Lord himself shall
descend,' Sec. The phrase may be explained in either of two
ways : (1) As an appeal to some saying of Christ during his
ministry on earth ; or (2) as a reference to the inward and spiritual
teaching of Christ. There is nothing in the gospels that corre-
sponds to Paul's statements here. It is possible that he is referring
to some traditional saying : but, if so, probably he would have given
the utterance more directly, as for instance when he cites a saying
not in the gospels with the phrase, ' He himself said ' (Acts xxi. 35),
or when he wrote, ' I give charge, yea, not I, but the Lord ' (1 Cor.
vii. 10). Here his method is quite different ; for he writes, 'We
say unto you.' Elsewhere the Apostle claims to possess direct
teaching from Christ, e. g. when declaring that he has received
his gospel ' through revelation of Jesus Christ' (Gal. i. 12) ; and
probably he is referring to something of the kind here.
we that are aUve. The use of the first person evidently
I THESSALONIANS 4. 16 199
are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall
in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the 16
indicates that the Apostle is expecting to be of the number of
those who will not die before the coming of Christ. Five years
later, when he is writing to the Corinthians, this expectation is
not so definitely expressed, the Apostle saying, f We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed' (r Cor. xv. 51), a prediction
that leaves it open whether he himself will be of the first group,
that containing those who sleep (cf. 1 Cor. i. 7, 8,iv. 5, xvi. 22).
Yet another five years, and it would seem that the Apostle has
definitely renounced the idea of living till the return of Christ, for
then he writes of his ' desire to depart and be with Christ ' (Phil.
i. 23, but cf. iv. 5, which points to the near coming of Christ).
Possibly he had reached this stage earlier, i. e. by the middle
period, because in 2 Corinthians, written only a few months after
I Corinthians (just cited), he speaks of the possible dissolution
of 'the earthly house of our tabernacle' (2 Cor. v. 1). Ellicott
considers that the passage before us i supplies no certain elements
for such startling deductions ' as that the Apostle identified himself
with the first-named group and expected to be alive at the Second
Advent. It is true that the pronoun f we ' might be used in-
definitely for all Christians, so that possibly Paul only means ' those
of us who will be alive,' but the frequent use of this pronoun
throughout the Epistle with a definite reference to the Apostle
himself forbids that interpretation.
in no wise : a double negative in the Greek, meaning ' certainly
not,' ' not by any means'— a strong denial.
precede: a great improvement in the R.V. over the word
\ prevent ' in the A. V., which is there used in an old English sense,
now obsolete, as in the collect, ; Prevent us, O Lord,' &c. ; in
Shakespeare, ' So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery '
{Hamk ', Act ii. Scene 3) ; and in Milton : —
' Half way he met
His daring foe, at this prevention more
Incens'd.' {Paradise Lost, Book vi. line 129.)
The idea is that those living on the earth at the time of our Lord's
advent shall not have precedence over those who shall have died
before that event. It would seem that the Thessalonians feared
that their deceased friends would miss the joy of participating in
the great event, the joy of the virgins who go out to meet the
Bridegroom. The Apostle assures them that this will not be the
case ; those who will be alive at the time will have no advantage
over their departed brethren in being the first to welcome Christ.
Jt is to be remarked that this quaint fear of the Thessalonians
200 I THESSALONIANS 4. 16
Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout,
indicates a very early date for the Epistle. It must have been felt
most acutely at the first appearance of death in the happy com-
munity. Previous to this, it would seem, the enthusiastic Christians
at Thessalonica imagined that they would all live to welcome
the return of Christ to earth. The first breach in their numbers
disappointed and perplexed them.
16. the Lord himself: no less a being. The phrase suggests
the august Presence.
shall descend from heaven : the idea being that Christ is
now in heaven seated at the right hand of God (Col. iii. i).
Inasmuch as the latter statement must be figurative, the infinite
and omnipresent God not being confined to a physical and local
throne, it follows that Christ's descent from his heavenly seat
should not be expected as a movement in space. If the language
which describes the throne of God, by the side of which Jesus is
pictured as sitting, cannot be taken literally, then that which
indicates his coming from that seat to another place must be equally
metaphorical. The word parousia, or ' presence,' which Paul
uses in this passage and elsewhere is less figurative. Christ "s
presence will be manifested, and to our limited imagination the
truth and its accompaniments can only be described in figurative
language. But while not forgetting its figurative form we must
perceive that this language contains a great idea, the real presence
of Christ revealing itself by indubitable signs and resulting in
stupendous consequences.
a shout. The Greek word means literally 'a shout ofcommand.'
It is commonly used of the call of the officer in a ship to the
rowers. Plato has it in his famous description of the soul as
a charioteer with two horses, one of which is obedient to ' the
word of command,' while the other is restive (Phaedrus, 253 d).
Homer uses it of the hero's shout to his followers in battle;
Xenophon of the huntsman's call to his dogs. The Vulgate has
in jussu ('with a command'). Two questions may be asked,
Who issues the word of command ? What is its meaning and
purpose ? The answer to neither question is quite clear. The
shout might be supposed to come either from Christ, or from the
archangel. But since ' the voice of the archangel ' is mentioned
afterwards as something additional to the shout, it seems more
likely that the shout, or rather 'word of command,' is ascribed
to Christ himself, like the captain of the host calling to his
followers. This is the view of the Greek expositors ; so also
Schmiedel. Ellicott refers it to the archangel. Nothing is said
as to the meaning and purpose of this commanding word ; but as
the rising of the dead follows, it would seem that the shout is the
call to slumbering souls to awake.
I THESSALONIANS 4. 17 201
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : then we
that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be
caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air :
the voice of the archangel : following and echoing the
Lord's word of command. Jesus had spoken of the summons
coming from 'angels' (Matt. xxiv. 31), and Paul refers to Christ's
coming ' with the angels of his power' in 2 Thess. i. 7. The only
passage in the N. T. besides that before us where we meet with
the word ' archangel ' is Jude 9, and there the archangel is named
'Michael.' The word does not appear in the O.T. But in
Daniel we meet with Michael described as ' one of the chief
princes' (x. 13), 'your prince' (verse 21), and ' the great prince
which standeth up for the children of thy people' (xii. 1).
Michael appears again in the Apocalypse, and there as the leader
of the angels, for we read ' Michael and his angels fought against
the dragon ' (Rev. xii. 7).
the trump of God. The genitive is possessive. The angel
sounds God's trumpet. The conception of this trumpet comes
down from the description of the giving of the law at Sinai with
'the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud' (Exod. xix. 16). In
Isaiah it is said that for the return of the scattered Israelites ' the
great trumpet shall be blown ' (Isa. xxvii. 13). The trumpet
appears again in 2 Esdras vi. 23. Jesus mentions it in connexion
with his return (Matt. xxiv. 31), and Paul writes of 'the last trump'
when ' the dead shall be raised incorruptible' (1 Cor. xv. 52). In
the Apocalypse seven angels appear each with a trumpet (Rev. viii.
a). All these instances indicate the trumpet as an instrument
to rouse and summon, after the manner of the use of trumpets
among the Jews in time of war (Num. x. 9), and in the temple
ritual (2 Chron. v. 12).
the dead in Christ : deceased Christians.
shall rise first: before the living meet Christ. The meaning
is not that c the dead in Christ ' shall rise before the dead who are
not in Christ. There is no reference to the latter class in the
whole passage, where the two contrasted groups are living and
dead Christians. The next sentence makes this indubitable. First
the dead in Christ are raised ; then follow— not the other dead
people— but 'we that are alive.'
17. then: immediately ; the words do not allow of any interval.
we that are alive, &c. See note on verse 15.
in the clouds : in accordance with the vision in Dan. vii. 13
that the son of man comes ' with the clouds of heaven.' Jesus
mentions this when predicting his return (Matt. xxiv. 30, xxvi.
202 I THESSALONIANS 4. is
iS and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.
64). The ascension is described as Christ being taken up into
a cloud, after which angels declare that he will return ' in like
manner* (Acts i. 9, 11). Perhaps the conception may be traced
back to the poetic image of the Psalmist, who says of God, ' who
maketh the clouds his chariot ' (Ps. civ. 3).
in : lit. ' into.' If the preposition1 is used in that sense it must
mean lifted up from the ground into the air, so that the sentence
would run thus : ' caught up in the clouds into the air to meet the
Lord.' But the strict limitation of the preposition's meaning
is not observed in the Greek of the first century, which allows
of its being used in the static sense of our word ' in.' This gives
us the more simple signification, as it is expressed in the English
versions. The Lord is met in the air while he is in the act
of descending from heaven to earth.
and so. The result is brought about in the way just indicated.
Thus, meeting Christ in the air, it comes to pass that we shall
be with him for ever after.
18. comfort one another. The thought goes backto thesituation
indicated in verse 13. The Thessalonians were grieving over the
fact that some of their number had died previous to the parousia,
fearing that these people would miss sharing in that event. Paul
has declared that so far from anything of the kind being the case,
the deceased Christians will even anticipate their living brethren
in meeting Christ.
The earnestness of the Apostle's treatment of this subject shews
that he considers the issues at stake to be very grave. This would
lead us to think that something much more serious than missing
the sight of the return of Christ as a sort of celestial pageant must
be feared by the Thessalonians. It would seem, as Schmiedel
holds, that with this there was feared to be lost all the future life
and blessedness of union with Christ, the being * for ever with the
Lord.' Thus these distressed people would seem to be much
in the same state as those members of the Corinthian church who
did not believe in a resurrection, though not, as in the latter case,
owing to any deliberate rejection of the doctrine (see 1 Cor. xv. 12).
The sorrowing without hope, like the pagans, involves some such
attitude towards the future. These new converts had taken in the
idea of the return of Christ, and with it the thought that his people
would meet him in order to live with him for ever, thus escaping
the doom of death by not dying at all. They did not see that
those who died could enter into the same state of blessedness.
I THESSALONIANS 5. i, 2 203
But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, 5
ye have no need that aught be written unto you. For 2
Paul's new revelation is to remove their distress by shewing that
this is a mistake, since the joy and privilege, not only of meeting
Christ at the parousia, but, what is infinitely more important, living
with him for ever, is for the blessed dead as surely as for the living,
and even with a certa;n precedence for the former. The reason
for this precedence is not stated ; but it may be that, being already
in the unseen world, they will be spiritually nearer to Christ when
he manifests himself than those who are still going through their
life on earth.
v. i-ii. Sons of light. It is not necessary for the Apostle to
wiite anything about the time of the parousia, as his readers know
that this will be sudden and unexpected. But they are not in
darkness ; so that the event will be no terror to them, like the visit
of a thief. Being sons of the day we should act accordingly with
becoming sobriety, arming ourselves against any possible attack,
especially since the purpose of our Lord's death on our behalf was
that whether awake or asleep we should live with him.
1. the times and the seasons. The word rendered 'times'
indicates time generally, the simple idea of the succession of
moments, e. g. ' after a long time ' (Matt. xxv. 19), ' after so long
a time' (Heb. iv. 7), 'there shall be time no longer' (Rev. x. 6).
In the plural it represents several periods of time. The word
rendered ' seasons ' stands for specific epochs, points of time,
crises, or periods in some way distinguished from one another.
It may be illustrated by our four seasons of the year, with their
characteristic differences as Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter ;
but it has a much wider application. Thus we have 'the season
[A. V. and R.V. have 'time'] of harvest' (Matt. xiii. 30), 'the
season of figs' (Mark xi. 13), 'in due season1 (Rom. v. 6). These
two words are frequently found together (e. g. Eccles. iii. 1 ;
Dan. ii. 21 ; Wisd. of Sol. viii. 8 ; Acts i. 7). Thus the phrase
as a whole means both the periods of time that are to elapse
before the coming of Christ — how many days or years — and the
specific epochs, with their several characteristics, that may have
to accomplish their own special ends or prepare for the parousia
and usher it in. (See Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, lvii.)
no need, &c. : in contrast with what was needed. They had
great need to be set right as to what the parousia involved ; but
the questions as to when it would happen and at what kind of
epoch in history did not require to be answered. If only the
survivors, only those who escaped death, were to share in the
coming blessedness, these questions would be of the most acute
interest, seeing that the longer the final consummation was post-
2o4 I THESSALONIANS 5. 3
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
3 cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying,
poned the more numerous would those Christians be who would
have to miss it by dying first. The Apostle has dispelled that
delusion. Then it matters not how long the interval of waiting
may be. But further, there is quite another way of looking at
this great event. It will be the advent of the Judge of all, the
return of the Master to call his servants to account, the coming
of the King to destroy his enemies. Those who would view
His coming with terror might be anxiously inquiring how near
the dread day would be ; those who were unprepared for it might
shrink from the startling occurrence. Not so Paul's readers ; the
sequel indicates why they have no alarming concern on this point.
They already know of the suddenness that will characterize the
parousia. But this thought need not distress them, because it
will be no terror to them.
2. yourselves know: from the teaching received during Paul's
stay at Thessalonica.
perfectly : better, ' accurately.' There was no haziness about
the missionaries' instructions on this point.
the day of the Lord : a familiar O. T. phrase used by the
prophets for the time of Jehovah's interference whether (i) to
deliver His oppressed people and destroy the power of their
enemies (Isa. xiii. 6), or (2) to bring judgement on Israel herself
(Amos v. 18). In later ages it came to be identified with the time
of the coming of the Messiah. In the N. T. it is always applied to
the Second Coming of Christ. His first advent did not realize that
portion of the Messianic ideal which comprehended the thoughts
of victory, kingship, and judgement, and which therefore were
reserved for some future advent. Thus the early Christians came to
live in an attitude of mind similar to that of devout Jews under the
prophets' teaching, but with this important difference, that, while
the old hope was a vague expectation of God's manifestation of
His power or the coming of some then unknown deliverer, the
Christian hope was more specific, being the anticipation of the
return of the Christ who was already well known by means of his
life on earth.
as a thief in the night. The origin of this illustration is in
our Lord's teaching (Matt. xxiv. 43). It is likely that Paul had
repeated the tradition of Christ's words to the Thessalonians, so
that this gave him reason for saying, 'yourselves know perfectly.'
But the saying of Jesus about his coming as a thief does not
include the idea of it being 'in the night.' Cf. Rev.iii. 3 and xvi.
15 ; 2 Pet. iii. 10, where Christ is seen coming ' as a thief,' but
again with no mention of the night. It would seem that this was
I THESSALONIANS 5. 3 205
Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon
an addition of the Apostle's, perhaps suggested by the parable
of the Virgins, if that, was known to Paul, where we read, ' But
at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom ! ' Still Christ's
words about the householder watching against the thief naturally
suggest the night as the season of his coming. Possibly this
passage is the origin of the church tradition that the Second
Advent is to occur at night. Thus Lactantius writes, 'Then the
middle of the heaven shall be laid open in the dead and darkness
of the night, that the light of the descending God may be manifest
in all the world as lightning: of which the Sibyl spoke in these
words: "When He shall come, there will be fire and darkness
in the midst of the black night"' {Institutes, vii. 19). It is not
probable that Paul knew the Sibylline oracle here cited, even if it
had made its appearance as early as the date of this Epistle.
Nevertheless it indicates an impression that the night was to be
the time of the advent. Later tradition fixes this at Easter Eve.
But all the Apostle intends is probably an emphasizing of our
Lord's teaching in which he compares his coming with that of
the thief simply to shew that the time will not be known
beforehand.
3. they are saying : people generally, in distinction from the
enlightened watchers, though Schmiedel holds that those who are
not Christians are intended, since they are referred to in the
verses that follow. But they have not yet been introduced, and
the phrase is indefinite. Most people are not expecting the day
of the Lord. This attitude of mind is illustrated by our Lord in
his references to the people of the days of Noah (Matt. xxiv. 38,
39 ; Luke xvii. 26, 27) and Lot (Luke xvii. 29, 30).
Peace and safety. Like the Jews of Ezekiel's time who
cried, ' Peace ' when, as the prophet says, ' there is no peace '
(Ezek. xiii. 10).
sudden destruction : as in the days of Noah's flood and the
destruction of the cities of the plain. Here the coming of Christ
is associated with those events which the prophets ascribed to ' the
day of the Lord,' judgement and the destruction of the enemies of
God and of His people, e. g. 4Howl ye; for the day of the Lord
is at hand ; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty ' —
literally 'the Mighty to destroy' (Isa. xiii. 6) ; cf. verse 9, Ezek.
xxx. 3 ff. ; Joel i. 15, ii. 1, 2, 11, 31 ; note especially Amos v. 18,
' Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord ! to what end is
it for you ? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.' See
also Zeph. i. 14-17, ii. 2, 3; Zech. xiv ; Mai. iii. 2. The same is
seen in our Lord's teaching, e. g. Luke xvii. 22-37 ; and repeated
by the apostles, e. g. Peter (Acts ii. 20), Paul (the passage before
us, Phil. i. 10, &c), John (Rev. xvi. 14).
2o6 I THESSALONIANS 5. 4-7
them, as travail upon a woman with child ; and they
4 shall in no wise escape. But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief :
5 for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day : we are
6 not of the night, nor of darkness ; so then let us not
7 sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. For
4. darkness. The mention of ' night ' earlier suggests the
contrast of darkness and light, and thus introduces a new line of
thought. The darkness here referred to is primarily ignorance.
The sequel shews that moral depravity is also in mind, but rather
as the behaviour of the children of darkness than as that darkness
itself. Though Christ will come to the world as a thief in the
night, i. e. suddenly and unexpectedly, this will not be the case
with Christians who are taught to expect his advent. They are
not in darkness, being enlightened by the revelation of the
mysteries proclaimed by the apostles. Cf. Eph. iv. 18, ' darkened
in their understanding.'
5. sons of light: a phrase found in the teaching of Jesus
(Luke xvi. 8). It is a Hebraism; cf. 'son of wickedness' (Ps.
lxxxix. 22), 'sons of thunder' (Mark iii. 17). The idiom is used
to express an essential characteristic. ' Sons of light ' are people
characterized by their intimate relation to light. The phrase is
more forcible than our expression ' enlightened people,' for the
light is not a mere accident ; it has become part of the nature and
being. The primary idea must be the possession of knowledge,
in contrast with the benighted state of the heathen to whom the
day of Christ's coming will be a terrible surprise. The contrast is
further emphasized by the synonymous expression 'sons of day.'
Since the Thessalonians have received the light of Christian truth
they belong not to the night, but to the day. The moral and
spiritual significance of the contrast of light and darkness is
a prominent idea in the Fourth Gospel, e.g. John i. 5, iii. 19-21,
xi. 9, 10, xii. 35, 36, where, while ignorance and moral depravity
are blended in the notion of darkness, light symbolizes purity as
well as knowledge. Some such secondary signification appears to
be emerging here, since the Apostle turns directly to the treatment
of the conduct that becomes Christians as sons of light.
6. so then: in the Greek a strong conclusive phrase, very
characteristic of Paul's style. It points to a sure inference.
not sleep. Sleep represents careless indifference which
would be startled by the sudden coming of a thief.
the rest : those who are not Christians, especially heathen
fellow citizens at Thessalonica. See iv. 13.
watch : the first duty, as in view of a thief's sudden coming ;
I THESSALONIANS 5. 8 207
they that sleep sleep in the night ; and they that be
drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, since we 8
are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of
faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
a duty frequently insisted on by Christ, e. g. Matt. xxiv. 42 ;
Luke xii. 37, 39. It is also elsewhere urged by Paul — Acts xx.
31; 1 Cor. xvi. 13; Col. iv. 2; and it is prominent in the
Apocalypse — iii. 2, 3, xvi. 15.
"be sober. In Grimm-Thayer the Greek word is rendered, ' to
be calm and collected in spirit.' It occurs again in verse 8, and
then only at 2 Tim. iv. 5 in the Pauline Epistles. The only other
N. T. instances of its appearance are in 1 Peter— viz. i. 13, iv. 7,
v. 8. It is not enough to watch. The watcher must be in a calm
and self-possessed temper of mind to be ready for the great event.
In Christ's teaching prayer is commonly associated with watching,
e. g. ' Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation ' (Mark
xiv. 38'. The word does not have our modern specific sense of
the opposite to intemperance in strong drink, although that in-
temperance is referred to in the context.
7. Two ways of spending the night — in sleep and in reveln',
neither of which is appropriate to the day. The non- Christian
world may be said to be spending its time largely in one or the
other of these ways — in careless indifference to the coming judge-
ment, equivalent to sleep ; or if with keen interest and excitement,
only with a passion for what is base and unworthy.
8. let us. The pronoun is emphatic in the Greek— meaning
' us Christians,' in contrast with ' the rest ' just referred to
(verse 6).
putting1 on, &c. : the harnessing of the soldier with his
armour for fight — a new image. Of course there is no reference
to the notion of defence against the thief. The illustration of the
thief was only introduced to suggest the alarming suddenness of
the advent of Christ for those not prepared to expect it. Now we
have an instance of the Apostle's frequent allusions to the warfare
of the spiritual life, introduced apparently by the sober, alert
attitude of the Christian in contrast with the careless slumbers or
dissolute excitement of others.
breastplate: rather, 'corselet,' or 'cuirass,' a coat of mail
protecting the body from the neck to the waist.
of faith and love : a genitive of apposition. Faith and love
constitute a breastplate, protecting the heart from the assaults of
evil. In the parallel passage in Eph. vi. 14 the breastplate consists
of righteousness.
the hope of salvation. Salvation in the N. T. is usually
208 1 THESSALONIANS 5. 9, 10
9 For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the ob-
10 taining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who
regarded as a future good, the final deliverance from all evil, e.g.
Rom. xiii. it. Here the image is similar to 'the helmet of
salvation ' in Eph. vi. 17, but more explicit, since it shews that the
protection is to be found in the hope of future deliverance. Such
a hope is a safeguard against yielding either to despair or to the
fatal allurements that attack the uninterested soul.
It is difficult to carry the analysis further and discover the
specific suitability of faith and love as a breastplate and of the
hope of salvation as a helmet. Fanciful analogies may be easily
suggested ; but probably the Apostle had none such in mind, and
only intended to indicate that the whole person — especially the
two most vital parts, the head and the heart — should be covered
with this armour of the spiritual graces. Observe, these are the
same three graces that he eulogizes in writing to the Corinthians
as being permanent in contrast with the temporary gifts of
prophecy, tongues, and knowledge (1 Cor. xiii. 8), saying, ' But
now abideth faith, hope, love, these three ' (verse 13). The trio to be
thus permanent must consist of tough and enduring substance — such
as will be suitable for armour that is to stand the assaults of evil.
9. appointed: indicating the Divine end and purpose in calling
us to be Christians.
wrath : the destiny of abandoned souls, designated elsewhere
' children of wrath ' (Eph. ii. 3) ; cf. Rom. i. 18, ii. 5, 8, iii. 5, v. 9 ;
and especially, 'What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to
make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels
of wrath fitted unto destruction ' (Rom. ix. 22), where a certain
Divine destiny of some people to come under the wrath of God in
future times is indicated, although the Apostle is careful to shew
that this is not independent of character, saying, ' by their unbelief
they were broken off' (Rom. xi. 20), so that it was * towards them
that fell' that he shewed 'severity' (verse 22).
obtaining' of salvation : as a future possession. Elsewhere
the word rendered 'obtaining' sometimes means ' possession,' e. g.
Eph. i. 14 ; Heb. x. 39 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9. But here it plainly points to
a future acquisition, since it balances the 'wrath' which belongs
to the future. It has the same meaning in 2 Thess. ii. 14, where
R. V. follows A. V. in rendering it 'obtaining' ; and, as there the
object is the ' glory of the Lord Jesus Christ' a share in which
undoubtedly belongs to the future, it is impossible to read ' pos-
session,' as though a present state were intended.
through : pointing to the means or the agent. The primary
source of salvation will be God, who effects His redeeming purpose
by means of the action of Jesus Christ.
I THESSALONIANS 5. 10 209
died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should
10. died: not simply 'was killed.' The voluntary element in
our Lord's death is here indicated.
for us. The preposition l rendered ' for ' signifies ' on behalf
of,' 'for the benefit of.' Thus it occurs with reference to
intercessory prayer in the phrases ' pray for them ' (Matt. v. 44),
1 pray ye for me' (Acts viii. 24"), ' praying always for you ' (Col.
i. 3), ' pray one for another' (Jas. v. 16) ; cf. Rom. x. 1 ; 2 Cor.
i. 11, ix. 14; Eph. vi. 19; Phil. i. 4. But here what is said
elsewhere of intercessory prayer is affirmed of the death of Christ,
which is stated to be on our behalf or for our benefit. This is
chronologically the first statement of the great truth in the N. T.,
occurring as it does in the earliest of Paul's epistles, and, with the
possible exception of the Epistle of James, which does not contain
the idea, the earliest written book of the N. T. It has been
described as an essentially Pauline thought, originating in the
mind of the great Apostle. The speeches ascribed to Peter and
Stephen in 'Acts' do not contain it. But it is found in our Lord's
teaching (Matt. xx. 28, xxvi. 28), and therefore must be ascribed
to the original gospel of the Founder of Christianity, whence Paul
may have received it. Still the idea is much more prominent in
the preaching and writing of the Apostle after the death of Jesus
had been witnessed than it was in the utterances of his master
before that event. Paul made the crucifixion central in his
preaching (see 1 Cor. ii. 2). That was inevitable when once he
had come to see the purpose of it. Directly it is perceived that
death was voluntarily accepted by Jesus Christ for our benefit, that
event becomes of supreme interest to our thoughts of what he was
and what he did, for it must be regarded as the greatest thing
that he did, self-devotion for others reaching its utmost possible
limit. It is to be observed, however, that Paul here simply states
the supreme fact without adding any details to specify the way in
which the death of Christ comes to be for our benefit. His present
object is not to elucidate what we call ' the doctrine of the
atonement ' ; it is not theological and theoretical. It is wholly
practical, viz. to urge this truth as a motive for our complete
consecration to one who has made the greatest possible sacrifice
on our behalf. Lastly, observe that in using the first person plural
Paul associates himself with his converts. In this amazing relation
to Christ — the obligation of devotion springing from the fact that
he has given his life for both parties — the differences between an
apostle and his disciples sink into insignificance.
that : pointing to purpose. The object of Christ's sacrifice of
(9)
210 I THESSALONIANS 5. 11,12
11 live together with him. Wherefore exhort one another,
and build each other up, even as also ye do.
12 But we beseech you, brethren, to know them that
himself was that his people might be brought into close union with
himself.
wake: lit. 'watch/ the word so rendered in verse 6.
sleep. The verb is in the present tense, signifying sleeping
as a continuous condition. It is not the same word as that
rendered sleep in iv. 15 *, which is a transitive verb meaning
' to put to sleep,' while here the verb is intransitive, signify-
ing 'to be asleep.' The meaning is the Christian sleep of death.
Whether living and performing our duty of watching while we
live, or sleeping in death, we are to live with Him.
live : a strong word indicating the vitality of Christian being.
Even when we sleep in the state commonly reckoned death, if we
are in the relation to Christ here indicated we are alive as really
as when we are 'awake' and 'watching' on earth. Cf. 'Whoso-
ever liveth and believeth on me shall never die ' (John xi. 26).
tog-ether. This word must be connected with what precedes,
not with what follows. It indicates the union of Christians, both
those now living and those who have died. Thus it points to the
consolation of the Thessalonians in their grief over the loss of
some of their number. They are not to sorrow as those who have
no hope. The chief hope is that the deceased Christians shall not
miss the great joy of welcoming Christ on his return and then
entering on the resurrection life of eternity. But the more
human hope of reunion may also be cherished, since both the dead
and the living will be together in that happy future.
11. exhort. A. V. had 'comfort.' Perhaps here a better
meaning than either would be 'encourage,' the Greek admitting
of all three significations. The principal aim of the whole Epistle
is to cheer the Thessalonians in their distress and despondency
concerning departed friends.
one another. The encouragement was to be mutual in
accordance with the simple order of the most primitive times,
which allowed free scope to the members of a church to address
the brotherhood, as we see clearly from the case of the church at
Corinth (see 1 Cor. xiv. 31).
build . . . up : see note on iii. 2.
v. 12-22. Practical exhortations. The leaders of the church
are to be honoured and the brethren to live peaceable together,
admonishing and encouraging one another according to their
several characters and requirements. There is to be no revenge.
1 Here we have /cadevSafiev ■ in iv. 15 the word was KoifirjOevTas.
I THESSALONIANS 5. 13 211
labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and
admonish you ; and to esteem them exceeding highly in 13
Life is to be glad, prayerful, grateful. The spiritual gifts of the
various members of the community are not to be checked, but are
to be tested, the good held fast, the bad of all kinds rejected.
12. But: or 'now,' indicating a transition to a new subject.
See note on iv. 9.
know: an unusual use of this word, apparently meaning
'recognize,' 'acknowledge' ; cf. 'acknowledge [a different Greek
word] ye therefore them that are such' (1 Cor. xvi. 18), also
' Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him ? ' (Ps.
cxliv. 3).
labour: a stronger word than 'work,' meaning ' toil,* 'work
to weariness. '
are over you : indicating official status in the church. No
titles of church officers appear in either of the epistles to the
Thessalonians ; nor is there any distinct reference to such officers
in the four epistles of the succeeding group — Galatians, Romans,
1 and 2 Corinthians. The first such reference is in Phil. i. 1 :
'bishops and deacons.' Still the Apostle's language here plainly
points to office ; but we cannot be sure that there was as yet any
definite organization of the very young church at Thessalonica.
In describing the Lord's Supper as observed in his day Justin
Martyr uses the same indefinite word that we have here in order
to indicate the president (1 Apol. 65). But he has it in the
singular; in this passage the form is plural, indicating several
persons in a position of leadership, like the elders in a Jews'
synagogue.
in the Lord : in regard to Christianity, as distinguished from
civil magistrates or business employers.
admonish : lit. * put you in mind.' Practical teaching is
intended. The three expressions 'labour among you,' 'are over
3'ou,' and ' admonish you ' are not ascribed to three separate orders
of the ministry. The presence of but one article before all these
expressions shews that only one class of persons is intended.
The same leaders of the church perform all three functions ; or
better, these are not three formally distinct functions, but merel}'
three aspects of the relation of the leaders to the members of the
church.
13. to esteem them exceeding' highly in love. Two
renderings of this phrase have been suggested : (1) to connect
' exceeding highly ' with ' esteem,' and to regard the last two
words, ' in love,' as supplementary, with this meaning — 'To have
a very high opinion of them and to cherish that in a spirit of love.'
(2) To connect the words 'in love' with 'esteem,' taking the
P 2
212 I THESSALONIANS 5. 14
love for their work's sake. Be at peace among your-
14 selves. And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the
disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak,
intermediate clause as an intensifying of the idea this gives, thus —
'To esteem them with love, and that exceeding highly.' This
second meaning is preferable, because (a) the Greek word {liegeo-
mai) rendered ' esteem ' does not contain the idea of respect and
honour that we attach to the English word, but only means
'reckon,' 'consider,' and (b) also because the phrase rendered
'exceeding highly' only means 'very much indeed,' without
the specific idea of elevation in honour. Therefore something
more specific is needed to complete the thought. We have this
if the conception of Christian love is made central to the whole
sentence. Then it means that the church is to regard its leaders
with very warm affection. It is not high dignity, but great love
that the Apostle wishes to be given to them. In the next century
we find Ignatius urging on the churches to which he writes the
duty of honouring their ministers ; and with him it is the elevation
of their authority, rather than the rousing of affection for them,
that is most earnestly enforced. Thus he says, ' It is therefore
necessary, even as your wont is, that ye should do nothing with-
out the bishop ; but be ye obedient also to the presbytery, as to
the apostles of Jesus Christ our hope ; for if we live in him, we
shall also be found in him' (Epist. to Trallians, 2, ; and again, ' Do
ye all follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father,
and the presbytery as the apostles ; and to the deacons pay
respect, as to God's commandment' (Ept'st. to Sniyrnceans, 8 >
Thus Ignatius magnifies the authority of the ministry, while Paul
only desiderates very much love for the ministers.
for their work's sake : //'/. ' because of their work.' It i
their work, not merely their office, that is to elicit the affection of
the church for them. They should be loved for what they are
doing, since that is for the benefit of the church. The love should
spring from gratitude for the services they are rendering.
Be at peace, &c. : the duty of the ordinary members one to
another, following the special duty of love to the leaders.
14. admonish. : the same word that had described the work of
the leaders in verse 12. Therefore the duty of admonishing is
not confined to those men, though they are especially entrusted
with it. As yet the church order is so fluid, and the rights and
duties of the private members are so extensive, that no official
admonition dispenses with the mutual counsel of the members
among themselves.
the disorderly : strictly, ' those who do not keep to the
ranks/ with reference to military discipline. Plato uses it of
I THESSALONIANS 5. 15 213
be longsuffering toward all. See that none render unto 15
any one evil for evil ; but alway follow after that which
intemperance in pleasures. Ellicott suggests that, ' Here the
precise reference is probably to the neglect of duties and callings
into which the Thessalonians had lapsed owing to mistaken views
of the time of the Lord's coming.' This view is borne out by
such passages as iv. 10, n ; a Thess. Hi. 6, and especially verse
11: 'for we hear of some that walk among you disorderly [a form
of the same Greek word], that work not at all, but are busy-
bodies,' where the disorderliness is associated with idleness.
These people are Christ's soldiers who fall out of the ranks instead
of following the call of dut3\
the fainthearted: the opposite class of people to the dis-
orderly enthusiasts, people who are discouraged, perhaps espe-
cially those who have lost friends by death and are despondent on
that account, since this ground of despondency has been noted as
conspicuous in the church (see i Thess. iv. 13).
the weak: weak in the spiritual life, especially before per-
secution, rather than the weak in faith of Romans xv. 1, who are
over-scrupulous because too timorous to use Christian liberty.
15. See that, &c. : surely not meaning that the church as
a whole is to exercise discipline over its individual members in
restraining outbreaks of the spirit of revenge, but rather urging
each member to see to it that for his part he does not manifest
that unchristian temper.
evil for evil. The prohibition of private revenge is an
especially Christian duty required by our Lord in the Sermon on
the Mount, with a distinct recognition of its repudiation of the old
Jewish lex talionis, "'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth'
(Matt. v. 38, 39). The more general duty of love to one's enemy
had been recognized in Prov. xxv. 21. This passage is quoted by
Paul (Rom. xii. 20) after he has given the advice to the Romans
which he here gives the Thessalonians, and in almost identical
words, 'Render to no man evil for evil' (Rom. xii. 17). It is
plain that the precept has no direct reference to the duty of the
magistrate in dealing with offenders against the law. Under
the Roman government none of Paul's converts could be in
the position of responsible administrators of justice. Besides, the
words ■ See that none,' &c, point to the action of private persons,
not to that of officials in the discharge of their public functions.
that which is good: 'the good,' an expression often met
with in Plato and discussed in the Dialogues. Here it is not
taken in an abstract sense, but with reference to the benefits that
one member of the church is to confer on another. Thus it is the
opposite to ,the • evil for evil ' just forbidden. In this connexion
214 I THESSALONIANS 5. 16-18
16 is good, one toward another, and toward all. Rejoice
17, iS alway ; pray without ceasing ; in everything give thanks :
to follow after the good for the benefit of one another must mean
to make the welfare of our fellow Christians a definite aim and
pursuit, to seek and labour for this end.
16. Cf. Phil. iii. i, iv. 4. This is (1) essentially Christian, since
Christianity is based on glad tidings ; (2) characteristically Paul-
ine, the Apostle being deeply emotional and himself finding joy
in his work (e.g. Phil. iv. 1); and (3) specifically appropriate, inas-
much as the Thessalonians were sorrowing beyond necessity (cf.
verse 13). The remarkable part of the advice lies in the adverb
'alway.' Paul is no blind optimist ; but he would point to peren-
nial springs of joy beneath passing sorrows. Thus he writes 'as
sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing' (2 Cor. vi. io\ The explanation
of this paradox is to be found in Rom. viii. 18 ; and especially in
2 Cor. iv. t6-i8.
17. pray: a word used for worship generally, and not only for
petition.
without ceasing". Cf. Luke xviii. i ff., a passage which
suggests perseverance in prayer rather than the habit of incessant
prayer. The Christian is to persevere like the widow who con-
tinued appealing to the unrighteous judge till he attended to her
case. If he does not at once obtain an answer to his prayer he
is not to abandon the quest in despair, nor to cease praying.
But both the precept that precedes and that which follows point-
ing to a continuous habit, it is better to read the words of the
Apostle in a more general sense. Thus they recommend a life of
prayer, as one pervaded by the spirit of worship. It is quite
plain that he is not advising the neglect of daily duty for the sake
of a 'religious life' given up entirely to prayer in the cloister.
Such a vocation was not thought of in the primitive church,
though the habit of Anna the prophetess had approached it
(Luke ii. 37). In this Epistle Paul emphatically commends his
readers to carry on their business duties, working with their
hands (iv. 11). The spirit of his advice may be realized in
accordance with Coleridge's lines : —
, He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small ;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.'
Still the prayer must be a reality, the actual lifting up of the
heart and life to God in worship. This is to be a habit. Cf.
' Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all
to the glory of God ' (1 Cor. x. 31).
18. in everything. Schmiedel understands this to mean 'in
I THESSALONIANS 5. 19,20 215
for this is the will of Clod in Christ Jesus to you-ward.
Quench not the Spirit ; despise not prophesyings ; 19, 20
all places,' or 'under all circumstances'; but Ellicott calls atten-
tion to 2 Cor. ix. 8, where the same Greek words mean 'with
regard to everything.' (Cf. 2 Cor. ix. 11, with the same meaning.)
Probably therefore this is the idea here.
tliis, &c. It is a question whether Paul here intends to refer
to the three foregoing precepts, or only to the last of them. It is
more in accordance with his habit to connect the sentence simply
with the last precept. Besides, the singular 'this,' not 'these
things,' also points to the same conclusion. Thus great emphasis
is laid on the duty of thankfulness. This is especially what God
wills to see in His children.
the will of God: the thing that God wills to be done by
men.
in Christ Jesus: God's will with regard to His people
being manifested in the life, work, and teaching of Christ, and
thus coming in Christ.
to you-ward: so R. V. ' Concerning you ' in A. V. is not so
accurate, as the preposition points to an end or object. God's will
has come to Christians by means of Christ Jesus.
19. Quench: a word based on the idea of the Spirit regarded
under the image of fire. Thus John the Baptist says of Christ,
'he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire' (Matt,
iii. n>, and the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost as tongues of fire
(Acts ii. 3). To smother and suppress the working of the Spirit
is to quench the fire.
the Spirit. R. V. uses a capital i S,' indicating the Spirit of
God ; A. V. has a small 's,' meaning our own spirit. It is nearly
certain that R.V. is right here, for two reasons: (1) Paul is
accustomed to name the Divine Spirit in this absolute way, while
he generally defines the human spirit in contra-distinction as ' our
spirit,' or with the use of some similar limitation, e.g. 'The Spirit
beareth witness with our spirit' (Rom. viii. 16). When 'the
spirit' is mentioned in contrast with 'the flesh' (e.g. Rom. viii. 4)
no doubt the human spirit is intended. But when the expression
stands by itself it indicates the Spirit par excellence, i.e. the Holy
Spirit. (2) In the next verse the Apostle goes on to one of the
chief manifestations of the Spirit of God in the church; and the
two verses are evidently almost parallel. Therefore he means
here, ' Do not suppress and stifle the working of the Spirit of God.'
The application is left open to be as widely comprehensive as
possible. The Spirit is not to be quenched either in one's self or
in others ; either by self-suppression or by hindering the working
and manifestation of the Divine Spirit in others. The sentence
216 I THESSALONIANS 5. 21,22
2i, 22 prove all things; hold fast that which is good; abstain
from every form of evil.
