THE EPISTLES OF PAUL.
1. The apostolic epistles are a natural sequence of the office and work
committed by the Saviour to the apostles. They were the primitive
preachers of the gospel, and, under Christ, the founders of the
Christian church. From the necessity of the case they had a general
supervision of all the local churches, and their authority in them was
supreme in matters of both faith and practice. It was to be expected,
therefore, that they should teach by writing, as well as by oral
instruction. It does not appear, however, that epistolary correspondence
entered originally into their plan of labor. Their great Master taught
by word of mouth only, and they followed his example. "We," said the
twelve, "will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry
of the word." Acts 6:4. It was only when circumstances made it
necessary, that some of them took up the pen to write to the churches.
Passing by for the present the disputed question of the time when the
epistle of James was written, and assuming that the conversion of Paul
took place about A.D. 36, we have an interval of at least sixteen years
between this event and the date of his earliest epistles, those to the
Thessalonians, written about A.D. 53. The apostles did not regard
themselves as letter-writers, but as preachers of the word. They took up
the pen only when some special occasion made it necessary. The apostolic
epistles are _incidental_; and for this very reason they are eminently
life-like and practical. In respect to themes, and the manner of
handling them, they present a rich variety. All the great questions of
faith and practice that have agitated the Christian church since the
apostolic age come up for discussion in these letters, not indeed, in
their ever-varying outward forms, but in their great underlying
principles. Thus the providence of God has provided in them a rich
storehouse of truths for the instruction and edification of believers to
the end of time.
2. Of the twenty-one epistles contained in the New Testament _fourteen_
belong to Paul (if we include the anonymous letter to the Hebrews), all
written in the prosecution of his great work as the apostle to the
Gentiles. The Saviour's personal ministry was restricted to the Jews,
and so was that of the twelve apostles and the seventy disciples whom he
sent forth before his crucifixion. Matt. 10:5, 6; 15:24; Luke 10:1. But
his last command was: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost." Matt. 28:19. In carrying into execution this command, which
involved such an immense change in the outward form of God's visible
earthly kingdom, it was necessary--
(1) That the apostles should insist very earnestly and fully on the
great fundamental doctrine of the gospel, that men have justification
and eternal life, not through the law of Moses, or any other possible
system of works, but _through faith in Jesus Christ_; a doctrine which
cuts up Pharisaism by the roots.
(2) That, since faith in Christ is the common ground of justification
for Jews and Gentiles, _both were to be admitted upon equal terms_ to
all the rights and privileges of the Christian church; the ancient
prerogative of the Jews above the Gentiles being done away in Christ.
(3) Still further, that since the Gentiles had justification and
salvation not through the law of Moses, but through faith alone, _the
Mosaic law was not to be imposed upon them_. This was virtually
announcing its abolition, its types and shadows having been fulfilled in
Christ.
(4) That this removal of "the middle wall of partition" between the Jews
and Gentiles was _in accordance with Moses and the prophets_--not a
change of God's original plan, but only the full accomplishment of it.
Acts 15:15-18; Rom. 3:21, 31; 4:6-25; Gal. 3:6-9.
We have seen how this great work was begun by the gift of the Holy
Spirit, in connection with the preaching of the gospel, first to the
Samaritans (Acts 8:5-17), and afterwards to the Gentiles (Acts 10;
11:20-26, etc.); and how it was completed, so far as concerns the
_principles_ involved in it, by the solemn decree of the apostles and
the elders (Acts 15:1-29).