■which follows shews that the Apostle is referring to those various
manifestations of the indwelling power of the Spirit in the early
churches that were seen in miracles, tongues, prophesyings,
&c, a full discussion of which is preserved in i Cor. xii. and xiv.
The enthusiasm of primitive Christianity sometimes took on extra-
ordinary forms. The Apostle warns the people of cooler tempera-
ment not to damp it in others, as perhaps they are inclined to
do, and also those who feel ashamed of it in themselves not to
suppress it.
20. prophesyings : inspired utterances, not necessarily pre-
dictions. Paul puts these first in the order of spiritual gifts when
he says, ' desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may
prophesy' (i Cor. xiv. i). Possibly some such utterances struck
men of common sense as not very profound or important. There
was danger lest they should be treated with contempt. That
would be quenching the Spirit.
21. prove all things : with reference to what precedes. What-
ever prophesyings are uttered in the church are to be tested or
proved before being accepted. On the one hand, the utterances
are not to be discouraged ; on the other hand, they are not to be
accepted with implicit faith, as certainly inspired and infallibly
true. The words have no direct reference to the wider range of
thought and the question of proving all possible propositions.
hold fast, &c. : as a result of the test. The prophetic
utterances are to be tried and sifted. Those proved to be good are
to be accepted and retained. The Greek word rendered ' hold
fast ' is very strong, signifying decisive and firm action.
good : in Greek, to kalon, the fair and excellent, not merely
what is morally good. The utterances that stand examination and
are proved to be worthy of belief and attention are to be welcomed
and retained.
22. form: not 'appearance' as in the A. V. The Greek word
admits of both meanings. It occurs at Luke iii. 22, 'in a bodily
form, as a dove,' where the idea is the appearance of a dove, and
Luke ix. 29, ' the fashion of his countenance,' where again the
idea of appearance is meant. The meaning is similar in 2 Cor.
v. 7, 'We walk by faith, not by sight,' where the Revisers'
margin has 'appearance.' Cf. John v. 37. On the other hand,
the word is used in Greek philosophy for 'species.' And a phrase
similar to that of Paul here occurs in Josephus, Antiq. x. 3. 1,
plainly meaning ' every kind of evil.' Moreover, the context
suggests that meaning in the present case. The antithesis to
holding fast the good is rejecting the evil, not merely its appear-
I THESSALONIANS 5. 23 217
And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly ; 23
and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved
ance. Reality is thought of in the first clause ; reality will be
intended in the second.
v. 23-28. Conclusion. Paul commends the entire sanctification
of his readers to the faithfulness of God, asks for their prayers,
sends a salutation to all the brethren, commands the Epistle to be
read to them all, and ends with a benediction.
23. the God of peace : a Hebraism, meaning God as connected
with peace. He dwells in peace, and He gives peace. The
thought of peace does not suggest the notion of any discord
among the Thessalonians, since it is usual in oriental salutations ;
still, see verse 13. But with Paul the word has the deeper
Christian meaning of the interior restfulness which is the
experience of God's people. Peace is wished for the Thessa-
lonians in the opening salutation (i. i).
himself. The word is very emphatic in the Greek. It is
God, He and He only, who can sanctify.
sanctify: consecrate and purify. Following the description
of the Sanctifier as ' the God of peace ' this suggests that peace
is to be obtained through sanctification.
wholly : a word found nowhere else in the N. T., but frequent
in later Greek. It means ' wholly attaining the end/ i. e. complete
in all respects. The Thessalonians are already consecrated in
some degree ; the Apostle desires that this may be complete.
your spirit and soul and "body: the threefold division of
human nature adopted by Paul. It is not found in the sayings
of Christ, who uses the twofold division more familiar to us —
body and soul. Paul's trichotomy has been traced through Philo
to Plato. But the Platonic division of human nature, though
threefold, is not the same as the Pauline. With Plato the highest
of the three parts of man is intellect (nous), and Plato is followed
by Philo. The idea of 'spirit,' as we meet with it in the
Scriptures, is Hebraic, not Hellenic. Paul uses the word to
denote man's highest nature in its religious perceptions and
activities, and its relations with the Spirit of God. Then the soul
stands for the animal nature with its appetites and propensities,
and the lower life generally. In i Cor. ii. and iii. Paul discusses
the distinction between the operations of soul and spirit, the
'natural man' there representing the soul, or lower nature.
Plainly this does not exclude a certain intelligence, but that
is ' carnal,' i. e. sensuous and worldly, and therefore unable to
appreciate the spiritual, i. e. that which moves in the higher plane
when the Spirit of God touches the life and consciousness of man.
But while with Paul there is thus a certain opposition between
218 I THESSALONIANS 5. 24,25
entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus
24 Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also
do it.
25 Brethren, pray for us.
spirit and soul, the vital antagonism is between spirit and flesh
(see 1 Cor. v. 5). The soul is too much the slave of the flesh, and
is in danger of being quite degraded and ruined by the flesh,
unless rescued and uplifted by the spirit. The idea of the
sanctification of all three parts of the nature is significant as
regards both extremes: (i) In regard to the spirit. The spirit
needs it. Thus Paul writes, ' Let us cleanse ourselves from all
defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear
of God' (2 Cor. vii. 1). (2) In regard to the body. This is
capable of sanctification. Accordingly Paul desires the body to
be presented to God as a living sacrifice (Rom. xii. 1), and de-
scribes it as 'a temple of the Holy Ghost' (i Cor. vi. 19).
entire: lit. ' entire in all its parts.' It occurs in one other
place in the N. T., where we read, ' that ye may be perfect and
entire, lacking in nothing' (Jas. i. 4\ It is used in the LXX
for stones untouched by a tool (Deut. xxvii. 6). Philo uses
it for a body without blemish or defect (de Vict. 12).
24. Faithful: i. e. to the promise involved in calling. If God
gives an invitation, He will grant that to which He invites.
lie that calleth : God. This expression might seem to
impty either (1) that each Christian was being continually called,
or (2) that God was calling a succession of new converts into the
church. The first meaning would be unsuitable, as Paul always
regards the call of Christians as an act previous to their becoming
such ; the second is a possible meaning, though even this meaning
would only be appropriate if the Apostle were addressing a series
of new converts in the act of entering the church, and it would be
more suitable for those who had not yet entered. Probably there-
fore there is no thought of time in the passage, the expression
simply meaning 'your Caller' (so Ellicott).
who will also do it : i. e. what is necessary to be done ;
equivalent to, ' who will act and produce the results.' There
is no object to the verb. The idea of what is to be done is
not expressed. But the call and the faithfulness imply that
God will do for His people that to which He invites them. The
phrase is too comprehensive to be limited to what precedes in
verse 23. Still it must include those two things — the sanctifying
and the preserving.
25. pray for us: ///. 'pray about1 us'; make us a subject
1 n(pi, 'about,' 'concerning'; not vnep, 'on behalf of.' But
I TIIESSALONIANS 5. 26,27 219
Salute all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure 26, 27
of your prayers. The Apostle highly valued the prayers of
his friends; cf. 2 Thess. iii. 1; Eph. vi. 18; Col. iv. 3. It is to
be observed that these requests for prayer are all found in the
earlier and later Epistles, written at leisure and calmly ; none
of them in the four strenuous Epistles of the period of conflict
(Gal., Rom., 1 and 2 Cor.).
26. It would seem that verses 26, 27 were especially addressed
to the leaders of the church. The charge to have the Epistle read
to all the brethren implies that it would first go to some people
who might otherwise not make it known to the others. Then
it is to be observed that the salutation differs in form from that
in other places where the members of the church are exhorted
to salute one another, e. g. ' salute one another with a holy kiss '
(Rom. xvi. 16; cf. 1 Cor. xvi. 20; 2 Cor. xiii. 12; 1 Pet. v. 14^.
Here the phrase is Salute all the brethren, as though some other
persons not known simply b3r that general name for the members
of the church were to give the salutation.
a holy kiss. The kiss is a common mode of salutation between
men and men, as well as between women and women, in the
East at the present day, as it is also in Continental countries.
It was especially appropriate among the Christians, since such
people were taught to regard one another as brethren. In very
primitive times it was exchanged indiscriminately among the
members of a church ; subsequently the men kissed the men,
and the women kissed the women. It must be understood here
that the word 'brethren' includes the 'sisters' in the church.
Enthusiasm and simplicity made this possible ; but we can
understand how such practices gave rise to scandalous libels
among prurient critics in the heathen world. They may help
to account for the gross charges that were brought against the
early Christians, the purest people of their day being falsely
accused of impurity. In Peter (v. 14") we have 'the kiss of love,'
the word for 'love' being the specially Christian word agape,
a different word from that used to designate the love of the
two sexes — eros.
27. I adjure you: an unusually strong expression not easily
to be accounted for. Baur even took this as a sign that the
Epistle was not genuine. It has been suggested that Paul is
only calling attention to the importance of what he is about
to say. But the language is too strong for that. It seems to
imply a fear that the Epistle may not be read to all the members
the distinction must not be pressed, as the prepositions are used
more loosely in late Greek than in the classics.
2 2o I THESSALONIANS 5. 28
you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the
brethren.
2s The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
of the church. If, as seems probable, this verse is especially
designed for the elders or other leading persons who would
receive the letter in the first instance, it indicates the Apostle's
apprehension lest they should retain it and only communicate
its contents to those whom they chose to take into their con-
fidence. Paul puts them on oath not to do this.
all the brethren: including (i) the most poor, humble,
ignorant, and obscure members of the church, (2) those for
any reason out of favour with the leaders of the church, and
(3) any who might be absent when the Epistle arrived, This
shews Paul's anxiety that his teaching should not be limited
to any privileged order in the church, that it should be shared
by every member on the most democratic principle. Paul's
nine Epistles to churches contain his most advanced teaching,
and therefore the most difficult theological statements of the
Bible. Yet they are not to be reserved for an esoteric group
of theologians. Even the most doctrinal discussions are to be
freely set before all private Christians.
28. grace: a modification of the Greek salutation (chaire), with
deeper meaning, as our Lord's salutation, 'Peace be unto you,'
is the usual Hebrew salutation, but also with deeper meaning
(John xx. 19). The two were combined in the opening of
the Epistle (i. 1). One only is found at the close, and that the
more characteristically Christian. The Apostle desires that
the free favour of Christ and its good effects may be with his
readers.
our Lord Jesus Christ. This salutation is thus confined
to blessings given by Christ as especially the Divine Being
through whom grace comes. A usual form of salutation in
Paul's Epistles, it is repeated in identical words in Rom. xvi.
20 ; at the conclusion of 2 Thessalonians (except that there
the word 'all' is added— 'with you all'); and in 1 Corinthians
(with the slight modification, i the Lord,' &c, instead of ' our
Lord,' &c). In 2 Corinthians we have the full benediction : ' The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all,' in Galatians,
Philippians, and Philemon : ' The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with your spirit '—with the word ' brethren ' added
in Galatians. The form is more varied and longer in Ephesians,
but there too grace is named (see Eph. vi. 23, 24). Colossians,
1 and 2 Timothy and Titus have simply ' Grace be with you,'
but Titus adds the word 'all' — 'with you all' Thus 'grace'
I THESSALONIANS 5. 38 221
appears in the closing salutation of every one of the Pauline
Epistles. It is also found in Hebrews — 'Grace be with you aH,'
but not in the Epistle salutations of James, Peter, John, or Jude.
Thus it is characteristically Pauline.
The subscription in the A. V. stating that the Epistle 'was'
written from Athens disappears from the R. V. because it certainly
was not in the original text. Moreover it is incorrect. See
Introduction, p. 21 ff. The subscriptions to Epistles were added
by Greek editors of a later age, perhaps in the second centuiy.
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THESSALONIANS
1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of
the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus
i. i, 2. Salutation. Paul and his two companions salute the
Thessalonian church, wishing its members grace and peace from
God and Christ.
1. Identical with i Thess. i. i, except that there we read ' God
the Father,' while here we have God our Father. For explana-
tions see annotations on the companion passage. The similarity
of the opening words points to the probability of there not having
been any long interval between the writing of the two letters.
Silvanus, and Timothy. These two companions being still
with the Apostle are associated with him in this letter as they
had been in the former letter. Thus we have the same curious
complexity of authorship again. The letter is written in the
first person plural in order to include these men. Yet for the
most part it evidently expresses the individual convictions of
Paul, who drops the plural form in one place and uses the
pronoun ' I ' (ii. 5).
God our Father : an expression most frequently used at the
opening of Paul's Epistles (e. g. Rom. i. 7 ; 1 Cor. i. 3 ; 2 Cor. i. 2 ;
Eph.i. 2; Phil. i. 2 ; Col. i. 2 ; Philem. 3V This slight variation on
1 Thessalonians is probably accidental. Still it is illuminating, for
it shews that while God the Father and "Jesus Christ are here
named together, and again in verse 2, the Divine Fatherhood
referred to is not that of the Trinitarian idea in which God is the
Father of Christ, the Son, but that Fatherhood of God's relation to
men which is prominent in our Lord's teaching. The Apostle uses
II THESSALONIANS 1. 2 223
Christ; Grace to you and peace from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
the term especially with regard to Christians, whom he regards
as God's adopted sons. Thus he writes, 'as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God ' (Rom. viii. 14), and
refers to Christians Having 'received the spirit of adoption' (verse
i5\ this spirit enabling them to cry ' Abba, Father ' (ibid). Accord-
ingly the Divine Fatherhood is that of adopted children realized
by them through their reception of the Holy Spirit. Probably
therefore the pronoun ' our ' as here used points to Christians
rather than to mankind at large. Nevertheless, in a later Epistle
Paul writes of the larger Divine Fatherhood which includes the
whole human race, and indeed other spiritual beings also, describ-
ing God as ' the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on
earth is named' (Eph. iii. 14).
the Lord Jesus Christ. See note on 1 Thessalonians i. 1.
2. Grace . . . peace. See the same note.
from God the Father, &c. This clause appears in the A. V.
of 1 Thessalonians i. 1, as well as here, probably, however, only
because it was transferred to some MSS. from the Second Epistle,
as it is absent from equally good MSS. But here it has the support
of full MSS. authority, and unquestionably belongs to the original
text. It is a thoroughly Pauline phrase, the same words occur-
ring in the salutations of all Paul's Epistles to churches, except
Colossians and 1 Thessalonians and also that to Philemon, with
the slight variation of the use of kour' instead of 'the,' as 'God
our Father' in all the Epistles but Galatians, and the substitution
of ' our ' for ' the ' in the second clause, as f our Lord Jesus Christ '
in that Epistle. The Revisers omit this second clause from
Colossians altogether, and the salutation in that Epistle reads
simply, ' Grace to you and peace from God our Father ' (Col. i. 2).
We have the same form of salutation in the three pastoral Epistles,
though rather more modified, the word 'mercy' coming between
'grace' and 'peace' in 1 and 2 Timothy, and the title 'our
Saviour' being appended to the name 'Christ Jesus' in TituSj
and ' our Lord ' in 1 and 2 Timothy. Thus we have : —
' Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ' (Rom. ; 1 and 2 Cor. ; Eph.; Phil. ; Philem.).
' Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ' (2 Thess.).
' Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord
Jesus Christ' (Gal.).
' Grace to you and peace from God our Father' (Col.).
'Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Saviour ' (Titus).
224 II THESSALONIANS 1. 2
' Grace, mere}', peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord' (i and 2 Tim.).
The salutations in other N. T. writers are as follows : —
' Grace to you and peace be multiplied ' (1 Pet.).
• Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God
and of Jesus our Lord' (2 Pet).
1 Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied' (Jude).
' Grace, mercy, peace shall be with us, from God the Father,
and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love'
(2 John).
Hebrews, James, 1 and 3 John contain no opening salutations.
God the Father. The A. V. has 'God our Father,' and
Tischendorf in his critical text retains that reading. The MSS.
are about equally divided ; but Westcott and Hort omit the
Greek word for 'our,' and are followed by the Revisers. It is
likely to have been inserted by a later hand as an assimilation to
the more usual form of the Pauline salutation. Still, the father-
hood in the phrase ' God the Father ' is evidently the same as
that in ' God our Father,' since that expression occurs in the
previous verse as well as in most other salutations. It does not
refer to the Father as the first Person of the Trinity in contra-
distinction from the Son as the second Person, but points to God's
fatherly relation to His human children, especially Christians.
and the Lord Jesus Christ. The structure of the sentence
indicates that both grace and peace flow from God and Christ,
a twofold blessing from a twofold source. Such a sentence
certainly implies very close union in the Divine action. Still it
is possible to make a logical, if not a real, distinction. In that
case 'grace' will be especially associated with 'the Lord Jesus
Christ/ and 'peace ' with 'God the Father.' This is in accordance
with the usage of the Apostle. Thus the phrase ' the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ' occurs frequently in his benedictions (cf. Rom.
xvi. 20 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 23 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 14 ; Gal. vi. 18 ; Phil. iv. 23;
1 Thess. v. 28 ; 2 Thess. iii. 18). On the other hand, Paul writes
of ' the peace of God ' (Phil. iv. 7), and ' the God of peace ' (Rom.
xv- 33, xvi- 2° 5 Phil. iv. 9 ; 1 Thess. v. 23, &c). He also has one
reference to the 'peace of Christ' (Col. iii. 15)- But he more
frequently ascribes the gift of peace directly to God. Thus he
says, ' God hath called us in peace' (1 Cor. vii. 15). When
reading the whole verse we may understand that peace, the
gift of God, is encircled by the grace of Christ, guarded by it,
the peace of God being in a frame of the grace of Christ. Grace
is named first. That is thoroughly Pauline, as the argument of
the Epistles to the Romans shews. Through the grace of Christ
we enter into the peace of God. Nevertheless, the compact
sentence indicates the close union of the two gifts as it does
the close union of their two sources.
II THESSALONIANS 1. 3 225
We are bound to give thanks to God alway for you, 3
brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith groweth
exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward
i. 3-12. Congratulations for fidelity under difficulties. God is to
be thanked for the growing faith and love of the Thessalonians.
The Apostle is exulting among the churches over their faith and
patience under persecution, by means of which they are being
made worthy of the kingdom of God. At the revelation of Christ
they will have rest and their enemies severe punishment. There-
fore he is continually praying for them that God may reckon them
worthy of their calling and that Christ may be glorified by means
of them.
3. We: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy; but chiefly Paul. The
two companions soon fade into shadowy presences and pass out
of notice altogether, and then, though the plural pronoun is
retained throughout the Epistle, it really represents the personality
of Paul alone.
are bound : lit. i owe ' ; it is a debt. We must thank God,
a strong expression indicating unusual reason for gratitude.
to give thanks. As in the previous Epistle to the Thessa-
lonians (i. 2), and all his Epistles to churches except Galatians,
the Apostle begins by congratulating his readers on the good news
that he has received concerning them and thanking God for their
spiritual progress. This progress is always ascribed to God,
never attributed to the unaided efforts of his readers, and therefore
the congratulations always take the form of thanksgivings.
as it is meet : ' worthy ' or ' fitting.' While the phrase i we
are bound' indicates duty towards God, this additional phrase
points to suitability in the condition of the readers. Thanksgiving
on the Apostle's part when contemplating their progress is
appropriate to what he sees in it.
faith: named first, because the root-grace from which the
other graces spring, as in the previous Epistle [1 Thess. i. 3).
groweth exceedingly. This is something additional to the
ground of thanksgiving in the earlier letter, where the work of
faith was simply referred to as a fact. Subsequent information
has led the Apostle to perceive a great and continuous increase in
the faith of his converts.
love of each one of you all, &c. : a remarkably full and
comprehensive expression. The Apostle is careful to make it
clear that there are no exceptions to the experience of brotherly
love. It is found in every member of the church. This, too.
shews an advance beyond the earlier writing, which merely
mentions ' labour of love ' in a general way. In that Epistle the
Apostle exhorted his readers to ' abound more and more ' in love
(9) o
226 II THESSALONIANS 1. 4,5
4 one another aboundeth ; so that we ourselves glory in
you in the churches of God for your patience and faith
in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which
5 ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous
to all the brethren (1 Thess. v. 10 . Now he acknowledges that
the end of his exhortations is attained. He has nothing more to
wish for in this direction.
4. glory: rather, 'exult.'
the churches of God. What churches ? We only know of
the one church at Corinth, in Achaia, where the Apostle wrote
the Epistle. This phrase suggests that other churches had been
founded in the villages round the metropolis. 2 Corinthians is
addressed to ' all the saints which are in the whole of Achaia '
as well as ' the church of God which is at Corinth' (2 Cor. i. 1),
implying that there were Christians in other parts of the province.
But the Apostle may have written to churches in his older
mission-fields in Asia, giving them an account of these remarkable
Christians at Thessalonica.
patience: also referred to in the opening of the earlier
Epistle (1 Thess. i. 3} ; evidently much needed at Thessalonica.
persecutions : more particularly referred to in the previous
Epistle, where we see that they were caused by the converts' fellow
countrymen, provoked by the Jews see 1 Thess. iii. 14-16).
5. a manifest token, &c. : a clear sign that the righteous
judgement of God will take place. The phrase must point to that
future event ; it cannot mean that the judgement has already
happened, or is now in process, because there is nothing in the
context to suggest either position. On the contrary, the immediate
scene is that of the endurance of persecution by the Christians
from the unrestrained antagonism of their opponents, which
therefore is not yet judged and condemned. It is difficult to see
the connexion of the clause with its context, either in what
precedes or in what follows. If this clause were omitted the
whole passage would run on smoothly, thus: — verse 4, 'in the
afflictions which ye endure,' followed immediately by the second
part of verse 5 : ' to the end that ye may be accounted worthy,' &c.
Accordingly Schmiedel suggests that the sentences may have
been transposed by a copyist, and that the clause in question may
have stood originally after the word \ suffer ' in verse 5. But we
have no MS. authority for such an alteration in the text. Reading
it as it stands we must take the clause as a parenthesis. Still, to
find a place here at all, it must have a point of attachment, and
the question arises, Where is that to be found? what is the
1 manifest token * ? Two answers have been offered to this
question : (1) That it consists in the persecutions and afflictions.
II THESSALONIANS 1. 6, 7 227
judgement of God ; to the end that ye may be counted
worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer :
if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recom- 6
pense affliction to them that afflict you, and to you that 7
are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord
But these are not in themselves clear signs of the judgement
that is to follow them. (2) That it consists in the patient
endurance of these troubles— a much more probable idea. The
display of such a martyr temper is an eloquent protest against
the injustice done to the Christians, and an indication that God,
who cannot but approve of such conduct, will vindicate it in the
punishment of the oppressors.
In illustration of this thought Mr. Garrod quotes Browning's
Abt Vogler : —
And what is our failure here but a triumph's evidence
For the fulness of the days ? '
to the end : the Divine purpose in permitting the persecution.
It is discipline, education, or at least a test of fitness.
the kingdom of God. See note on 1 Thess. ii. 12. As in the
earlier passage the kingdom is here regarded as in the future, as
the happy condition when the reign of God is established on earth,
no doubt associated in the mind of the Apostle with the paronsia,
the return of Christ.
6. if so be : rather, * if indeed/ The Greek word (eiper) is
used ' by a species of rhetorical politeness ... of that about which
there is no doubt ' (Grimm-Thayer).
7. rest with us : referring to the future establishment of the
kingdom of God just mentioned. That will be an end of the present
condition of conflict and hardship from which the missionaries
as well as their converts are suffering. As they are troubled with
the same persecutions, so they will enjoy the same rest. And
the association in the rest will be closer. Now the Apostle is
separated from his friends at Thessalonica. At the happy time
coming they will be together. The idea of participation together
in this blessedness is suggested elsewhere, for instance, 'as ye
are partakers of the sufferings, so also are ye of the comfort'
(2 Cor. i. 7).
the revelation. The Greek word is apocalypsis, the
apocalypse. The parousia will result from an apocalypse. It
is not merely that Jesus will come ; he will be manifested. This
may imply that he is already present, but invisible. What we
call the Second Coming is really the revelation of the Christ who
is present all along, though hitherto unseen.
Q 2
228 II THERSALOXIANS 1. 8
8 Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in
flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not
God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord
from, heaven. No doubt, in form, the idea is that of coming
from above, from the distant heaven. But if in reality heaven
is to be thought of as the presence of God in the sphere of the
spiritual, local terms do not strictly apply to it. In becoming
manifest Jesus passes from heaven to earth.
the angels of his power. This might be read, 'his angels
of power,' i. e. a Hebraism meaning ' his mighty angels,' as in
the A. V. But probably Ellicott is right in understanding it to
signify the angels who belong to his power, through whom it is
exercised. Jesus spoke of coming with accompanying angels (Matt.
xxiv. 31, xxv. 31). In the previous Epistle (1 Thess. iv. 16) Paul
wrote of the advent of Christ 'with the voice of the archangel.'
8. in flaming fire. The R. V. associates these words with
the preceding clause, thus taking it as descriptive of the accom-
panying terrors of Christ's advent to judgement. The A. V.
connects it with the sentence that follows, and so reads it as
describing the instrument of vengeance. Mr. Garrod prefers the
latter reading, comparing it with the text lower down, 'whom
the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth' (ii. 8) as
though he were breathing out fire (cf. Ps. xviii. 8). But in favour
of the Revisers' reading we have the familiar O. T. image of the
manifestation of God in fire as at the burning bush (Exod. iii. 2),
the pillar of fire (xiii. 21), Jehovah descending at Sinai in fire
(xix. 18), the glory of the Lord 'like devouring fire' (xxiv. 17 ;
cf. Pss. xviii. 12, 1. 3, xcvii. 3"), 'behold the Lord will come with
fire ' (Isa. lxvi. 15). This O. T. conception is now applied to
Christ in his revelation for judgement. It signifies a splendid
terror, a dangerous majesty.
them that know not God : the heathen. This reads harshly,
as though the heathen were to be punished merely for their
ignorance. No explanation is given here. But in writing to
the Romans Paul enters into an elaborate explanation of the case.
He there attributes the present benighted condition of the pagan
world to moral causes. There was a knowledge of God displaj'ed
in the creation. But this was wilfully suppressed and stifled by
wickedness. Therefore God is justly angry (cf. Rom. i. 18, 19).
them that obey not, &c. The Greek clearly indicates another
class of people, by repeating the article. We are not to think of
the heathen remaining in their ignorance because they reject the
gospel ; but first we have the heathen condemned for their guilty
ignorance, and then those who reject the gospel. This second
class consists primarily of the hearers of the missionaries, ar.d
II THESSALONIANS 1. 9 229
Jesus : who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruc- 9
tion from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his
especially those people at Thessalonica, both Jews and pagans,
who rejected their message.
obey: not merely 'believe.' The fault is moral, not
intellectual. It lies with the will. These people will not submit
to the claims of the gospel
9. punishment: not the Greek word rendered 'punishment'
in the parable of the 'sheep and the goats' (kolasis, Matt. xxv.
46), which really signifies 'chastisement,' but a word (dike)
connected with the same root as the Greek for 'judge' and
'judgement,' meaning first of all 'right,' 'justice' ; then a 'judicial
hearing,' and a 'judicial decision,' a ' sentence ' (cf. Acts xxv. 15) ;
and so finally, ' the execution of a sentence,' which is its significa-
tion here. It is the word rendered 'punishment' in Jude 7.
eternal. The primary meaning of this adjective is ' that
which belongs to the ages.' Thus its strict application would be
indefinite, pointing to that which is vast and age-long, without
any determination of endlessness. But in usage it stands for
what is everlasting, as in the phrase 'eternal life.' There is
another word (ai'dios) used for the complete philosophical idea
of endlessness which is applied to the doom of fallen angels in
Jude 6, but nowhere in the N. T. to the punishment of human
beings. The word rendered 'eternal' 'gives prominence to the
immeasurableness of eternity ' (Grimm-Thayer). In Philo we
find it associated with punishment or chastisement {kolasis).
destruction. This cannot be a long process of being destroyed,
to which the adjective ' eternal ' is added in order to suggest its
continuance. The word points to a condition once for all settled.
Thus an eternal destruction is equivalent to a lasting destruction,
a destruction which is never, or at least not soon, superseded by
a restoration. Still it is too much to read into the word absolute
extinction of being, annihilation. It is an indefinite term in popular
usage. Thus Paul adopts it in the phrase ' the destruction of
the flesh' (1 Cor. v. 5), where he evidently does not even mean
physical death, but indicates the restraint of carnal appetite
through the chastisement involved in bodily sickness. The word
is used in a general sense in the earlier Epistle (1 Thess. v. 3).
from the face, &c. : a Hebraism, the face representing the
presence and the favour. This destruction involves banishment
from God and the loss of His favour. Trouble is regarded as God
hiding His face (Pss. x. n, xiii. 1). To behold God's face is great
joy (Ps. xvii. 15).
the lord : God. Both before and after this verse Christ is
indicated, as' our Lord Jesus Christ' and 'the Lord Jesus Christ.'
The O. T. idea of the face of Jehovah appears in this verse.
230 II THESSALONIANS 1. 10
ro might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints,
and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because
the glory of his might. This could be read as a Hebraism
meaning ' His mighty glory.' But such an idea is not consonant
with usage. It would be better, therefore, to understand the
phrase to mean ' the glory that belongs to His might,' the
splendour radiating out of God's great power and the exercise of
it. Those who suffer punishment are cut off from the glad
appreciation of this glory of God's great deeds of might in which
His true people will share.
10. when he shall come. The previous verse would
grammatically lead us to take the pronoun 'he' for God, and
the sentence for a description of a theophany. Yet the language
is so plainly in line with the Apostle's frequent references to the
coming of Jesus Christ that we must so read it here. The
transition from the Father to the Son is made quite readily and
almost unconsciously here as in other places by means of the
indefinite term ' the Lord.'
to toe glorified : his splendour to be made manifest.
in his saints: as though the glory were shining through
them. The idea seems to be that what Christ does for his saints
will be seen to redound to his glory.
saints : godry people, and therefore including all Christians,
not merely exceptionally hoi}' Christians, according to the usage
of primitive times. The members of a church are all ' called to
be saints' (Rom. i. 7 ; i Cor. i. 2; 2 Cor. i. 1), and are even
addressed as being already saints in such expressions as 4 all the
saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi ' (Phil. i. 1), ' the saints
and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae' (Col. i. 2),
' Salute every saint in Christ Jesus' (Phil. iv. 21). But in addition
to Christians probably the word ' saint ' here includes the godly
of O. T. times, as the following clause about those who believed
points specifically to Christians. It is not likely that two clauses
so markedly distinct should refer to exactly the same people.
to toe marvelled at. The word ' admired ' in the A. V. is used
in a sense now obsolete, but once familiar, meaning 'wondered
at.' Thus in Milton we read —
'The undaunted fiend what this might be admired;
Admired, not feared' ^Paradise Lost, ii. 677, 67S) ;
and in Shakespeare —
' I perceive, these lords
At this encounter do so much admire
That they devour their reason' \Tcmpcst, Act v. Scene 1).
in, &c. : the same relationship as in the previous clause.
II THESSALONIANS 1. n 231
our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. To 11
which end we also pray always for you, that our God
may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every
What Christ does in the case of those who believe in him will be
so manifested in the great day as to be a source of wonderment —
whether to themselves, or to other beings, such as angels, who
might be conceived of as spectators, we are not told.
all them that believed: Christians, those who accepted the
apostolic message with faith. The word 'believed' iin the Greek
aorist tense, a correction of the A. V. 'believe,' in accordance
with all good MSS.) indicates a single act of faith experienced in
some past time, and therefore points to the commencement of the
Christian life.
because: justifying the previous clause. The Thessalonians
had accepted the apostolic message with faith. They are specimens
of the people who believed and, as such, instances of the fact that
there will be those in whom the marvel of Christ's redeeming
power will be exhibited at the great day of revelation and
judgement.
our testimony. The substance of the apostolic preaching
is frequently called • testimony,' because the apostles present
themselves as witnesses of what they themselves have seen and
experienced, especially the great, convincing fact of the resurrec-
tion. This is distinctly set forth in the narrative of the selection
of a substitute for Judas (Acts i. 21, 22, 'a witness with us of
his resurrection '). Paul claims to have been such a witness
himself (i Cor. xv. 8). Thus we have 'the testimony of Christ'
(1 Cor. i. 6), meaning witness-bearing to what is known about
Christ.
in that day : to be connected with the main sentence, ' to be
glorified ... to be marvelled at,' not with the clause immediately
preceding; the R. V. rightly agrees with the A.V. in treating this
as a parenthesis. ' That day ' is the day of the revelation of Christ
just described.
11. To which end: the end referred to inverse 5, 'that ye
may be counted worthy of the kingdom,' &c, repeated in the
sentence here beginning. The letter takes a new turn. The
great prospect of the future just described is the motive of the
Apostle's prayers to which he now refers.
also: praying in addition to glorying or exulting mentioned
in verse 4.
your calling : not that to which you are called, your vocation,
but the process of calling you. Schmiedel takes this to be a future
call, the last call to participation in final blessedness. Such an
interpretation would agree with the summons in the parable of the
232 II THESSALONIANS 1. 12
desire of goodness and every work of faith, with power ;
a that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ten Virgins, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Coinc ye forth to meet
him' (Matt. xxv. 6). But it is not in accordance with Paul's
references to the calling of Christians, which invariably stand for
the invitation to enter the Christian life ^cf. Rom. viii. 30, ix. 24 ;
1 Cor. vii. 15, 17; Gal. i. 6, 15 ; 1 Thess. ii. 12, iv. 7 ; 2 Thess. ii.
T4 ; 2 Tim. i. 9, in all of which cases the verb is in the past tense).
Paul uses the word three times in the present tense in a similar
connexion (Rom. ix. 11 ; Gal. v. 8 ; 1 Thess. v. 24) ; but there he is
referring to the custom and way of God, how he is a God who
calls with certain ends in view. The Apostle never has the verb
in the future, and never suggests any future call for Christians.
Mr. Garrod, who agrees with Schmiedel here, cites 1 Thess. ii. 12,
• That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto
his kingdom.' But, though that verse describes a call to what is
yet future, it sets the calling itself in the past.
every desire of goodness. The A. V. understood this to
refer to God, translating the phrase, ' all the good pleasure of his
goodness.' The word that the Revisers render ' desire ' usually
stands for God's good pleasure (cf. Eph. i. 5, 9 ; Phil. ii. 13). But
there are reasons for rejecting this interpretation : (1) The addition
of the Greek word agathostine, here translated ' goodness,' which
Paul never applies to God, but always to men (cf. Rom. xv. 14 ;
Gal. v. 22; Eph. v. 9). (2) The following clause, which refers to
human experience. Thus we have the two clauses in parallel
line — 'the desire of goodness' and ' the work of faith,' both being
found in the Thessalonians.
every work of faith. These like the desires of goodness
are to be fulfilled. To fulfil a desire is to realize it, to acquire
the thing wished for. It is not so usual to associate the idea of
fulfilment with the thought of works. Paul seems to mean the
bringing these works to a successful issue.
with power : associated with the word ' fulfil.' God's power
is sought to accomplish what is desired, whenever the desire
springs from a good motive, and to make effectual every labour
that is inspired by faith.
12. the name : the character and fame (cf. Phil. ii. 9, ' the name
which is above every name ').
glorified in you : in what happens in your life and experience,
thus exhibiting the goodness and greatness of Christ, since he
is the source of every Christian excellency.
ye in him : Christians sharing in Christ's glory and receiving
II THESSALONIANS 2. i 253
Now wc beseech you, brethren, touching the coming 2
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together
glory from him. The servants come in for a share of the honour
of the master whose livery they wear.
according' to the grace, &c. : in harmony with the whole
system of grace. That involves many favours, among which may
be placed the favours just mentioned.
ii. 1-12. Mistake about the parousia. The Apostle begs his
readers not to be easily disturbed by what they take to be
communications from him to the effect that the day of the Lord
is already present. There will be a previous apostasy and the
revelation of a mysterious person or power described as ' the man
of sin,' who is already opposing God and usurping the place of
God. This the Apostle had stated when he was with the
Thessalonians. At present there is a restraining influence.
When that is removed the lawless one will be slain by Christ,
although he is working with the power of Satan and using methods
of deceit which entangle unrighteous people who are given over
by God to the delusion.
The previous part of the Epistle is all in a way introductory, the
salutation being followed by thanksgiving and prayer down to
the end of the first chapter. Now the specific purpose of the
Epistle appears. It is written in the main in order to counteract
mistaken ideas about the Second Coming of Christ.
1. we beseech you. Thanksgiving and prayer are followed by
exhortation.
touching : lit. ' on behalf of,' not ' by,' as in the A. V. When
Paul beseeches or exhorts with such an appeal as ' by the mercies
of God ' (Rom. xii. i), ' through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ '
(1 Cor. i. 10), he uses another Greek preposition {did) ; here the
preposition is hyper. Thus the Apostle may mean his exhortation
to be a preparation for the Second Advent. In order that the
great event may be rightly treated he will beg his friends now
to take a right view of it. But the simpler meaning given in
the R.V. is allowable, and it seems more suitable here. The
preposition is taken as indicating the subject discussed, as if we
read 'about' or * concerning.' The meaning is very similar in
i. 4 where it is translated * for ' in the clause '/or your patience
and faith,' these graces being the subjects concerning which the
Apostle exults.
coming : lit. ' presence,' the parousia.
our gathering, &c. The reference is to the gathering of
Christians to Christ on his appearance at the Second Advent, or
revelation of his Presence. This had been fully described in
1 Thcss. iv. 16, 17, the dead rising first, then the living being
234 II THESSALONIANS 2. 2
3 unto him ; to the end that ye be not quickly shaken
from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or
by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the
caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and dwell
with Him for ever after (cf. v. iox. In Matt. xxiv. 31 Christ says,
'they shall gather together his elect from the four winds.'
Probably the early Christians understood these predictions quite
literally. In the present day few will be ready to believe in the
actual levitation of human bodies and collection of a multitude
of living men and women in the vapour that floats half a mile
or so above the ground when the barometer has fallen. But if this
physical scene is not to be reasonably expected, and the language
of Christ on the subject is to be accepted in his customary
parabolic sense, as when he spoke of faith removing a fig-tree,
the essential idea is unaffected. This is the promise that Christ's
people shall meet him and dwell with him for ever.
2. to the end that: a clause pointing forward. The object
arrived at is stated in this verse, the means by which that object
is to be obtained in the verses that follow. Thus the Apostle writes,
1 In order that ye be not quickly troubled ... let no man beguile
you,1 &c.
from your mind: from 3-our normal state of mind, your
settled convictions ; not ' in mind ' as in the A. V.
nor yet . . . troubled. The two words ' shaken ' and ' troubled'
point to two possible effects of the disturbing influence, the first
unsettling the ideas and mental views of the Thessalonians, the
second causing them distress. Three possible disturbing influences
are contemplated by the Apostle — spirit, word, epistle.
spirit: not necessarily theHoly Spirit as Mr.Garrod and others
assert. The reference would be to some inspired utterance, what
was called a ' prophecy ' in the primitive church. But the in-
definiteness of the word ' spirit ' standing here boldly by itself
points to the wide, general sense of the word. Christians and
Jews both believed in spirits influencing men, and no doubt the
Thessalonians were familiar with the Greek notion of demons.
Even if the influence were attributed by the church to the Spirit
of God, when it was seen to be erroneous or hurtful in character
Paul would ascribe it to some mischievous spirit (cf. ' a lying
spirit,' 1 Kings xxii. 23). He leaves the nature and character of
the source open by simply saying ' spirit/ a word which may be
taken here generically.
word: a vocal utterance, as distinguished from the 'epistle,'
introduced as a third possibility. This may be taken separately,
or joined to the clause that follows. In the latter case, the word
as well as the epistle would be ascribed to the Apostle, and here
II THESSALONIANS 2. 2 235
the idea would be that some officious person may have brought
a report of what he asserted Paul had said and thereby disturbed
the minds of the Thessalonians. This seems the probable meaning,
since after the reference to a prophetic message received by
inspiration it is difficult to think what word — clearly distinguished
from such a message — could have weight enough to upset the
church unless it were attached to apostolic authority. It is
conceivable that Paul may have intended to refer to some tra-
ditional saying of Christ, or perhaps to some utterance of one of
the older apostles. But in that case it is probable that he would
have described the source of the word as he proceeds to describe
the reputed source of the Epistle.
epistle as from. 113. Is Paul referring (V to i Thessalonians,
or (2) to a known forged epistle, or (3^1 to the possibility of
some epistle reporting ideas ascribed to Paul having been received
at Thessalonica ? In favour of ( i) it has been remarked that the
earlier Epistle refers to Christ coming suddenly 'as a thief in
the night' (i Thess. v. 2). Moreover it seems highly improbable
that anybody would be forging a letter in the Apostle's name at
this early date. Such a letter as is here suggested would not help
the cause of the Judaizers, the only people in the early church
whom we know to be meddlers in the Apostle's work. That there
were men who wished so strongly to make out that Paul taught
the immediate advent of Christ that they forged a letter in his
name with that object in view is a conception of the history wholly
unsupported by evidence from any other quarter, and in itself
perplexing, indeed inexplicable. On the other hand, the phrase
before us cannot be explained if the Apostle is only referring to his
previous Epistle. The word ; as ' is an insuperable difficulty to that
view. Why should Paul write 'an epistle as from us' if he meant
his own Epistle? Such language must have suggested a different
meaning to the readers. And even apart from the word ' as' the
phrase is not what one would expect. We know how Paul did
refer to previous letters, e. g. in writing to the Corinthians he says
with reference to an earlier letter, * I wrote unto you in my epistle '
(1 Cor. v. 9), a perfectly clear, intelligible phrase, quite different
from what we have here. Nevertheless there is some difficulty
in accepting (2) — the notion of a known forged epistle. Surely the
Apostle would not have joined this to a prophetic utterance and
a reported saying (represented by 'spirit' and 'word') as though
all three means of influence were in some respects similar. That
is too mild a treatment for a forgery. We should have looked for
indignant denunciation of the impudent crime. Accordingly we
come to (3) — the idea that the Apostle imagines that some letter pur-
porting to convey his teaching may have reached the Thessalonians.
The mention of three possible influences implies that Paul does
not know which of them has been the cause of the present trouble
236 II THESSALONIANS 2. 3
Lord is now present ; let no man beguile you in any
wise : for // will not be, except the falling away come
first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
at Thessalonica. He merely surmises that it may have been some
such influence as he specifies. Schmiedel points out that the use
of the same preposition (din) in all three eases and before the
pronoun 'us' docs not suit the supposition that the authorship of
the letter was ascribed to Paul. To preserve the identity of
phrase we might read ' either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle,
as by us.' This might mean that the Thessalonians should not be
affected by a prophecy, a word of report, or a letter, as they would
be affected by the Apostle himself.
now present: more accurate than the expression of the A. V.
'at hand.'
3. let no nian beg"uile yon, Sec. It has been said that this
Epistle shews a change of mind in the Apostle compared with his
views in the earlier letter. But he does not contradict himself.
In 1 Thessalonians he had spoken of the sudden coming of Christ,
not of its being immediate. Still the tone of the earlier Epistle
suggested the nearness of the advent, which the later Epistle
explicitly denies. We should rather say that there is a develop-
ment of thought. The Apostle had declared the suddenness without
going further ; now he advances to fuller details. It is likely that
the subject had occupied his thoughts in the interval with the
result that he had reached the definite conclusions here stated.
the falling away. The definite article, appearing in the R.V.,
points to some expected apostas\' of which Paul knew the Thessa-
lonians had heard. Dr. Denney refers the phrase to the Jews
because there is no mention of the Christians throughout the
passage, treating it as their rejection of Christ. But that was
already an accomplished fact. Most commentators take it for
a future Christian defection from the faith. The expectation of
this might be based on our Lord's prediction that many shall be
led astray by false prophets and that ' the love of the many shall
wax cold' (Matt. xxiv. 12).
the man of sin: a Hebraism meaning 'the sinful man.' Cf.
'man of Belial' (1 Sam. xxv. 25). The article indicates either
(1) 'the pre-eminently sinful man,' or (2) some known person.
Verse 5 suggests the latter interpretation.
sin. The margin of the R.V. substitutes 'lawlessness,'
following the Vatican and Sinaitic MSS. and other good authorities,
probably the correct reading. This word occurs later, at verse 7.
Thus ; the mystery of lawlessness ' must be identified with ' the
man oflawlcssncss.'
II THESSALONIANS 2. 4 237
he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all 4
that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he
sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
revealed: implying that he already exists, and may even be
present ; but he is hidden from view, or his true nature and
character are not yet known. The coming revelation, i. e. the
manifestation and declaration of the man of iniquity, corresponds
to the revelation of Christ previously mentioned (i. 7), which it is
to precede.
the son of perdition : a Hebraism meaning ' the lost and
ruined person, one who is going to perdition.' The expression
was applied by Christ to Judas Iscariot in John xvii. 12. Cf. 'son
of death ' {2 Sam. xii. 5, marg.), for one doomed to die.
4. he that opposeth : the negative attitude indicated first.
exalteth himself. Cf. Dan. xi. 36, l And the king shall do
according to his will ; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify
himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against
the God of gods' ; a passage which with its context seems to have
been in the Apostle's mind. Thus Daniel is at the root of Paul's
apocalypse, as he is at the root of nearly every other apocalypse.
In Daniel the reference is to Antiochus Epiphanes, the insolent
tyrant who persecuted the Jews and insulted their religion.
all that is called God : corresponding to ' every god ' in the
Daniel passage just cited. This must mean an opposition to
religion, not merely to Christianity.
he sitteth. The words ' as God ' in the A. V. disappear from
the text in the R. V., not being found in the best MSS. and
versions.
the temple of God. The word for temple (naos) is that
which represents the inner shrine, with the Jews the Holy Place,
not the whole temple enclosure (called hieron). Three possible
applications of the phrase in this place have been suggested :
(1) The Jews' temple at Jerusalem; (2) the Christian church;
(3) a pagan centre of worship. (3) is suggested in support of the
view that ' the man of iniquity ' is the Roman emperor assuming
to be a god and claiming worship. But in that case would Paul
write ' the temple,' and add the clause 'of God'? (2) has been
supported by an appeal to Paul's conception of the church, as
when he writes, 'Ye are a temple of God1 (1 Cor. iii. 16). But
the notion of the man of lawlessness sitting in this temple is
somewhat incongruous. We seem therefore to be driven back
to (1), the view taken by Irenaeus in the 2nd century (Hcer. v.
30. 4), an interpretation which is adopted by those who regard
the mysterious personage to represent the Jews in their anti-
Christian attitude. It is possible, however, that the phrase ma}' be
?38 II THESSALONIANS 2. ;, 6
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told
6 you these things ? And now ye know that which restrain-
ed, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
used in a wide allegorical sense, being, as Mr. Garrod suggests, * a
forcible method of shewing that the man of sin will by his own
deliberate action usurp the dignity and prerogative of God.'
About 15 years before this (a. d. 40") the Emperor Caligula had
ordered his statue to be set up in the temple at Jerusalem ; he
died before his command was executed vJosephus, Antiq. xviii. 8).
setting- himself forth, as God. This well describes the
action of the Roman emperors in accepting and even demanding
Divine honours.
5. If this verse is to be taken literallj' Paul is not giving the
Thessalonians any fresh information. Probably, however, he
means that he had told them generally about these things ; now
he is entering more into detail. Possibly the division here
indicates that, while hitherto he has recapitulated his personal
teaching, what follows contains more fresh instruction. This verse
will account in part for the vagueness of the Apostle's language.
He assumes that his readers will understand the allusion which
in writing he couches in vague terms, perhaps for fear of the
letter falling into the hands of enemies. But this very fact of the
mutual understanding between writer and readers must make us
cautious with our attempts at explanations and lead us not to be
surprised if the riddle may seem to us insoluble. We have not
the key to the cypher with which the Thessalonians had been
supplied.
6. ye know. Again the reference is to what had passed
between the Apostle and the Thessalonians during his stay in
their city.
that which restraineth : a neuter form in the Greek, indicat-
ing any restraining influence, in the most indefinite way. In the
next verse Paul writes of ' one that restraineth,' and thus indicates
that the restraining influence is personal. He uses the same verb
in both cases, a fact that was obscured in the A. V. by rendering
the word ' withholdeth ' in verse 6 and ' letteth ' in verse 7. This
influence or person is restraining the man of lawlessness so that
as yet he cannot work his will.
that he may be revealed : i. e. the man of lawlessness, who
is not yet seen because repressed by the restraining power. This
mysterious being will be revealed when the restraining influence
is removed.
his own season : the time of the man of lawlessness, when
he will have free range and scope to work his evil will. The
II THESSALONIANS 2. 7 239
For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work : only 7
there is one that restrained! now, until he be taken out of
idea is that some such season is fixed in the order and arrange-
ment of things, so that when it arrives the outbreak will appear.
It is one of the 'times and seasons' referred to in i Thess. v. i.
The date of it cannot be given ; the Apostle does not know that.
Even Jesus declared that his knowledge did not extend to a
definite date in the future (cf. Mark xiii. 32). Prophecy fore-
shadows the future in indicating the development of" principles
and their conditional or inevitable consequences, but it does not
pre-date the almanack and fill in the future at fixed periods. It
predicts what is to occur in time ; it does not define and limit
time itself.
7. mystery. This word is always used in the N. T. for what has
been hidden, but is subsequently revealed ; never for that which
cannot be understood, in our modern sense of the term. Thus
Paul writes, 'Behold, I tell you a mystery' (x Cor. xv. 51), and
then proceeds to make a declaration about the resurrection,
declaring what had previously been hidden. A nvystery is a
revelation. Here the word applies to the restrained power of
wickedness, still hidden, but ultimately to be revealed. In view
of that coming revelation, and not because it is unintelligible, in
our sense of the word ' n^'std-Jous,1 it is called a mystery. Thus
this is another name for the man of lawlessness, or perhaps it
represents his power and his doings, which of course will be made
evident when he is unmasked.
doth already work. Though the revelation, the unmasking
and manifestation, is future, this evil power is even now at work,
undiscovered and unrecognized, or at all events not seen in its
naked wickedness.
one that restraineth : a more definite description of the
restraining influence mentioned in the previous verse, now seen
to be personal. The word ' let ' in the A. V. is there used in an
an old English sense now obsolete, as equivalent to ' hinder ' or
' restrain.' Thus we have it in Shakespeare : —
' I'll make a ghost of him that lets me' {Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 4);
and in Bacon : ' But there must be no alleys with hedges . . . for
letting your prospect upon this fair hedge from the green ' (Essay,
lxvi).
There is some difficulty in the construction of the whole sen-
tence. The Revisers make good sense by inserting the words
• there is ' before ' one that restraineth,' their italics shewing that
these words are not in the original. But though the verb ' to be '
240 II THESSALONIANS 2. 8
the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one,
whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his
must often be supplied when it can serve as a simple copula, here
it appears as the predicate and even as the most emphatic word
in the sentence, which is thus made to assert the existence of the
lawless one. If Paul had meant that, it is probable that he would
have used the word himself. This difficulty is avoided in the
A. V., but by supplying other words not in the Greek, viz. 'only
he who now letteth, will let,'' &c. — 'will let' being added by the
translators. Any such intrusion of foreign elements is escaped
by a third rendering, that suggested in the margin of the R. V.,
viz. 'only until he that now restraineth be taken,' &c, i.e. the
mystery of lawlessness is already working in an underground
fashion, under restraint. But this malignant activit}' is only to
continue till the restraining influence is removed ; for no sooner
will that happen than the wicked one being revealed, swift
destruction will fall upon him, as the next verse declares.
8. And then : when the restraining power is removed.
revealed : the unveiling, or unmasking mentioned in verse 3.
the lawless one : evidently the same as • the man of lawless-
ness' (verse 3). In the Greek the same root word is used in the three
places where different words obscure the meaning in the A. V. : —
The A.V. The Greek.
1. Man of sin. 1. Man of lawlessness (correct
text).
2. Mystery of iniquity. 2. Mystery of lawlessness.
3. That lawless. 3. Lawless one.
the Lord Jesus. The A. V. has only ' the Lord.' The R. V.
adds 'Jesus' on important documentary authority, though the
good MSS. are divided as to the question of retaining or omitting
the word. The Revisers have followed Tischendorf and other
critics of the text in inserting it. Thus, while the ambiguity of
the word ' Lord ' might have left us in doubt whether God or
Christ were intended, the admission of this correction settles the
point. It is quite in accordance with N. T. teaching, and with
Paul's ideas in particular, that the coming of Christ should be
associated with wrath and vengeance. John the Baptist sa3's.
1 the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire' (Matt. iii. 12) ;
Jesus refers to the punishment he will inflict in his parables of
judgement (Matt. xxiv. 51, xxv. 30, 46) ; and Paul in this very
Epistle describes him as coming 'with the angels of his power in
flaming fire, rendering vengeance,' &c. (i. 7, 8\
slay: in the best MSS. and therefore substituted for
'consume' (A. VA
II THESSALONIANS 2. 9,10 241
mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his
coming ; even he, whose coming is according to the 9
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them 10
that are perishing ; because they received not the love
with the breath of his mouth. The Greek word (pneuma)
rendered ' breath ' here in the R. V. is that which usually stands
for i spirit' (as in the A. V. here). But the meaning 'breath'
best suits the context, and the whole phrase seems to be an echo
of Isa. xi. 4, ' with the breath of his lips shall he slay the
wicked,' where the same Greek word occurs, and plainly means
•breath.' The same expression occurs in Ps. xxxiii. 6, ' By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all the host of
them by the breath of his mouth.' The Apostle may be referring
to a word of command for the destruction of ' the lawless one,'
and the analogy of the passage in the Psalms would suggest that
idea. On the other hand, the passage from Isaiah, and the sub-
sequent description of the destruction to be brought about by the
' manifestation of his coming.' or presence, point to a metaphorical
idea of more direct influence, as though the very breathing of
Christ on the great enemy would be sufficient to slay him.
manifestation: not ' brightness' as in the A. V. The Greek
word (epiphaneia) is the original of our word ' Epiphany.'
9. whose coming1. The same word (paronsia) is here used for
the ' coming' or ' presence ' of the lawless one that is used for the
1 coming ' or ' presence ' of Christ in other parts of the Epistle.
according' to the working of Satan : i. e. he acts as Satan
would act, in agreement with Satan's ways.
power . . . signs . . . wonders : the three N. T. words for
what we call miracles. Thus we have ' he could there do no
mighty work* (Mark vi. 5, the Greek word dunamis, rendered
' mighty work,' being the same that is here translated ' power ') ;
'Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe' (John
\v. 48). But here, since the word ' power ' is in the singular while
the other two words are in the plural, the suggestion is that a
Satanic power is causing the signs and wonders.
lying : not mere conjuror's illusions, but real miracles that
mislead.
10. deceit of unrighteousness : a Hebraism, meaning < wicked
deceit.'
them that are perishing : as contrasted with those who
are being saved, the people on the broad road that leads to
destruction.
because they received not, &c. : indicating that the perishing
(9) R
242 II THESSALONIANS 2. 11,12
11 of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this
cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they
13 should believe a lie : that they all might be judged who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unright-
eousness.
of these people is due to their own fault in refusing to cherish love
for the truth. The}- would have been saved if they had done so.
the love of the truth. This may mean either (r) the love of
truth in general, or (2) the love of the specific truth contained
in the teaching of Christ and the apostles, the truths of the
Christian faith. The latter meaning is most in accordance with
Paul's use of the word, e. g. ' who did hinder you that ye should
not obey the truth?' (Gal. v. 7), where the context shews that
' the truth' stands for the Christian teaching as opposed to Judaism
(cf. 2 Cor. iv. 2, xiii. 8;. Nevertheless perhaps the first meaning —
the love of truth in general — should be preferred here because
(a) it is contrasted with belief in a lie ^ verse 11), and (b) it seems
to be referred to later when we read of belief of the truth (verse
13, see note). The idea is not that these people are lost because
they have never heard of this truth of the gospel, as is the case
with the heathen world, nor because they are unable to understand
it or believe in it, but because they do not love truth and therefore
come to reject the Christian message. Thus the cause of their ruin
is moral, not intellectual.
11. for this cause : i.e. because they shewed this disposition
of aversion to the truth.
God sendeth them, &c. Two points must be noted in regard
to this assertion : (1) The state of confusion with erroneous ideas
is distinctly described as coming from God ; (2) this is so because
the people who are afflicted with it have first of all deliberately
shut themselves out from sympathy with the Christian truth. We
can understand this better if we translate it into terms of natural
law, since that is what we can more immediately perceive, while at
the same time we regard it as the expression of the Divine will.
Those people who harden themselves against Christian truth will
suffer the penalty of their perverse conduct by becoming the
victims of delusion. The specific delusion here suggested is faith
in the evil power called ' the man of lawlessness ' and a credulous
acceptance of his 'lying wonders.'
12. judged: not 'damned,' as in the A. V. ; the word only
describes the process of judgement. Still in the N. T. it is
generally used where an adverse judgement, a condemnation,
is implied. Plainly that is so here.
who believed not the truth. The unbelievers are to be
II THESSALONIANS 2. 12 243
condemned, but not simply for unbelief; the cause of that unbelief,
lias been clearly indicated already, and it is again described in the
clause that follows, as in itself morally culpable. We are not to
infer from this that all unbelief flows from a morally culpable
source. The Apostle is only referring to the doom of the victims
of the delusion introduced by ' the man of lawlessness.'
the truth. The word truth must be taken generally through-
out the passage for that which is true. Still the Apostle has the
message of the gospel in mind, and to the general sense of the word
truth must be added here the mental associations of the special
Christian truth.
pleasure in unrighteousness : the correlative of not re-
ceiving the love of the truth ; a further confirmation of the idea that
the unbelief and the state of delusion in question spring from
culpably moral sources. The phrases of this sentence are dis-
tinctly balanced: those 'who believed not the truth' are the
people who ' had pleasure in unrighteousness.'
Note. — This is one of the most perplexing passages in the N. T.
A volume might be written on the history of the views that have
been advocated concerning it. The following are the most
conspicuous, turning chiefly on the identification of 'the man
of sin.' (1) Some personage in history prophetically indicated —
Mahomet, according to the Greek church ; the Pope, according to
the Preface of the A. V. (in 1611); Napoleon; modern Atheism, &c.
(2) Some contemporary personage, perhaps Caligula, if Paul was re-
ferring to the mad emperor's attempt to thrust his image into the
temple at Jerusalem ; or Nero, but if so with a later date for the
Epistle than allows it to be written by Paul. (3) The persecuting
Jewish authorities personified as one malignant enemy. This view
is largely advocated in the present day. The Jews had been Paul's
great opponents at Thessalonica and they were the instigators of
the persecution of the Christians in that city. That some contem-
porary power or person is intended seems clear from the use
of the present tense ' opposeth,1 'exalteth,' 'sitteth,' ' doth already
work ' ; the same applies to the restraining influence which * now
letteth.' Thus interpretations of the first kind must be excluded,
as indeed they should be excluded in any case, because it is
a mistaken view of prophecy to regard it as ' history written
before the event,' with definite references to distinct human
personages. Further, in favour of the third view we have the
reference to the temple of God. This would seem to be the
Jerusalem temple, the only temple Paul, a Jew, could so describe ;
and the Jewish authorities had possession of it. The language
is suspiciously strong here, and the phrase ' setting himself forth
as God ' which would well fit a Roman emperor could not be
applied literally to the Jews. Still in a figurative sense Paul
might use it for the dogmatic assumption of the Jews to judge and
K 2
244 II THESSALONIANS 2. 12
condemn all who differed from them. We can hardly think that
he would write so strongly to denunciation of a Roman emperor,
because everywhere else he treats the imperial government with
respect and speaks well of it. Then if the * man of sin ' represents
the Jewish authorities, the 'one that restraineth ' will be easily
interpreted as the Roman government. Again and again Paul was
protected by the civil power from the attacks of the Jewish mob,
and he saw in this government the authority which held back the
malignity of persecuting Jews. Here he foresees a time when
that restraint will be removed. It did not happen in his own
lifetime, but it came about in the revolt of Bar Cochbar, in the
reign of Hadrian, whose temporal overthrow of the Roman
government in Palestine resulted in a persecution of the Christians
of that district. That something of the kind must happen Paul
felt sure. Nevertheless this interpretation is not wholly satisfac-
tory. The reference to miracles wrought by the power of Satan
is obscure. Besides, the Apostle's language would suit one definite
person better than the personification of the Jewish authorities.
The origin of the phraseology is to be found in the Book of Daniel ;
and there the opponent is a person, Antiochus Epiphanes. Pos-
sibly the Apostle is thinking of some great enemy of Christianity
whom he expects to appear, corresponding to the ' Antichrist ' of
John and later writers, if ' Antichrist ' is indeed one person. But
there is doubt on that point, for John seems to use the title ' Anti-
christ ' generically for any violent opposers of Christ (cf. 1 John
ii. 18, 22, iv. 3). The use of the present tense, and in particular
the expression about sitting ;.n the temple, do not well suit the
conception of a purely ideal apocalyptic figure. Some more
distinct idea, recognizable by the Thessalonians at the time, seems
to be indicated. On the whole, therefore, the third interpretation
given above seems to be the most probable, though there is
considerable doubt on the question. According to this view the
passage would be explained as follows : — Do not be deceived.
Christ will not come yet. First there will be a falling away of
some of the Christians ; then the full malignity of the Jewish
power will be made manifest. It is very haughty and insolent
now, claiming the temple as its own and assuming the authority
of God ; but for the present the Roman government restrains it.
When that restraining influence is removed it will break out with
full violence. But then Christ will come and destroy it.
If it is asked, Why did not the Apostle write more plainly ? the
answer must be that he adopted the enigmatic symbolism of the
apocalyptic style for the same reason that led other apocalyptic
writers to use it, namely, because more open language was
dangerous. The Christians at Thessalonica were surrounded
by Jewish enemies, and perhaps watched by Jewish spies.
While he was with them Paul had said enough to make his
II THESSALONIANS 2. 13 245
But we are bound to give thanks to God alway for 13
you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose
meaning when writing this letter clear — for he here refers to that
earlier teaching. As we have not the key we must be content to
leave the passage in some obscurity. After all, though of intense
interest to the Thessalonians, it is not of much importance for us
in the present day, since it refers to events which now lie far
back in the primitive history of the church, rather than to those
eternal principles which we prize as the treasures of inspired
Scripture.
ii. 13-17. Further thanksgiving and exhortation. Returning
to a phrase employed in the earlier part of the Epistle (i. 3), the
Apostle again declares that he must thank God for choosing the
Thessalonians and calling them by means of the gospel. He
exhorts them to steadfastness in accordance with the truths they
have received from him, and prays that Christ and God may cheer
and establish them.
13. we: an emphatic word in the Greek text, implying a con-
trastwith others previously mentioned. The Greek pronoun wasnot
given in the parallel passage (i. 3) as it was not usual to write
it except for emphasis, and this fact makes the insertion of it here
the more significant. We should rather have expected the
emphasis to have been laid on the word ' you,' contrasting the
redeemed Thessalonians with the abandoned persons just described.
But we must understand Paul to mean that as to himself and his
companion missionaries, for their part, they have good grounds
for thankfulness, while the miserable people of whom he has been
writing can have no such reasons for congratulating themselves.
beloved of the Lord : an additional description, not found in
the earlier passage (i. 31), contrasting the Thessalonians with the
unhappy people on whom God ' sendeth an error,' though it is to
be observed that the difference is not arbitrary, since if those
reprobates seem to be hardly dealt with by God it is as the conse-
quence of their own fault in refusing to entertain the love of the
truth — ' And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error '
(verse 11). Conversely we must not set down God's love to the
Thessalonian Christians as a mark of partiality. That too must
have had its selective cause.
chose. This choice comes previous to the salvation and faith
of the Thessalonians in which it issues. Apart from a mysterious
theological conception of ' election ' there is a plain historical fact
which illustrates this idea. The gospel was preached effectually
in Thessalonica, as it was not yet preached in many other places,
and that was a consequence of the providential ordering of events
and also of the special guidance of the missionaries by the Spirit of
246 II THESSALONIANS 2. 14
you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of
14 the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called
God. Paul may be alluding to these obvious facts. Still he goes
behind them to a previous Divine purpose and action. A gloss
which has crept into some of the MSS., including the great
Vatican MS., probably from the margin, though most critics
do not accept it as part of the original text, ma}7 serve as an
admirable explanation. This consists of the addition of the words
'as firstfruits.' In point of fact that is what the Divine choice of
the Thessalonians amounted to. They were chosen thus early in
the preaching of the gospel, but not to the exclusion of other
believers who would come in later, only as the firstfruits of
a large harvest.
from the beginning1: i.e. the beginning of all things, when
God laid out His plans for the ordering of human affairs. Thus
Christ speaks of k the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world' (Matt. xxv. 34) and Paul writes, * He
chose us in him before the foundation of the world' (Eph. i. 4).
For the phrase cf. Gen. i. 1; Prov. viii. 22; John i. 1.
unto salvation: as the end to be attained, not yet realized
cf. Rom. xiii. n).
in : or ' by means of,' a common Hebraism.
sanctification. See note on 1 Thess. iv. 3.
of the Spirit. This might mean ( 1) the human spirit, with
reference to the consecrating and purifying of the spirits of
Christians, as implied by the A. V. ' spirit.' But (2) probably the
R. V. is correct in printing the word ' Spirit ' with a capital ' S ' to
suggest the Holy Spirit. It is usual to refer to sanctification
as brought about by the Spirit of God. In 1 Pet. i. 2 we have
this phrase 'in sanctification of the Spirit 'associated with references
to God the Father and Jesus Christ, making it clear that there the
word Spirit stands for the Holy Spirit.
the truth. There is no article before the word ' truth ' in
the Greek, which shews that Paul does not mean the specific
truth of the gospel, but truth generally. We have here a
manifest contrast between the Christians who have 'belief of the
truth' and the deceived persons referred to in the previous
paragraph who are subject to ' a working of error, that they should
believe a lie' (cf. notes on verses 10 and 12).
14. whereunto : to the salvation just referred to.
called : subsequently to the choosing mentioned in the previous
verse. Cf. ' whom he foreordained, them he also called ' (Rom.
viii. 30). This call came in the preaching of the gospel by Paul
and his companions. There is no hint of any other call, any
mvsterious call in the interior life.
II THESSALONIANS 2. 15, 16 247
you through our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand fast, 15
and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether
by word, or by epistle of ours.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our 16
our gospel : the gospel we preached.
to the obtaining", &c. : the end and purpose of the call, as
salvation is the end and purpose of the choosing. Christians are
chosen to be saved and called to share in the glory of Christ.
the glory of our I»ord Jesus Christ : the splendour and
honour which belong to Christ now that he is exalted to the
right hand of God. Christians are called to participate in this
glory. Cf. 'enter thou into the joy of thy lord' (Matt. xxv. 21),
where the faithful servant's reward is to be a sharing in his
Master's joy.
15. So then: a strong phrase in the Greek, and a favourite
one with Paul. The greatness of the privileges just enumerated
is a reason for steadfastness, in spite of the discouragement of
present trials.
stand fast. The Greek is simply 'stand/ meaning 'do not
be moved by the flood of adverse influences/ 'hold your ground
in spite of all opposition.'
traditions : not of course ancient sayings handed down
from one to another, in our modern sense of the word ' tradition/
but simply ' what has been conveyed to you.' This would consist
of the substance of the gospel truths (cf. 1 Cor. xi. 2). A verbal
form of the same term is used in Paul's words introducing his
account of the Lord's Supper : ' I received of the Lord that which
also I delivered unto 3Tou ' (1 Cor. xi. 23). Mr. Garrod refers the
'traditions' especially to teaching about the Second Advent,
but it is better to take the word more comprehensively for all
the apostolic teaching of the Thessalonians.
taught. There had been more than preaching, a general
proclamation of the gospel. The missionaries had taken pains to
instruct their converts in the truths of the faith.
by word : oral teaching when Paul and his companions Were
at Thessalonica.
by epistle : a letter written to the Thessalonians. Probably
the reference is to our previous Epistle.
16. himself. This word holds the most emphatic position in
the Greek text. Thus it lays special stress on the appeal to
Christ himself to help his people. This and the following verses
are closely parallel to 1 Thess. iii. 11-13 ; but there the words run
kNow may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus/ &c,
248 II THESSALONIANS 2. 17
Father which loved us and gave us eternal comfort
7 and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and
stablish them in every good work and word.
and the word 'himself is in the same emphatic position as
here, and yet it refers to God the Father. It cannot be that
the changed application of the emphasis is meant to mark a
contrast between God and Christ, that in the First Epistle God
Himself more especially, and in the Second Christ himself more
especially, are invoked. A comparison between the two passages
shews that, whether Christ or God be thus emphatically named,
the thought is of heavenly influences coming directly down ;
no mere human or angelic ministry would suffice. Still there
must be a reason for the change of order, especially as it is
contrary to the custom of the Apostle, who generally writes
the name of Christ after that of God when he introduces both
names. Probably the previous reference to the coming of Christ
and his glory led the Apostle to name Christ first here. He
follows a similar order in the benediction at the end of
2 Corinthians, a benediction that has been adopted by the
churches in preference to all other Scripture forms of blessing :
'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,' &c.
(2 Cor. xiii. 14).
which.: i.e. God our Father. The relative pronoun is in the
singular, and therefore does not stand for both Christ and God our
Father.
loved : the ground of all that follows.
us: the Apostle now including himself with his readers.
gave. The verb is in the aorist tense, referring to a
specific act in the past. This must be the gift of grace in the
very institution of the gospel by the sending of Christ with all
its consequent blessings. That was done once for all ; the gift
was then made, though the individual reception of it is a matter
of time and is repeated again and again.
eternal comfort: better than 'everlasting consolation' as
in the A. V., for the word rendered ' comfort ' stands for general
cheering and encouragement, and not only the relief of sorrow
(cf. note on 1 Thess. iii. 2).
good. Grimm gives this passage as an instance of the Greek
word (agathos) rendered 'good,' meaning 'pleasant, agreeable,
joyful, happy.' Cf. Titus ii. r3, 'the blessed hope.'
through grace: to be connected with the verb 'gave.'
It was by His grace that God gave these rich gifts.
17. comfort. Cf. note on 1 Thess. iii. 2.
hearts: the inner life generally, thought, feeling, and will,
according to the Hebrew idiom.
II THESSALONIANS 3. 1-3 249
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the 3
Lord may run and be glorified, even as also it is with you ;
and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and 2
evil men ; for all have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, 3
iii. 1-5. Prayer and confidence. The Apostle requests the
prayers of his readers for the progress of his missionary work
and his deliverance from vexatious opponents. The Lord being
faithful will establish and preserve them. Paul is confident that
the Thessalonians will obey his directions; he prays that they
may love God, and patiently wait for Christ.
1. Finally. See note on 1 Thess. iv. 1.
pray for us. Cf. 1 Thess. v. 25.
the word of the Lord. See note on 1 Thess. i. 8.
the Lord: Jesus Christ. The title is often expressly given
to Jesus Christ where he is named in these Epistles (e. g.
1 Thess. i. 1, 3, ii. 15, 19, iii. 11, 13, iv. 1, 2, v. 9, 23, 28;
2 Thess. i. 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, ii. 1, 8, 16, iii. 6, 12, i8\ and sometimes
evidently intended to apply to him where it stands alone, as where
we read of being 'imitators . . . of the Lord' (1 Thess. i. 6), 'the
coming of the Lord ' (iv. 15). On the other hand, it is not certainly
applied to God the Father anywhere in these Epistles.
run : make rapid progress by means of swift and unhindered
evangelizing (cf. Ps. cxlvii. 15).
be glorified : by proving its power and grace ; cf . ' they were
glad, and glorified the word of God ' (Acts xiii. 48).
2. unreasonable and evil men. If this Epistle were written
later, in the period when the Epistle to the Galatians was
written, we might take the people here referred to for the
Judaizing Christians who sheltered under the name of James,
and became the jealous opponents of Paul's liberalism. But
there is no indication that these men were molesting the Apostle
in Greece so early as this. Probably he means the Jews who did
not accept Christianity at all. Both in Macedonia and at Corinth
the most bitter antagonism came from Jews. Paul might call
Jewish Christians ' unreasonable men,' but he would not describe
them as also 'evil men.'
all have not faith. This sentence might favour the idea
that the men just referred to were Jewish Christians lacking
in faith, if it had not been excluded on ether grounds ; for it
would seem superfluous to say that 'all' have not what as yet is
possessed by but a small minority. Therefore Mr. Garrod suggests
that the word 'all' here does not apply to the world at large,
but means 'all the Jews'; that, however, is scarcely possible
since the Jews have not been named. The phrase is a reminder
256 IT THESSALONIAKS 3. 4,5
who shall stablish you, and guard you from the evil one.
4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that
ye both do and will do the things which we command.
5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God,
and into the patience of Christ.
that, however successful the gospel may be at certain places, there
are still those who do not accept it.
faith. The margin of the R. V. has l the faith ' which would
mean 'the Christian religion,' but the term is not used in this
sense so early. It must mean 'faith' as a subjective condition,
i.e. faith in Christ.
3. the Lord. See note on verse i.
faithful. In the Greek this word comes immediately after
the word 'faith,' and thus a sharp antithesis is marked. All men
have not faith. But there is faithfulness in Christ.
the evil one. The Revisers have given this expression in
place of the abstract word 'evil' in the A. V., just as they have
done with the same Greek form in the Lord's Prayer (Matt. vi. 13).
This Greek term admits of either meaning according as it is taken
as a neuter or as a masculine. In favour of the Revisers' correction
we have (1) the more frequent use of the word in the masculine
to indicate Satan. Cf. ' the fiery darts of the evil one' (Eph. vi. 16; ;
'ye have overcome the evil one' (r John ii. 13. 14); 'Cain was
of the evil one' (Hi; 12) ; 'the evil one toucheth him not' v. 18 :
4 the whole world lieth in the evil one ' (verse 19). (2) The analogy
of the Lord's Prayer, the similarity of phrase here suggesting that
perhaps the Apostle had that prayer in mind. (3) The contrast
between the Lord as a person who protects and Satan as a person
who would hurt. In his previous Epistle the Apostle had written
of Satan acting as a hindrance (i Thess. ii. 18). The suggestion
that 'the evil one' is 'the man of sin' cannot be sustained, seeing
that the phrase is well known elsewhere as a name of Satan. Paul's
thought here reminds us of his words in the previous Epistle,
'lest by any means the tempter had tempted you' (r Thess. iii. 5).
4. confidence in the Lord : that Christ will lead the Thessa-
lonians to carry out the precepts of Christian teaching.
5. the Lord. See note on verse 1.
hearts: Hebraism for the whole inner life of thought,
emotion, and will.
the love of God. This may mean either (1) God's love to
us, or (a) our love to God. Probably the latter is the meaning
here, because it suits the context best, (a) It is more natural
to think of our hearts being so directed that we come to love God
than that thev should be directed into God's love for us. b The
II THESSALONIANS 3. tS 251
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our 6
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from
every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the
analogy of the companion phrase ' the patience of Christ ' leads to
the conclusion that both should be taken subjectively, for conditions
of our minds.
the patience of Christ. If ' the love of God ' meant the
love that is in God's heart, we should be compelled to understand
'the patience of Christ' to be the grace of patience exercised by
Christ. In itself that would seem to be the natural signification
of the phrase, just as we have ! the patience of Job' (Jas. v. n).
With this sense the passage would consist of a prayer that
God would lead us to imitate the patience revealed in the example
of Christ when he was cruelly treated. On the other hand, this
thought has nothing elsewhere in the Epistle to introduce it. The
Apostle has not been writing about the patient behaviour of Jesus
when he was on earth. But the dominant theme of both Epistles
is the Second Coming of Christ. This, however, was expected by
the Thessalonians to be seen immediately, and the consequence
was considerable disarrangement of their life and conduct. They
should learn patience in waiting for the great consummation.
The chief purpose of our Epistle is to inculcate patience with
that end ill view. For this reason probably patience with regard
to Christ and his coming is the idea intended by the expression.
iii. 6-15. Admonition against disorderly conduct. The Thessa-
lonians are solemnly commanded to withdraw from disorderly
Christians and follow the example of Paul who supported himself
when among them by his own manual labour. If a man declines
to work he is not to be allowed to live on the funds of the church.
Busybodies are exhorted to earn their own living, and that quietly.
Any one who will not obey what the Apostle commands in this
Epistle is to be shunned, yet admonished in a brotherly way.
6. in the name of: by the authority of, as an ambassador
speaks in his sovereign's name and so with his sovereign's authority.
withdraw yourselves : a more kindly and seemly idea than
the notion of expelling a faulty member or suspending his member.
ship.
walketh disorderly. The negative character of this conduct
is indicated by the words immediately following ; it consists in
divergence from the apostolic precepts. Its positive features may
be learnt from the subsequent directions, which imply that there
were people in the church at Thessalonica who neglected their
daily work, depending for their support on the charity of their
fellow members. These idlers went about making mischief by
252 II THESSALONIANS 3. 7, s
7 tradition which they received of us. For yourselves
know how ye ought to imitate us : for we behaved not
8 ourselves disorderly among you ; neither did we eat
bread for nought at any man's hand, but in labour and
travail, working night and day, that we might not burden
interfering in other people's affairs. The expectation of the
immediate return of Christ was disarranging the daily course
of life and duty. Warning against this same disorderly conduct
had been given in the previous Epistle (cf. r Thess. iv. n).
Nevertheless the evil had grown worse during the interval
between the two Epistles, for while in the first letter Paul simply
exhorts the church in one brief sentence net to fall into such
conduct, here he specifically mentions persons who are behaving
in the way he has condemned and devotes a whole paragraph to
a discussion of the mischievous state of affairs. The very enthu-
siasm that the new religion has introduced has led some people
to neglect the prosaic affairs of daily work, and the new spirit
of brotherhood has been imposed upon b}' idlers who are glad to
avail themselves of the generosity of their fellow members so as
to escape the necessity of working for their own living.
tradition. See note on ii. 15.
they. This pronoun is adopted by the textual critics as
required by the best MS. authority. There are no ancient MSS.
in support of the reading ■ he ' which stands in the A. V.. evidently
as a correction of the text, since in strict grammar it is more
suitable than the plural. Some very ancient MSS. (including
the great Vatican codex B) have 'ye,' which therefore must
be allowed as a possible alternative.