3. But for the _realization_ of these principles in the actual preaching
of the gospel to the Gentile nations, and the establishment of Christian
churches among them which should embrace on equal terms Jews and
Gentiles, a man of very peculiar qualifications was raised up in the
providence of God. Saul of Tarsus was a Jew, brought up in Jerusalem at
the feet of Gamaliel, thoroughly instructed in the law and the prophets,
and able therefore to speak with authority concerning the Old Testament
to both Jews and Gentiles. His indomitable energy and fiery zeal, united
with rare practical wisdom, had made him the foremost man in persecuting
the Christians. When the proper time had come Jesus met him on the road
to Damascus with converting power, and all his superior education and
endowments were thenceforth consecrated to the work of preaching the
faith which once he destroyed, especially to the Gentile world. But in
this matter he felt and acted as a Jew. He did not separate himself
abruptly from his countrymen. Cherishing towards them the tenderest
affection, they were everywhere the first objects of his Christian
effort. Into whatever city he went, he first sought the Jewish
synagogue, and there he "reasoned with them out of the Scriptures," Acts
13:14; 14:1; 17:2, 10; 18:4; 19:8. It was only when they persisted in
opposing and blaspheming, that he desisted from further effort among
them and turned to the Gentiles. Acts 13:45-47; 18:6; 19:9. Wherever he
went he encountered the bitterest persecution on the part of his own
countrymen, because of the prominence which he gave to the great
evangelical principles above considered--that men have justification not
wholly or in part through the Mosaic law, but simply through faith in
Christ, and that in him the distinction between Jews and Gentiles is
abolished. Even the believing Jews found it hard to apprehend these
truths in their fullness. In the narrowness of their Jewish prejudices
they were anxious to impose on the Gentile converts the yoke of the
Mosaic law. This, Paul steadfastly resisted, and it is to his defence of
Gentile liberty that we owe, in great measure, those masterly
discussions on the ground of justification, and the unity of Jews and
Gentiles in Christ, which are so prominent in his epistles. Yet with his
uncompromising firmness of principle he united remarkable flexibility in
regard to the means of success. To those who would impose circumcision
on the Gentiles he "gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour." Gal.
2:5. But where no great principle was concerned, he was willing to
circumcise Timothy, out of regard to the feelings of the Jews; thus
becoming, in his own words, "all things to all men." 1 Cor. 9:22.
4. The peculiar character of the apostle's style is obvious to every
reader. It is in an eminent degree argumentative. He "reasoned with
them," says Luke, "out of the Scriptures." These words describe
accurately the character of both his epistles and his addresses to the
Jews as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. In addressing a Gentile
audience at Athens, he still "reasoned with them;" but it was now from
the inscription on one of their altars, from certain of their own poets,
and from the manifestations in nature of God's power and Godhead. His
reasoning takes occasionally the form of an argument within an argument.
He pauses by the way to expand some thought, and does not return again
to complete in grammatical form the sentence which he had begun; so that
his style sometimes becomes complex and obscure. The versatility of the
apostle's mind, which made him equally at home in discussing subjects
the most varied, appears in his style also. It naturally takes the
complexion of his themes. To understand this one has only to compare the
epistle to the Romans with those to the Corinthians; the epistle to the
Galatians with that to the Ephesians; and all these with the epistles to
the Philippians and Thessalonians. His style may be compared to a clear
window, which shows with fidelity the ever varying forms and scenes that
pass before it.
5. The commentaries that have been written on the epistles of Paul would
themselves constitute a large library. Our own century has been very
fruitful in them, and some of them are accessible to every reader. For
this reason our notice of the separate epistles may well be brief. Our
aim will be to give the occasion of each, its chronological order in the
series, its connection with the apostle's missionary labors, its scope,
and the office which it accomplishes in the plan of revelation.
In connection with Paul's epistles the reader should carefully
study the history of his life and labors, as given in the Acts
of the Apostles. From Acts 9:23-26 compared with Gal. 1:16-18,
we learn that the first three years after Paul's conversion were
spent at Damascus and in Arabia. Then he went up to Jerusalem,
but after a short sojourn there was driven away by the
persecution of the Jews, and retired to his native city, Tarsus
in Cilicia. Acts 9:29, 30. After an interval of some time, which
he spent "in the regions of Syria and Cilicia" (Gal. 1:21),
"Barnabas departed to Tarsus, for to seek Saul. And when he had
found him, he brought him unto Antioch." Acts 11:25, 26. This is
supposed to have been about A.D. 43, seven or eight years after
his conversion.
Here begins his recorded public ministry _in Antioch and from
Antioch as a centre_. See above, Chap. 29, No. 38. It embraces
_three_ great missionary tours (Acts 13:1, etc.; 15:36, etc.;
18:23, etc.), and _four_ visits to Jerusalem besides that
already noticed. Acts 11:27-30 compared with 12:25; 15:2; 18:22;
21:15. The last of these ended in his captivity and
imprisonment, first at Cesarea and afterwards at Rome, with an
intervening perilous voyage and shipwreck. Acts chap. 21-28. See
the incidents of Paul's life chronologically arranged in
Davidson's Introduct. to New Test., vol. 2, pp. 110-112, with
the annexed table; in Horne's Introduct., vol. 4, pp. 490-495;
in Conybeare and Howson, vol. 2, Appendix 2; and in the
commentaries of Hackett, Alford, Wordsworth, etc.