7. Ct\ 1 Thess. ii. 10.
8. labour : hard work.
travail: toil in face of difficulties.
working": tent-making cf. Acts xviii. 3).
night and day. If the Apostle was supporting himself by
manual labour while at the same time he was preaching the
gospel, founding the church, and training his converts, he must
have been very fully occupied. We may suppose that after
meeting the church in the early morning, and conversing with
strangers and preaching the gospel during the daytime, he would
have to sit long into the night sewing the harsh goat-hair cloth
of which tents were made. It is said that the craft of tent-
making was but poorly paid. The Apostle laboured so much in
this way that he had the industrial worker's hands with their
marks of toil, as he seems to have implied when, perhaps holding
them out before his hearers, he said to the Ephesian elders,
II THESSALONIANS 3. 9-12 253
any of you : not because we have not the right, but to 9
make ourselves an ensample unto you, that ye should
imitate us. For even when we were with you, this we 10
commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him
eat. For we hear of some that walk among you dis- u
orderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies. Now 12
them that are such we command and exhort in the
' Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my
necessities, and to them that were with me' (Acts xx. 34). The
last clause of this quotation shews that the Apostle supported,
or helped to support, his fellow missionaries.
that we mig-ht not burden any of you: the motive for
undertaking this manual work. The Apostle was not unwilling
to accept the means of support when this was freely given him.
The Philippians sent him contributions to Thessalonica (Phil. iv.
16), Corinth (2 Cor. xi. 9;, and Rome (Phil. iv. 14).
9. Paul recognized the right of the Christian teacher to be
maintained by those who enjoy the benefit of his instructions (cf.
1 Thess. ii. 6 ; 1 Cor. ix. 3-12). The Apostle had this right ; but
he did not use it, in order as he says, f that we may cause no
hindrance to the gospel of Christ ' (verse 12). The right was
recognized by Christ (Matt. x. 9, 10).
an ensample : in industry and independence.
imitate us : in this particular of working for your own living.
10. even when we were with, you: shewing that even then
the Apostle perceived the danger of the selfish indolence he is
here condemning.
this we commanded you : i. e. the command that follows.
If any, &c. Idlers are not to be fed from the funds of the
church.
11. we hear: evidently reports that had reached the Apostle
after the time of writing the previous Epistle ; therefore not
brought by Timothy (1 Thess. hi. 6).
work not . . . are busybodies. In the Greek these expressions
are represented by two very similar words. We might say ' busy-
bodies not minding their own business.'
12. command: with apostolic authority.
exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ : urge and plead on the
ground of their relation to Jesus Christ and for his sake, that his
name be not dishonoured, and that his grace be recognized by
diligence in work to please him. This is raising the duty of
daily work to the rank of Christian service. It is a Christian
duty to be gaining an honest, independent livelihood.
254 II THESSALONIANS 3. 13, 14
Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and
13 eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in
14 well-doing. And if any man obeyeth not our word by
this epistle, note that man, that ye have no company
with, quietness: in opposition to the noisy, fussy behaviour
of the busybodies.
their own bread: which they have earned, not the bread of
their fellow members, taken by an abuse of Christian brotherly
kindness.
13. Bnt ye, brethren: the rest of the church, as distinct from
the idlers and busybodies.
well-doing. Chrysostom understood this to refer to the work
of Christian charity in relieving the poor, the abuse of which by
the idlers would tend to check it altogether. But there is no
evidence that the word was ever used in that limited sense. In
the LXX it is used of doing good generally as opposed to doing
evil : thus we read, ' to do evil, or to do good' (Lev. v. 4). This
is the only meaning in the Grimm-Thayer Dictionary, and it
is adopted by most modern commentators here, e. g. Ellicott,
Schmiedel, Garrod. The antithesis is to the conduct of the
idlers. They have grown weary of work. To the church at large
the Apostle gives this admonition not to follow their evil example.
The saying is repeated in Gal. vi. 9. though with a slight variation
in the Greek terms.
14. This sentence seems simple enough ; and yet three distinct
interpretations of it have been maintained, viz. (1) Joining the
phrase by this epistle to the words that follow, 'note that man by
means of this epistle,' i. e. ' use the epistle as a standard and rule
by which to prove the unworthiness of his behaviour.' This is an
unlikely meaning. To write of noting a man by an epistle is
a strange expression, (al) Translating the phrase ' by the epistle '
and understanding it to refer to an epistle the Apostle is expecting
to receive from Thessalonica, in which, as he directs, his corre-
spondents are to give him the offender's name. This also is
improbable, seeing that we have not met with the slightest allusion
to the Apostle's expectation of any such letter. (3) We come there-
fore to the third interpretation : associating the phrase ' by this
epistle ' with the preceding words. This gives good sense and is
the meaning suggested by the punctuation of both the A. V. and
the R. V. Thus the reference is to anybody who is disobedient to
what Paul has just been saying in this Epistle, especially concerning
his rebuke of indolence and his directions about honest industry.
If any man will not follow out these directions, but will continue to
behave as an idle busybody, his fellow church members are not
to associate with him. There is no indication of a formal act of
II THESSALONIANS 3. 15, 16 255
with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. And 15
yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him
as a brother.
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace at 16
all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
censure, much less can we see here a rule for excommunication.
Quiet withdrawal from friendly intercourse is all that is suggested.
This silent rebuke should lead the offender to be ashamed of his
conduct.
15. The offender is to be treated in a Christian spirit. The
church is not to forget that he is still a brother. Therefore he
should receive kindly admonition. Cf. Christ's directions for the
treatment of an offending brother (Matt, xviii. 15-17).
iii. 16-18. Benediction and salutation. Drawing to a conclusion
the Apostle prays for abiding peace and Christ's presence to be
enjoyed by his readers. He adds the token of a salutation in his
own handwriting and ends with the benediction.
16. the Lord of peace : probably meaning 'God,' because of
the parallel phrase in the earlier Epistle — ' the God of peace '
(1 Thess. v. 23; see note on that verse). But Mr. Garrod
understands the phrase to refer to Christ, as 'the Lord' represents
Christ elsewhere in our Epistle. Paul does not seem to discriminate
between God and Christ in this place.
give you peace : not meaning the ceasing of divisions and
quarrels. None such existed at Thessalonica. The irregularities
referred to had not issued in any breach of the peace. In
Hebrew the word rendered 'peace' also means 'welfare.' It
has something of this wider meaning in the N. T. The Apostle
desires for his readers true welfare in peacefulness of soul
and life.
at all times : even times of trial, such as the Thessalonians
had to pass through.
in all ways : by all sorts of leadings of Providence, all things
working together for the good of God's people.
The Lord be with, &c. Evidently it is Christ's presence that
the Apostle here desires for his friends, since the title ' the Lord '
when standing by itself in this Epistle represents Christ. Thus the
Apostle contemplates that presence of Christ with Christians on
earth which our Lord himself had promised (cf. Matt, xxviii. 20).
you all : including in particular (1) Those who were distressed
by the death of friends and relatives, (2) those who were upset by
the idea of the speedy coming of Christ, (3) those who were
especially selected for persecution.
256 II THESSALONIANS 3. 17, 18
17 The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand, which
18 is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
17. mine own hand. These two concluding verses were
written by Paul himself, the Epistle having been written as
a whole by dictation to an amanuensis. In Rom. xvi. 22 the
amanuensis appends his own salutation.
the token, &c. This expression has been used as a ground
for discrediting the genuineness of the Epistle. Certainly it seems
strange that the Apostle should have to guard his readers against
forged epistles thus early. Is it likely that any such should have
been sent to the Thessalonians so soon after the founding of the
church? Who would be at the pains to do this ? What would be
his motive ? We cannot answer these questions from our limited
knowledge. Doubtless there were currents in the life of the early
church of which little or no trace has been left in history. We
must not forget that Paul had been carrying on his apostolic-
labours for some eighteen years when he wrote this Epistle, during
much of which time jealous rivals and pronounced antagonists
would have been seeking opportunities to hinder him. Then ii. 2
suggests the possible existence of a fictitious letter.
in every epistle. Another difficulty here meets us. This is
only the second of the Pauline Epistles. Yet the Apostle writes as
though there were quite a number of epistles in which the custom
here described was observed. But (1) we do not know but that
he may have written several other epistles which have been lost ;
(2) he may mean that he has started a custom which he will
observe with all subsequent epistles. This is to be the authenti-
cation. Though the epistle will be written by an amanuensis it
will always conclude with a salutation in Paul's own hand-
writing.
so I write : i. e. these very words and the benediction that
follows are written by the Apostle's own hand.
18. The usual concluding benediction. See note on 1 Thess. v.
28.
all. The one addition to the words of the benediction at the
end of the previous Epistle, possibly written here, as at the end of
verse 16, for the advantage of those various classes whose troubles
or defects have been referred to in the Epistle, especially anybody
to whom verses 13 and 14 might apply. No one is to be excluded.
May the grace be given to faulty brethren as well as to the more
worthy members !
The subscription of the A. V. stating that the Epistle was 'written
from Athens ' disappears from the R. V. as it certainly was not in
the original text. Moreover it is incorrect : see Introduction, p. 5.
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE
GALATIANS
Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, l
Introductory Statement.
i. 1-5. Opening salutation. Paul, describing himself as a
Divinely appointed apostle, and associating all the Christians
who are with him in his greeting to the churches of Galatia,
wishes them spiritual prosperity from God and from Christ who
gave himself for their deliverance.
1. apostle: lit. 'one sent,' 'a messenger,' from a Greek root
that corresponds to the Latin root of the word ' missionary,'
which also means ' one sent.' The word was used in classic
Greek for an ambassador, one who represents the sender with
some authority, but in the later Greek it is used in its primitive,
simple meaning (cf. John xiii. 16, 'one that is sent,' the same
Greek word, apostolos, that is elsewhere rendered 'apostle').
It is doubtful whether the word (or its Aramaic equivalent) was
used as an official title of the Twelve by Jesus Christ. It is very
rarely applied to them in the gospels ; but after the resurrection
of Christ, when these men took the lead in the church, it became
their recognized title. The word was still sometimes used in
a wider and more general sense, and thus applied to Barnabas
(Acts xiv. 14), and by Paul, apparently, to two of his friends,
Andronicus and Junias, with others (Rom. xvi. 7). Later in the
first century it was given to an order of ministry in the church,
as we learn from The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, a
primitive church manual. But Paul nearly always uses it in the
stricter sense as the title of the Twelve, which title with its implied
gifts and authority he claims for himself. Plainly that is the
meaning here. It occurs in the opening words of all his Epistles
except those to his Macedonian friends, the Philippians and the
Thessalonians, and the little private letter to Philemon. But
nowhere else is it placed so emphatically as in the opening of
Galatians. Here it is accompanied by no humbler title, such as
(9) S
258 TO THE GALATIANS 1. 2
but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised
2 him from the dead), and all the brethren which are with
'a servant of Jesus Christ,' which precedes it in Romans (i. 1),
and it is followed by words that accentuate its importance. Paul
felt it necessary to assert his claims more forcibly when writing
to the Galatians than in any other Epistle. The note of authority
that pervades this Epistle is struck in its very first words.
not from men : not of human origin. The source and
fountain of his apostleship is not human. Since he was not one
of the original Twelve his opponents might assert that this was
the case, alluding perhaps to his designation for missionary work
by the church at Antioch (see Acts xiii. 2, 3).
neither through man : better ' a man.' No human agent by
ordaining him had conferred on him the grace of apostleship.
The first clause refers to the origin of the apostleship, the second
to the immediate gift of it. Neither a human source nor human
instrumental^ had brought this gift to Paul.
through Jesus Christ : in antithesis to 'neither through man.'
Paul claims to have been appointed directly by Christ himself.
and God the Father : in antithesis to ■ not from men.' The
original source of the apostleship is in God, His will and grace.
It is always taught by Paul that the primary disposal of men's
lives and destinies is with God the Father, rather than with Jesus
Christ. Paul does not here say when and how he received his
apostolic mission, but further on (verse 15) his reference to his
conversion leads us to think that it was at the same time, i. e. in
the amazing experience that befell him on the road to Damascus
(Acts ix).
who raised him, &c. It is the teaching of Paul generally
not that Jesus rose, by himself, in his own power, but that it was
God who raised him from the dead (cf. Rom. iv. 24 ; 1 Cor. vi. 14,
xv. 15 ; 2 Cor. iv. 14. &c), as it is also the teaching of the N. T.
generally (cf. Acts iii. 15, iv. 10; 1 Pet. i. 21). The subject is
here introduced to account for Paul's claim to have been appointed
by God through Christ, although he had not been associated with
our Lord during his earthly life, like the other apostles. He had
been called by the risen Christ and his appointment came from
the same source as Christ's resurrection, the supreme authority
of God.
2. and all the brethren, &c. The question as to who these
brethren might have been depends on the date and place of writing
the Epistle (see Introduction, p. 87 ff.). Lightfoot, supposing
it to be written from Macedonia or Achaia during Paul's second
tour through those parts, considers that the company perhaps
included Timothy (2 Cor. i. 1), Erastus (Acts xix. 22), Titus and
TO THE GALATIANS 1. 3,4 259
me, unto the churches of Galatia : Grace to you and peace 3
from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who 4
gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out
of this present evil world, according to the will of our
two brethren from Corinth (2 Cor. viii. 16-24), anc* possibly
Tychicus and Trophimus (Acts xx. 4, 5), who afterwards
accompanied him on his return to Asia, though it may be that
these men were no other than the two brethren from Corinth.
Prof. Ramsay, regarding Antioch as the place from which the
Epistle was written, understands this clause to refer to the church
in that city, which was the mother church of the Galatian churches,
as it had sent out the missionaries Paul and Barnabas (Acts xiii. 2),
whose authentication therefore, he thinks, the apostle is here
giving. But would he not have named the church explicitly if
that had been the case? Besides, the general character of the
clause scarcely suggests an official authentication. It was the
Apostle's custom to associate his travelling companions with
himself in his letters, generally proceeding to write in the first
person plural on that account. But this Epistle to the Galatians
demanding a more emphatic assertion of apostolic authority is
written throughout in the first person singular.
the churches. Note the plural form. There were separate
churches in the several towns where the gospel had been planted.
Each Christian congregation was called a ' church.' Subsequently
the Apostle developed the idea of one Catholic Church compre-
hending all Christians, both those living in this world and the
blessed dead, though without ever refusing the word to the local
congregations.
Galatia. See Introduction, p. 58 ft". Observe the bald style
of address. Paul usually adds some descriptive characteristics
referring to the graces and privileges of the people to whom
he is writing. Nothing of the kind appears here.
3. Grace to you and peace : a common form of salutation in
Paul's Epistles. See notes on 1 Thess. i. 1.
4. who gave himself. Thus early in the Epistle the Apostle
introduces Christ's sacrifice of himself for the redemption of
sinners. In so doing he puts in the forefront of the Epistle the
fundamental truth which the Galatians have begun to set aside
in favour of Jewish ritual (see ii. 21, iii. 1). His aim will be to
bring them back to this truth.
for our sins. The Greek expression, if we follow the MS.
reading accepted by Tischendorf and Lightfoot, is that used in the
O. T. for sin-offerings. Thus it means that Jesus gave himself as
a sacrifice in order that our sins might be forgiven.
world: lit. 'age.' The word is used in both senses. If
S 2
26o TO THE GALATIANS I. 5,6
5 God and Father : to whom be the glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
6 I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that
we take it to stand for ' world,' then it means the world as it now
is, in its present state of corruption. The Jews were accustomed
to distinguish between ' this age,' a dark and evil age, and ' the
age to come,' the glorious Messianic age.
according- to the will of our God, &c. This is all in
accordance with God's will, i. e. both the deliverance itself and
the means by which it is effected, Christ's sacrifice of himself
for our sins.
5. whom : i. e. God. The glory is ascribed to God. It was
a Rabbinical custom to interject a doxology when the name of God
was mentioned. With Paul there is more than obedience to
custom. He writes with real feeling.
i. 6-10. The Galatian perversion. Paul is astonished at the
quickness with which the Galatians are being turned aside from
his gospel. If the most authoritative of teachers proclaimed any
gospel different from that which they had received at first, he
would deserve to be accursed. Paul is not to be stayed by con-
siderations as to whether he may give offence in the determined
stand he is taking ; if he were influenced by such motives he
would be no servant of Christ.
Thus the Apostle plunges at once into the subject of his Epistle
in a tone of indignant expostulation. This is wholly unlike his
method in any other of his letters. Elsewhere it is his invariable
custom to commence with thanksgivings and congratulations.
He always begins in a spirit of kind appreciativeness and Christian
courtesy by gladly enumerating the merits of his correspondents
and expressing his joy at their progress. Even when writing
his First Epistle to the Corinthians, wherein he has occasion to
introduce several matters of fault-finding, he is careful to begin
by gratefully referring to the one point of progress that he can
discover in the very imperfect church, and therefore he con-
gratulates them on their growth in knowledge, eloquence, and
various gifts, though he cannot speak of their growth in grace.
But here there is nothing of the kind. The churches had been
named at first in the baldest way, without the ascription to them
of any attributes ; now they are addressed without the recognition
of any merits in them. This is a painful letter. It must have
distressed the readers, as we may be sure the writer was pained
in having to send it.
6. I marvel. Observe the startling and abrupt commencement.
TO THE GALATIANS 1. 6 261
called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel ;
The declension of the Galatians is so swift that it is a matter
of astonishment to the Apostle.
bo quickly. This phrase has given rise to much discussion
concerning the date of the Epistle. Those who favour an early-
date point to it as a reason for supposing that it could not have
been written long after the founding of the Galatian churches.
But may not the word 'quickly' here have reference not to the
time of the conversion of the Galatians, but to the time of the
visit of the disturbing teachers who had come from Jerusalem ?
They had been but a short time among these Galatians when
the fickle people came right round to their views. It was a quick
process of perversion. Lightfoot suggests that the word rendered
quickly (tac/ieos) may here signify 'readily,' 'rashly.'
removing": as in the R. V., not 'removed' as in the A. V.
The verb is in the present tense and thus it indicates a process
still going on. The perversion is not j^et complete. Paul hastens
to arrest it before it goes any further. The word is used for
military desertion, and also for a change in religious opinion.
Lightfoot cites the case of Dionysius of Heraclea who from being
a Stoic became an Epicurean and therefore was said to have
become a 'turncoat.' These Galatians were becoming 'turn-
coats.'
from Mm that called you : from God. So serious a view
does Paul take of this perversion. He has not yet said in what
it consists ; but he begins by characterizing it in the gravest
terms, that the essential significance of it may be felt.
in the grace, &c. : or, ' by the grace,' according to a familiar
Hebraism.
different. The Revisers have followed Lightfoot in sub-
stituting this word for ' another,' the term in the A.V. The Greek
word (heteron) is not the same as that rendered ' another ' {alio)
in the next verse, and Lightfoot took it to indicate difference in
kind and the second word simply to mean an additional one
of the same kind. Thus the two clauses would mean that the
Galatians were being perverted towards a different kind of gospel
which was not really another gospel because it was no gospel
at all. But Prof. Ramsay has shewn that this distinction is not
borne out by usage and that the exact reverse is the case. Accord-
ingly if we retained the present punctuation we should read the
passage as meaning ' a second gospel, which indeed is not realry
a different gospel,' because all the apostles preached essentially
the same gospel. But would Paul sa}' that here? Surely he
would not allow that the intrusive teachers who were leading
the Galatians astray were preaching his gospel ; and verse 9
distinctly brings up the idea of an essential!}' different gospel.
262 TO THE GALATIANS 1. 7-9
7 which is not another gospel', only there are some that
8 trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But
though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto
you any gospel other than that which we preached unto
9 you, let him be anathema. As we have said before, so
A third possibility is suggested by a change in the punctuation
of the following verse.
7. Lipsius rejects the idea just described and understands 'not
another gospeV to mean 'no gospel at all.' But the American
Revisers propose to remove the colon that occurs in the R. V.
after the first five words of this verse — a perfectly legitimate
treatment of the text, since there were no punctuation marks in
the original MSS. Then they read 'a different gospel which
is nothing else save that there are some that . . . would pervert
the gospel of Christ.' That is to say, this other gospel they
offer is only a perversion of the one true gospel. This view is
advocated by the German classical scholar Prof. Blass and favoured
by Prof. Ramsay.
8. we. It has been suggested that Paul's actions in bringing
to the Galatians the decision of the Jerusalem council (Acts xvi.
4) and in circumcising Timothy (xvi. 3) may have given rise to
the supposition that Paul had modified his views and come round
somewhat to the position of the Judaizing party. The Apostle
repudiates the notion.
an angel from heaven. Some of the Galatians had taken
Paul for ' Hermes,' the wing-footed messenger god, i. e. the Greek
angel (Acts xiv. 12). He seems to be alluding to that incident
here, and again in iv. 14, where he says, 'ye received me
as an angel of God.' Now Paul is so absolutely sure of the
one gospel he has preached to the Galatians that even if, on
superhuman authorit}', something else were preached as the
gospel the preacher must be denounced. It may be said that
this is the language of bigotry and intolerance. But observe,
it rests on the assurance of experience ; it is the language of an
apostle missionary addressing his own converts with whom
other people have been wantonly interfering; and the Apostle
does not propose to take any external action, affording a precedent
for Inquisitors with their autos dafe.
anathema : a Greek word, lit. i devoted ' ; in the first instance
used in a good sense for that which is consecrated to God and
therefore forbidden to be handled profanely ; then used in a bad
sense for that which is devoted to destruction or miser}', an
accursed thing or person (cf. Deut. vii. 26).
9. As we have said "before : not referring to the previous verse.
TO THE GALATIANS 1. 10, n 263
say I now again, If any man preacheth unto you any
gospel other than that which ye received, let him be
anathema. For am I now persuading men, or God? or 10
am I seeking to please men ? if I were still pleasing
men, I should not be a servant of Christ.
For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the n
The language points to utterance by word of mouth, and that on
some quite distinct occasion. Probably the Apostle is reminding
his readers of what he had said during his second visit to Galatia.
He had then warned them against any teaching that would lead
them away from the gospel they had received when he and
Barnabas had been preaching among them on their first missionary
journey. This shews that the danger of the perversion had been
perceived by Paul as early as his second journey.
which ye received: an advance on the expression in the
previous sentence where Paul had said 'which we preached.'
There had been more than the proclamation of the gospel; it had
been welcomed by the Galatians. To turn from it now would be
to shew inconsistency, would be to belie their own history.
10. This implies that the Apostle had been charged with un-
worthily shifting his ground to win favour, by a misjudging of
his policy of becoming 'all things to all men,' perhaps with
reference to his action in the matters of the Jerusalem decree
and the circumcision of Timothy. But what he has just said is
a repudiation of all vacillating conduct. After that vehement
outburst, so clear and uncompromising, will his enemies venture
to accuse him of mincing words to win the approval of men ?
persuading- men : to regard him favourably.
or God. We cannot actually speak of persuading God. Paul
means seeking God's favour and approval.
servant: lit. 'slave.' Contrary to his common custom Paul
has not introduced this title of himself at the opening of the Epistle.
Yet he will not keep it back even from the restive Galatians. He
is not ashamed of it. He counts it his supreme honour to be the
slave of Christ. But to seek to please men as the chief aim of his
life would be the abandonment of the service of Christ.
I. Personal Defence, i. n — ii. 21.
i. n-17. Paul's account of his own conversion. The Apostle now
embarks on his 'apologia.' His first aim is to shew from the facts
of his life-history that he was not dependent on any human
source for the gospel he had preached in Galatia. To begin with,
his conversion was brought about directly by means of a revelation
264 TO THE GALATIANS 1. 12
gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man.
2 For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught
it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
of Jesus Christ. He had been a loyal Jew of exceptional zeal
when God, who from his birth had destined him to his apostolic
mission, was pleased to give him an inward revelation of Christ
for the purpose of sending him as a preacher to the Gentiles.
Immediately after this Paul refrained from consulting any human
being, and did not go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles, but
retired in seclusion to Arabia, whence he returned direct to
Damascus.
11. I make known: the Apostle's customary phrase in making
some new assertion, declaring something that was not in his
previous teaching (cf. i Cor. xv. i ; 2 Cor. viii. 1). The correlative
to this when reference is made to what has been previously
taught, or at all events ought to be familiar, is 'Know ye not?'
(Rom. vi. 16).
not after man : not according to a human standard or
customary ways of thinking.
12. neither did I receive it : the usual word for receiving
a tradition handed down from one to another. It was no mere
tradition of the church that Paul passed on to the Galatians.
nor was I taught it. Paul had not been taken in hand by
Christian teachers to be trained in the doctrines of the faith. This
may seem to contradict the record in Acts where we read of the
commission of Ananias. But that record says nothing of teaching ;
it only mentions two things done for Paul through the instrumen-
tality of the Damascus disciple — the restoration of his sight and
the gift of the Holy Ghost, followed by his baptism (Acts ix. 17, 18).
through revelation. Paul claims to have received his gospel
by means of a Divine revelation. We need not conclude that all
his knowledge of the details of the life and death of Christ and of
our Lord's teachings were communicated to him in this way. In
1 Cor. xi. 23-25 he gives an account of the institution of the Lord's
Supper which closely corresponds with the synoptic record. It is
reasonable to suppose that he had this by word of mouth from
the apostles, or perhaps in some written notes containing
it, together with other reminiscences of our Lord's life on earth.
Paul only claims to have received his gospel by means of a revelation.
Now we know from this Epistle and other of his writings what
this gospel was. It was not any historical narrative, such as the
narratives that make up our four gospels. It was the message of
redemption by means of the death and resurrection of Christ to
be enjoyed on condition of faith in him.
Jesus Christ : the subject of the revelation. This was making
TO THE GALATIANS 1. 13-15 265
For ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in 13
the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted
the church of God, and made havock of it : and I ad- 14
vanced in the Jews' religion beyond many of mine own
age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly
zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it 15
was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even
Christ known, what Paul calls God revealing His Son in him
(verse 16). When he was made to see Christ aright and under-
stand him he could perceive the nature and character of the gospel
of which Christ is the centre.
13. Por ye have heard, &c. : more correctly, 'ye heard';
perhaps because Paul had confessed it ; possibly because his
opponents had busied themselves to circulate the tale.
the Jews' religion : lit. 'Judaism,1 but with reference to its
practices rather than its beliefs. Paul had been a rigid observer
of Jewish rites.
the church of God. The word ' church ' here does net
represent any one local community. It points to Christians
generally. This is the earliest reference in Paul to this larger
sense of the word.
made havock. Lightfcot has 'devastated.'
14. of mine own age. The Revisers wisely adopted this
phrase from Lightfoot in preference to ' my equals ' in the A. V.
my countrymen : Jews. Paul is writing to Gentiles.
more exceedingly zealous : i. e. than other Jews of his
own age.
traditions : not the law, but Rabbinical details, pretended
explanations and applications of the law, often false to its spirit and
purpose, as Jesus Christ shewed (cf. Mark vii. 8). Thus Paul's
conduct was the exact opposite to that of Christ, whose principal
polemic was against the traditions which his future chief Apostle
once so zealously advocated.
15. the good pleasure. Though this word originally meant no
more than choice, i. e. that which one is well pleased to do, in the
Bible it has come to mean favourable choice, and when applied to
God, that which He chooses to do for the good of those to whom He
is gracious, or simply His pleasure in them (cf. applied to men,
Rom. xv. 26 ; 1 Thess. ii. 8; applied to God, Matt. iii. 17). Paul
counts it as a favour that God chose him to be an apostle.
separated: marked off from others for a special calling.
This, Paul recognizes, had been done from his very birth. Cf.
'separated unto the gospel of God ' (Rom. i. 1).
266 TO THE GALATIANS 1. 16
from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace,
[6 to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among
the Gentiles ; immediately I conferred not with flesh
called me. That came later, in the revelation on the road
to Damascus.
through his grace. The call was brought about by reason
of God's free favour, not on account of any merit or claim on the
part of the man called. This does not exclude essential fitness in
gifts and capacities as a reason for the call, a fitness which is
implied in the previous idea of being marked off from birth for
the special vocation.
16. to reveal his Son in me. Two explanations of this phrase
have been maintained : (i) Taking the preposition ' in' according
to a common Hebraistic usage as instrumental and equivalent to ' by
means of,' so that the expression would mean ' to reveal his Son by
means of me,' i. e. in Paul's preaching of the gospel. This is
Lightfoot's view ; he points out that the next clause describes that
preaching and he calls attention to similar statements elsewhere,
e.g. 'they glorified God in me' (verse 24), i. e. on account of me
(cf. 2 Cor. xiii. 3 ; Phil. i. 30 ; 1 Tim. i. 16). (2) Understanding
the phrase to refer to an internal revelation enjoyed by the Apostle
himself. This view is maintained by Lipsius, Pfleiderer, and most
other interpreters, (a) It has strongly in its favour the fact that
Paul has just been mentioning a revelation made to him in the words,
1 through revelation of Jesus Christ ' (verse 12). (b) It is required
by the context. Without this idea there would be no mention of
Paul's conversion in the autobiographical sketch. He speaks of his
Divine destiny, then of his call, next comes this phrase, and the
mission to the Gentiles follows. Thus it comes in just at the right
place to refer to his conversion. The revelation would seem to be
the great occurrence on the road to Damascus which turned the
course of Paul's life. That it is here said to be internal need not
disturb us. The narrative in Acts implies that the manifestation
of Christ was made to Paul alone, and was not perceived by his
companions, which shews that it was not physically objective,
though it was not the less real, a real revelation made by God
to Paul, not a creation of his own imagination (see Acts ix. 7).
that I might preach, &c. Paul connects his conversion with
his mission. The revelation was made to him in order that he
might become a preacher.
among the Gentiles : the specific sphere of Paul's mission,
of interest to the Galatians who were Gentiles, and bearing on
the object of the Epistle which is to maintain Paul's own gospel
with its freer outlook for the Gentiles as against the interference
of Judaizers.
TO THE GALATIANS 1. 17 267
and blood : neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which 17
were apostles before me : but I went away into Arabia ;
and again I returned unto Damascus.
immediately I conferred not, &c. The Apostle's point is that
he did not derive his gospel from men — that he had it direct from
God. Proving this he shews how he went away immediately after
his conversion into seclusion without any conference with the
Christians who might be supposed to have instructed him. The
word ' immediately' does not exclude later conferences.
flesh and blood. A common Hebraism for ' man ' is ' flesh.'
Evidently the fuller expression has the same meaning ; cf. ' flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee ' (Matt. xvi. 17), i. e. it
was not revealed by any human being.
17. up to Jerusalem. Not simply as we say ' up to London '
as to the capital, but because the city is only reached by ascending
to a great height, since it is about 2,000 feet above the sea level.
Thus leaving Jerusalem is called ' going down ' (cf. Acts xviii. 22,
xxiv. 1).
apostles before me : the Twelve and possibly also James the
Lord's brother (cf. verse 19). It would have been most natural
for a new convert who felt himself called to a great mission to
have consulted the leaders of the church, his seniors in the faith,
on the subject. We do not know why Paul declined to do so,
perhaps because he feared they would not welcome the persecutor
so suddenly turned disciple. Doubts may be felt as to whether
he acted wisely in this matter. Possibly if he had taken the
Jerusalem church into his confidence future troubles and misunder-
standings, to be discussed in this Epistle, might have been avoided.
But it looks as though Paul had been overwhelmed with a torrent
of ideas and feelings which simply drove him into seclusion, where
he might adjust himself to his entirely altered view of truth and
his entirely new conception of his own vocation. So we read
how, when Jesus at his baptism had consecrated himself to his
great mission, ' straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the
wilderness ' (Mark i. 12).
Arabia: probably the desert country in the environs of
Damascus and to the south, which was reckoned part of Arabia
at this time. It is not to be supposed that Paul went there to
preach to the Bedouin. No doubt he only sought solitude for his
own meditations. This journey to Arabia is not mentioned in
Acts. We have it here on the unquestionable authority of the
traveller himself.
again X returned. Paul has not yet stated that he had
previously been to Damascus as recorded in Acts ; but this phrase
implies that fact and thus indirectly confirms Luke's narrative.
268 TO THE GALATIANS 1. 18,19
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit
19 Cephas, and tarried with him fifteen days. But other of
the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
Damascus. A most ancient city situated between the Lebanon
and Anti-Lebanon ranges of mountains, formerly the capital of
S3'ria and thus frequently brought into the O. T. history, since that
country was the neighbour and sometimes the enemy of Israel.
Our knowledge of its history begins with the capture of it by
David (2 Sam. viii. 3-6). It was overthrown by the Assyrians
under Tiglath-Pileser. Subsequently it was possessed by the
Macedonians and then by the Romans, but when Paul was there
it was in the hands of Aretas, king of Arabia, by whose ethnarch
it was then governed. Elsewhere Paul states that he escaped
from Damascus through a window, being let down in a basket
by the wall (2 Cor. xi. 33 ; cf. Acts ix. 23-25).
i. 18-24. First visit to Jerusalem. Paul tells how after three
years he visited Cephas at Jerusalem, staying with him a fortnight,
seeing no other apostle except James the Lord's brother. He says
he is speaking the truth in this matter. After this he went into
Syria and Cilicia without having become personally known to the
churches of Judaea, only they heard of his conversion and glorified
God on account of him.
18. after three years. Prof. Ramsay states that according
to the ancient way of speaking about time this might mean only
between two and three years, so long as it was after the beginning
of the third year. But, while the instances he cites shew that the
expression ' three years ' might be used for two years and a portion
of a third, they give no authority for understanding the very
definite 'after three years' to mean less than that full period. He
must mean more than three years. The question has been raised
whether this period is to be reckoned from the date of Paul's
conversion or from that of his return to Damascus. Probably the
former, in contrast to ' immediately ' (verse 16). Paul had gone
to Arabia directly after his conversion and not to Jerusalem till
three years subsequent to that great crisis.
visit: rather 'to become acquainted with' (margin of the
R.V.).
Cephas : the Aramaic for Peter (Greek).
fifteen days : long enough for personal acquaintance, much
too short a time for instruction in the gospel and the establishment
of the great principles of his teaching.
19. other of the apostles: any other besides Peter.
save James. This might mean • I did not see any other
apostle, but I did see James.' But the use of the expression 'any
TO THE GALATIANS 1. 20-23 269
Now touching the things which I write unto you, behold, 20
before God, I lie not. Then I came into the regions of 2 1
Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown by face unto 22
the churches of Judcea which were in Christ : but they 23
other of the apostles ' makes it more natural to take the passage to
mean ' I did not see any other apostle except James/ i. e. reckoning
James as an apostle. Paul used the word apostle occasionally
for others besides the Twelve, e.g. for Andronicus and Jumas
^Rom. xvi. 7).
the Lord's brother : to be distinguished both from James the
son of Zebedee and from James the son of Alphaeus (see Mark
vi. 3). During our Lord's life none of his brethren had believed
on him (John vii. 5). But Jesus appeared to James after the
resurrection (i Cor. xv. 7), and a little later we meet with him as
the leader of the church at Jerusalem (Acts xii. 17, xv. 13 ff.,
xxi. 18 ; Gal. ii. 9, 12). Observe the distinction : Paul went up
to Jerusalem with the sole object of becoming acquainted with
Peter, the foremost apostle, preacher, and teacher, not with the
intention of seeking out James ; but while there he did also see
James.
20. A vigorous assertion of the truthfulness of what is now
stated, amounting to an oath (before God), implying that Paul's
opponents had made contrary statements concerning his inter-
course with the apostles to the intent that he had learnt his
doctrines from them.
21. the regions of Syria and Cilicia: a Roman province
including these two districts— Syria, with the capital Antioch, and
Cilicia, whose chief town, Tarsus, was Paul's birthplace. Both
cities became centres of Paul's subsequent missionary work.
Probably his reason for evangelizing this province was that it
was 'his own country.'
22. still unknown by face, &c, and therefore could not be
learning his lessons as to the nature of the gospel from the
primitive Christians of Palestine.
the churches of Judaaa : i. e. others besides that of Jerusalem.
It is not to be inferred that Paul's visit to Jerusalem had been so
secret that he had not come into contact with the church in that
city. Nevertheless there is some difficulty in reconciling with
this what Luke says about Barnabas introducing Paul ' to the
apostles' and Paul 'going in and going out at Jerusalem, preaching
boldly in the name of the Lord' (Acts ix. 26-29). There is no
actual contradiction, since Paul writes of his having seen two
apostles, and does not deny that he saw the Jerusalem church,
and Luke does not say that he visited any other church. Then it
270 TO THE GALATIANS I. =4— 2. i
only heard say, He that once persecuted us now preacheth
:4 the faith of which he once made havock; and they
glorified God in me.
2 Then after the space of fourteen years I went up
should be observed that the two writers have different ends in
view; for while Paul is simply concerned to shew that he did not
learn his gospel from the Palestine Christians, Luke is interested
in tracing out the growth of missionary enterprises. Still it
cannot be denied that the two accounts leave very different
impressions as to the character of Paul's visit to Jerusalem, and
a later account in Acts (xxvi. 20) tells of his evangelizing 'all the
country of Judaea.' Between the two records we must give Paul's
own statement the preference as regards accuracy over that of the
later historian.
23. they only heard : only had reports of Paul, did not
see him.
the faith. This cannot mean ' the Christian religion ' in the
modern sense of the expression, as that meaning does not seem
to have been given to it so early as our Epistle. In this primitive
time the word ' faith ' is always used for the internal experience
of trust. To preach the faith would seem to be 'to proclaim the
glad tidings of faith in Christ' (Grimm). Lipsius calls this 'the
belief in the Messiah as the way of salvation.'
24. glorified God : gave glory to God, praised God.
in me : on account of what they heard had happened to me
and what I was doing in preaching the gospel.
ii. 1-10. Second visit to Jerusalem. Paul declares how in the
course of fourteen years he again went up to Jerusalem, travelling
with Barnabas, and accompanied by Titus. This time it was as
the result of a Divine revelation, and his object was to explain his
preaching among the heathen to the chief people in the church
in order to prevent his work from failing. Titus, a Greek, who
accompanied him was not compelled to be circumcised by some
false, spying members of the church to whom Paul and his friends
would not yield. The leading people at Jerusalem then contri-
buted nothing to his knowledge and beliefs ; but on recognizing
how God was blessing his work among the heathen the three who
were reckoned the pillars of the church, James, Peter, and John,
heartily acknowledged him as a brother in Christian work, agreeing
that while they laboured among the Jews, Paul and Barnabas
should go to the Gentiles, though not forgetting also to care for the
wants of the poor in the Jerusalem church.
1. after the space of: a different preposition {dia) from that
TO THE GALATIANS 2. i 271
again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with
translated 'after' at the commencement of the previous paragraph
[lucta, verse 18). Strictly rendered it means 'in the course of,'
lit. ' through.' Still there would be no sense in the note of time
if Paul did not mean that what he was about to relate occurred at
the end of that period.
fourteen years. Are we to reckon these fourteen 3'ears from
the conversion of Paul, or from his previous visit to Jerusalem?
Prof. Ramsay considers that the former view must be adopted,
because Paul is reckoning everything from his conversion and
regarding all the later events in relation to that supreme crisis of
his life. Mr. Turner in the article on 'Chronology' in Hastings'
Dictionary of the Bible and Harnack also count the fourteen years
from the conversion. Nevertheless Lightfoot is followed by
Lipsius in taking the fourteen years on from the first visit to
Jerusalem, and there is much in favour of that view. The
repeated use of the word 'then' (i. 18, 21, ii. 1) seems to indicate
a regular chronological succession of events. Besides, Paul would
wish to mark the periods during which he had no intercourse with
the apostles ; and further the use of the expression ' in the course
of so many years excludes from this period another visit to
Jerusalem previously named. On the whole, therefore, it seems
desirable to reckon the fourteen years from the previous visit.
with Barnabas. Paul accompanies Barnabas who is the
senior Christian teacher. We learn from Acts iv. 36 that Barnabas
was a Levite from Cyprus, who had sold land for the benefit of the
poor, and who subsequently commended Paul to the church at
Jerusalem (Acts ix. 27). At a later time he fetched Paul from
Tarsus to Antioch (xi. 25, 26). The two friends brought the gifts
from the church at Antioch for the relief of the church at Jerusalem
during a famine (xi. 30), and afterwards travelled together on
what is now known as Paul's ' first missionary journey ' (xiii. 1 ff.),
and together were deputed to go up to the Jerusalem conference
(xv. 2) ; they parted company on the eve of the ' second missionary
journey ' (xv. 36-39). The Galatians would have a special interest
in hearing anything about Barnabas since the missionary journey
in which he and Paul were together was through their towns, and
Barnabas was one of the founders of their churches.
taking- Titus also. The relation of Titus to Paul was entirely
different from that of Barnabas. He was a young disciple and
attendant of the Apostle. He is not mentioned in Acts, and all we
know of him is gathered from Paul's Epistles, which shew that he
was a Gentile whom the Apostle employed as his travelling com-
panion and occasional messenger. Thus he was sent to Corinth and
anxiously awaited at Troas by Paul (2 Cor. ii. 13). But it was not
till Paul reached Macedonia that Titus met him with news of the
272 TO THE GALATIANS 2. 2,3
2 me. And I went up by revelation ; and I laid before
them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but
privately before them who were of repute, lest by any
3 means I should be running, or had run, in vain. But not
Corinthian church (2 Cor. vii. 6, 7, 13-15). Titus was then sent
back to Corinth with the Second Epistle, in charge of the collection
for the Jerusalem poor (2 Cor. viii. 6, 17). One of the Pastoral
Epistles is addressed to him, and from this we learn that at some
later time Paul had left him in Crete to set things in order and
appoint elders in the island (Titus i. 5).
2. by revelation : either made directly to himself, or through
one of the Christian prophets.
the gospel which I preach. This implies that there was
some doubt among the Jerusalem Christians as to what Paul
was preaching. The main message of the Christian missionaries
was the same in all cases — the preaching of Jesus as Christ, of his
resurrection, and of salvation through him. Nor was there any
unwillingness on the part of the Jewish Christians to admit
Gentiles to the church — if they would become proselytes to
Judaism and observe the law. But Paul was dispensing with
this condition and that was especially his gospel.
privately. This does not exclude a subsequent public meet-
ing with the whole church. The explanation of his peculiar
doctrinal standpoint was private.
them who were of repute : or ' who are ' ; there is no verb
in the original Greek. Verse 9 shews who these were, viz.
James, Cephas, and John, though perhaps other leaders are also
included here in the less definite expression. There is nothing
satirical in the phrase, though the emphatic repetition of it
(verse 9) may convey a touch of irony.
should be running, &c. : referring to his present and past
work. The illustration is from the Greek stadium — a favourite
form of illustration with Paul (cf. 1 Cor. ix. 26).
had run: referring to his past work, the good results of
which were endangered.
in vain. It could not be that Paul was in doubt as to the
correctness of his teaching. His attitude in this Epistle is that of
such perfect independence of human authority that he could not
mean he had any hesitation about what he was doing till he
obtained the sanction of the Jerusalem leaders. His fear must
have been lest the influence of the Jerusalem church should be
exercised to hinder his missionary labours among the heathen ; and
it was to prevent that disaster that he explained his teaching in
a private conference with the chief apostles, in the hope of eliciting
TO THE GALATIANS 2. 4 273
even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was com-
pelled to be circumcised : and that because of the false 4
their sympathy. He did not require their sanction ; but he
deprecated the hindrance that their disapproval would have
caused.
3. Was Titus circumcised ? The verse may be read in agree-
ment with either answer to this question. It may mean that
the known fact of his circumcision was not brought about by
compulsion ; that it was done in accordance with what he and
the Apostle also felt to be wise. Luke tells us that Paul had
Timothy circumcised ' because of the Jews that were in those
parts' (Acts xvi. 3). But the cases are not parallel, for Timothy's
mother was a Jewess (Acts xvi. 1), while Titus was wholly
Gentile. Timothy, by undergoing the initial rite of Judaism,
would be fitted to carry on evangelistic work among the Jews of
his own neighbourhood. It is much more likely that Titus was
not circumcised. Paul's position was uncompromising; he says
that he did not give place ' in the way of subjection ' in the least
degree. Under such circumstances a voluntary acquiescence
must have been misunderstood. Besides, the circumcising of
Titus, a Gentile, would have been in direct conflict with the verj'
position Paul is vehemently contending for in the doctrinal part
of this Epistle. The expression 'not even Titus' implies that
great pressure was brought to bear on Titus.
4. and that because of the false brethren, &c. : lit. 'and
because of the false brethren.' The sentence is incomplete.
Paul cannot mean that though not compelled to circumcise Titus
he did it to please these false brethren ; nor that he refused to
do it to please the false brethren, though otherwise he might have
performed the rite, both of which ideas would conflict with his
position throughout the Epistle. Lightfoot suggests that if Paul
had completed the sentence it would have run thus: 'But to
satisfy, to disarm, the false brethren, &c, the leading apostles
urged me to yield.' That view implies that the Apostle never
worked out the idea of the sentence at all. The thought in the
Apostle's mind seems to be that the importance given to the
question of the circumcision of Titus arose from the action of false
brethren in the matter, but certainly he never sufficiently finished
the sentence actually to say this. These * false brethren ' would
be Jews, who contrived to get an entrance into the church for the
express purpose of thwarting Paul's work. Whether that was at
Jerusalem, or at Antioch, or among the Gentile churches which
Paul had founded, is not made clear. They must not be identified
with the Judaizing disturbers of the Galatian churches, who belong
to a later period and are not charged with hypocrisy.
(0) T
274 TO THE GALATIANS 2. 5,6
brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy
out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they
5 might bring us into bondage : to whom we gave place in
the way of subjection, no, not for an hour ; that the truth
6 of the gospel might continue with you. But from those
who were reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were,
it maketh no matter to me : God accepteth not man's
our liberty : the liberty of dispensing with the Jewish law in
Gentile churches.
in Christ Jesus. This liberty is enjoyed by virtue of the
relation of Paul and his converts to Christ. If full salvation is
found in Christ alone, no bondage of the law can be required for
these converted heathen who have it.
5. the truth of the gospel. If Paul had yielded, the truth
of his large gospel of liberty would have been obscured.
with you : the Galatians. Paul had been fighting their battle
at Jerusalem. It was in order that they, in common with the
other Gentile churches, might retain their gospel unimpaired, and
so their freedom from the law of the Jews, that Paul had explained
the whole case to the Jerusalem leaders. How supremely dis-
appointing then it was that, after this, the Galatians should be
voluntarily putting themselves under the very yoke from which
the Apostle had been at such great pains to keep them free !
6. But from those, &c. This sentence also, like that in
verse 4, is not completed, or rather the Apostle changes the form
of it as he proceeds, beginning by saying ' from those,' &c, never
adding what comes from them, but returning to them in the
nominative case to describe their conduct directly : ' they, I say,
who were of repute imparted nothing to me.' The bad grammar
must be accounted for by the vehemence of the Apostle's mind.
He rushes on from point to point quite heedless of the con-
struction of his sentences. This is living writing, though awk-
ward to construe.
reputed to he somewhat : the three apostles named in
verse 9, with perhaps other leaders.
whatsoever they were : i. e. in the past, as men who had
been personal disciples of Jesus on earth. This could not be said
of Paul. The apparent irritation of his language shews that the
fact had been flung at him to mark his inferiority. Paul will not
let that affect the measure of authority he allows the senior
apostles.
accepteth not man's person: a Hebraism, meaning to shew
favouritism. It may be said that Paul goes too far here. Mere
TO THE GALATIANS 2. 7-9 275
person) — they, I say, who were of repute imparted nothing
to me : but contrariwise, when they saw that I had been 7
intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as
Peter with the gospel of the circumcision (for he that 8
wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision
wrought for me also unto the Gentiles) ; and when they 9
perceived the grace that was given unto me, James and
Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars,
favouritism was not claimed for the elder apostles. Their supposed
privilege was based on the historical fact of their personal inter-
course with Jesus on earth and all they had derived from it.
imparted nothing: in the way of authority to preach,
spiritual power, or understanding of the principles of the gospel.
7. but contrariwise. Not only did not the leaders correct or
complete Paul's apostolic equipment ; they recognized to the full
his mission to the heathen, and gave him brotherly sympathy with
regard to it.
intrusted : by God, the context shewing an admission that
God's hand was in this.
the gospel of the uncircumcision : the gospel for Gentiles,
i. e. the mission of evangelizing the heathen.
Peter : as the leading Christian missionary to the Jews.
the gospel of the circumcision : the gospel for Jews, in
distinction from the mission of evangelizing the heathen.
8. The same influence was at work with both of these great
apostles in their missionary labours. The successful results of
both proved that God was in them. If the recognition of this fact
in Peter's case stamped and authenticated his mission, the same
should be said of Paul.
9. and when they, &c. : completing the sentence of verse 7
which had been interrupted by the parenthesis in verse 8.
the grace, &c. : probably not referring to Paul's personal
character, but meaning the signs of God's favour and the effects of
His gracious assistance given to Paul, as seen in the fruits of his
missionary work.
James : the Lord's brother. See note on i. 19.
Cephas : Peter. See note on i. 18.
John: the son of Zebedee, appearing in Acts (iii. r, II,
iv. 13 ff.) as the companion of Peter. Thus Peter, James, and
John are now the leading apostles, just as the three chief disciples
in the gospel history were Peter, James, and John (cf. Mark v. 37,
ix. 2, xiv. 33). But while Peter and John are the same men,
T 2
276 TO THE GALATIANS 2. 10
gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship,
that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the
to circumcision ; only they would that we should remember
the poor ; which very thing I was also zealous to do.
James the brother of Jesus now takes the place of James the
brother of John.
reputed: the third use of this word (cf. verses 2, 6). Paul
does not deny that the three men were as great as what the
church reckoned them to be. Still his repetition of the same
expression lays emphasis on the estimation in which they were
held, rather than on their actual characters and worth. This
would help the Apostle's argument. If those who were most
highly honoured and considered to be of most importance in the
Jerusalem community treated Paul as he here describes, it was un-
reasonable for the Galatians to listen to the insinuations of smaller
people, who had come from that church to undermine their con-
fidence in their own apostle.
pillars: a metaphor applied by Jews to great teachers of
the law.
Barnabas. The narrative in Acts shews that Barnabas had
been a trusted member of the Jerusalem church long before this.
But when associated with Paul in missionary work among the
heathen he joined in that Apostle's methods, and therefore appeared
before his old friends in new relations.
the right hands of fellowship. Brotherly sympathy of the
most unqualified nature is here implied. Baur maintained that
there was a feud between Paul and the older apostles. This
undoubtedly genuine statement is quite irreconcilable with such
a hypothesis.
that we should gfo unto the Gentiles, &c. This division,
as Lipsius says, is ethnographical, not geographical. It could not
be maintained permanently, but it represented the main distinction
of work among the apostles. Nothing is said here of any differ-
ence in the preaching, but as Paul's full rights were recognized,
evidently it would be understood that he would preach to the
heathen a gospel free from the Jewish law, while the other
apostles would continue to preach to Jews without relaxing the
requirements of their law.
10. remember the poor : i. e. of Jerusalem. Before this Paul
had come up to Jerusalem with gifts from Antioch (Acts xi. 29, 3o\
He had been eagerly gathering similar offerings from his Galatian
friends before the writing of our Epistle (r Cor. xvi. r).
Note. There is considerable difficulty in determining how this
incident stands related to the narrative in Acts. The commonly
TO THE GALATIANS 2. 10 277
accepted view is to identify it with Paul's visit to Jerusalem
described in Acts xv. But serious objections have been urged
against that view : (i) Luke describes an intermediate visit
(Acts xi. 27-30, xii. 25). In proving his independence of the
older church authorities could Paul omit all reference to this?
(2) Here he says he went up 'by revelation' ; but the narrative
in Acts xv shews us Paul and Barnabas dispatched by the church
at Antioch as a deputation to Jerusalem. (3) Paul writes of a
private interview with ' them of repute,' in which he gave an
account of his preaching, and he makes no reference to any
meeting with the church or any decree coming thence ; but in
Acts xv there is an important church meeting, commonly called
'The Jerusalem Council,' in which the condition of the Gentile
churches is discussed and a proposal to settle the differences
between the two classes of Christians is formally adopted. Could
Paul omit all reference to this when sending the Galatians an
account of the very visit to Jerusalem at which so important
a decision was reached? These apparent discrepancies have been
used to discredit the history in Acts, and vice versa, by a recent
Dutch school, to throw doubts on our Epistle. Prof. Ramsay
denies the suggested identification, and understands Paul to be
here referring to the second visit (that in Acts xi). To do so he
has to make the fourteen years date back from Paul's conversion.
He finds 'the revelation' which induced Paul to go up in Agabus's
prophecy (Acts xi. 28), and he thinks that verse 10 in our section
has a distinct bearing on the fact that Paul was then the bearer of
aid to the poor. Then Prof. Bartlet, dissatisfied with all attempts
at a reconciliation between the two documents, supposes Paul to
be referring to a still earlier visit to Jerusalem not recorded in
Acts, and Wieseler identifies it with a visit set later than all of
these in Acts xviii. 22. But is the older view, identifying our
section with Acts xv, really untenable ? Lightfoot argued strongly
in its favour, and he has been supported by Hort. (1) If the
apostles were absent from Jerusalem when Paul came up during
the famine, he would not have to mention this visit {Judaistic
Christianity, p. 61). The fact that Luke describes the relief as
given to 'the elders,' and does not make any reference to the
apostles in his account of the famine visit, points to the conclusion
that the apostles were then absent. (2) Could not Paul describe
a solemn embassy dispatched by the church, probably after prayer
and with full faith in the presence of the Holy Spirit, as the result
of a revelation ? Besides, he may have had a private revelation
encouraging him to go. All his other references to revelations
in their bearings on his conduct point to personal experiences of
his own (cf. i. 12, 16). (3) Paul is here dealing with his apostolic
rights and authority ; Luke, in Acts xv, is concerned with a
question of public policy. It is quite reasonable to suppose that
278 TO THE GALATIANS 2. u
ii But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to
Paul might have a private interview with the leading apostles to
settle his personal relations with them. When dealing with that
here he might think it irrelevant to add an account of the other
object of his visit. After all. Acts and Galatians agree on the
main point — the freedom of the Gentiles from any obligation to
become proselytes to Judaism as a condition to reception in
the church. That was the essential point Paul desired to get
the apostles to assent to, and concession to which was implied in
their admission of his right to preach his gospel ; and that was
also the main result of the ' Jerusalem Council.1 On the whole,
therefore, it seems best to identify this visit with that of Acts xv.
Prof. McGiffert cuts the knot by suggesting that ' Acts xi and xv
both refer to the same event,' i. e. in each case ' the second of the
two visits mentioned by Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians.'
He adds, ' It is entirely conceivable that Luke found two indepen-
dent accounts of the same journey in his sources ; and as the
occasion was given differently in the two cases, he supposed them
to refer to separate events , and inserted them at what seemed to
him the proper point in his narrative ' {Christianity in the Apostolic
Age, p. 171;,.
ii. 11-14. Dispute with Peter. Paul tells how he had a dispute
with Peter — here called by his Aramaic name 'Cephas'— at
Antioch, because that Apostle drew back from social intercourse
with the Gentiles after some messengers from James had arrived,
carrying with him the rest of the Jews and even Barnabas. Paul
openly expostulated with Peter for this inconsistency.
11. when. There is nothing to fix the chronological position of
this incident, and Prof. Ramsay agrees with Prof. Zahn and
Mr. Turner (article 'Chronology' in Hastings' Dictionary of the
Bible) that Paul's language would allow of it coming earlier
than the incident just recorded, i. e. if that referred to the visit
to Jerusalem in Acts xv. Lightfoot considered that Paul was
still continuing his narrative in chronological order; but the
phrasing is changed. Instead of reading 'then,' after such and
such a time, Paul here writes 'but when,' quite indefinitely.
Cephas. See note on i. 18.
Antioch: a large city founded by the Greeks and named
after Antiochus ; the capital of the Roman province of Syria,
on the Orontes, and well situated for communication with the
west by the Levant. Josephus calls it the third city of the
empire, only Rome and Alexandria standing before it in impor-
tance {Wars, III. ii. 4). The church at Antioch was founded by
unknown and unofficial Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene, who
preached to the Greeks there and so originated the first Gentile
TO THE GALATIANS 2. 13 279
the face, because he stood condemned. For before that 12
certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles :
church (Acts xi. 20). It became the church of greatest influence
next to that of Jerusalem, and in resources and energy even
went beyond the mother church. Antioch was the great
missionary centre, and it was from this city that Paul and
Barnabas were dispatched on the mission which resulted in
the evangelizing of the Galatians. These people, therefore,
would be especially interested in hearing anything of signifi-
cance concerning the church in that city. After the Mohammedan
conquest the position of the chief town in Syria reverted to
Damascus, the ancient capital in the desert. Antioch is now
represented by a town of only 6,000 inhabitants, called in Turkish
Antaki and in Arabic Antakiyeh, with little ancient remains
except the ruins of Justinian's wall.
stood condemned: more correct than the A. V. rendering
'he was to be blamed.' Another possible alternative is 'he had
been accused,' the idea with that rendering being that the Greek
Christians had brought a charge against Peter ; but this is a less
likely meaning. 'Stood condemned' here means 'plainly proved
to be in the wrong by his conduct.' There is no thought of
a formal trial or act of church censure. It is not to be denied
that the difference between the apostles was real. Origen started
the theory that it was only simulated, and he was followed by
Jerome on the same lines, which led to a controversy between
that father and Augustine. There can be no doubt that Augustine
was right in his contention that to allow the idea of the two
leading apostles conspiring to act a lie would be to undermine
the whole authority of Scripture.
12. certain . . . from James : messengers from James, we do
not know on what errand. Mr. Turner is inclined to identify
them with those of whom we read in Acts xv. 1 : ' and certain
men came down from Judaea and taught the brethren, saying,
Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot
be saved.' If we accept this view we must place the incident
just before the Jerusalem council recorded later in Acts xv, and
therefore prior to the previous incident in Galatians. Acts
represents Barnabas as united with Paul in resisting the Jewish
influence, while in Galatians he follows Paul in being carried
away by it. Besides, the questions are not identical. In the
present case there is no mention of compelling the Gentiles to
be circumcised; the only point is that of Jewish Christians eating
at the same table with their Gentile brethren. Still, if so serious
a breach of church unity as the exclusive policy which the Jewish
party would advocate were brought about, Gentile Christians
28o TO THE GALATIANS 2. 13
but when they came, he drew back and separated himself,
13 fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest
of the Jews dissembled likewise with him ; insomuch that
would feel themselves ostracized until they had embraced the
Jewish law, and thus a measure of constraint would be brought
to bear upon them in order to induce them to do so. In any case,
it would not be fair to make James up at Jerusalem responsible
for the action of his messengers at Antioch, when we do not know
but that they were exceeding their authority, if the words in Acts
xv. 1 are to be attributed to them.
eat with the Gentiles : contrary to Jewish custom and
especially reprobated by the Pharisees, the party specified in
Acts xv. 1-5 as interfering with the liberty of the church at
Antioch. Peter's conduct at this point is not to be set down
to weakness or lack of principle. Further on Paul implies that
it was based on that Apostle's convictions of Christian liberty.
The vision at Joppa points in this direction (Acts x. 15). The
custom of the agape in the early church gave great importance
to the question. To refuse to eat with the Gentiles would mean
to decline to meet them at those feasts of brotherly love, and the
Lord's supper, with which it was then associated.
drew hack: in the imperfect tense, signifying a slow and
cautious movement.
separated: in the aorist tense, indicating the final result.
Peter gradually withdrew himself till at length he was quite
separated from the Gentile Christians.
fearing-, &c. Thus it is Paul's view of the case that Peter
changed his conduct simply out of fear, dreading the censure of
the narrower-minded Jewish Christians from Jerusalem. We
should like to have Peter's version of the incident. Possibly
that Apostle actually wavered in his opinion as to what was right
in the matter when strong pressure was brought to bear upon
him. His whole career reveals him as a man under the influence
of the impressions of the moment. To a man of Paul's strong,
independent character such a nature would not be easily intelligible.
13. the rest of the Jews : Jewish members of the church at
Antioch. Previously, encouraged by Peter's example, these
people had freely associated with their Gentile brethren. Thus
unity of a very liberal stamp had prevailed. Peter's conduct
led to a serious breach of church unity.
dissembled likewise. Thus Paul considers that this change
of conduct was pure dissimulation, holding that both Peter and
the Jewish Christians really believed in the liberal position and
only pretended to share the principles of James's messengers.
Whether this is quite fair to them or not, it is plain that
TO THE GALATIANS 2. 14 281
even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation.
But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according 14
to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Cephas before
them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles,
Paul did not believe Peter's fundamental position to be that of
the strong Judaizers, the view of the so-called Tubingen hypo-
thesis which represents the early church to be divided into two
antagonistic parties, on the one side Paul and his followers, on
the other James, Peter, John and all the other apostles and Jewish
Christians. Paul here declares that when Peter sided with the
Judaizers that Apostle was hiding his real convictions, so sure is he
that Peter was at heart in agreement with his own position.
even Barnabas. Why ' even ' ? Because Barnabas had been
Paul's travelling companion, and indeed, as the senior, regarded
as the leader in the mission to the heathen which had resulted
in the founding of the Galatian churches. The Galatians might
well be amazed that their senior evangelist should have succumbed
to the influence of the party of exclusiveness. Indirectly the
prominence given to Barnabas is a testimony in favour of the
* South Galatian theory/ since it was on the tour through Antioch,
Pisidium, Derbe, and Lystra that Paul and Barnabas travelled
together.
14. uprightly: more exactly 'in a straight course.' Paul
does not mean to insinuate want of integrity. His words should
be interpreted objectively, with regard to the course pursued
by Peter and his followers. This Paul finds to deviate from the
norm of the gospel.
according* to the truth, &c. : the line from which they
deviated. Paul holds that the truth of the gospel is with the
liberalism that unites Jews and Gentiles in the common Christian
family.
before them all : perhaps neither a wise nor a kind course,
considering that Peter was the senior Apostle. Peter's conduct
was public and his example had spread, and therefore Paul would
feel that it must be publicly rebuked. Still, if we read between
the lines we may see that he was carried away by the heat of
his indignation beyond the bounds of the considerateness due
to such a man as Peter. His excuse is that his indignation —
if not his way of shewing it — was justified by the seriousness of
the crisis. To Paul everything vital was at stake. If the Gentiles
were to be cut off from communion with the Jewish Christians,
the unity of the brotherhood would be fatally severed, and all who
believed in the position of the apostolic church would necessarily
regard the converts from heathenism, who followed Paul's liberal
teaching, as of a lower grade.
282 TO THE GALATIANS 2. iS
and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles
5 to live as do the Jews ? We being Jews by nature, and
how compellest thou, &c. Peter had lived in the free
Gentile style until the friends of James had arrived at Antioch.
By using the present tense, ' If thou livest,' Paul here assumes
that this is the older apostle's habit. And yet by now changing
his line of action he is tending to draw the Gentiles after him
into the narrower Jewish way. When Paul uses the word
'compel' he cannot mean direct action, of which we have no
hint. To people of scrupulous conscience anxious to follow the
lead of so eminent a personage, Peter's example virtually amounted
to compulsion. The result would be that such people would seek
circumcision, become proselytes to Judaism, and take on them
the yoke of the Jewish law.
ii. 15-21. The neiv life in Christ. Even Peter and Paul, though
Jews by nature, were not justified by the law, but had their
justification through faith in Christ, since nobody can be justified
by the law. This does not allow of continuance in sin, which
would be most inconsistent with faith in Christ. The old life
is crucified with Christ : the new life is enjoyed through faith
in the Son of God who manifested his love by dying. This
grace of love would be nullified if, after all, justification were
to be got by way of law.
This passage begins as part of Paul's expostulations with Peter
and so continues to the end of verse 17, where the plural is
dropped and the paragraph passes into the first person singular,
indicating that the Apostle is adding his own comment. Still the
whole passage is so much of a piece that it is best to read it as
one section. It would seem that even in the earlier part Paul
is not certainly reproducing the ipsissima verba of his address
to Peter. The passage reads rather like a meditative working up
of what was said in the heat of controversy with later reflection.
Thus the historical recital melts into doctrinal discussion, and we
are not told how the incident ended — probably not satisfactorily,
for if Peter had yielded at the time Paul would have said so.
It would have made an excellent point in the argument with the
Galatians. Probably therefore the apostles parted on this occasion
without coming to an agreement. Yet the quarrel passed off
in course of time, and Peter came more and more to accept
Paul's views. This is proved by the fact that 1 Peter is thoroughly
Pauline, and betrays a sympathetic acquaintance with some of
Paul's Epistles.
15. We: Peter and Paul.
Jews by nature: Jews born, not even proselytes, much less
uncircumcised Gentiles. Cf. Phil. iii. 4, 5.
TO THE GALATIANS 2. 16 283
not sinners of the Gentiles, yet knowing that a man is 16
not justified by the works of the law, save through faith
sinners of the Gentiles: an ironical expression. The Jews
reckoned the Gentiles as such to be sinners. Cf. 1 Mace. ii. 44 :
1 they mustered a host, and smote sinners in their anger.' In
Luke vi. 32 we have ' even sinners love those that love them.'
corresponding to Matt. v. 47, 'do not even the Gentiles the
same ? '
16. knowing, &c. Again Paul assumes that Peter shares his
fundamental position. As Christians they had both reached
justification by means of faith.
justified : ' pronounced righteous,' ' reckoned to be righteous,'
and in Paul especially ' treated as righteous.' (1) The Greek
word (dikaioo^ is often used in the sense of clearing of guilt ;
cf. Gen. xlv. 16, ' How shall we clear ourselves ? ' Exod. xxiii. 7,
* I will not justify the wicked ' ; Ps. cxliii. 2, ' In thy sight shall no
man living be justified.' This is a familiar English use of the
word. Thus Shakespeare has it : 'I cannot justify whom the
law condemns' (2 Henry VI, Act ii. Scene 3). This is the most
frequent sense of the word in the gospels (cf. Matt. xii. 37 ;
Luke x. 29). But for this usage the original innocence of the
person justified is requisite. (2) A secondary meaning appears in
the teaching of Paul when the word is used for a guilty person.
Here it does not mean making righteous in character, but treating
as righteous, i. e. treating as though a person were justified in
the original sense of the word. This is equivalent to forgiveness ;
it is forgiveness viewed from the standpoint of law and right.
At the same time as implying the re-establishment of right
relations with God, the result of it is called ' righteousness '
(Rom. iii. 21-24). This peculiar meaning of the word — since
made familiar, especially through Luther's teaching — is frequent
in Romans and Galatians, but scarcely to be met with anywhere
else — only once in 1 Cor. (vi. 11) and once in Titus (iii. 7). It
also appears once in Acts (xiii. 39). In this sense of forgiveness
the word occurs nowhere else in the N. T., except perhaps in
Luke xviii. 14. It is used in James in the earlier sense of acquitting
or pronouncing innocent, apart from the notion of forgiveness.
It does not occur at all in Hebrews, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and
3 John, or Revelation.
the works of the law : rather ' works of law,' i. e. works
prescribed by law.
save: more correct than 'but' (A.V.), the Greek expression
{ean me) meaning 'except.' Yet Paul cannot intend to teach
that justification is by works of the law if only faith is added,
the very position of the Judaizing Christians which he is contesting.
284 TO THE GALATIANS 2. 17
in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that
we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the
w orks of the law : because by the works of the law shall
17 no flesh be justified. But if, while we sought to be
justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners,
Lightfoot connects the clause directly with 'justified' as 'not
justified except through faith.' Otherwise we are bound to
give it the meaning ' but,' although no satisfactory instances of
such a meaning can be adduced, and the grammarians (Winer, &c.)
deny that it ever has it.
through faith. Faith is not the ground of justification, but
the means through which it is received.
faith in Jesus Christ : not ' the faith of Jesus Christ,' as
in the A. V. There is no article. It does not mean the Christian
religion, but trust reposed in Jesus Christ. The great positive
idea of the Epistle is here introduced, that justification is given on
condition of personal faith in Jesus Christ.
even we : Peter and Paul ; emphatic.
believed: came to have faith. The verb is in the aorist,
signifying a single act in the past.
by faith. A different preposition is used here, meaning
literally * out of,' which might suggest that faith is itself the
ground of justification, if we had not just had the more exact
expression 4 through faith.' Probably Paul has no subtle distinction
in mind, but varies the prepositions for the sake of euphony, as
he varies the names — Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus.
no flesh: Hebraism, meaning no man. The sentence is
a quotation from Ps. cxliii. 2, 'for in thy sight shall no man
living be justified,' somewhat freely rendered. The LXX has
the expression ' no flesh ' in this passage. The clause ' by the
works of the law' is not in the psalm, but is here added by Paul.
He would consider it appropriate because the psalm was part of the
Scriptures of Jews living under the law, who would be seeking
justification by legal works, if at all. In Rom. iii. 20 the same
passage is quoted and with the same addition by Paul, but also
with the words ' in his sight,' not given in Galatians, which more
certainly identify the sentence with the verse from the psalm where
it also occurs. The impossibility of obtaining any other justifica-
tion asserted in order that we may be shut up to the one available
justification through faith in Christ.
17. The following are the most important of the various
proposed interpretations of this verse : — (1) It is a Jewish
objection complaining that since to abandon the law is sinful,
if Christ encourages such conduct he must be ministering to sin,
TO THE GALATIANS 2. iS 285
is Christ a minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build 18
up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself
a conclusion which Paul indignantly repudiates because he rejects
the premises, and does not admit that to abandon the law is sinful.
There is no indication that Paul is bringing in an objection from
any opponent ; and such an objection would demand a more
complete answer than an indignant repudiation. Moreover it
would not lead on to the next sentence. (2) It is an argument
by the Apostle to shew that abandonment of the law is not sinful,
since if it were, Christ by encouraging it would be ministering
to sin, an utterly unbelievable conclusion. For this argument
to have a starting-point there must have been some previous
statement of the assumption that it is sinful to abandon the law.
(3) It is admitted that to abandon the law is to place ourselves
in the position of sinners, not because it is wicked to do this,
but because we lose the privileges of the law and range ourselves
with the heathen in this matter. Yet it is outrageous to
charge Christ with ministering to sin. This view gives the same
meaning to the word ' sinners,' with its touch of irony, that we
had in verse 15, i. e. as equivalent to Gentiles, or heathen, people
out of the pale of the law. Thus we see how it is introduced
here. With the previous interpretations it comes in abruptly,
apart from any apparent reason. Then the expression 'found'
best suits this meaning. It does not point to a definite overt
act, such as the abandonment of the law would be ; it indicates
the discovery of a condition already existing. The Pauline
Christian, though a Jew, is seen to be on a level with the
Gentile sinner. He too, notwithstanding his law, must be
regarded as a sinner in order to be justified by Christ. Never-
theless it would be outrageous to say that Christ brings about
this condition.
God forbid: lit. Met it not be'; an indignant repudiation of
an utterly impossible notion.
18. I. Paul now passes to the first person singular, thereby
dropping the form of speech suitable for his expostulation with
Peter and directly addressing the Galatians.
build up again, &c. : reconstruct the obligation of the law,
as Peter had been doing at Antioch by returning to Jewish
exclusiveness.
which. I destroyed. There is no evidence that Paul had
destroyed the obligations of the law before this by directby
agitating against them. But in dispensing with those obligations
when carrying on his missionary work he had been virtually
destroying them.
I prove myself a transgressor: in having previously
286 TO THE GALATIANS 2. 19, 20
19 a transgressor. For I through the law died unto the law,
20 that I might live unto God. I have been crucified with
Christ ; yet I live ; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth
abandoned the law. The word 'transgressor' is always used for
one who breaks the definite commandments of the written law,
an offender against the law as such. If the law is to be restored
as a standard of judgement, the man who is guilty of having
repudiated it is plainly an offender against it.
19. through the law, &c. : lit. 'through law died to law.'
The absence of the articles helps the interpretation of the phrase.
It cannot mean that the law as containing types and prophecies
of Christ tends to liberate us from its own bondage, because this
would involve allusions to the specific contents of the Mosaic law,
the law. It must refer to the operation of law in general. This
Paul discusses more fully in Rom. vii, where he shews that it
was the function of law to awaken the consciousness of guilt.
Now he also shews that there is no escape from guilt by way
of law. Therefore the only liberation must be found in ceasing
to live under the accusing law. Thus the law, by making its yoke
intolerable, provokes us to abandon it.
that I might live unto God. The purpose of this abandon-
ment of law is not antinomian licence, but a life set in relation
to God. That was prevented by the bondage of law and the
oppression of guilt accompanying it. Then the supreme con-
sideration in life was our depressing relation to condemning law.
When that is dissolved we are free to come into personal relations
with God. Henceforth the chief consideration becomes how we
may adjust our lives in regard to God. Thus God takes the place
of law.
20. crucified with Christ: Paul's doctrine of the mystical
union. His union with Christ involves a personal experience
corresponding to the death of Christ on the cross, and produced
by it. In that experience his old life perishes under the influence
of the cross of Christ. Cf. Rom. vi. 6, ' our old man was crucified
with hint ' ; Col. ii. 20.
yet I live ; and yet no longer I. The reading in the margin
of the R. V. seems preferable on account of the contrast that
follows, viz. ' And it is no longer I that live, but Christ,' &c. Paul
teaches that crucifixion with Christ is followed by resurrection
with him (cf. Col iii. 1). Here he writes of the new life, after
death with regard to the old state. So completely is it dependent
on Christ and directed by Christ that Paul considers it to be no
longer his only life, but simply Christ, who has taken possession
of him, living in him.
TO THE GALATIANS 2. 21 287
in me : and that life which I now live in the flesh I live
in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself up for me. I do not make void 2
the grace of God : for if righteousness is through the law,
then Christ died for nought.
now : after the great change, in the present Christian
condition.
in the flesh: lit. 'in flesh,' a Hebraism indicating human
life on earth. Although the Christian life is like a resurrection, it
is still spent amid material surroundings and with a human body.
in faith : set in antithesis to ' in flesh,' indicating another
sphere in which this new life is spent. It is in the body and
in the world, but not confined to these things ; it is also lived
in the sphere of faith. Possibly, however the preposition ' in '
is instrumental (a Hebraism), so that the phrase means ' by faith ' :
but this misses the antithesis of ' in flesh.'
the Son of God. Some of the oldest and best MSS. read
'God and Christ.' But in verse 16 Paul wrote of Jesus Christ
only as the specific object of the faith here referred to, and in
any case the clause which follows can only refer to Christ.
loved me: a touching personal utterance shewing how
deeply the Apostle feels what he is writing. The past tense is
used because he is thinking especially of the one past proof, love,
which he proceeds to specify. The love of Christ here appears
as the reason for faith in him.
gave himself np : i. e. to death (cf. i. 4). The word is
frequently used in the gospels for the giving up of Jesus to death
by God or by men (cf. Mark ix. 31, x. 33). Here Paul applies it
to Christ's own act in surrendering himself to death.
for me: on behalf of me, for my benefit. The Greek
preposition is hyper, which has this meaning, not anti, which
would be used if the Apostle meant ' instead of,' in the sense that
Christ gave himself to die instead of our dying. Whether Paul
would have said that or not, all his language here implies is that
Christ's death was for our benefit. This is according to the
Apostle's invariable custom. He frequently uses the word hyper
in this connexion (e. g. Rom. i. 32, ix. 3 ; 1 Cor. i. 13, v. 7 ; Gal.
iii. 13), never anti.
21. make void: nullify, sometimes rendered 'reject' (cf. Luke
vii. 30 ; 1 Cor. i. 19). To return to the law would be to nullify or
reject the grace which God has manifested in the love of Christ
and his surrender to death.
the grace of God: that special favour which was manifested
in the love and sacrifice of Christ.
288 TO THE GALATIANS 2. 21
righteousness: primarily ' Tightness, ' a substantive cor-
responding to the adjective which means 'right' and 'just.'
This is the sense of the word in the O. T. (cf. Ps. vii. 8 ;
Prov. viii. 20; Isa. lxiv. 5, &c). It is also used in this sense in
the gospels (cf. Matt. iii. 15, v. 20 ; Luke i. 75 ; John xvi. 8, &c.)
and other parts of the N. T. (cf. Acts x. 35 ; Jas. i. 20 ; 1 Pet. ii. 24 ;
1 John ii. 29; Rev. xix. 11, &c). In fact wherever it is em-
ployed by our Lord or by any O. T. or N. T. writer, except Paul,
this is the meaning of the word. Moreover Paul himself uses
it in this sense (cf. Rom. vi. 13, 16, 18, 19, 20; 2 Cor. vi. 14;
Eph. v. 9, &c.\ But the Apostle also employs the term in a
specific theological sense which is peculiar to him among Scripture
authorities, identifying justification with righteousness. Manifestly
he does so here. In verses 16, 17 he discusses justification, which
we have seen is simply forgiveness regarded from the standpoint
of law and right (see note on verse 16). Then in verse 21 he
is evidently referring to the same subject. That is clear from
(1) the use of the connecting word 'for,' and (2) the reference
to the law as not bringing about the desired result, which was
more fully described in verses 16, 17. Yet it is not 'justification'
that he names here, but 'righteousness.' Righteousness then is
the condition of being justified. The idea is that the Divine act
of forgiveness puts the soul in right relations with God. Seeing
that in Paul's teaching those right relations are the sources of
the new life of holiness, they must contain the germs of righteous-
ness in the old sense of the word. i. e. of a right character and
right conduct. When Paul writes about 'righteousness of God'
(Rom. i. 17) as a gift to us, and more explicitly as * righteousness
which is of God' (Phil. iii. 9) he means forgiveness of sins in the
first instance ; but this forgiveness is viewed as restoring right
relations with God, so that the man who has it stands right with
God. The same identification of justification, or forgiveness of sins,
with righteousness is worked out more fully in Romans (iii. 21-26)
where Paul first described ' a righteousness of God ' given to men,
and then proceeds to refer to this as a ' being justified.'
through the law : better ' through law ' ; if law is the means
by which righteousness is attained.
for naught: rather 'unnecessarily,' 'without sufficient
reason,' a meaning of the Greek word {doreavi) not found in
classic authors, but met with in the LXX (Ps. xxxiv [xxxv], 7 ;
Ixviii [lxix] 4, quoted in John xv. 25). If the end of Christ's
death, which was to give us righteousness, put us in right
relations with God through the forgiveness of sins, could be
effected in some other way, namely by means of law, then that
great sacrifice was unnecessary.
TO THE GALATIANS 3. i, 2 289
O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose 3
eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? This 2
II. Doctrinal Argument, iii. 1 — v. 1.
iii. 1-5. An appeal to experience. Paul appeals to the experience
of the Galatians, whom he considers to be quite senseless, since
they have received the clearest instruction in the gospel, and
yet now are resorting to the law. Did they receive the Spirit
by the law? If not, having begun in the better way, do they
expect to be perfected by adopting the inferior method ? Is their
present exercise of spiritual gifts derived from works of law or
from what they hear in faith ?
1. foolisli: senseless, wanting in intelligence.
Galatians. See Introduction, p. 58 ff. Prof. Ramsay points
out that this title, drawn from the name of the Roman province,
would be especially appropriate for those of the inhabitants who
had adopted the Graeco-Roman civilization, among whom the
Apostle would be likely to find most of his converts. In con-
trast to the rest of the population, which was still involved in
Asiatic customs of thought and life, these more cultured people
would regard themselves as superior in intelligence. Yet even
they are behaving senselessly. The personal address by name
only occurs here and in 2 Cor. vi. 11 ; Phil. iv. 15 ; 1 Tim. i. 18,
vi. 20 ; and in all cases the context shews that Paul is moved
with deep feeling.
bewitch. The Greek word (ebaskanen) means the blighting
of the evil eye. The Galatians are behaving so senselessly that
they must be under a spell. Who is it that has cast an evil eye
on them?
openly set forth. The more usual meaning of the Greek
word is ' to write before ' (cf. Rom. xv. 4 ; Eph. iii. 3), and if
intended here would refer to the O. T. prophecies of Christ.