6. As the epistles of Paul stand in the New Testament, they are not
arranged in chronological order. The principle of arrangement seems to
have been, first, those to _churches_, then, those to _individuals_; the
further order being that of _relative size_, with this modification;
that two epistles addressed to the same church should stand together,
and that the last of them, which is always the shorter, should determine
their place in the series. Where the epistles are about equal in size,
it seems to have been the design to arrange them chronologically. The
catholic epistles are arranged upon the same plan. The epistle to the
Hebrews, as being anonymous, now stands after those which bear the name
of Paul. But in many Greek manuscripts it is placed after 2
Thessalonians, consequently between the epistles addressed to churches
and those to individuals.
The student of these epistles should carefully note the
chronological order, because, as Wordsworth remarks (Preface to
Commentary on the Epistles), the mutual illustration which the
Acts of the Apostles and the apostolic epistles receive from
each other "is much impaired if the apostolic epistles are not
studied in connection with and in the order of the apostolic
history." The following is the chronological order of the
epistles, as far as it can be ascertained, though (as will
hereafter appear) some uncertainty exists in respect to several
of them:
1 Thessalonians . . . about A.D. 53
2 Thessalonians . . . about A.D. 53
Galatians . . . . . . about A.D. 56 or 57
1 Corinthians . . . . about A.D. 57
2 Corinthians . . . . about A.D. 57
Romans . . . . . . . about A.D. 58
Ephesians . . . . . . about A.D. 62
Colossians . . . . . about A.D. 62
Philemon . . . . . . about A.D. 62
Philippians . . . . . about A.D. 63
Hebrews . . . . . . . uncertain.
1 Timothy . . . . . . about A.D. 65
Titus . . . . . . . . about A.D. 65
2 Timothy . . . . . . about A.D. 66
Arranged according to the order of time the thirteen epistles
which bear the name of Paul naturally fall into _four groups_:
(1) the two epistles to the Thessalonians, written during the
apostle's _second_ missionary journey recorded Acts 15:36-18:22;
(2) the epistles to the Galatians, Corinthians, and Romans,
written during his _third_ missionary journey, Acts 18:23-21:15;
(3) the epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and
Philippians, written during Paul's imprisonment in Rome, Acts
28:16-31 (some suppose the first three to have been written
during his imprisonment at Cesarea, Acts 23:35-26:32); (4) the
pastoral epistles, the first and third probably written after
his recorded imprisonment in Rome, and the second during a
second imprisonment after the publication of the Acts of the
Apostles, and which ended in his martyrdom A.D. 67 or 68.
The epistles of Paul will now be considered in the usual order, except
that the three to the Ephesians, Colossians. and Philemon, which are
contemporaneous, will be taken together.
I. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
7. The _date_ of the epistle to the Romans, as well as the _place_ where
it was written, can be gathered with much certainty from the epistle
itself, taken in connection with other notices respecting Paul found in
the Acts of the Apostles. He was about to bear alms to his brethren in
Judea from Macedonia and Achaia. Chap. 15:25, 26. He had previously
exhorted the church of Corinth in Achaia to make this very collection,
which he was to receive of them when he came to them through Macedonia.
1 Cor. 16:1-6. That he was also to bring with him a collection from the
Macedonian churches is manifest from 2 Cor. 8:1-4; 9:1-4. He wrote,
moreover, from Corinth; for among the greetings at the close of the
epistle is one from "Gaius mine host" (chap. 16:23), a Corinthian whom
he had baptized (1 Cor. 1:14); he commends to them Phebe, a deaconess of
the church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth, chap. 16:1; and he
speaks of "the city" where he is as well known (chap. 16:23), which can
be no other than Corinth. Now by comparing Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 24:17, we
find that he was then on his way to Jerusalem through Macedonia and
Greece, for the last time recorded in the New Testament. The epistle to
the Romans, then, was written from Corinth during the apostle's third
missionary tour and second abode in that city, about A.D. 58. It is the
sixth of his epistles in the order of time, and stands in near
connection with those to the Galatians and Corinthians, which were
apparently written during the previous year.
8. Concerning the founding of the church at Rome we have no information.
At the date of this epistle Paul had not visited it. Chaps. 1:10-15;
15:23, 24. Of its _composition_, however, we have more certain
knowledge. Founded in the metropolis of the Roman empire, where, as we
know from many notices of ancient writers, many Jews resided, it must
have been of a mixed character, embracing both Jews and Gentiles; with
this agree the contents of the present epistle. That the Gentile element
largely predominated in the church at Rome appears from the general
tenor of the epistle. Chaps. 1:13; 11:13-25, 30, 31; 15:16. That it had
also a Jewish element is plain from the whole of chap 2, and the
precepts in chap. 14.
9. The _occasion_ of writing seems to have been of a general character.
The apostle had often purposed to visit Rome, but had been as often
hindered. Chap. 1:13. To compensate in part for this failure, he wrote
the present epistle, having, as it appears, an opportunity to send it by
Phebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea. Chap. 16:1. The apostle's
_design_, like the occasion of his writing, was general. It was natural
that, in addressing a church which he had long desired to visit, he
should lay himself out to unfold the gospel of Christ in its deep
foundation principles, as a plan of salvation provided for the whole
world, and designed to unite Jews and Gentiles in one harmonious body,
on the common platform of faith in Christ. He first shows that the
Gentiles are under the dominion of sin (chap. 1:18-32), and the Jews
also (chap. 2), so that both alike are shut up to salvation by grace.
Chap. 3. He connects the gospel plan of salvation immediately with the
Old Testament by showing that Abraham, the father of the Israelitish
people, was justified by faith, not by the works of the law or any
outward rite; so that he is the father of all who walk in the steps of
his faith, whether Jews or Gentiles. Chap. 4. He then sets forth the
love of God in Christ, who is the second Adam, sent to restore the race
from the ruin into which it was brought by the sin of the first Adam
(chap. 5); and shows that to fallen sinful men the law cannot give
deliverance from either its condemnatory sentence or the reigning power
of sin, so that its only effect is to work wrath, while the
righteousness which God gives through faith in Christ sets men free from
both the curse of the law and the inward power of sin, thus bringing
them into a blessed state of justification, sanctification, and holy
communion with God here, with the hope of eternal glory hereafter.
Chaps. 6-8. Since the doctrine of the admission of the Gentiles to equal
privileges with the Jews, and the rejection of the unbelieving part of
the Jewish nation, was exceedingly offensive to his countrymen, the
apostle devotes three entire chapters to the discussion of this
momentous theme. Chaps. 9-11. He then proceeds to draw from the whole
subject, as he has unfolded it, such practical exhortations in respect
to daily life and conduct as were adapted to the particular wants of the
Roman Christians--entire consecration of soul and body to God in each
believer's particular sphere (chap. 12); obedience to magistrates (chap.
13:1-7); love and purity (chap. 13:8-14); mutual respect and forbearance
(chaps. 14:1-15:7). He then returns to the great theme with which he
began, that Christ is the common Saviour of Jews and Gentiles, in
connection with which he refers to his office and labors as "the
minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles" (chap. 15:8-21), and closes
with miscellaneous notices and salutations (chaps. 15:22-16:27).
10. From the above brief survey the special _office_ of the epistle to
the Romans is manifest. In no book of the New Testament is the great
doctrine of justification by faith so fully unfolded. The apostle sets
it in vivid contrast with the Pharisaical idea of justification by the
Mosaic law, and, by parity of reason, of justification by every other
system of legalism; showing that it is only by grace through Christ that
men can be delivered from either the guilt of sin or its reigning power
in the soul, while the effect of the law is only to excite and irritate
men's corrupt passions without the power to subdue them. The place,
therefore, which this epistle holds in the understandings and affections
of believers must be a good measure of their progress in the Christian
life.
II. EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS.
11. THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS was written _from Ephesus_, not
far from the time of Pentecost (chap. 16:8); not from Philippi,
according to the subscription appended to it. It was during Paul's
second and last visit to that city, as we learn from his directions
concerning a collection for the saints at Jerusalem, and his promise to
come to the Corinthians through Macedonia (chap. 16:1-5); for when Paul
left Ephesus after his second sojourn there he went by Macedonia and
Achaia (of which province Corinth was the capital) to Jerusalem to bear
alms. Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 24:17. Paul's second stay in Ephesus, during
which time some think that he made a short visit to Corinth not
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, which would be the _second_ in
order, that promised in this and the second epistle being the _third_ (2
Cor. 12:14; 13:1), extended over the space of about three years. Acts
19:1-10; 20:31. From his words (chap. 16:3-8), we gather that the
epistle was written not long before the close of this period.