But it would be out of place to bring in such an allusion at this
point with reference to the Galatians. Besides, the expression
'before whose eyes' points to a different meaning. Lightfoot
renders the word ' was posted up,' ' placarded,' seeing that it was
commonly used in this sense for public notices and proclamations.
But is not this meaning harsh when applied to the idea of
presenting Christ as crucified ? The root-word {grapho) is used
of a painter's art — hence our word ' graphic ' for what is vividly
pictorical. Accordingly Grimm- Thayer suggests here the meaning
' depict (paint, portray) before the eyes.' Paul in his preaching
had vividly portrayed Christ as crucified ; the picture had been set
before the eyes of the Galatians. For them to be bewitched as
by the evil eye shews that they had taken their eyes off that
central object of contemplation.
(«) U
29o TO THE GALATIANS 3. 3, 4
only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by
3 the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are
ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now
4 perfected in the flesh ? Did ye suffer so many things
crucified : without the addition ' among you ' as in the A. V.,
which is absent from the best MSS. The notion of Christ being
crucified afresh among the Galatians in their crucifixion with him
and dying to sin is not in Paul's mind. The word refers to the
actual, historical crucifixion of Christ ; it stands at the end of the
sentence for emphasis, the significance of which is made evident
by the previous verse. The Galatians were behaving as though
the death of Christ had not been necessary to their salvation.
Did they forget that it was as crucified, with especial reference
to his cross, that Christ had been depicted to them in Paul's
preaching ?
2. This only, &c. Here is a critical dilemma. Paul will be
satisfied if his correspondents will answer this one question, for
that will settle the dispute. If they had the gift of the Spirit
by means of the law, well and good ; let them keep to the law.
But if not, they have no excuse for turning to the law.
Received: the aorist tense, indicating one event in the past,
an experience frequently referred to in the apostolic church,
when the Spirit of God was given to the converts (cf. Acts x. 44,
xix. 20).
the works of the law: rather, 'works of law.' See note
on ii. 16.
the hearing- cf faith. This might be rendered ' the message,'
as in the margin of the R. V. ; but as it is contrasted with works
it is more likely to refer to the personal experience of the
Galatians. and 'hearing' is therefore the probable idea.
of faith : not ' the faith ' as the substance of Christian teaching,
a meaning never found in Paul, or at least not so early as this;
nor ' faith ' as a topic of preaching, for the gospel was what Paul
preached ; but faith characterizing the hearing. The whole
expression means ' the hearing which was with faith.' This
is the view of Lipsius. Lightfoot's interpretation, 'which comes
of faith,' is less natural. The hearing does not come from faith;
but faith accompanies and characterizes it.
3. having begun in the Spirit : in the power of the Spirit of
God, the receiving of which has just been mentioned.
perfected. The Galatians were not formally abandoning
Christian grace and falling back on mere Judaism. Their position,
as here indicated, was that of adding the observance of the Jewish
law to their Christian faith as a means of attaining perfection.
TO THE GALATIANS 3. 5 291
in vain? if it be indeed in vain. He therefore that
supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among
you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing
This is different from the question at Antioch referred to in
Acts xv. 1, which made circumcision a condition of salvation.
Here it is only proposed to be added to Christian faith as a means
of attaining perfection.
in the flesh : by external ordinances, especially circumcision.
The paradox is in the notion that this lower process could come
after the higher in order to crown it with perfection. To imagine
such a thing is extremely foolish.
4. Did ye suffer, &c. Lightfoot remarks, ' The history in-
deed says nothing of persecutions in Galatia ' ; but that is on the
North-Galatian theory. Lightfoot himself points cut that ' the
converts to the faith in Pisidia and Lycaonia . . . were exposed to
suffering' (as recorded in Acts xiv. 2, 5, 19, 22), and now it seems
to be proved that the Galatians to whom the Epistle is directed
were the people of these very districts (see Introduction, p. 58 ff.).
in vain. The history in Acts shews that the persecution
from which the Galatians suffered had been stirred up by the
Jews. But if the Christians had accepted Judaism, of course
this persecution would not have occurred. And now if after
enduring it they proceed to adopt the Jewish religion, all the}'
have suffered for their distinctive Gentile Christian faith goes
for nothing. Why did they make the bold stand before persecu-
tion if afterwards they would voluntarily concede the very point
on which the persecution turned ?
if it be indeed in vain. The Apostle cannot really believe
them to be so completely stultifying themselves.
5. He: God, who is alwaj^s regarded as the Giver of the
Spirit.
supplieth: an emphatic word meaning 'to bestow liberally.'
miracles : lit. ' powers ' ; but one of the usual words in "the
N. T. for those events which we call ' miracles ' (cf. Mark vi. 2,
5, 14, &c). Paul here assumes that miracles were occurring
among the Galatians. In writing to the Corinthians he dis-
tinguishes ' workings of miracles ' ( ' powers ') from i gifts of
healing' (1 Cor. xii. 9, 10). Possibly by ' miracles' he means
the exorcism of demons, one of the works of the Spirit most
frequently referred to in the early church. Paul appeals to the
testimony of these miracles. On what condition were they
brought about — by performing works of law? or as a result of
hearing with faith the message of the gospel? Experience must
tell the Galatians that the latter was the case.
U 2
292 TO THE GALATIANS 3. 6, 7
6 of faith ? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was
7 reckoned unto him for righteousness. Know therefore
that they which be of faith, the same are sons of Abraham.
iii. 6-9. The example of Abraham. Paul appeals to the
classical instance of Abraham, whose faith was reckoned to him
for righteousness. Then surely those who have faith are the
true sons of Abraham. The Scriptures predicted the justification
of the Gentiles by faith in the promise of Abraham's blessing,
which blessing the men of faith share with the patriarch.
6. Quoted from the LXX of Gen. xv. 6 ; cited again in Rom.
iv. 3 ; Jas. ii. 23.
Abraham. This patriarch was venerated by the Jews as
their great religious hero, and it was a common practice for Rabbis
to argue points of difference with reference to his life-story,
seeking to determine their controversies by the precedents they
found in it. Therefore Paul could distinctly score a point by
shewing that this supreme historical authority supported his teach-
ing about faith.
believed God. The specific act of faith was concerned
with God's promise of a son to Abraham in his old age and
numerous descendants.
for righteousness: not 'instead of,' but 'as equivalent to
righteousness.' The preposition (eis) is used in the sentences,
' the}' shall be one flesh' (Gen. ii. 24), lit. 'for (eis) one flesh';
and 'they shall be my people' (Jer. xxxi. 33; cf. Heb. viii. 10),
lit. * to me for (eis) a people.' God takes Abraham's faith in His
promise as itself equivalent to righteousness, apart from the perform-
ance of any external actions by the patriarch.
7. Know. The R. V. margin has 'Ye perceive,' and Lightfoot
advocates the indicative ' Ye know.' But did the Galatians know
what Paul proceeds to state here ? It rather follows as a con-
sequence of the previous verse. If the specific characteristic
of Abraham is faith, then they who share in his faith are his
true children. The point of the argument lies in the fact that
the Judaizing tendency of the Galatians revealed in them a desire
to come in for the privileges of the sons of Abraham which Jews
claimed to enjoy. They will do that. Paul argues, by resembling
Abraham in the righteousness God recognized in him, i. e. in
possessing faith.
they which be of faith : lit. ' they who come from faith,' in
accordance with a common idiom. Cf. 'them that are factious'
(lit. ' them that are of faction,' Rom. ii. 8\ ' they which are of the
law' (Rom. iv. 14% Though the idiom in John expresses origin,
that idea is lost sight of in common usage. Thus the phrase
simply means ' men of faith,' ' men who have faith.'
TO THE GALATIANS 3. 8-10 293
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the 8
Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto
Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed.
So then they which be of faith are blessed with the faith- 9
ful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the 10
law are under a curse : for it is written, Cursed is every
8. the scripture, foreseeing*. The singular means some specific
passage of Scripture (cf. Mark xii. 10 ; Luke iv. 21 ; John vii. 38 ;
Rom. iv. 3), the plural 'Scriptures' being used for the O. T. as
a whole (cf. Mark xii. 24 ; Luke xxiv. 27 ; John v. 39 ; Rom. xv. 4).
The passage of Scripture is here personified as though it were
a teacher. In verse 23 a passage of Scripture is supposed to
be active — 'the scripture hath shut up,' &c.
preached the gospel beforehand. The promise to Abraham
is taken as a proclamation of the gospel of blessing for the
heathen.
In thee, &c. : a sentence combining Gen. xii. 3, 'in thee
shall all the families of the earth be blessed,' and Gen. xviii. 18,
'all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.' O.T. critics
consider these passages to mean that the nations will bless
themselves by Abraham, taking his blessing as the type of
blessing they will desire for themselves. Be that as it ma}',
evidently Paul understands them to convey a distinct promise
of blessing which the heathen are to receive through Abraham.
9. faithful: possessing faith, believing ; not here 'trustworthy.'
We have this meaning elsewhere (cf. 2 Cor. vi. 15, ' a believer,'
for the same Greek word).
iii. 10-14. The curse of the Jaw. Paul proceeds further. Not
only is the law needless and superfluous, as the instance of
Abraham shews, it is positively hurtful. Those who go the way of
the law are actually under a curse, since that is threatened against
all who do not keep it with absolute fidelity. That nobody is
justified by law is proved by the Scripture statement that the
righteous shall live by faith, which is not the way of the law.
Christ, by becoming a curse for us in his crucifixion, redeemed
us from the law's curse in order that through him Abraham's
blessing might come to the Gentiles and we receive the promised
gift of the Spirit.
10. of the works of the law. For the idiom see note on
verse 7, ' they which be of faith.' Here it means the people whose
characteristic way in religion is to observe the works of the law.
it is written: a phrase indicating authoritative Scripture.
294 TO THE GALATIANS 3. n, 13
one which continueth not in all things that are written in
11 the book of the law, to do them. Now that no man is
justified by the law in the sight of God, is evident : for,
12 The righteous shall live by faith; and the law is not
of faith ; but, He that doeth them shall live in them.
It is met with in contemporary Greek in Egypt for any au-
thoritative document to which an appeal is made.
Cursed, &c. Deut. xxvii. 26, the conclusion of the curses
pronounced on Mount Ebal. Since nobody ever has kept the
whole law it follows that all who are under the law are subject
to its curse. It is a curious fact that the words ' every one ' and
• all things ' are not in the Hebrew, although they occur in the
LXX Greek from which Paul quotes them. Lightfoot points
out that Jerome attributed the omission to a wilful corruption
of the text on the part of the Jews for fear they should appear
to be under the curse — a groundless charge.
the book of the law : the Pentateuch.
11. justified. See note on ii. 16.
by the law : lit. ' in law,' meaning either (1) ' by means of
law,' according to the common Hebrew idiom which uses the
preposition 'in' instrumentally ; or (2) 'in the region of law,'
in the law religion. Lipsius prefers the latter meaning; but
the absence of the article favours the former, which is both in
the A. V. and in the R. V.
The righteous shall live, &c. : quoted from Hab. ii. 4 ;
also cited in Rom. i. 17, and Heb. x. 38. The LXX has ' my
righteous man.' Paul corrects this by returning to the Hebrew,
which has not the pronoun 'my.' In the language of the prophet
' faith ' stands for ' fidelity' ; so that the sentence meant originally
' the righteous man shall live by his fidelity,' that is to say, as
the context shews, he shall be preserved amidst the dangers of
the Chaldaean invasion because of his steadfastness and loyalty
to God. But of course such fidelity is the outcome of faith.
righteous: better than 'just' as in the A. V. The word
does not mean ' the strict,' ' the upright,' simply ; but it has the
more comprehensive sense of general righteousness.
12. not of faith : not possessing faith as its characteristic
principle. The preposition {ek) literally means 'out of and
Lightfoot gives it that signification here ; but see note on
verse 7.
He that doeth, &c. : quoted from Lev. xviii. 5.
in them: meaning 'by means of them,' the Hebraistic
instrumental sense of 'in.'
TO THE GALATIANS 3. 13 295
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having 13
become a curse for us : for it is written, Cursed is every
13. redeemed: not the usual Scripture word for redemption
(apoltttrosis), which directs attention to the consequent liberation.
The Greek word used here (exegorasen) points rather to the act
of buying. It might be rendered 'bought up,' but it is commonly
employed for the ransom of slaves. The word is in the aorist
sense, indicating a single act, which the context shews to be the
dying of Christ.
us : Paul and other Christian Jews who had been under the
law and therefore liable to its curse.
the curse of the law. See note on verse 10.
having become a curse. The Hebrew language, being
deficient in adjectives, frequently employs substantives with an
adjectival meaning. The expression 'becoming a curse' in
our language would most naturally mean 'coming to be a means
of cursing people.' Of course that is not the idea here ; Paul
means ( becoming accursed,' or ' coming under a curse.' Similarly
he writes of Christ being • made to be sin ' (2 Cor. v. 21). This
language might be interpreted by readers of the O. T. with
reference to the transactions of the 'Day of Atonement,' when
the goat, over the head of which the high-priest had pronounced
the sins of the people, was driven out to the demon of the
wilderness as an accursed thing (see Lev. xvi. 8, 21, 22). The
miserable fate of this creature is powerfully portrayed in Holman
Hunt's picture of ' The Scapegoat.'
for us : on our behalf. See ii. 20, note.
for it is written : appeal to the authority of Scripture. See
note on verse 10.
Cursed is every one, &c. : quoted from Deut. xxi. 23 in
the LXX. The Hebrew original is, ' for he that is hanged is
accursed of God.' To be hanged, impaled, or crucified was
reckoned as undergoing an accursed form of punishment. If
it was brought about under the law it was regarded as the
infliction of God's curse. Now Christ suffered from one of these
horrible kinds of death. Consequently, Paul argues, the curse
of it fell on him. Yet the Apostle does not give the full phrase
1 accursed of God,'' for he could not apply that to Christ whom he
would not think of as coming under God's curse. Still, as Christ
died the accursed death in the mere fact that he was crucified,
that curse, the very curse of being crucified, fell on Christ. His
being crucified was his endurance of the curse ; so awful a death
could not be thought of as anything short of a curse. The teaching
of the whole verse is that by submitting to that accursed death on
our behalf Jesus Christ freed us from the curse of the law.
296 TO THE GALATIANS 3. 14, 15
14 one that hangeth on a tree : that upon the Gentiles
might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus ;
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith.
1 5 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men : Though
it be but a man's covenant, yet when it hath been
14. that upon the Gentiles, &c. The purpose of Christ's
redemption is that the Gentiles might receive the blessing of
Abraham. A gap in Paul's argument is here apparent. He has
just spoken of deliverance from the curse of the law. Now he
assumes that, as a consequence, the law itself ceases to be binding
The implied idea is that, if it has lost its sanction in the punishment
it threatens, it ceases to be effective. Consequently it is now
a dead letter. Therefore, in spite of its proscriptions, the Gentiles
whom it had excluded from the privileges of Israel are now able
to enjoy them.
the blessing of Abraham. See verse 8.
in Christ Jesus: by spiritual union with Christ Jesus.
we. Here Paul joins himself with the Gentiles. The pronoun
is now most comprehensive, embracing all Christians.
the promise of the Spirit: not the promise made by the
Spirit, but the promised gift which consists in the Holy Spirit
bestowed on Christians; because (1) Paul has not spoken of
this promise as coming from the Spirit ; he has referred it to
Scripture personified ; and (2) he continually treats the gift of
the Spirit as the chief present blessing of the gospel (cf. verse 5).
This he takes to be part of Abraham's blessing ; elsewhere he
calls it the ' firstfruits ' (Rom. viii. 23).
through faith: an emphatic final clause. This promised
gift is received by means of faith, not by works of law, as the
Galatians are bewitched into imagining.
iii. 15-18. The ancient covenant. Taking an analogy from
human custom Paul points out that a covenant which has once
been confirmed cannot be set aside. Such was God's promise
to Abraham with its application to Christ. The law which was
430 years later than the confirmation of the covenant could not
supersede it. And yet if the inheritance were to come by the law
the promise would be neutralized.
15. Brethren: an urgent and affectionate address indicating
the Apostle's desire to convince.
after the manner of men : according to the analogy of men's
common actions in the world (cf. Rom. iii. 5 ; 1 Cor. ix. 8,
xv. 32).
but a man's : introducing an a fortiori argument. Even
TO THE GALATIANS 3. 15 297
confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto.
a man's covenant duly executed is inviolable ; much more then
must this be the case with God's covenant.
covenant: the Greek word {diaiheke) usually means a 'will.'
It has been generally supposed that this meaning only occurs once
in the Bible (Heb. ix. 15-17), and that in all other cases the word
means a formal agreement between two parties. This sense
is given to it in the LXX, where the translators employ it as their
rendering of the Hebrew word for 'covenant' {beriih), probably
preferring it to the usual Greek word for 'covenant' (suntheke),
because the Divine covenant is an arrangement made by God
which men accept from Him, not a bargain settled on equal terms.
It is the classic use of the word for a 'will ' or 'testament' that
gives us our popular titles of the two parts of the Bible — the ' Old
Testament ' and the ' New Testament ' — really the Old and New
Covenants. But now a flood of light has been thrown on this
remarkable word by means of the Greek papyri recently discovered
in Egypt. Prof. Ramsay shews, on the testimony of Messrs.
Grenfell and Hunt, how the wills that have been found among
those documents, and the Greek customs concerning them, illustrate
Paul's statements here. Accordingly he argues that in the present
case the word means a ' will ' and not a ' covenant.' The following
considerations point in this direction : (1) The phrase 'after the
manner of men ' indicating the analogy of ordinary human
practice, and therefore not the special LXX use of the word ;
(2) the mention of an inheritance ; (3) the Greek custom which
made the will a public document and irrevocable even before the
death of the testator, though the Attic law allowed of codicils.
Nevertheless, while Paul is apparently appealing to the example
of a Greek 'will' for his argument, it is evident that he has the
O. T. 'covenant' also in mind, since he argues from its history.
Thus he seems to apply the Greek usage concerning wills to the
ancient covenant, without considering any difference of meaning
in the two applications of the word. The nature of the Greek
' will,' as public and unchangeable when once executed, would
assimilate it to such a covenant as we meet with in the O. T.,
an agreement between two parties, but really determined in the
first instance by one, since it is God's covenant offered to man.
confirmed. A Greek will had to be lodged in the Record
Office and there examined, and if found valid duly authenticated.
no one xnaketh it void, &c. : according to the Greek custom,
even during the life of the testator. The Roman custom, on which
our law is founded, was different.
addeth thereto: fresh clauses, codicils. The Judaizers
treated the law as something subsequently added to the original
agreement with Abraham. But inasmuch as that was a covenant
298 TO THE GALATIANS 3. 16, 17
j 6 Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his
seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; but as
1 7 of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Now this I
say ; A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the law,
which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not
or will, ordinary human usage in Greek society was contrary
to such an interference with its original provisions.
16. promises : in the plural. Abraham received more than one
promise (see Gen. xiii. 15, xvii. 8).
seed : Hebraism for ; children,' ' descendants.' The reference
is to Gen. xiii. 15, 16.
not ... to seeds, &c. Great ingenuity has been exercised in the
attempt to prove the formal validity of Paul's argument here ; but
it is only reasonable to admit that he was using a Rabbinical method
of treating Scripture which cannot be made to agree with exact
exegesis. ( t ) The word 'seed' in the Hebrew original is collective,
and stands for any number of seeds, the plural only being used for
different kinds of seeds or for crops. (2) The narrative in Genesis
distinctly refers to the multitude of Abraham's descendants, and
makes no reference to one particular descendant who is to inherit
the promises. Nevertheless the Rabbis applied these promises to
the Messiah, and Paul was following a Jewish usage in the specific
personal application he made of them. While his logic might not
be called sound, the point to which he was coming could not be
confuted, since it was in Christ that the promises to Abraham
were fulfilled.
17. confirmed : see note on verse 15.
beforehand: before the law-giving.
the law: the Mosaic law, which was acknowledged in the
Pentateuch.
four hundred and thirty year3 after : i. e. after Abraham
received the covenant. The figure seems to be taken from Exod. xii.
40, where, however, in the Hebrew Bible 430 is given as the
number of years for the sojourn in Egypt. The Samaritan
Pentateuch and the LXX correct that by reading, instead of
' in Egypt,' the words ' in the land of Eg3'pt and in the land
of Caanan.' Paul here follows the LXX reading. Josephus also
follows this reckoning in one passage (Antiq. ii. 15. 22), though
elsewhere he follows the reckoning of the Hebrew text {Antiq. ii.
9. 1 ; Bell. Ltd .v. 9. 4), which is borne out by Gen. xv. 13, where
400 years of oppression in Egypt are predicted, a prediction quoted
by Stephen (Acts vii. 6). The obscurity of the early history of
Israel renders it impossible for us to determine which reckoning
may be nearest the facts of the case.
TO THE GALATIANS 3. 18, 19 299
disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect. For 18
if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise :
but God hath granted it to Abraham by promise. What 19
then is the law? It was added because of transgressions,
doth not disannul. The later law cannot set aside the earlier
covenant, since by its nature this is made for ever unalterable.
Yet the Judaizing movement in Galatia assumed that to be the
case, more or less, by requiring something beyond faith, although
in the case of Abraham faith had been the sole condition of the
covenant, God reckoning that for righteousness.
disannul : an old English word, an intensive form of annul.
Thus Shakespeare has it : —
' Then Warwick disannuls great John of Gaunt' (3 Henry VI, iii. 3).
The Greek word is the negative form of the word previously
rendered ' confirmed ' (verses 15, 1 7). Being once ; confirmed,' the
covenant cannot be subsequently made unconfirmed so as to have
its provisions invalid.
IS. the inheritance: as according to will, Abraham's blessing
passing on to his ' seed.'
of the law : lit. ' out of law,' law regarded as the source from
which it is derived.
no more : no longer ; it had been a matter of promise from
Abraham's time for those 430 years. On the supposed hypothesis
this would be the case no longer.
of promise. The absence of the article before the word
1 law' as well as before this word brings the contained ideas into
comparison — law versus promise.
iii. 19-29. The place and function of the law. Having shewn
that the law cannot supersede the older covenant Paul proceeds
to discuss its place in the Divine economy of history. Tempor-
arily necessitated for the sake of transgressions, it came througli
intermediary angels, by way of a mediator ; while God in giving
and executing His promises requires no such intermediaries. Not
that the law stands in any way opposed to God's promises. If it
could have given life it would have been admitted to be the way
to righteousness. But what the O. T. does is to confine everything
in subjection to sin in order that they who have faith in Christ may
thus receive the promised blessing.
19. What then is the law? The argument seems to have led
up to the conclusion that the law was a mere superfluity, even an
unwarrantable intrusion. It is necessary then to see what the
law really is.
added : i. e. in addition to the covenant.
3oo TO THE GALATIANS 3. 20
till the seed should come to whom the promise hath been
made ; and it was ordained through angels by the hand
20 of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one ;
because of transgressions : not in order to prevent trans-
gressions, for the context shews no such purpose in the law ; nor
in order to punish transgressions ; but, according to Paul's peculiar
conception of the law, in order to bring out transgressions as
clearly acknowledged breaches of law. Therefore he uses the
almost technical word ' transgression,' which means a breach
of law, not the more common word 'sin.' Of course Paul could
not deny the obvious, immediate purpose of the law as the Israelite
code to be in part the restraint of evildoing. But much of this
law did not concern crime or ethics ; much of it was purely
ceremonial. Besides, with Paul the supreme Divine purpose was
much more than the immediate end to be served. That purpose,
he held, was to convert vague, dormant sin into what could be
recognized as the transgression of definite precepts. Cf. Rom.
vii. 9 : ' when the commandment came, sin revived ' (or ' sprang
into life ').
the seed : Christ (cf. verse 16). The law was to do its work
in bringing out transgression down to the time of Christ— no
longer.
through angels. The Rabbis held that angels assisted in the
giving of the law, basing the idea on the words ; he came from
the ten thousands of holy ones ' (Deut. xxxiii. 2, R. V.) This idea
is referred to in Stephen's speech (Acts vii. 53). It is also found
injosephus (Antiq. xv. 5. 3). Paul mentions it here to indicate the
inferiority of the law to the covenant which God gave directly to
Abraham. If it be said that the O. T. does not warrant such
a belief, at all events the Apostle's word would serve as an
argumentum ad homines, since his Jewish opponents would accept
this view of the law-giving.
a mediator : an intermediary, i. e. Moses. The specific
notion of mediation in a. quarrel is not here suggested.
20. Lightfoot observes that ' the number of interpretations
of this passage is said to mount up to 250 or 300.' His own view
is that now most generally adopted, viz. : The very idea of media-
tion supposes at least two persons between whom the mediation
is carried on. That was the case with the law. There were two
parties to it, God and Israel ; and therefore it was conditioned by
the action of each party. But it is different in the case of the
promise. God gives this promise. Thus there is but one party
to it, for God is one. Therefore the promise is absolute and
unconditional. Another interpretation takes the word ' one '
qualitatively, understanding it to mean that God is not divided in
TO THE GALATIANS 3. 21,22 301
but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of 21
God ? God forbid : for if there had been a law given
which could make alive, verily righteousness would have
been of the law. Howbeit the scripture hath shut up all 22
things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus
Christ might be given to them that believe.
will and counsel, so that there can be no other will in Him conflict-
ing with the will which gave the promise ; but this does not suit
the previous clause so well. Then there is the view that, since
a mediator requires two parties, and God is one, man, or specifically
Israel, must be the other. But Paul does not draw that conclusion,
nor would it be in place.
21. promises. For the plural form see note on verse 16.
God forbid. See note on ii. 17.
make alive : more than justify ; an actual personal change
of condition from death in sin to life in God. Cf. ii. 20, iii. 11 ;
Rom. vi. 23.
righteousness. See note on ii. 21. This is here closely
associated with the idea of making alive. He who is justified
and therefore has righteousness is, according to Paul's teaching,
ipso facto endowed with the gift of eternal life. Cf. Rom. v. 21 :
1 that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life,'' &c. The life is a consequence of
the righteousness.
The whole verse is the answer to a supposed objection. If, as
Paul has just been saying, the law is so different from the promises,
must it not be in conflict with them and therefore after all nullify
them ? That would be so if the law were the Divinely appointed
means of conferring the gift of eternal life. Then of course it
would be the way to righteousness. But it is nothing of the kind.
22. the scripture: apparently a single passage in the O. T.,
personified as in verse 8. See note on that verse. But since
Paul does not here cite any such passage it majr be that he is
using the singular ' scripture ' for the Scriptures generally, though
this would be contrary to custom.
shut up : as in prison ; stronger than ' conclude ' (A. V.).
all thing's: neuter for comprehensiveness, as we say 'the
whole world ' when we mean ' all mankind.' Cf. Col. i. 20, ' to
reconcile all things.'
under sin: sin being the tyrant holding the world in sub-
jection.
that: indicating the purpose of the universal imprisonment.
It is to drive men to resort to the sole method of escape.
302 TO THE GALATIANS 3. 23, 24
23 But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the
law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be
24 revealed. So that the law hath been our tutor to bring us
the promise : not the word promising, but the thing promised,
i. e. Abraham's blessing, now interpreted by Paul as developed into
the gift of righteousness leading to eternal life. This is implied
in the references to 'making alive' and 'righteousness' in the
previous verse. What the law could not do is conferred in the
promise.
by faith: lit. * from,' or ' out of faith.' the same preposition
(ek) that is translated 'of in the phrase ' of the law' (verse 21).
It is a pity the Revisers did not mark the antithesis by translating
this preposition in the same way in each case. The blessing does
not spring from law ; it springs from faith.
in Jesus Christ : as the object of faith.
them that believe : them that have faith — in Greek the verbal
form of the word rendered 'faith.'
23. faith: rather, 'this faith' ; //'/. 'the faith,' which however
might seem to mean ' the Christian religion,' a sense not given to
the expression at so early a date as the Epistle. Paul means ' the
faith just mentioned,' i. e. faith in Christ. His idea is that before
'this faith' came the Jews were imprisoned under the law.
we : Paul as a Jew and other Jews - not including the Gentile
Galatians.
kept in ward : a word usually meaning ' guarded b}' soldiers.'
under the law. Paul had just said, ' shut up . . . under sin.'
Here he must be referring to the same restraint. He does not
think of the law as a system of obligations to be fulfilled, but as
a standard of judgement for transgressors. Thus subjection to sin
and being held in keeping by the law are two aspects of the same
condition ; it is because of sin that law has its power of holding in
ward. It is only the law-breaker who loses his liberty and can
be retained in a lock-up by the police as guardians of law.
unto: or 'for,' indicating the object of this guarding and
imprisonment.
the faith. See note on ' faith ' earlier in this verse.
afterwards . . . revealed: in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
24. tutor : an unfortunate word of the Revisers, not much
better than the ' schoolmaster ' of the A. V. The Greek word
(paidagogos) stands for a slave who was entrusted with the charge
of children. In the Roman world he was also their teacher ; but
this was not the case among the Greeks, and Paul is writing to
a people living in a state of Greek civilization, as several of his
references to manners and customs shew. He does not mean
that the law was the teacher training: for Christ, and that the ideas
TO THE GALATIANS 3. 25-27 303
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now 25
that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. For 26
ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For 27
of Judaism were preliminary and preparatory to the fuller Christian
truth. He simply means that the law was like a servant whose
business it was to conduct the children to school. Christ is the
one teacher.
to bring us unto Christ : (1) not by the partial development of
a religious life under Judaism, which Paul never teaches ; nor (2)
as typical and symbolical of Christianity, leading to Christianity
by foreshadowing it, an idea never found in Paul, though it is
met with in Hebrews and pushed to an extreme in the so-called
Epistle of Barnabas ; but (3) by making people perceive their
need of Christ through the sense of guilt and the consciousness
of the danger of judgement which the law awakens, so that there
is felt to be an imperative necessity of seeking what Paul calls
justification, i. e. deliverance from this state of guilt, where alone it
can be found, in Christ. His argument has distinctly led up to
this point.
justified by faith. See notes on ii. 16.
25. we : still only Paul and the Jews, as far as they have become
Christians.
26. ye . . . all : the Galatians, Gentile Christians.
sons of God. (1) According to Lightfoot, and apparently
Prof. Ramsa3' also, this sonship is contrasted with the condition
of childhood under a servant-custodian, as involving the liberty
of older years. (2) Lipsius denies the contrast, and there is some
reason for his view. Paul now deliberately drops the first person
and uses the second person. That breaks the line of argument.
The Gentiles never were as children under the law. Besides, the
boy child is also a son. The notion of sonship does not in itself
imply adult age. Still Paul evidently means that, since the
Galatians are brought into sonship only as Christians, they do
not have to undergo the irksome process to which Jewish
Christians had been subject, since that was previous to their
conversion to Christianity. Then the following paragraph dis-
tinctly contrasts the privilege of sonship with the restraints of
childhood, and this throws us back on the first view.
in Christ Jesus. The Revisers are plainly right with their
punctuation, which separates this clause from that which im-
mediately precedes and connects it with the first clause of the
sentence. He does not mean ' faith in Christ Jesus,' but 'sons of
God ... in Christ Jesus,' this sonship being realized by means
of faith. He has written of the Jews being led to Christ (verse
24), and further down he describes Christians as being < in Christ'
3o4 TO THE GALATIANS 3. 28, 29
as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on
28 Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can
be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and
29 female : for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye
(verse 28). The sonship is a state of intimate union with Christ.
Paul is not here thinking of the universal Fatherhood of God and
consequent Divine childhood of man, but of the sonship which he
elsewhere compares to adoption when by their union with Christ
the Gentile heathen enter God's family (cf. Rom. viii. 23).
2*7. baptized into : rather ' to,' or ' for,' a common usage of the
Greek preposition (eis) signifying an end or purpose. Thus Paul
uses the same preposition where he says that the Israelites were
1 baptized unto Moses ' (1 Cor. x. 2) ; it is employed with reference
to the baptism of John the Baptist, where we read of a i baptism
of repentance unto remission of sins' (Mark i. 4; Luke iii. 3).
It occurs in the baptismal formula where the A. V. reads ' baptizing
them in the name of the Father,' &c. (Matt, xxviii. 19). The R. V.
has ' into ' in this passage ; but the analogy of the other passages
cited would rather suggest * unto ' or ' for,' in all cases the pre-
position indicating the object of the baptism.
into Christ. The phrase 'baptized to Christ' indicates the
primitive form of baptism as simply ' to Christ ' (Rom. vi. 3), or,
1 to the name of Jesus' (cf. Acts xix. 5 ; 1 Cor. i. 13).
put on : a common O. T. idiom (cf. Job viii. 22, xxix. 14,
xxxix. 19; Ps. xxxv. 26) found also elsewhere in the N.T.
(1 Pet. v. 5). Cf. Rom. xiii. 14, 'Put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ.' As the garment covers the person and is closely wrapped
about him, so Christ is thought of as closely united to his people
and giving them their characteristic appearance.
28. Jew . . . Greek : the racial distinction, named first, because
it had given rise to the trouble in the Galatian churches. ' Greek '
is the title of people of the Greek language and civilization, not
simply Hellenes by birth. This title would suit the people of
South Galatia, as it would not suit the North Galatians, the Gauls,
who were Romanized, but who had not adopted Greek customs
(see Introduction, p. 66 ff.).
bond . . . free: the great social distinction in the ancient
world. Christianity did not formally denounce slavery. More
misery than good would have come of that premature action. But
by making master and slave equally brethren in the church it
tended to remove the distinction between them, and so in the end
to destroy the system on which that distinction rested.
male and female. Christianity, more than any other religion,
gives equal rights to men and women.
TO THE GALATIANS L i 305
are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according
to promise.
But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he 4
all are one: not of one kind or nature but a unity. Being
all as one man in Christ by reason of the close union with him in
which they all participate, Christians cannot maintain the old lines
of separation. This is a favourite doctrine in Paul's teaching,
and the establishment of the fact to which it refers was one of
the principal ends of his labours. A great part of his work, as
in collecting the contributions of the Gentile churches for the
assistance of the Jewish church at Jerusalem, was directed
towards bringing about the union of these two branches of
Christendom.
29. Christ's : of Christ, by being in Christ.
then . . . Abraham's seed: because Christ is Abraham's
seed.
heirs : because Abraham's family. Therefore Abraham's
promises will be realized by all Christians irrespective of any
difference of race, social distinction, sex. Then there is no
room for the Jewish privileges after which the Galatians were so
foolishly hankering. As Christians they already possess the best
privileges of Israel.
iv. 1-7. Sonship. So long as he is a child the heir is kept
under the authority of certain officials till the time determined in
his father's will. Similarly while Paul and the Jewish Christians
were in religious childhood, they were in subjection to the
elements of the world. But on the completion of this time of
tutelage God sent His Son in a human life subject to the law in
order to redeem those under law and grant them sonship. The
Galatians, too, being sons, have received the Spirit of God whereby
they can acknowledge Him as their Father. This privilege
of sonship involves freedom from servitude and the rights of
heirs.
1. Bnt Z say. Paul reverts to the idea of verse 23 in order to
confirm it from another point of view, and thus explain more fully
both why the law was given and how it came to be superseded.
the heir. The whole argument here proceeds on the sup-
position of a case in which property is left to a child under a will
by the death of his father. Since Paul regards God as the Father,
this part of the analogy cannot be worked out in detail. Still it
serves to set the case of the heir before us as, in some respects,
representative of the Jews in the pre-Christian age.
a child: an infant in the eyes of the law, a minor. Accord-
ing to Roman law the title infaus ceased, at the age of seven,
W x
3o6 TO THE GALATIANS 4. 2-4
differeth nothing from a bondservant, though he is lord
2 of all ; but is under guardians and stewards until the
3 term appointed of the father. So we also, when we
were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments
4 of the world : but when the fulness of the time came,
after which the child was competent to perform certain legal
acts ; he was under a guardian till he was fourteen ; and he did
nut have full power over his property till he was twenty-five.
But Prof. Ramsay has shewn that Paul is following the Greek
usage, known in Syria and therefore probably also in Southern
Galatia.
differeth nothing, &c. : in being under authority and not
allowed to dispose of property.
lord of all : i. e. of all the estate left by his father, including
the slaves, like whom, for the time being, he has to be in subjection,
and even the very officials whom he has to obey.
2. guardians : the recognized Greek legal word for the
guardians of minors, having personal charge of them, as seen in
the inscriptions.
stewards : having charge of the property. Cf. the parable
of 'The Unjust Steward' (Luke xvi. i ff.).
the term appointed of the father. Roman law did not
permit the testator to fix the age at which a son came into his
estate ; but this was allowed by the Syrian Greek law, to the
example of which therefore Paul is now appealing. It would be
the law of his own native province Cilicia, and that also of the
churches to which he was writing.
3. we: Paul and fellow Jews cf. verse 5, ' that he might redeem
them which were under the law'), distinguished from the Gala-
tians who are addressed in verse 6 as " ye.'
when we were children : reverting to the idea of verse 24
where the law is the servant in charge of children. Paul regards
the pre-Christian condition of the Jews as a state of childhood.
This has an important bearing on his whole argument, shewing
why he regarded the Galatians as foolish in adopting Judaism.
They were voluntarily putting themselves in that state of re-
strained infancy from which Christianity was giving the Jews
deliverance.
bondage. Law is essentially bondage compared with the
freedom of the Christian state.
the rudiments of the world. The Revisers follow Light-
foot in giving the word ' rudiments ' here, Lightfoot understanding
the reference to be to elementary teaching. The Greek word is
sometimes used for the alphabet. With this sense the passage
TO THE GALATIANS 4. 4 3°7
God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the
would describe the state of the Jews as possessing but the alpha-
bet of religious knowledge in pre-Christian times. But there is
much in favour of retaining the word ' elements ' as in the A. V.
That is a common use of the word (cf. Wisd. of Sol. vii. 17, xix. 18;
2 Pet. iii. 10, 12, ' the elements shall be dissolved/ 'the elements
shall melt with fervent heat'). The addition of the phrase 'of
the world ' favours this view. It is difficult to see any sense in
the expression ' the rudiments of the world ' understood as we
apply the word 'rudiments' to a grammar or a science. But
then it is difficult to see how the Jews were especially subject
to the elements of nature. Most of the Fathers understood the
expression to mean the sun, moon, and stars. In Jewish specula-
tion these were supposed to represent angel-powers. In the
apocryphal Testament of Solomon, the spirits say, 'We are the so-
called elements, the world rulers of this world.' In verse 9 ' the weak
and beggarly rudiments' (A. V. ' elements') seem to be identified
with ' them which by nature are no gods ' (verse 8), and then the
idea of the Galatians turning back to these old influences implies
that even they, though heathen, had been under them previous
to their conversion. This would not apply to the Jewish law ;
and yet we must give the word the same meaning in both places.
If then we understand it here to refer to the heavenly bodies, the
Jewish observance of sabbaths, new moons and other seasons
(verse 10) would be thought of as like a heathenish return to
subjection to the heavenly bodies that were supposed to rule these
seasons (so Lipsius, and Prof. Massie, article 'Elements' in
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible).
4. the fulness of the time : the completion of the time, when
the preliminary period had come to an end. This corresponds
to 'the term appointed' (verse 2) by the father in his will
determining when the heir shall enter into his estate (cf. Eph. i.
10).
God sent forth his Son. The idea is Christ coming into this
world from God and as a result of God's action.
horn of a woman: indicating an actual human birth, with
consequent human nature and its physical frailty, not a mere
Christophany, or appearance of Christ on earth. This phrase
has no direct bearing on the subject of the virgin birth of Jesus,
since every man is ' born of a woman.' On the other hand, it
contains nothing to exclude the virgin birth, being simply silent
on the question of paternity. Evidently no such question was in
the Apostle's mind, his purpose being simply to point to our Lord's
actual humanity in contrast with his Divine origin.
horn under the law : a Jew by birth ; not like the Galalians
X 2
3o8 TO THE GALATIANS 4. 5-7
5 law, that he might redeem them which were under the
6 law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And
because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son
7 into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that thou art
no longer a bondservant, but a son ; and if a son, then
an heir through God.
who, though born apart from the law. were voluntarily subjecting
themselves to it.
5. redeem. See note on iii. 13. Evidently Paul here connects
redemption with the incarnation and subjection of Christ to the
law. He was sent into these humiliating conditions for the purpose
of effecting the redemption.
them which were under the law: Jews, to whom alone
this verse applies.
we : strictly Paul and other Jews, as the context proves ;
and yet the next verse shews how ready Paul will be to extend
the content of the pronoun to include all Christians — Gentile as
well as Jew.
adoption: a familiar Greek and Roman custom. The striking
thing is that the Apostle even describes the Divine sonship of
Jewish Christians as obtained by adoption, not by nature.
6. ye are sons. Paul suddenly passes from the sonship he
shares with Jewish Christians to that of the Galatians, as though
having asserted the former he might take the latter for granted.
He is not engaged in proving the sonship in either case. He
appeals to it as an acknowledged fact. But he assumes that it
has the same origin both with Jews and with Gentiles.
the Spirit of his Son. Paul does not tie himself down to
exact Trinitarian distinctions. Here he is referring to the Divine
Spirit, elsewhere known as the ' Holy Spirit,' now regarded as
dwelling in Christ.
Abba: Aramaism for Father; hence our word 'Abbot.' It
would seem that the Aramaic and Greek words were repeated
together by the early Christians as a sort of familiar formula in
prayer, marking the Divine Fatherhood common to both sections
of the church. Paul here refers to it as prompted by the Spirit of
Christ ; elsewhere he argues that this inspired acknowledgement
of God as our Father is a testimony to the sonship of Christians
(Rom. viii. 15, 16).
7. thou. The singular makes the appeal personal to each reader.
no longer a bondservant. Both branches of the church had
been in subjection — the Jews as children under guardians and
stewards because subject to their law (verses 1, 0), the Gentiles
as slaves to idolatry.
TO THE GALATIANS 4. s, 9 309
Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in 8
bondage to them which by nature are no gods : but now 9
that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known
of God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly
then an heir : not merely of the promises to Abraham which
extended to his heirs, as might be said of Christians when con-
sidered to be * sons of Abraham ' (iii. 7), but an heir of God's inheri-
tance as His son.
through God : by God's action of adoption, not by nature
(verse 5).
br. 8-1 1. The return to the old bondage. The Galatians had
been in bondage to false gods previous to their knowledge of the
true God ; but how after that could they return to the miserable
degradation ? In their observance of sacred seasons they are
really doing so. Such conduct makes Paul fear that he has thrown
away his labour on them.
8. at that time : previous to conversion.
in bondage. Paul regards the heathen condition as a bondage
to superstition just as he regards the Jewish condition as a
bondage to law when contrasted with the liberty of Divine sonship.
them ... by nature ... no gods : ' the weak and beggarly
elements/ i. e. the sun, moon, and stars. The commonest worship
throughout the world was sun-worship. Renan points out that
in the second century this pagan cult, under the form of adoration
of the Persian Mithra, was the most serious rival to Christianity.
toy nature ... no gods : only gods by convention and super-
stition.
9. come to know God. Paul's preaching to the heathen, as
that of every wise missionarj' must necessarily be, was based on
an explanation of the pure Christian theism as opposed to pagan
polytheism (cf. Acts xvii. 23-29).
or rather to toe known of God : in the sense of being acknow-
ledged by God, i. e. as sons. Cf. 1 Cor. viii. 3, ' If any man
loveth God, the same is known of him.'
turn ye back again. Paul regards the adoption of Judaism
as virtually a reversion to heathenism, a startling opinion for
Judaizing Christians who would regard themselves as further
removed from paganism than the freer living Gentile Christians.
Throughout the argument he insists on the essential resemblance
between Judaism and paganism in contrast to Christianity.
weak. The pagan divinities were ineffective, impotent to
save as the Christian God saves in His redemption. But it was
bold to say this in the hearing of sun-worshippers, in effect to call
the blazing sun of Asia 'weak' !
310 TO THE GALATIANS 1 10-13
rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over
10 again? Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and
] r years. I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have
bestowed labour upon you in vain.
12 I beseech you, brethren, be as I <?///, for I am as ye
13 are. Ye did me no wrong : but ye know that because
beggarly: unable to bestow any gifts of value, such as the
Christian God gives in His grace.
rudiments : ' elements ' as in the A. V. See note on verse 3.
10. days: sabbaths and perhaps fast da3's ; cf. Col. ii. 16.
months: new moon festivals ; cf. Isa. i. 14, lxvi. 23.
seasons : various other periodical festivals.
years: annual Jewish feasts— Passover, Pentecost, &c.
Lightfoot suggests the Sabbatical and Jubilee years ; but these
were not really observed. The pagan education of the Galatians
would predispose them to adopt especially this aspect of Judaism,
since it fell in with their traditional reverence for the heavenly
bodies.
iv. 12-20 The earlier sympathy between Paul and the Galatians.
The Apostle entreats the Galatians to follow his example,
reminding them how he was first led to preach to them through
his phrysical infirmity; and yet the}' did not despise him on that
account, but gave him a most enthusiastic welcome. No sacrifice
would have been too great for them to have made for him. But
now has he become their enemy merely because he tells them
the truth? Their new friends have no good end in view, though
in itself it is well that people should shew an interest in them.
Paul feels like a mother in birth-pains for them again. He longs
to be present with them and to be able to change his tone from
the style of grieved expostulation.
12. I beseech: a strong word in the Greek. ' I beg and pray.'
be as I am : i. e. free from the bondage of Jewish ordinances.
This shews that not only did Paul not require his Gentile converts
to adopt the law ; though a Jew b}r birth he himself had
abandoned it. There is no reason to believe that the other
apostles had thus wholly renounced Judaism, though Peter had
taken a timid step in that direction (ii. 12).
X am as ye are: like the Gentiles who are free from the
Jewish law. Since Paul has taken the bold step of breaking with
the law of his fathers in order to put himself on a level with his
converts, he begs them to come back to that position of freedom
from law in deference to his example.
Ye did me no wrong. The punctuation of the A. V. connects
this sentence with what precedes, and seems to imply that the
TO THE GALATIANS 4. 14 311
of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto
you the first time: and that which was a temptation 14
Apostle is repudiating any feeling of personal offence. In this
their perversion the Galatians have not wronged Paul personally.
But the punctuation of the R.V. better suits the context, in
associating the sentence with what follows, especially as the
pronoun 'me' is not in an emphatic place. In the old time the
Galatians had behaved well to Paul. He will proceed to enlarge
on that subject. Possibly, as Lightfoot suggests, Paul is alluding
to some unrecorded incident of his intercourse with the Galatians
in which they may have thought to have done him an injustice.
13. because of an infirmity, &c. : not 'through infirmity'
as in the A. V. Paul distinctly asserts that it was because of
some bodily ailment that he came to preach the gospel at all
to the Galatians, and this they themselves know. Prof. Ramsa}*
makes an ingenious suggestion to explain this position, viz. that
Paul's ' infirmity of the flesh,' which he takes to be the same
as the 'thorn' (or 'stake') 'in the flesh' (2 Cor. xii. ■jtY, was
an attack of malarial fever brought on while he was in the
low-lying district of Perga in Pampl^lia (Acts xiii. 13). This
induced him to seek restoration of health by crossing the
bracing range of Taurus mountains. Thus the Apostle was
brought into the region of the South Galatian cities, and came
to carry on evangelistic work there as recorded in Acts xiii, xiv.
The change of plan would account for Mark's desertion of the
party and return to Jerusalem (ibid.). The attacks of this fever are
intermittent, and when they occur they produce extreme prostration
with severe headache. Now it was a tradition in Asia Minor
as early as the second century (see Tertullian, De Pudic. xiii) that
Paul's * thorn in the flesh' was severe headache, a pain which
in its acuteness of agony fever patients have compared to
'a red-hot bar thrust through the forehead,' 'the grinding, boring
pain in one temple, like the dentist's drill — the phantom wedge
driven in between the jaw,' so that the patient seems to have
' reached the extreme point of human endurance.'
the first time: or 'the former' (R.V. marg.). This would
mean that Paul had been twice to the Galatian district : (r)
Acts xiii, xiv and (a)xvi. 1-6. Thus he would be now referring to
the former of these two visits, which was the occasion when he
founded the churches at Antioch, Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra.
This would shew that the Epistle was not written till after the
second visit, when apparently he had not been so well received.
But the word ma}T mean ' formerly,' irrespective of the number
of visits, e.g. Eph. iv. 22, 'your former manner of life.'
14. a temptation to you. All the best MSS. give this reading
3i2 TO THE GALATIANS 4. 15-17
to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but
ye received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15 Where then is that gratulation of yourselves? for I bear
you witness, that, if possible, ye would have plucked
16 out your eyes and given them to me. So then am I
17 become your enemy, because I tell you the truth ? They
in preference to 'my temptation* as in the A. V. Paul means
that the wretched appearance he presented in his illness was
a temptation to the Galatians to treat him with contempt.
despised: the word used by our Lord in predicting his
rejection, where it is translated 'set at nought' (Mark ix. 12).
rejected: lit. 'spat out.' This strong language favours the
idea that Paul's physical infirmity was such as to make him
present a humiliating spectacle. Accordingly some have suggested
that it was 'epilepsy.'
as an angel of God. Some of the Galatians, at Lystra,
had taken Paul and Barnabas for divinities (see Acts xiv. 12),
regarding the Apostle as Hermes, the Greek messenger-god.
Seeing that the word 'angel' means 'messenger' it seems likely
that Paul is here referring to that incident. We had an earlier
reference to this idea of the angel (see note on i. 8\
15. gratulation. Lightfoot has 'felicitation.' Paul means the
joy which the Galatians experienced in receiving him and his
message.
if possible : i. e. to give their eyes to Paul, not merely to
pluck them out, which of course was possible.
would have plucked out your eyes. This expression lias
led some to conjecture that the thorn in the flesh was some
affection of the eyes. The fact that Paul was in the habit of
dictating his Epistles to an amanuensis, and his reference to
the 'large letters' in which he wrote with his own hand the
sentences he thus appended (vi. 11 , have been thought to bear
out this suggestion. But the illustration was very natural, quite
apart from any such specific use of it. The 'apple of one's eye'
was proverbial for something very precious (Ps. xvii. 8).
16. So then: in view of the changed attitude of the Galatians
to Paul.
your enemy. This word could be used in the passive sense
as 'one whom you hate1; but then it would require the dative
of the pronoun, whereas it has the genitive. Therefore it must
mean 'your antagonist' or 'one who injures you,' probably with
reference to the insinuations of the Judaizers that Paul was
hurting his converts by withholding from them the privileges
of the law,
TO THE GALATIANS 4. iS 313
zealously seek you in no good way ; nay, they desire to
shut you out, that ye may seek them. But it is good to iJ
be zealously sought in a good matter at all times, and
tell: rather, 'in telling.' The form is participial. Paul is
not referring to what he is now saying, which of course could
not be the ground of offence and occasion of expostulation before
the Galatians had read it ; he is going back to his teaching during
his visits to the Galatians.
the truth : i. e. that they have the blessings of Christianity
solely on condition of faith in Christ and apart from the law
(cf. ii. 5, 14).
1*7. They: the Judaizing intruders.
zealously seek. The sense of ' zeal ' is not appropriate here.
'To desire one earnestly,' one of the meanings given in the
Grimm-Thayer Dictionary, is more suitable (cf. 2 Cor. xi. 2,
where the rendering is 'jealous'). In the O. T. the Septuagint
translators used the word for 'envy' (cf. Ps. xxxvi. [xxxvii.] 1;
Prov. xxiii. 17, xxiv. i\ Here it seems to be used for courting
one's goodwill and favour.
to shut you out. (1) Lightfoot understands this to refer
to the tendency of the false teaching which, by insisting on
ceremonial, would in fact exclude the Galatians from Christ.
But the idea of 'desiring' is not suitable to such a meaning.
Therefore (2) it seems better to take the phrase with a more
direct application. The Judaizers would desire to shut the
Gentiles out of the church, not indeed finals but until they
consented to circumcision, and in order to drive them to undergo
the rite.
seek them. : not simply accept their teaching. Paul implies
that personal ambition was at the bottom of this strenuous
proselytizing.
18. to be zealously sought. The same meaning for this word
must be preserved throughout, and also the same application of it.
Therefore the Apostle cannot mean that it is well for him to be
courted favourably by the Galatians during his absence as well as
when present with them. He must refer to the treatment they
receive. In itself it is well that the Galatians should have some
who desire to win them if onty it be for a good cause. This
desire Paul displayed while he was with them. It would be good
for them to experience the same thing during his absence if
anybody would shew the same solicitude. The Apostle does not
blame the Judaizers for being interested in the Galatians, but for
the kind of influence they exert. He does not wish to deprive the
Galatians of solicitous friends, if only those friends will shew their
solicitude for a good object. The next verse hints that he is really
3i4 TO THE GALATIANS 4. r9-2r
19 not only when I am present with you. My little children,
of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed
20 in you, yea, I could wish to be present with you now,
and to change my voice; for I am perplexed about
you.
11 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye
thinking of himself as the friend who desires to win the Galatians
during his absence as well as when present among them.
19. My little children : a mode of address found nowhere else
in Paul's writings, though common in John (cf. i John ii. i, 12, 18),
not only very affectionate in tone, but also, as the context shews,
implying some rebuke for the childishness of the Galatians and
their backwardness in religious knowledge and life. Unlike our
Lord in the gospels and John, Paul thinks of childhood especialry
in relation to its immaturity (cf. 1 Cor. xiii. 11). Yet the word
' My' is personally affectionate. The Apostle regards himself as
a mother of his childish converts.
again. Their conversion was like a birth brought about
through the travail of the Apostle. He is now going through the
process again in endeavouring to bring them to the true Christian
life after their perversion by the Judaizers.
until Christ be formed in you. The word rendered
' formed ' is very explicit, meaning brought into a certain form.
The idea seems to be that of the Christ life and character being
shaped in the lives of the Galatians. There is some confusion of
metaphor ; but the Apostle cannot be thinking of them as the
mother, since he has just applied the image to himself; and the
image as applied to the Galatians is not one he would be likely to
use (cf. Eph. iv. 13).
20. to change my voice : from the present tone of painful
expostulation. If he were with them he might see it possible to
change his manner of address in proportion as he saw them yield
to his persuasion. As it is, he is at a loss to know what to think
of them.
iv. 21 — v. r. The allegory of Hagar. Following the familiar
method of a Rabbinical allegory, Paul compares Abraham's free
wife and the handmaid Hagar to the two covenants, the
second represented by Sinai, where the bondage of the law
was given, and then Jerusalem, and the first by the heavenly
Jerusalem which is the mother of Christians, who like Isaac are
children brought forth according to promise. Just as Ishmael
persecuted Isaac, so now Jews persecute Christians. But the
Scripture commanded the handmaid and her son to be cast out.
TO THE GALATIANS 4. 22-24 315
not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had 22
two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the free-
woman. Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born 2?,
alter the flesh ; but the son by the freewoman is born
through promise. Which things contain an allegory : 2 \
for these women are two covenants ; one from mount
Since we are not such, but are the children of the freewoman, we
ought to hold to our liberty.
21. ye that desire, &c. : the Galatians.or at least those of them
who were hankering after Judaism. Paul is proceeding to an
argiimcntum ad homines. Let those who think so much of the law
listen to the law.
hear the law. The title 'the law' was used for the whole
Pentateuch, the narratives as well as the precepts.
22. one by the handmaid: Ishmael, Hagar's child (Gen.
xvi. 15).
one by the freewoman: Isaac, Sarah's child (Gen. xxi. 2).
23. While the birth of Ishmael was according to the course of
nature, the birth of Isaac was described as a consequence of God's
promise which enabled Sarah to bear a child in her old age. This
was the great historic promise, faith with regard to which was
reckoned to Abraham for righteousness (Gen. xv. 1-6). Thus
Isaac has two advantages over Ishmael : (i) The status of his
ir.of.her, who is a freewoman, while Ishmael's mother is a slave ;
(2) the circumstances of his birth, which included a specific Divine
promise and its fulfilment, while Ishmael's birth was a mere natural
event.
24. an allegory. The word ' allegorize ' (Greek, aliegorucin)
means literally ' to say something different,' and it is used in Jewish,
and especially in Alexandrian, literature for giving a secondary
spiritual or metaphorical meaning to narratives which in their
first intention record external events. It is not used in the sense
in which Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory, as something
written solely with the intention of teaching ideas through the
narrative of events that are onty suppositious ; but it is applied to
ancient history, without denying the actuality of what is there
stated, but seeing within it a deeper, secondaiy meaning. This
allegorical treatment of their own sacred history was common
among the Jews. Philo pushed it to an extreme, and under his
hands the original sense of the history, though not denied to be
true, is lost sight of and completely buried beneath a system of
philosophizing metaphors.
covenants. See note on iii. 15.
316 TO THE GALATIANS 4. 25
Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar.
25 Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth
one from mount Sinai : the covenant of the law (see Exod.
xxxiv. 10 ff.).
unto bondage : better, < for bondage ' ; Jews under the law
being regarded as children whose mother is the covenant of the
law. This Paul has already described as a condition of restraint
(iii. 23), equivalent to that of a bondservant (iv. 1). Mow he
calls it actual bondage, as he has described the condition of the
heathen when subject to their superstitions (iv. 8).
which is Hagar. The covenant of the law is represented by
Hagar.
25. Wow this Hag-ar is mount Sinai in Arabia. Another
reading is ' For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia,' and the MS.
authorities are about equally divided between the two ; but most of
the versions and citations in ancient writers support the latter,
which is accepted by most textual critics. This sentence is very
apposite to the argument. Paul has made a daring use of allegory
in comparing the law to Hagar the slave instead of Sarah the
wife. To strengthen his position he reminds his readers that
the scene of the law-giving was situated in the country of the
Arabs, who were considered to be her descendants. Israel went
to Sinai, to Arabia, to the land of Hagar. to the country of the
slave for the much-vaunted law. Some who retain the reading
in the text consider that the sentence contains a play upon
words, since diagar'is the Arabic for a 'rock1; but Paul could not
expect the Greek-speaking Galatians to recognize this.
answereth to : lit. ' is in the same row or column with.' The
Greek word is used in militar}' language for a file or rank of
soldiers. Here it means that mount Sinai is in the same line
of comparison with Jerusalem in the allegory. This pushes the
argument further home. Jerusalem was the head quarters of
Judaism in Paul's day. Thus Jerusalem = Sinai = Hagar's
country = bondage. Lipsius proposes a much more elaborate and
recondite comparison. An ancient form of puzzle was to take the
?.u:n of the numerical value of the letters of a word as a cryptogram
for the word. Thus in the Apocalypse 666, as ' the number of the
beast,' is understood to be the sum of the numerical values of
the Hebrew letters for ' Nero Caesar.' The grammarians use the
Greek word (stoichos), which appears in a compound form in our
text, for such a series of letters. Accordingly Lipsius understands
it to mean here a corresponding series of letter-numbers. Thus
out of the Hebrew letters for the present and the future Jerusalem
he gets the numbers 999 and 607, and arrives at similar totals
TO THE GALATIANS 4. 26-28 317
to the Jerusalem that now is : for she is in bondage with
her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, 26
which is our mother. For it is written, 27
Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not ;
Break forth and cry, thou that travailest not :
For more are the children of the desolate than of
her which hath the husband.
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 28
with sentences that introduce the name 'Hagar.' This is mere
guess-work.
26. Jerusalem that is above. This expression was quite in
agreement with the Rabbinical teaching in which Paul had been
trained. The Rabbis used to speak of a heavenly Jerusalem, the
ideal city of the future, as already existing in upper regions and
destined to descend to earth in the Messianic era. We meet
with 'the heavenly Jerusalem' (Heb. xii. 22), and in Rev. xxi.
2, with ' the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven.'
With Paul it scarcely seems to correspond to the church, or
Christianized society, as in Augustin's City of God. It is an
idea, the heavenly idea which is realized in Christian lives on
earth, and therefore thought of as their source, allegorically as
their mother.
free. This is the leading conception of the allegory, Christian
freedom contrasted with Jewish bondage.
27. Quoted from Isa. liv. 1. The context shews that the
prophet was referring to the deliverance of the Jews from over-
whelming calamities. Israel is pictured as a forsaken wife who is
to be restored and comforted. But the language has a manifest
reference to the story of Sarah, who indeed is mentioned earlier
(Isa. li. 2) ; and the Rabbis were accustomed to associate these two
passages. Paul would now compare this joy of Sarah at having
a child and descendants with the gladness of Christian privileges.
Thus Christians = restored Israel = Sarah when blessed with
a child.
28. we. Another reading is ' ye,' and the authorities are about
equally divided between them. With the reading 'we' in our
text Paul cannot now mean only himself and other Jewish
Christians, as in earlier passages (cf. iii. 24, iv. 3, 5). He must
be including his readers, since he addresses them as brethren in
a tone that implies that they share the privileges of God's children.
The transition has come gradually and easily. When Paul thought
of Jews becoming Christians by faith, just as Gentiles became
Christians by faith, he recognized that there was no distinction
318 TO THE GALATIANS 4. 29-31
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted
him that was bom after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Howbeit what saith the scripture ? Cast out the handmaid
and her son : for the son of the handmaid shall not
31 inherit with the son of the free woman. Wherefore,
between them (cf. iii. 28). Christians, whether Jewish or Gentile,
are the true children of Sarah.
children of promise, i. e. born as children in consequence of
a Divine promise in contrast with those born merely in the course
of nature (cf. verse 23). Such was Isaac, and such are Christians,
who inherit God's promise to Abraham.
29. he . . . after the flesh. Ishmael, but now with a distinct
reference to the actual words used, so as to introduce the idea of
the carnality of the Jewish law in an allegorical use of the example
of Hagar's child.
persecuted : a reference to the incident in Gen. xxi. 9,
where the Hebrew only means 'laughing'; but the Septuagint
gives a longer phrase, probably corresponding to the original
Hebrew — 'playing with her son.' This incident was made
much of in later Jewish writings. Since it is connected with
a feast in honour of Sarah in the original narrative some mockery
seems to be intended. Possibly Paul was also thinking of the
later historical relations between the descendants of the two
mothers (cf. Ps. lxxxiii. 6, where the Ishmaelites appear in
a confederacy of the enemies of Israel'.
him . . . after the Spirit. A variation of the phrases
'through promise' (verse 23) and 'of promise' (verse 38), the
promise being attributed to the Spirit of God. No doubt the
change of language is made in order to get the contrast between
flesh and spirit, and so that between the external character of
Judaism and the spiritual character of Christianity.
30. Quoted from Gen. xxi. 10, but with an alteration towards
the end, where Paul has 'the son of the freewoman' in place
of 'my son, even with Isaac.' Thus Paul brings the passage
round more directly to the line of his argument. He must have
felt the desirability of changing its form, because in Genesis it
appears as a saying of Sarah, while Paul has introduced it simply
as a Scripture utterance.
31. Wherefore: the conclusion brought home to Christians.
It must be evident to every reader, however, that this can only
be admitted when the points of comparison in the allegory have
already been assumed. This allegory of Hagar cannot be re-
garded as a logical argument. By a little manipulation it would
be easy to construct one with a very different leSson. Philo
TO THE GALATIANS 4. 31-0. i 319
brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of
the freewoman. With freedom did Christ set us free : 5
stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in
a yoke of bondage.
allegorizes the same story, taking Abraham as the human soul,
Sarah as Divine wisdom, and Hagar as secular learning. But
as an illustration Paul's allegory vividly sets forth the truth he
is teaching. Of this passage, as of much else in the Apostle's
writings, wc must say that the conclusions are true, but the
arguments Rabbinical.
a handmaid : better than ' the handmaid ' as in the A. V.
There is no article in the Greek, and the idea is indefinite. As
Christians our origin is not in bondage.
the freewoman: i Jerusalem that is above,' described as
c our mother.' See note on verse 26.
v. 1. With freedom, &c. This reading must certainly be pre-
ferred to that of the A. V., ' Stand fast therefore in the liberty,'
which has the great weight of MS. authority against it. But Light-
foot prefers a reading which introduces a relative pronoun, and
connecting the sentence with the previous verse runs thus,
• Sons of the free by virtue of the freedom which Christ has
given us,' or preferably, 'of her who is free with that freedom
which Christ,' &c. But there is little MS. authority for this
reading, and most of the textual critics reject it. Accepting the
reading of the R. V. we must still connect this verse with its
predecessors rather than with what follows. It gives us the
practical conclusion of the allegory.
Christ set us free. In iii. 13 Paul had written of Christ
liberating Jews from the curse of the law (cf. iv. 5 . But now
the pronoun ' we ' includes Gentiles. He had written of both
as being in bondage to 'the elements' — Jews in iv. 3, and Gentiles
in iv. 9. This applied to Jewish ordinances and Gentile super-
stitions. Christ bought freedom from both.
standfast: in spite of temptations to swerve, such as came
from the Judaizing influences in Galatia.
therefore : because there has been a great act of liberation
at a heavy cost, as the previous arguments have shewn (cf. iii. 13.
It would be unreasonable to go back from this, flinging away all
its advantages.
again. Paul persists in his identification of Judaism with
heathenism. The Galatians who were adopting the Jewish law
had never been under it before ; but Paul regards it as equivalent
to their old superstitions. Therefore in taking it up they are
really entangling themselves a second time with a yoke of bondage.
32o TO THE GALATIANS 5. 2-4
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive
3 circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. Yea, I
testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision,
4 that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Ye are severed
a yoke: not 'the yoke' as in the A. V. The Jewish law is
not actually the same thing as the pagan superstitions, though the
consequent bondage is the same in both cases.
III. Practical Expostulation, v. 2— vi. 18.
v. 2-12. The Hanger of Jndaizing. The Apostle warns his
readers that in being circumcised they will come under an obliga-
tion to keep the whole of the Jewish law. Then in seeking
justification by means of law they stultify their relations with
Christ, for we look for our righteousness by faith in him with
whom this Jewish ritual counts for nothing. How was it that
the Galatians who were making progress have come to be thu:s
hindered? A mischievous leaven must be spreading through
them ; the person who has introduced it has incurred a heavy
responsibility. Paul trusts that the Galatians will resist this
influence. He reminds them that his own course would have
been easy enough if only he had fallen in with the policy of
the Judaizers.
2. Behold, I Paul: very emphatic. The Apostle is addressing
the Galatians with all the weight of his authority as their founder
and inspired director. At the same time he seems to be refuting
the calumny of those who claim his example in favour of the
Judaizing notions (cf. verse n).
if ye receive, &c. This implies that the Galatians had not
yet actually undergone the rite of circumcision, though they were
inclined to believe in its efficacy.
Christ will profit you nothing-. They cannot add legalism
to Christianity as a sort of counsel of perfection. In accepting
the former they renounce the latter.
3. testify: not ' bear witness/ but i solemnly assert as in the
presence of witnesses.'
again. Paul had not said this in any earlier part of the
Epistle. He must be alluding to what he had declared to the
Galatians during his second visit to them.
receiveth circumcision. The form of the Greek word
implies a voluntary act on their part.
a debtor to do the whole law. Possibly the Galatians
imagined that as Christians they might accept Judaism in a general
way without being bound by all the rigour of its legal system.
This dilettante method is impossible. There is no middle course.
TO THE GALATIANS, 5. 5,6 321
from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye
are fallen away from grace. For we through the Spirit 5
by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. For in 6
4. severed : lit. ' brought to nought.' Applied to a person the
word means the cessation of all connexion. In Rom. ii. 2 and 6
Paul uses it of the wife who is ' discharged from the law of the
husband' by his death, and so of Christians who are ' discharged
from the law.' The idea is that a voluntary submission to the
obligation of the law ipso facto nullifies any connexion with
Christ.
justified by the law. Paul here introduces the aim and
purpose of this singular perversion of the Galatians. They were
seeking justification, and supposing that they could obtain it
by means of law. That is why they thought it would be well
to undergo circumcision.
fallen away from grace : i. e. from the special grace of
justification on condition of faith. The acceptance of another
condition of justification implies the abandonment of the Christian
method. Lightfoot understands the expression ' fallen away ' to
correspond to the casting out of Hagar in the allegory. But
though the classic usage of the word would allow of this, it is
doubtful whether he has that illustration still in mind.
5. we : Christians, those who are living in the grace of
Christ.
through the Spirit: or ' in spirit ' ; there is no preposition
or article in the Greek, but merely the dative of the word for
spirit (pneumati). By using a capital ' S,' which was not in the
A. V., the Revisers indicate that the Spirit of God, not our own
spirit, is intended. Elsewhere, however, they use a small 's,'
indicating the human spirit, where the expression is very similar
(cf. Rom. viii. 13). Lipsius understands the word to mean 'the
Divine life-principle in believers.' Here, if Paul still has the
allegory of Hagar in mind, the expression might be due to a com-
parison with Isaac as the son ' born after the Spirit ' (iv. 29),
in which case only the Spirit of God could be intended ; but
as that is doubtful it is perhaps best to understand the word
in a sense very common with Paul, as meaning the human spirit
when under the influence of the Divine Spirit.
by faith. The order of the words requires the reading of the
R. V., which connects this expression with the verb ' wait,' and not
with the word ' righteousness ' as in the A. V. Paul is not here
thinking of justification by faith, but of the patience to wait which
is made possible by faith on the part of those who live the
spiritual life.
the hope of righteousness. This cannot mean the hope
P) Y
322 TO THE GALATIANS 5. 7, 8
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor
7 uncircumcision ; but faith working through love. Ye
were running well ; who did hinder you that ye should
8 not obey the truth ? This persuasion came not of him
of receiving righteousness in the future, because (1) the expression
' waiting for ' implies that the word ' hope ' itself represents
something future, and therefore must mean ' the thing hoped for '
(cf. Col. i. 5 ; Heb. vi. 18) ; and (2), in Paul's own peculiar sense
of the word, ' righteousness ' is a present possession of Christians
reckoned to them as soon as they are justified, not a future at-
tainment only to be hoped for, not enjoyed as yet. Accordingly
it must mean the future good we are hoping for which is associated
with righteousness as its source and condition, i. e. the great
Christian hope of eternal life.
6. Por: confirming the previous sentence. Our expectation
is based on our spiritual relations and our faith, not on deeds of
the law, because with Christ the external ordinances count for
nothing.
in : in communion with Christ, in living union with Christ,
and in all our spiritual relations with Christ.
neither circumcision . . . nor uncircumcision. The two
are put together as equally useless. Circumcision will do no more
good than uncircumcision, which, as all allow, can have no
religious efficacy. The only thing which will avail in us, whether
we be Jews or Gentiles, is faith shewing itself active in love.
working* through love. The Revisers suggest in their margin
'wrought' as an alternative for 'working' ; but Paul never uses
the word in a passive sense, nor does he teach that Christian
faith has to be produced by a previous experience of Christian
love. The idea is that faith when in action manifests itself in love.
Faith finds scope for activity in the region of love.
7. running well: a reference to the Greek athletics of the
stadium (cf. ii. 2 ; 1 Cor. ix. 26 ; Phil. iii. 14). Paul is thinking
of the earlier course of the Galatian churches. That part of their
race was excellently run.
who : in the singular, as though some one person were at the
bottom of this mischief ; we have another reference to this person
in verse 10. But though one takes the lead others are associated
with him (cf. verse 10). No name is given, and we have no means
of identifying the offender.
hinder : a word used for breaking up a road to impede
the advance of an army, but here evidently meaning simply
impeding the course of a runner in a race.
not ohey the truth. Paul takes for granted that the Galatians
TO THE GALATIANS 5. 9-11 323
that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole 9
lump. I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that 10
ye will be none otherwise minded : but he that troubleth
you shall bear his judgement, whosoever he be. But 11
know his gospel to be true. Therefore in not living according to
its teaching they are not simply perverted in mind and thought,
they are acting disobediently. Truth is regarded as a sovereign
whose commands cannot be lightly neglected.
8. This persuasion : your being persuaded so to act.
him that calleth you : God. The present, as Lightfoot
justly remarks, is used because * the stress is laid on the person
rather than the act' (cf. i Thess. v. 24).
9. A proverb, also quoted in 1 Cor. v. 6. Lightfoot understands
the image to be applied to persons, the idea being l a small and
compact body disturbing the peace of the church.' Lipsius
considers the illustration of spreading leaven to be more suitable
to the doctrine taught by these people. But the context is con-
cerned with men, not with ideas. Paul has just referred to
some hinderer, and he will proceed to speak of a troubler. It is
reasonable therefore to think him to have a personal reference here
also. The illustration of leaven is always used in the N. T. in
an evil sense both by Christ (cf. Matt. xvi. 6) and by Paul (cf.
1 Cor. v. 7, 8), with the solitary exception of the Parable of the
Kingdom spreading like leaven (Matt. xiii. 33). The thought is
of the gradual, silent, insidious, but thorough spread of an evil
influence. The persons who exercise such an influence should never
have been admitted to the church, and being in, should be removed.
10. I: emphatic here, in the Greek, as in verses 2 and n.
The Judaizers hope to win the Galatians to their practices ; but
on the other hand Paul, for his part, cannot but believe in their
ultimate return to wiser ways.
to you-ward: a late Greek usage of the preposition cts,
meaning 'with reference to.'
in the Lord : a peculiar Pauline or contemporary Christian
phrase, meaning the association with Jesus Christ in life and
thought which his people enjoy. It is because both Paul and his
readers are thus living that he has hope for them.
none otherwise minded: than in that old time when 'ye
were running well.'
he that troubleth you : a single individual, as in verse 7, and
more definitely so here.
his judgement : the judgement that will be passed on him
by God.
whosoever he be. Certainly this cannot be Peter, as some have
said ; nor is it likely to be James, though Lipsius allows that
324 TO THE GALATIANS 5. n
I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I
still persecuted? then hath the stumblingblock of the
identification to be more probable ; seeing that Paul has mentioned
both these men earlier, he would use the name again if he had it
in mind. Still, the phrase indicates some important personage
in the church. The Apostle is not overawed by his position.
Great as he may be in the estimation of his brethren he will come
under the judgement of God.
11. I: once again emphatic, and now with reference to his own
doings and a possible misconstruction of them.
still preach, circumcision : as he had done before his con-
version. The action of Paul in having Timothy circumcised when
the Apostle was visiting the very churches to which he was now
writing would afford his opponents a fine excuse for claiming the
authority of his example. There was a difference, since Timothy
was half a Jew by birth, while the Galatians were wholly
Gentiles ; and, besides, there is no proof that the circumcision
of Timothy was for his own advantage ; it seems to have been
effected in order that he might be free to work among Jews.
Still, even with these qualifications it does not look consistent with
Paul's uncompromising position in our Epistle. Accordingly the
narrative in Acts has been taken as an indication of the unhistoricity
of that work. But are we sure that Paul was never inconsistent'
In his eagerness to fit so hopeful a disciple as Timothy for evange-
listic work, himself confessedly ready to become all things to all
men if by any means he might win some, the Apostle might not
have considered the bearing of his action on the freedom of his
gospel from Judaism. The great controversy had not then broken
out. We cannot imagine Paul circumcising Timothy after writing
the strong words of the Epistle to the Galatians on the subject
of circumcision.
why . . . persecuted? Paul's persecutions came from the
Jews, who were opposed especially to the freedom of his gospel
and to his offer of it to the heathen without requiring the converts
to submit to Judaism. If he were preaching Judaism, what reason
would there be for such persecution? The fact that he has to
endure it is a proof that he does not preach Judaism.
stumblingblock : better than ' offence ' (A. V.). The Greek
word means primarily ' the trigger of a trap,' then a ' trap ' or
' snare,' and so anything that trips up, catches, and hinders.
the cross : odious in the e}'es of all contemporaries as
a barbarous mode of execution, introduced by the Romans from
the usage of the Phoenicians, and only inflicted on slaves and
subject people. If Paul had preached salvation by circumcision,
he might have been silent about the cross. But he was preaching
TO THE GALATIANS 5. 12-14 325
cross been done away. I would that they which un- 12
settle you would even cut themselves off.
For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use 13
not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but
through love be servants one to another. For the 14
salvation by means of the crucifixion of Christ. That was what
chiefly provoked the Jews to resist his work.
12. they. Paul passes to the plural. There is one leader in
the Judaizing movement; but others are associated with him in
troubling the church.
cut themselves off : i. e. 'sever themselves from connexion
with the church.' This meaning is adopted by Prof. Ramsay,
who vehemently opposes the alternative in the margin of the
R. V., 'mutilate themselves,' which is accepted by nearly all other
modern scholars. The latter meaning of the word is the usual
sense in which it is found in classic literature, and the only meaning
in the LXX (Deut. xxiii. i). It seems imperative therefore to
understand it so here. The horrible act referred to would be
familiar to readers in Asia Minor, as it was practised by devotees
of Cybele. Prof. Ramsay holds that for Paul to speak of it in
this connexion would be to descend to the scurrilous speech
that disgraces enraged orientals. But he could not have used
the term seriously in its literal sense, or as a mere insult. There
is an allusion to the rite of circumcision. In dismissing his
reference to the troublers he expresses the wish. that, if they are
urging that on the Galatians, it would be as well that they did
a more serious thing to themselves. If salvation is to be had
by the knife, the more effectual the use of that instrument the
better ; the Cybele fanatics are the saints to imitate ! The
utterance is ironical.
v. 13-15. Love the fulfilment of the law. Called to freedom
Christians should not abuse their liberty, but use it in the service
of love, which is the fulfilment of the law.
13. ye. The word is emphatic — 'you' as distinguished from
the Judaizers.
called, &c. The very purpose of the Divine call was to lead
out of bondage into a state of freedom.
not . . . for an occasion to the flesh: a warning against
Antinomianism. The subject is more fully discussed in Rom. vi.
but through love, &c. This is the use to be made of our
Christian liberty. It gives scope for love, not room for licence.
he servants : the verbal form of the word for bondage. The
Galatians were hankering after the bondage of the law. Here
is a better bondage, and one within the limits of Christian liberty.
326 TO THE GALATIANS 5. 15-17
whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this ; Thou
15 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and
devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed
one of another.
16 But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil
17 the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the
Let them voluntarily enslave themselves to the loving service one
of another.
14. the whole law. Paul had said that circumcision made
a man a debtor to do the whole law (verse 3). Yet he could never
do it in the way of law. Now the Apostle teaches that if he
abandons the service of the law he will find a better way of
completely carrying out its requirements.
fulfilled : fully kept (cf. Rom. xiii. 8).
Thou shalt love, &c. : Lev. xix. 18, quoted by Jesus as
the second commandment, following that of love to God, on
which ' hangeth the whole law, and the prophets' (Matt. xxii. 40).