Chronologists generally place it about A.D. 57.
12. The _occasion_ of his writing was more specific than when he penned
his epistle to the Romans. Corinth, the renowned capital of the Roman
province Achaia, situated on the isthmus that connects the southern
peninsula of Greece--the ancient Peleponnesus and the modern Morea, and
enjoying the advantage of two ports was alike distinguished for its
wealth and progress in the arts, and for its luxury and dissoluteness of
morals. Here the apostle had labored a year and six months, and gathered
a flourishing church embracing some Jews, but consisting mostly of
Gentiles. Acts 18:1-11; 1 Cor. 12:2. These Gentile converts, having just
emerged from the darkness and corruption of heathenism (chap. 6:9-11),
and living in the midst of a dissolute community (chap. 5:9, 10), did
not wholly escape the contamination of heathenish associations and
heathenish vices. Chaps. 5, 6, 8, 10. Taking a low and worldly view of
the Christian church and the spiritual endowments of its several
members, they were led into party strifes and rivalries. Chaps. 1:11-13;
3:3-7. Certain vain-glorious teachers, moreover, had come in among them
with a great show of worldly wisdom, who disparaged Paul's apostolical
standing, taught the people to despise the simplicity of his teachings,
and sought to supplant him in the confidence and affections of the
Corinthian church. Chaps. 4, 9; 2 Cor. 10-13. In addition to this,
certain disorders and abuses had crept into their public assemblies
(chaps. 11, 12, 14), and some among them denied the doctrine of the
resurrection. Chap. 15. According to the most probable interpretation of
chap. 5:9, the apostle had already written them a letter on some of
these points which has not come down to us, and the Corinthians
themselves had written to the apostle, asking his advice on some points
of a practical character, particularly in respect to the marriage
relation in their present state of trial. Chap. 7:1. The occasion, then,
of writing this epistle, which gives also its _scope_ and _office_, was
to correct the above named errors and abuses, of which he had received
accurate information, and also to answer the inquiries of the
Corinthians in their letter. In this work the apostle employs now sharp
rebuke, now tender expostulation, and now earnest and impassioned
argument. The party strifes among the Corinthians he meets by showing
that Christ himself is the only head of the church, that all gifts are
from him, and are to be used to his glory in the edification of
believers. Chaps. 1:13, 14, 30, 31; 3:5-23. The vain-glorious boasting
of their leaders he exposes by showing the emptiness and impotence of
their pretended wisdom in comparison with the doctrine of Christ
crucified, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God for the
salvation of all that believe, without regard to the distinctions of
worldly rank. Chaps. 1:18-2:16; 3:18-20. The abuses and disorders that
had crept into the church he rebukes with apostolical severity; and in
correcting them, as well as in answering the questions of the
Corinthians, he makes an application of the general principles of the
gospel to the several cases before him which is full of practical
wisdom--the incestuous person (chap. 5:8), companionship with the
vicious (chap. 5:9-13), litigation among brethren (chap. 6:1-8), fleshly
indulgence (chap. 6:9-20), the inquiries of the Christians in respect to
marriage (chap. 7), meats offered to idols and sundry questions
connected with them (chaps. 8, 10), disorders in the public assemblies
(chap. 11), spiritual gifts with a beautiful eulogy on love (chaps.
12-14), the doctrine of the resurrection (chap. 15). He also defends his
apostolical character and standing against his opposers, though by no
means so earnestly and fully as in the following epistle. Chaps. 4, 9.
Thus it comes to pass that the present epistle contains a remarkable
variety of topics, and gives us a fuller and clearer insight into the
practical working of Christianity in the primitive apostolic churches
than that furnished by any other of Paul's epistles, or, indeed, any
other book of the New Testament. The great principles, moreover, which
he lays down in meeting the particular wants of the Corinthian church
remain valid for all time; shedding from age to age a clear and steady
light, by which every tempest-tossed church may, God helping it by his
grace, steer its way into the haven of peace and prosperity.