Possibly Paul derives this from the teaching of Jesus ; but, if so,
we should expect to see a reference to the first commandment.
Therefore, though he may have heard a general report of our
Lord's words on the subject, he does not seem to have been in
possession of an exact account of them.
v. 16-26. The Spirit and the flesh. Christians are urged to
live under the influence of the Spirit of God as a means of escape
from the tyranny of the senses. There is a conflict between the
two. A life under the influence of the Spirit is free from law.
The flesh produces a multitude of evil works against which Paul
warns his readers, for the practice of them will exclude from the
kingdom of God. On the other hand, the fruit of the Spirit is
seen in a number of graces ; there is no law against them.
Christians are people who have crucified the flesh ; therefore
they should live as becomes their new relation to the Spirit
without vanity or envy.
16. Walk: a common Hebraism indicating the course of daily life.
the Spirit. Here as elsewhere the Revisers suggest the
Holy Spirit by using a capital ' S ' where the A. V. has a small
's' indicating the human spirit (see note on verse 5). The
expression ' by the Spirit' (the Greek dative without a preposition)
points both to the power by means of which the life is to be
sustained and also to its character.
ye shall not : future, not imperative. If the life is maintained
in its relations to the Spirit of God, this will of itself be a safeguard
against the invasion of the lower desires.
17. lusteth: an old English word for 'desires.' It is more
TO THE GALATIANS 5. 18-20 327
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh j for these are
contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do
the things that ye would. But if ye are led by the 18
Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the 19
flesh are manifest, which are these, fornication, unclean-
ness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, 20
suitable for the flesh than for the Spirit ; yet in this case it is
used for both. Here is a conflict of desires, the lower desire
of sense meeting the higher desire inspired by the Spirit of God.
The result is a deadlock, or rather that the higher desires are
frustrated.
that: 'in order that,' not merely 'so that'; the word
indicates purpose.
the thing's that ye would: implying that the will sides with
the impulses of the Spirit ; the Apostle is writing to Christians.
This conflict is differently viewed in Rom. vii, where the better
self conflicts with the lower self and is reduced to despair in the
pre-Christian stage, the next chapter shewing how victory is
attained through Christ by means of a life influenced by the
Spirit of God.
18. are led: the present tense, 'are being led,' for the
continuous course of life.
the Spirit: undoubtedly the Divine Spirit here, therefore
probably also elsewhere throughout the passage.
not under the law : because being led by the Spirit. ' No
man can serve two masters.'
19. the works of the flesh : the operations of the lower nature
when this is allowed full sway to rule the man through his senses
and appetites.
manifest : especially in the shameless empire of the Caesars,
where little or no attempt was made to hide these corruptions.
But probably Paul is not merely referring to contemporary
circumstances. He means that there is no mistaking what this
self-abandonment to the lower life leads to. Dr. Jekyll cannot
keep the secret of Mr. Hyde. Meanwhile, the present is not an
academic discussion ; it treats of obvious facts.
20. idolatry: classed with these works of the lower nature,
because essentially sensuous in its nature and, too, observed with
immoral rites, especially in Asia Minor and Syria. Idolatry
must be distinguished from paganism. All pagans were not
idolaters.
sorcery: the black art was too commonly associated with
malignity and uncleanness. The resort to wizards was expressly
condemned in the O. T. (Isa. viii. 18). Sorcery and spiritualism
328 TO THE GALATIANS 5. 21, 22
ar jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, heresies, envyings,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which
I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they
which practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom
22 of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
were very fashionable in the decadent civilization of the Roman
Empire. Paul has already referred to the Galatians being be-
witched with the evil eye (iii. 1).
divisions : not 'seditions' (A. V.). There is no reference to
politics.
heresies: rather, • parties.' The word is used by the orator
Tertullus in speaking of ' the sect of the Nazarenes ' (Acts xxiv. 5),
and Paul takes note of it in his reply as though it were
inappropriate, saying, l the Way which they call a sect ' (verse 14).
It is derived from a word indicating choice, and it points to
narrow opinionativeness resulting in petty exclusiveness. It has
nothing to do with theological divergence from the standard of
doctrine, in the later sense of the word.
21. forewarn. An alternative, 'tell you plainly,' is in the
margin of the R. V. ; but there is no clear proof of that use of
the word in the N. T., and here it refers to the future — 'not
inherit.'
I did forewarn you : probably during Paul's second visit to
the Galatian churches.
practise : are in the habit of doing.
the kingdom of God. An expression singularly rare in Paul's
writings considering that it was the central topic of our Lord's
teaching. Meaning primarily both the rule of God and also the
realm, the sphere of that rule, it had come to have a specific sense
among the Jews as the realization of the Messianic ideal. Among
Christians it takes its form and character from the teaching of
Jesus Christ, who not only realized the Messianic ideal, but also
exalted it as the conception of a spiritual kingdom. Paul writes of
it as something to come (cf. Matt. vi. 10, ' Thy kingdom come ').
It is a future inheritance (cf. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, xv. 50). In
this passage we have a full, emphatic pronouncement against
Antinomianism.
22. the fruit of the Spirit contrasted with 'the works of the
flesh ' (verse 19). Those works were of a lower order, made,
produced, but not conceived of as the outgrowth of any true life.
On the other hand, the Spirit vitalizes, and therefore does not
simply do works, but rather develops fruit. Here is the idea of
the Christian character growing and ripening.
love : named first, in contrast with the impish mockery of it
TO THE GALATIANS 5. 23-25 329
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, 23
temperance : against such there is no law. And they 24
that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with
the passions and the lusts thereof.
If we live by the Spirit, \>y the Spirit let us also walk. 25
that stood first in the black list ; and rightly first on its own
account as the fulfilling of the whole law (verse 14 ; cf. 1 Cor. xiii.).
joy : as distinguished from the pleasures of the life of sense.
peace: in all relations, with God, with our fellows, as con-
trasted with the enmities, &c, in the previous list, and in ourselves
as a state of calm. Joy and peace go together in Rom. xiv. 17.
longsuffering: the opposite to 'strife, jealousies,' &c. (cf
2 Cor. vi. 6).
kindness: more exactly, 'friendliness of disposition.'
goodness : active beneficence.
faithfulness : a better word than ' faith ' (A. V.). The original
Greek admits of either meaning. But as moral excellences, and
especially those that concern our relations with our fellow men,
are chiefly enumerated here the idea of fidelity to a trust is what
seems to be intended (cf. Rom. iii. 2, 3).
23. meekness:' especially opposed to the strife, &c, of the
earlier list.
temperance: self-control, as opposed to the outrageous
licence of the vices previously enumerated. It fitly brings the
list of fruits of the Spirit to a conclusion. Here we see the
victory of the Spirit of God over the lower appetites as promised
in verse 16.
24. they that are of Christ Jesus. The A. V. seems preferable
here : ' they that are Christ's ' (though we must add the word
' Jesus' on the best MS. authority), the meaning being, ' they who
belong to Christ Jesus,' his people.
have crucified the flesh. An allusion to Paul's mystical
doctrine of union with Christ, according to which his people die,
rise, and ascend with him (cf. Col. ii. 20, iii. 1). The Christian
unites himself to Christ in the crucifixion. As Christ's body died
nailed to the cross, so his disciples' tyrannous appetites and passions
are killed by their spiritual union with him (cf. Rom. vi. 6;. The
past tense is used to indicate one definite act, as the crucifixion
was one event in the past. It points to the first surrender of the
converts to faith in Christ.
25. Not merely a justification of the mandate in verse 16.
Another word for walk is here used, meaning 'to go in a row,'
' keep to the line.' In this way the outer life should correspond to
the inner life.
33o TO THE GALATIANS 5. 26—6. 2
26 Let us not be vainglorious, provoking one another,
envying one another.
6 Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass,
ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of
meekness ; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of
26. vainglorious: thirsting for empty praise. Cf. Phil. ii. 3,
where 'vainglory' is associated with 'faction' and opposed to
'lowliness' and a humble opinion of oneself.
provoking- one another: by the self-assertion and pre-
tentiousness just mentioned. According to Mommsen urban
rivalries were common in Asia Minor.
vi. 1-5. On burden-bearing. The more spiritual should restore
a fallen brother with meekness, bearing his burden. It is a
mistake to think much of oneself. Each man has just his own
work to do.
1. overtaken: not overcome by sudden temptation, but suddenly
surprised and discovered. It is tin any trespass,' not 'into.'
trespass. The word 'fault' (A. V.) is too weak. A real sin
is meant by the Greek term.
spiritual: implying that the sin came from unspirituality.
restore : not simply bring him back to a place of honour, but
influence him personally so that his character may be rectified.
The word refers to the inner experience of the fallen man, not to
his status in society. It is the duty of the more spiritual members
of the church to lead their brethren who have fallen into sin back
to the better life, not to treat the offence with indifference, but
also not to regard the offender with contempt.
a spirit of meekness : a spirit that inclines to meekness.
Paul sees the difficulty of carrying out his advice without the pride
of superiority which would effectually frustrate all attempts at
restoring the offender (cf. 1 Cor. iv. 21).
thyself: the singular number, to make the appeal more direct
and personal.
2. Bear ye. The verb is in the present tense, indicating a con-
tinuous habit of life. Let this be your habit ; be continually
bearing 'one another's burdens.'
one another's burdens. The word 'one another' is in the
most emphatic position in the sentence. Paul concentrates atten-
tion on it, no doubt to contrast these burdens of sympathy with
the useless burdens of Judaism which the Galatians were taking
on themselves. The context shews that by 'burdens' he here
means especially things like the trespass just referred to. The
TO THE GALATIANS G. 3-6 331
Christ. For if a man thinketh himself to be something, 3
when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let each 4
man prove his own work, and then shall he have his
glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his
neighbour. For each man shall bear his own burden. 5
But let him that is taught in the word communicate 6
idea is, that, if people are to wear a yoke, let it not be the useless
yoke of rigorous religious practices, but the serviceable yoke of
rescue work.
fulfil : a stronger word than that rendered ' fulfil ' in v. 14 ;
meaning literally to * fill up,' like a measure filled to the brim. He
who does this particularly delicate and difficult work of restoring
a brother effectually, most completely accomplishes the will of his
Master.
the law of Christ : the law Christ laid down, exhibiting it
in his own redeeming work, in contradistinction from the law
of Moses, which imposed the rite the Galatians were hankering
after. Though Paul repudiates the religion of law he has room
for law in the religion of grace. Thus he speaks of 'a law of
faith ' (Rom. iii. 27), ' the law of the Spirit of life ' (viii. 2),
and here of ' the law of Christ,' in each case meaning some
authoritative rule of conduct.
4. prove : test and try.
The meaning of the passage seems to be — Let not anybody
be puffed up with vainglory, especially by comparing himself
with other people. But let each man examine his own conduct
and what comes of it. Then if after the self-examination he
is honestly convinced that it is not a failure he may congratulate
himself. Still, this is a wholly private and personal matter. He
is not to compare himself with his neighbours in order to increase
his self-complacency ; much less is he to pose for his neighbours
to admire him.
5. his own burden : a different word for • burdens ' from that
in verse 2, which means a heavy weight, something distressing
to be borne. The word in this verse is used for a soldier's kit,
and also for anything to be carried, apart from any idea of its
weight. Therefore ' load ' which the Revisers suggest in their
margin is more appropriate. In the one case, the burden is
a defect of character ; in the other, it is the obligation of duty.
The contradiction between the two verses is only apparent and
verbal. We are to help each other out of evil waj's ; at the same
time each man must do his own duty.
vi. 6-10. On well-doing. The church teachers should receive
332 TO THE GALATIANS 6. 7, 8
7 unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not
deceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man
8 soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth
temporal support. The harvest will be according to the sowing.
Patience in working for the harvest of well-doing will be rewarded.
Meanwhile every opportunity should be seized for doing good,
especially to our fellow Christians.
6. the word: a term used in the early church for the sum of
Christian truth as preached and taught.
communicate. This word is frequently used for making
contributions, but inasmuch as its original meaning involves the
idea of association, it indicates something more than the mere
act of giving, and excludes any patronizing. The giver bestows
himself with his gift, the idea being that he is sharing his goods
with the recipient.
him that teacheth. This Epistle contains no reference to
church officers as such. According to Acts xiv. 23 Paul and
Barnabas had appointed elders in every church on their return
from their first missionary journey through the district to which
we now know our Epistle was directed. There is no mention
of elders in the Epistle. Still, we cannot infer their non-existence
from mere silence. Moreover, this passage plainly implies that
there were recognized teachers, who, since they required support,
must have been definitely set apart for their work. Elsewhere
we read of ' teachers ' as a distinct order in the church (cf. 1 Cor.
xii. 28, 29; Eph. iv. n). But here another word is used, the
precise meaning of which is to ' catechize.' Jewish teaching
was catechetical, and in all probability early Christian teaching
was also.
The duty or custom of supporting the ministry is frequently
referred to by Paul (cf. 1 Cor. ix. 11 ; 2 Cor. xi. 7 ff. ; Phil. iv. 10 ff. ;
1 Tim. v. 17, 18).
7. mocied: a word meaning literally 'to turn up the nose.'
To connect this verse with its predecessor we must conclude
that Paul suspected the Galatians of meanness towards their
recognized instructors, while they were under the spell of the
Judaizing visitors. To pretend to be very religious while refusing
to make the necessary pecuniary sacrifices is a form of meanness
that cannot be practised in defiance of the notice of God.
whatsoever a man soweth, &c. Lightfoot calls this ' a
common proverb ' ; but his instances from Plato, Aristotle, and
the Bible (Job iv. 8 ; 2 Cor. ix. 6) illustrate the principle rather
than the phrase. Nothing could be more natural than thus to
draw the obvious and yet striking lessons of harvest over and
over again without the aid of any formal proverb. But Cicero
TO THE GALATIANS G. 9 333
unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption ;
but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit
reap eternal life. And let us not be weary in well- 9
comes close to Paul's words here, writing, ' ut sementem feceris,
ita metes' {de Orat. ii. 65).
8. unto his own flesh . . . unto the Spirit. The preposition
' unto ' or * into ' shews that the " flesh ' and the ' Spirit ' are here
regarded as seed-beds. In the previous verse the character of
the harvest is seen to be dependent on the nature of the seed.
Now the metaphor is changed, and the harvest depends on the
soil, as in our Lord's parable of the Sower (Mark iv. 3-9).
It is usual to take this as a contrast between a carnal and
a spiritual course of life. But Lipsius applies it to the contrast
between the Judaizing and the more spiritual Christian life,
taking the resort to circumcision as the one sowing, and the
life of faith taught by Paul as the other. Against the more
common view observe (1) the opening (verse 6) and closing
(verses 9, 10) sentences of the paragraph refer to generosity
of conduct ; (2) the phrase • his own flesh ' is evidently to be
contrasted with 'the Spirit,' the Revisers rightly printing that
word with a capital ' S ' to signify the Spirit of God in contrast
with a man's own flesh, or bodily life. Therefore the contrast
seems to be between living for self, and especially for the lower
self, as is usually the case with the purely selfish character,
and living for God in pursuit of the aims inspired by His Spirit.
of the flesh : lit. * out of,' as the harvest is drawn out of
the soil.
corruption: 'blighted and putrescent grain' (Lightfoot),
corresponding to a life perishing like a rotten thing.
eternal life: lit the 'life of the ages,' the word (aidm'os)
rendered 'eternal' meaning that which belongs to the age, or
the ages. Thus it points to a vast and indefinite future.
Practically it is used as equivalent to ' everlasting.' The compound
phrase ' eternal life ' is a well-known expression in N. T. teach-
ing and evidently among the early Christians. It is found in
the Synoptic records of the teaching of Jesus as a blessing of the
future (cf. Mark x. 30) ; so it is regarded by Paul here and
elsewhere (cf. Rom. v. 21). In John it is treated as a pre-
sent possession (cf. John v. 24), though the conception of it as
something future also appears in the Fourth Gospel (cf. vi. 27).
As a phrase in contemporary Jewish speech it would mean the
resurrection life, and the enjoyment of this in contrast with the
doom of lingering in the gloom of Hades as a dead soul without
a resurrection. Carried over to Christian thought, it still means
the life of the resurrection, even in John the life which, though
334 TO THE GALATIANS 6. io, n
doing : for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which
is good toward all men, and especially toward them that
are of the household of the faith.
3i See with how large letters I have written unto you
begun here, outlasts death and realizes itself fully after the
resurrection. But Christianity deepens its meaning, bringing
out the rich spiritual nature of the gift — making much of the
substantive as well as the adjective, the life itself as well as
the fact that it is eternal.
9. be weary : lose courage, flag, in the long interval between
sowing and reaping. There is a play upon words in the Greek.
This verb is founded on a word meaning ' evil ' (kakon), and so
it stands in contrast to the word * well ' (kalon) in ' well-doing.'
well-doing : doing what is good and morally beautiful.
in due season: lit. 'at its own season,' i. e. when the grain
is ripe for harvest.
10. opportunity : the same word that is rendered ' season ' in
the previous verse. The harvest will come at its own season ;
then let us see to it that we seize the season for sowing when that
is with us.
that which is good. In this expression (to agathori), as well
as in the earlier one, the 'well' of 'well-doing' (to kalon), Paul
uses language familiar to every reader of Plato, the current
language of Greek ethics. There is a more distinctly moral tone
in the word rendered ' good,' as with that term in our language ;
and it is especially applied to the goodness shewn in kindness to
other people, for being good to them.
toward all men: the Christian duty of universal philan-
thropy ; and yet the early Christians were accused of misanthropy
and hated as ' enemies of the human race ' !
the household : regarding Christians as all members of one
family.
the faith: a misleading rendering of the R. V., due to
pedantic exactness. It is true the article is found in the Greek
text. But this is possible before an abstract noun where we
should not have it in English ; and the Apostle may mean ' the
well-known experience of Christian faith.' Still, the A. V. render-
ing 'faith' without the article is really more accurate. The
expression 'the faith,' meaning 'the Christian religion,' is not
found so early as this. The whole phrase means ' the household
of those who share in the experience of Christian faith,' 'the
household of believers.'
vi. 11-18. Conclusion written by Paul himself. Writing with
TO THE GALATIANS 6. i2 335
with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a 12
his own hand in large letters, the Apostle gives a final warning
against the Judaizing intruders, whose honesty of purpose he does
not believe in. He will only glory in Christ, for neither circum-
cision nor uncircumcision count for anything, but only a renewed
life. He desires that he may be troubled no more with these
matters, and concludes with a brief benediction.
11. with how large letters: not 'how large a letter.' This
fact has been explained (i) as a sign of Paul's bad eyesight. The
willingness of the Galatians to pluck out their e3Tes and give
them to him (cf. iv. 15 and note) has been taken by some as a hint
of this trouble, which is then regarded as Paul's ' infirmity in the
flesh' (iv. 13), and 'thorn in the flesh' (2 Cor. xii. 7). (2) An
indication of his difficulty in writing owing to his hands having
been roughened by the manual labour of his craft, the tent-making,
and to his unfamiliarity with the use of the pen. (3) A sign of
the importance of what he is going to write. There is not
sufficient reason for his making the statement on either of the first
two grounds, except as a casual remark ; and the gravity of what
he adds, with its stern and almost angry tone, excludes any but
grave and serious reasons for what he says. Prof. Ramsay points
out that when a document was to be exposed in public ' attention
was often called to some specially important point, especially at
the beginning or end, by the use of larger letters.' Instances of
this may be seen in advertisements at Pompeii.
I have written. This is an instance of what grammarians
call the ' epistolary aorist,' a Greek verb used in a letter in the past
tense for what will be past when the letter is read, although it is
present while the letter is being written, the sentence being con-
structed from the reader's, not the writer's, standpoint. Paul is
not referring to the previous part of the Epistle : he is drawing
attention to the paragraph which he is in the act of writing. It
would be better to read ' write' with the A. V. and the margin of
the R. V.
with mine own hand. From this point, then, all that follows
was written in the original document by the author himself. In
common with many ancient authors Paul was in the habit of
dictating to an amanuensis. In Romans (xvi. 22) the amanuensis
gives his name as Tertius, adding his own salutation. We cannot
say how many of the Epistles this man may have written out for
Paul. Since the Apostle was accompanied by various attendant
evangelists at different times, probably the letters would not all be
dictated to the same person. The Apostle who obtained his liveli-
hood as a mechanic would not be able to keep a private secretary.
Slaves did this work in the Roman Empire ; but Paul owned no
slave, we may be sure. It was the Apostle's custom to authen-
336 TO THE GALATIANS 6. 13
fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised ;
only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of
r3 Christ. For not even they who receive circumcision
ticate his dictated letters with a few words in his own hand-
writing. Cf. 2 Thess. iii. 17, 'The salutation of me Paul with
mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle.' The short
personal letter to Philemon was written by the Apostle entirely
with his own hand, but he calls his friend's attention to the fact
as something exceptional (Philem. 19).
12. a fair show in the flesh: not meaning ' in the world and
among men,' nor 'in things observable by the senses,' but more
specifically 'in ordinances that are bodily and external.' Cf. 'in
3-our flesh ' (verse 13). The context shews that the reference is
to the Judaizers.
that they may not be persecuted. Persecution in these
primitive times came from the Jews, and it was directed especially
against those Christians who were of Jewish birth. The special
ground of the persecution was disloyalty to the law of Israel.
If Jewish Christians shewed themselves zealous in winning
proselytes to that law they might hope to escape. Paul roundly
declares that this is their only motive. He will not admit that
they realty believe in the law which they would impose on the
Galatians ; their own carelessness in regard to it reveals their
personal indifference to it. Neither will he allow that they have
the slightest genuine interest in the Galatians ; he holds that their
motive is purely selfish and of the meanest possible kind, leading
them to impose irksome obligations on other people simply in order
to gain a false reputation for zeal, so as to escape being suspected
themselves. Thus they appear in a very odious light. One cannot
but hope that the vehemence of his indignation carried Paul too far
in this wholesale condemnation of his opponents. No letter of the
Judaizers has been preserved to represent their view of the case.
Still, we may be sure that Paul was perfectly true to his convictions
in uttering this severe judgement, and the next verse certainly
points in that direction and goes some way to verify it.
for the cross of Christ : for preaching the cross instead of
Jewish ideas. Cf. v. 11 and note.
13. they who receive circumcision: the circumcision party,
the Judaizers, who indeed receive that rite themselves, though
they do not fulfil the obligations it imposes.
not even . . . keep the law. This can scarcely mean that
the Judaizers share in the common inability of all mankind to
perfectly fulfil the requirements of the Pentateuch, as Paul shews
elsewhere. The charge is too specific. A distinct laxity is meant.
The free atmosphere of the church made it easy to abandon
TO THE GALATIANS 6. 14, 15 337
do themselves keep the law ; but they desire to have you
circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But far 14
be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto
me, and I unto the world. For neither is circumcision 15
the tiresome rigour of Judaism in many matters, and these
Judaizing Christians were availing themselves of this fact to
ease their own burdens. Thus their Judaism was more external
and formal even than that of the Pharisees. It consisted in little
more than submission to the rite of circumcision themselves and
pretentious zeal in forcing that rite on Gentile Christians.
that they may glory : exult and boast.
in your flesh : in regard to a rite that is only performed on
your bodies, apart from your spiritual condition, irrespective
of the question whether any change in that condition, such as
the becoming 'a new creature' (verse 15) which Paul aims at for
his converts, has taken place.
14. But far be it from me, &c. The pronoun i me ' is in the
most emphatic place in the sentence. Paul says in effect, ' What-
ever may be the grounds of exulting these people take up, as to
myself, for my part, I will not exult except,' &c.
in the cross. Paul had recognized that ' the cross ' was
a stumblingblock to many (v. 11), and the preaching of it a
reason why Christians were persecuted (vi. 12). Yet he never
obscured it, but set it in the most prominent place in his teaching.
When going to visit the clever people at Corinth, all he previously
determined was that he would preach to them about Christ in
regard to his crucifixion (1 Cor. ii. 2). Here, far from apologizing
for it, he makes it his one ground of exultation. This would
appear absolutely paradoxical in the view of contemporaries who
only thought of the cross as a cruel, disgraceful instrument of
execution. It is to be explained by what Paul saw in the cross.
(1) On Christ's side, the centre of his supreme act of love in
sacrificing himself for the redemption of the world ; (2) on the
Christian's side, the symbol of his crucifixion to the world, and
the influence by means of which his old evil life was destroyed
in order that he might live the new life in Christ.
the world . . . crucified unto me : ceasing therefore to live
as a power to fascinate, terrify, or hurt.
X unto the world : no longer concerning myself with it.
The scope of this verse must be determined by its context.
Paul is not here repudiating any interest in politics, business,
society, nature, art, or literature. He is contrasting his position
with that of the proselytizei s who are trimming their sails
(») Z
338 TO THE CxALATIANS 6. 16
16 anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And
as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them,
and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
to catch the breeze of popular favour. He is perfectly indifferent
to this. It cannot really hurt him — for the world is crucified
as far as he is concerned ; he will not consider it — for he is
crucified as far as the world is concerned.
15. The first part of this verse resembles an earlier phrase in
the Epistle (v. 6), but with some alterations, (i) The former
passage begins with the words ' in Christ Jesus,' indicating that for
Christians both the rite and the absence of it count for nothing;
now that clause is dropped and the sentence is given absolutely
as of universal application. Even for those who are not Christians,
yes, even for Jews, when its true nature is known, this is seen
to be nothing. (2) Paul had said that it was of no avail ; now
he says that it is nothing at all, i. e. that in all considerations
of religion it does not find any place ; as far as they are concerned
it is not anything. (3) The former contrast was with ' faith
working by love ' — the Christian spiritual experience ; now the
contrast is with a new creature, indicating the most fundamental
change, and therefore the greatest possible difference in comparison
with a merely external rite.
a new creature. The phrase may mean (1) 'a new creation,'
i.e. 'a new act of creation' (cf. Rom. i. 20), and in favour of this
view is the contrast with circumcision as a process and supposed
means of salvation ; or (2) 'a new creature' as a newly created
being. While the Greek word (ktisis) admits of both meanings,
the latter is the more usual in the N. T. (cf. Rom. i. 25, viii. 39;
2 Cor. v. 17 ; Heb. iv. 13), and especially suits the phrase 'a new
creature ' in 2 Cor. v. 17.
16. walk: lit. 'walk in line,' like soldiers in a file or rank.
this rule : lit. l canon, ' a word used for a carpenter's or
survejror's measuring line ; here meaning the way of the Christian
life by faith in Christ and the power of his cross, as just indicated,
in distinction from the way of an external rite such as circumcision.
peace . . . and mercy. The usual greeting is 'grace and
peace.' Probably 'peace' is named first here because it is
especially needed in view of the troubles disturbing the Galatian
churches. Then ' mercy ' rather than ' grace ' may be mentioned,
(r) because these troubles call especially for the Divine pity and
saving grace, (2) because they reveal faults that need forgiveness,
and (3) because in distinction from the Jewish spirit of self-made
righteousness Paul has been insisting throughout on the gospel
of God's pity for man's helplessness received only on condition
of faith.
TO THE GALATIANS 6. 17,18 339
From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear 1?
branded on my body the marks of Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your 18
spirit, brethren. Amen.
the Israel of God: neither (1) only Jewish Christians, nor
2) Israel as such, but (3) all Christians as • the spiritual Israel,'
and therefore ' the true Israel ' in contrast with those who are
only Israel 'after the flesh' (1 Cor. x. 18; cf. Rom. ix. 8). These
are the ' children of promise ' (iv. 28). This idea of Christians
as the true Israel appears in 1 Pet. i. 1, where they are called
' sojourners of the Dispersion.' Appearing here at the close of
the Epistle, it is a parting shot at the Judaizers, and a concluding
claim for Paul's contention maintained throughout the argument.
17. Prom henceforth. Paul would dismiss the subject. He
has completely disposed of the contentions of his opponents.
He hopes he may hear no more of them.
for, &c. The reason for this demand is now to be given.
It is to be found in the way in which the Apostle's status and
mission are duly authenticated.
the marks of Jesus. It was customary for slaves to be
cut or branded with marks which would identify them as their
master's property. Paul claims that he has such marks proving
him to be in the service of Jesus. The notion of the 'stigmata'
as the nail-prints in the hands and feet, reproduced in St. Francis,
is quite out of place in the time of Paul. The use of the simple
name 'Jesus,' according to the best MS. authority, without the
titles 'Christ' or ' Lord' which Paul nearly always applies, might
seem to point to our Lord in his earthly life. But 'Jesus' was
the personal name. Paul seems to use it here to indicate distinctly
that he is marked for the one Person, Jesus. The simplicity of
the phrase emphasizes the idea that he belongs to Jesus and to
Jesus only; then let no one else interfere with him. Deissmann,
relying on the analogy of contemporary documents, thinks that
Paul alludes to the ' protective marks ' of magical amulets. But
it is not probable that the Apostle would compare his Christian
experience to the doings of sorcery. His marks would be the
scars of persecution left by the stoning at Lystra, the lictor's rods
at Philippi, &c.
18. See note on 1 Thess. v. 28. This Epistle closes as abruptly
as it is opened, with the briefest possible salutations. Here are
no personal greetings. Paul will not omit his usual benediction,
and his last word is brethren, for he still owns the Galatians as
Christians in a brotherly relation with himself, and he wishes them
to receive the blessing of Christ. It is a Christian conclusion, and
one of well-wishing. That is all.
Z 2
INDEX
[The Numerals refer to the Pages A
Abraham, u6ff.. 292, 298, 314.
Achaia, 13, 20, 22. 163, 258.
Acts, silence of, 62.
Acts of Paul and Thecla, 76, 82.
Adoption. 66, 308.
Advent, Second, 30, 43, 48, 55,
164, 205. 233, 251.
Allegory, 314.
Ambrose, St., 16.
Amphipolis, 6.
Amyntas, 75.
Ananias, 264.
Ancyra, 58, 59.
Andronicus. 257.
Angel, 83, 228, 262, 300, 312.
Antichrist, 37. 244.
Antioch in Pisidia, 59, 73 ff.. 77.
Antioch in Syria, 15, 77, 84, 95,
278.
Antiochus Epiphanes, 244.
Antony, 75.
Apocalypse, The, 39.
Apocalypse of Enoch, 46.
Apocalypses, Jewish, 30. 41.
Apollonia, 6.
Apostle, 257.
Apostles, 267.
Arabia, 267.
Archangel, 201.
Arethusa, Pass of, 7.
Asia Minor, interior of, 64, 102
Ask with. Galatia:s, 72, note.
Athens, 19. 21, 23, 174, 177.
196. 221.
Attalia, 77, 84.
Augustin, 317.
Authorized Version, 1331!'.
Balkans, 64, 77.
Barnabas. 67, 77tT. , 258, 270.
271, 276, 281.
Bartlet, Prof., 277.
Baur on 1 Thess., 17, 18.
— 2 Thess., 38.
— Galatians. 102, 276.
Bercea, 19.
i Bewitch, 289.
i Brethren, false. 273.
; Browning, 226.
1 Burden-bearing, 330.
I Caesar, Decrees of, 11.
i Caligula, 243.
Calling, 231.
j Callistus, 196.
1 Catacombs. 196.
I Catullus, 196.
{ Celtic fickleness, 101.
Cephas, no, 113, 272, 275.
Chrysostom, 254.
Church officers, 211.
Churches of God. 226.
Cilicia. 269.
Circumcision. 275, 322, 324.
Claudiconium, 75.
Claudius, 75, r73_
Clement of Alexandria on
2 Thess.. 37.
INDEX
341
Clouds, 20 1 .
Coin at Lystra, 76.
Coleridge, 214.
Colossians, 13.
Conybeare and Howson. 78,
note.
Corinth, 15, 19, 20, 22, 23. 97.
Covenant. 297.
Cross, 337.
Cybele, 105, 325.
Damascus, 264, 267, 268.
Day of the Lord, 204.
Decrees, 103.
Demons, 234.
Derbe, 59, 76, 84.
Eastern churches, 22.
Ebionites, 125, 171.
Egoism, 26.
Election, 161.
Enoch, Apocalypse oj\ 46.
Ephesians, 13.
Ephesus, 15, 96.
Epistle, Forged, 235.
Erastus, 258.
Eternal, 229.
Eusebius on 2 Thess., 38.
Famine, 271.
Fire, flaming, 228.
For, meaning 'on behalf of, '209.
Galatia, 15, 58 ff., 259.
— Visits to, 86.
Galatian churches, 77 ff., 259.
— cities, 73 ff.
— perversion, 260.
Galatians, Epistle to, 25, 58,
258, 289.
— compared with Romans, 9 iff.
— contents, 126 ft".
— date, 87 ff.
— literary style and charac-
teristics, 122 ff.
— occasion, 97.
Galatians, Epistle to, place of
origin, 95 ff.
— purpose, 106 ff.
— teaching, 112 ff.
Galatians, Who were the, 58 ff.
Garrod. Mr., 227, 228, 232, 234,
238, 247, 249.
Gaul, 58.
Gentile habits, 105.
Gentiles, 276, 280.
God of Peace, 217.
Godet on 1 Thess., 17.
Gospel, Paul's, 109, 272.
Greeks, 8.
Grenfell and Hunt, 297.
Gudelissin, 76.
Hagar, 314.
Harnack, dates, 196.
— on 1 Thess., 17.
Harris, Dr. Rendel,on 1 Thess.,
24.
Heresies, 328.
Hermes, 83.
Hilgenfeld on 2 Thess., 36.
Holiness, 185.
Holtzmann on 1 Thess., 17.
Homer, 195, 200.
Hope, 196.
Hort, Judaistic Christianity, 277.
Iconium, 59.
Ignatius, 211.
Inheritance, 66.
Irenaeus on 1 Thess., 17.
— 2 Thess., 37.
Isaac, 315.
Isauria, 59.
Ishmael, 315.
James, no, 269, 272, 275.
James, Epistle of, 4, in.
Jason, n.
Jerusalem, 15. 104, 267, 268,
270.
— church, 111.
— council, 277.
342 THESSALONIANS AND GALATIANS
Jerusalem above, 317
Jewish Christians, 99.
Jews, 8. 101.
John, no, 272, 275.
Josephus, 216, 278, 298.
Judaea, 171, 269.
Judaism, 50, 103.
Judaizing Christians, 18, 118,
125.
— Danger of, 320.
Junias, 257.
Junius, Letters of, 4.
Jus Italicum, 73.
Justify, the word, 1x4, 283.
Justin Martyr, 8.
— on 2 Thess., 37.
— on The Lord's Supper, 211.
Khatyn Serai, 75.
Kingdom of Heaven, 30, 169.
Konia, 74.
Laconia, 70.
Lactantius, 205.
Latin, Old, 1 Thess., 18.
Law. Place and function 0^299.
— Curse of, 293.
— of Christ, 331.
Lawless one, 240.
Leaven, 323.
Lex talionis. 213.
Light, Sons of, 203, 206.
Lightfoot on Galatians, 58 ff.,
87, 258.
Literary style, Paul's, 47.
Literature, 129, 130.
Lord's brother, The, 269.
Love of brethren, 192.
Luther, 121, 283.
Lycaonia, 59, 75.
Lycus Valley, 13.
Lystra, 59, 75 ff., 312.
Macedonia, 5ff., 15, 19. 163,
i93> 258.
Magistrates, 11
Mahomet, 243.
Man of sin, 42, 50, 243 ff.
Marcion. 118.
Marcion's Canon on 1 Thess.
17-
— 2 Thess., 37.
Marks of Jesus, 339.
Massie, Prcf., 307.
Mediator, 300.
Messiah, 30.
Milan, 16.
Milton, 199, 230.
Minister, 177.
Miracles, 291.
Mithra. 309.
Montanism, 125.
Mosaic law, 104.
Moses, 300.
Muratorian Fragment on
1 Thess., 18.
— 2 Thess., 37.
Mysia, 71.
Mystery, 239.
Napoleon, 243.
Nazarenes, 171
Neapolis, 7.
Nero, 243.
Nestle, 193.
Newman's Apologia, 100.
Normans, 16.
North Galatia, Remoteness of,
63 ff.
Objections to South Galatian
theory, 68 ff.
Origen, 279.
Pamphylia, 311.
Paroitsia, 176, 195, 227, 233.
Patience of Christ, 251.
Paul, conversion, 263.
— description, 82.
dispute with Peter, 278.
— infirmity, 311.
— name and titles, 157
INDEX
343
Paul, personal claim, io6fl
defence, 263.
Perga, 77, 311.
Pessinus, 58.
Pfieiderer on 1 Thess., 17.
Philippi, 6, 7, 10, 15, 165.
Philo, 218, 315.
Phrygia, 59, 71.
Phrygians, 65, 105.
Pisidia, 59.
Plato, 200, 213, 217.
Politarch, 11.
Polycarp on 2 Thess., 36, 37.
Prophesy ings, 216.
Proselytes, 8.
Pythoness, 10.
Ramsay, Prof., 12.
— on Galatia, 59 ff., 88.
Region, Phrygian and Galatian,
70.
Renan, 309.
Restraineth, He that, 238.
Revelation, 227, 264, 272.
— Book of, 43.
Righteousness, 288, 301.
Roman government, 244.
Rudiments of the world, 306.
Ruskin, 122.
Saints, 186, 230.
Saloniki, 5, 16.
Salutations, Opening, 223
Samothrace, 7.
Saracens, 16.
Satan, 19, 24, 174, 179, 241, 250.
Schmidt on 2 Thess., 38
Seleucus Nicanor, 73.
Shakespeare, 199, 230, 239, 283,
299.
Sibylline Oracle, 205.
Silas, 7, 19, 20, 157.
Silvanus, 21, 54, 157. 225.
Sinai, 316.
Sonship, 305.
Sophocles, 195.
Sorcery, 327.
South Galatians, 65 ff.
Steck, 102.
Sterrett, Prof., on Derbe. 76.
Sultan-Dagh, 74.
Syria, 269.
Syriac, 1 Thess., 18.
Tavium, 58.
Teachers, 352.
Tertullian on 1 Thess., 18.
— on 2 Thess., 37.
— thorn in flesh, 311.
Testament, 67.
Testament of Solomon, 307
Theocritus, 196.
Theodosius, 16.
Thessalonians, I, 133 ff, 157 ff.
— characteristics and leading
ideas, 26 ff.
— contents, 33 ff.
— genuineness, 1 7 ff.
— occasion, place, and date of
origin, 21 ff.
— relation to 2 Thess., 39 ff.
Thessalonians, II, 32, 222.
— characteristics, 54.
— contents, 56, 57.
— date and place of origin, 53
— genuineness, 36 ff.
— objects of the Epistle, 48.
Thessalonica, 4 ff.
— Church at, 12 ff., 158.
— Mission at, 165.
Thief in the night, 40, 204.
Thrace, 6.
Times and Seasons, 203.
Timothy, 7, 16, 19, 20, 21, 24,
25, 54- 158, 180, 225, 258..
324-
Timothy's mission, 176.
Titus, 15, 258, 271, 273.
Token, Paul's, 256.
Traditions, 247, 265.
Trench, Synonyms, 203.
Trophimus, 259.
Trump of God. 201.
344 THESSALONIANS AND GALATIANS
Turks, 16.
Turner, Mr., 271, 279.
Twelve Apostles, Teaching of,
257.
Tychicus, 259.
Vessel, 189.
Via Egnatia, 7.
Wills, Greek and Roman, 67.
Women, Chief, 9.
Word of the Lord. 163, i98
Work with hands, 168, 194,33.
Xenop]
ion. 200.
Zahn on 1 Thess , \q.
Zeus, 83.
ZOckler, Dr., 96.
Zoska, 76.
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