13. The reader cannot fail to notice the remarkable contrast between the
tone of this epistle and that to the Galatians, which belongs in the
order of time to the same group. See above, No. 6. The errors of the
Corinthians were not fundamental, like those of the Galatians. They
built upon the true foundation, Jesus Christ; but marred the building by
the introduction of base materials--the "wood, hay, stubble" of human
wisdom, instead of the "gold, silver, precious stones" of the truth as
Paul had taught it. The false teachers among the Galatians, on the
contrary, sought to subvert the very foundations of Christianity by
bringing in a system of legal justification. In writing to the
Galatians, therefore, Paul contends, with apostolic severity, for the
very substance of the gospel, but in addressing the Corinthians, he
seeks only to purify the gospel from the admixture of human additions.
14. THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS was written not many months
after the first, _from Macedonia_, where the apostle was occupied in
completing a collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem, with the
purpose of afterwards proceeding to Corinth that he might receive the
contribution of the Corinthian church also. Chaps. 8:1-4; 9:1-5. Whether
he wrote from Philippi, according to the subscription of the epistle, or
from some other place in Macedonia, cannot be determined.
15. The _occasion_ of writing was manifestly the report which he had
received from Titus (and as is generally inferred from 1 Cor. 4:17;
16:10, from Timothy also). He had sent Titus to Corinth with the
expectation that he would bring tidings thence to Troas, where he hoped
to find him on his way from Ephesus to Macedonia. But in this he was
disappointed. He therefore hastened from Troas to Macedonia, where he
met Titus and learned from him the effect of his first epistle. Chaps.
2:12, 13; 7:6; 12:18. So far as the main body of the Corinthian
Christians was concerned, this was highly favorable, and for it the
apostle devoutly thanks God (chap. 7:6, 7); commends their prompt
obedience (chap. 7:11); directs them to restore the excommunicated
person (chap. 2:5-10); and discusses very fully the matter of the
collection for the poor Christians at Jerusalem (chaps. 8, 9). But the
very success of his first epistle with the better part of the church had
embittered his enemies, and made them more determined in their
opposition to him. They accused him of levity in changing his original
plan of visiting the Corinthian church on his way to Macedonia (chap.
1:15-17); of uttering threats which he would not dare to execute when
present among them (chap. 10:9-11); of making a gain of them by indirect
means (chap. 12:16-18); and sought in various ways to disparage his
apostolical character and standing. This led him to dwell with great
earnestness on the fullness of his apostolic credentials, the purity of
his apostolic life, and the abundance of his labors and sufferings in
behalf of Christ's cause, always with reference more or less direct to
his enemies. With these personal notices of himself are interwoven
exalted views of the dignity of the ministerial office, and the true
spirit and manner in which its weighty duties are to be performed. See
chaps. 2:14-7:16; chaps. 10-13. The prominence which the apostle is thus
forced to give to his own person and labor constitutes the most
remarkable feature of the present epistle. To the same cause are due the
peculiarities of its diction, and its rapid transitions from one theme
and tone to another. "Consolation and rebuke, gentleness and severity,
earnestness and irony, succeed one another at very short intervals and
without notice." Alford, Introduction to this Epistle. All this came
about by the wisdom of God, who placed his servant in such circumstances
that fidelity to the cause of truth compelled him unwillingly to set
forth in himself the character of a true minister of the gospel in
bright contrast with that of those vain-glorious and selfish men, who
under a show of great worldly wisdom, seek to create parties in the
church of Christ for their own private honor and emolument. The
particular occasion which called forth this epistle soon passed away;
but the epistle itself remains a rich treasure for all believers,
especially for all Christian teachers.
III. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS.
16. _Galatia_ is the Greek word answering to the Roman _Gallia_, that
is, _Gaul_. It was one of the central provinces of Asia Minor, and
received its name from the circumstance of its being inhabited by a
people of Gallic origin who came by the way of Byzantium and the
Hellespont in the third century before Christ. Two visits of the apostle
to Galatia are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles; the first, during
his second missionary journey (Acts 16:6); and the second, at the
beginning of his third journey (Acts 18:23). After which of these visits
the present epistle was written is a question that has been much
discussed, and answered in different ways. The most natural
interpretation, however, of chapter 4:13-16 leads to the conclusion that
it was after his _second_ visit. The course of the events seems to have
been as follows: He was suffering from an infirmity of the flesh when he
preached the gospel to the Galatians "_at the first_," that is, upon the
first visit (verse 13). Then they received him "as an angel of God, even
as Jesus Christ," and were filled with holy joy through simple faith in
Christ's name (verses 14, 15). Upon his _second_ visit he found it
necessary to warn them in very plain terms against the seductions of
false teachers, who were seeking to draw them away from the simplicity
of the gospel to faith in a system of works. But after his departure
these false teachers had great success; and the result was that the
affections of the Galatians were alienated from Paul, who was their
spiritual father. In view of this fact he asks (as we may render v. 16,
after Ellicott, in perfect accordance with the idiom of the Greek): "So
then, am I become your enemy, by speaking to you the truth?" that is
because in my recent visit I told you the truth. According to this view
the epistle belongs to the second group, and was written about A.D. 56
or 57. Farther than this we cannot go in determining the time. The
_place_ is uncertain. It may have been Ephesus, or Corinth, which cities
Paul visited in his third and last missionary journey, but it cannot
have been Rome, as the subscription erroneously gives it.
The subscriptions are of no authority. That to the present
epistle probably had its ground mainly in chapter 6:17, where
the writer was erroneously supposed to allude to the bodily
sufferings that he endured in connection with his last recorded
imprisonment.
17. The _occasion_ of this epistle, which gives also its _design_, was
very specific. The Galatian churches had begun well (chap. 5:7); but
soon after Paul's departure Judaizing teachers had drawn them away to
the very form of error noticed in the Acts of the Apostles (chap. 15:1);
"Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved."
They sought to impose on all the Gentile converts circumcision as
essential to salvation. Thus they placed justification on a _legal_
ground, and made faith in Christ a subordinate matter. This error was
fundamental. Paul therefore attacks it with unsparing severity, with
which, however, he mingles a wonderful tenderness of spirit. His
argument is for substance the same as that in the epistle to the Romans,
only that it takes from necessity a more controversial form, and is
carried out with more warmth and vehemence of expression. It is a divine
model of the way in which fundamental error should be dealt with.
18. The epistle naturally falls into three divisions. The _first_ is
mainly _historic_. Chaps. 1, 2. The false teachers had disparaged Paul's
apostolical standing, on the ground, apparently, that he was not one of
the original twelve, and had not been called immediately by Christ to
the apostleship, but had received his gospel from men. It would seem
also that they labored to make it appear that Paul's doctrine respecting
circumcision and the Mosaic law was contrary to that of Peter and the
other apostles of the circumcision. Paul accordingly devotes these two
introductory chapters to a vindication of his full apostolic standing.
He shows that his apostleship is "not of man neither by man, but by
Jesus Christ and God the Father" (chap. 1:1); that the gospel which he
preaches he neither received of man, nor was taught by man but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ (verses 11, 12); that, accordingly, upon his
call to the apostleship, he went not up to Jerusalem to receive
instruction from those who were apostles before him, but into Arabia,
whence he returned to Damascus (verses 15-17); that after three years he
made a brief visit of fifteen days to Peter, where he also saw James,
but had no personal acquaintance with the churches in Judea (verses
20-24); that fourteen years afterwards he went up to Jerusalem by
revelation, not to be instructed by the apostles there, but to confer
with them respecting "the gospel of the uncircumcision" which was
committed to him, and that he obtained the full recognition of "James,
Cephas, and John, who were reckoned as pillars" (chap. 2:1-10); and that
afterwards, when Peter was come to Antioch he withstood him to the face
on this very question of circumcision, because, through fear of his
Jewish brethren, he had dissembled and drawn others into dissimulation,
adding also the substance of the rebuke administered by him to Peter,
which contains an argument (drawn in part from Peter's own practice)
against compelling the Gentiles to live as do the Jews (verses 11-21).
Having thus vindicated his apostolic authority against the false
teachers in Galatia, he proceeds, in the _second_ part of the epistle,
to unfold the great _argument for justification by faith in Christ_. The
Galatians have received the Holy Spirit, with the accompanying
miraculous gifts, not by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ
(chap. 3:1-5); Abraham was justified by faith, as an example for all
future ages (verses 6-9,18); the law cannot bring justification to
sinners, but only condemnation (verses 10-12); from this condemnation
Christ delivers us, and makes us through faith the children of Abraham,
and heirs to all the promises which God made to him (verses 13, 14); the
Abrahamic covenant, conditioned on faith alone, is older than the Mosaic
law and cannot be disannulled by it (verses 15-17); the true office of
the law was to prepare men for the coming of Christ, in whom all
distinction between Jew and Gentile is abolished (verses 19-29); before
Christ the people of God were like a child that has not yet received the
inheritance, but is kept under tutors and governors, but through Christ
they are like the same child arrived at full age, and put in possession
of the inheritance (chap. 4:1-7). The apostle adds (chaps. 4:8-5:12)
various arguments and illustrations, with pointed allusions to the false
teachers who were subverting the simplicity of their faith in Christ;
and he solemnly warns the Galatian Christians that by receiving
circumcision they bind themselves to do the whole law--the whole law as
the ground of their justification. They have left Christ, and thus
fallen away from grace--forsaken a system of grace for one of works, so
that "Christ is become of no effect" to them. Chap. 5:3, 4.
The _third_ part (chaps. 5:13-6:18) is of a _practical_ character. The
apostle affectionately exhorts the Galatians to use their Christian
liberty in a worthy manner, mortifying fleshly lusts, restoring fallen
brethren in meekness, bearing one another's burdens, and being diligent
in every good work. In bringing the epistle to a close he contrasts the
vain-glory and hypocrisy of these Judaizing false teachers with his
steadfast purpose to glory only in the cross of Christ, in whom "neither
circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creature."
IV. EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, EPHESIANS, AND PHILEMON.
19. These three epistles are contemporaneous, in the sense that they
were written on the same general occasion, and forwarded at the same
time, though some days may have intervened between the composition of
the first and the last of them. They were all written when Paul was a
prisoner (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Col. 4:10; Philemon 1, 9, 10, 23), and
all sent virtually by Tychicus; for Onesimus, a servant whom Paul sent
back to his master, Philemon of Colosse, with a commendatory letter,
went in company with Tychicus. Eph. 6:21, 22; Col. 4:7-9. The epistle to
the Ephesians contains no salutations; but those of the other two, are,
with a single exception, sent from the same persons--Aristarchus,
Marcus, Epaphras, Luke, and Demas. If any further argument for their
contemporaneousness were needed, it could be found in the remarkable
agreement between the contents of the epistles to the Ephesians and
Colossians, extending not only to the thoughts but to the phraseology
also.
20. It is agreed that these three epistles were written during the
apostle's imprisonment in either _Cesarea_ or _Rome_; but from which of
these two places is a question on which biblical scholars differ, and
which cannot be answered with certainty, though the common opinion has
been that the apostle wrote from Rome. It is not necessary to review the
arguments advanced on the two sides. The reader who wishes to
investigate the matter will find them in commentaries and bible
dictionaries.
21. Another question is: In what _order_ were the epistles to the
Ephesians and Colossians written? Here we have only indirect
indications, and these not decisive. It is manifest, however, from a
comparison of the two epistles, that the apostle had a more specific
occasion for writing to the Colossians than to the Ephesians. It is
natural, therefore, to suppose that he first penned his letter to the
former church, and very soon afterwards, while his heart was yet warm
with the great theme of that letter--the personal glory and dignity of
Christ, and the union through him of both Jews and Gentiles in one holy
family--he wrote to the Ephesians among whom he had so long labored,
going over the same general course of thought, but with more fulness and
in a less argumentative tone. However this may be, it is certain that
the most convenient order of studying these two closely related epistles
is to begin with that to the Colossians and thence proceed to the other.
We propose to consider them in this order.
22. EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. Colosse was a city lying in the
southwestern part of Phrygia, in Asia Minor, in the neighborhood of
Laodicea and Hierapolis. Chap. 4:13, 16. Respecting the founding of the
church there we have no information. According to the most natural
interpretation of chap. 2:1, Paul had not visited Colosse in person when
he wrote the present epistle. The _occasion_ of his writing seems to
have been information received by him that false teachers were troubling
the Colossian church. That these men were Jews is plain from chap. 2:16,
20, 21; where the reference is to Jewish ordinances. But their doctrine
was not simple Phariseeism, like that of the false teachers among the
Galatians. They did not seek directly to substitute circumcision and the
Mosaic law for faith in Christ, as the ground of justification. They
seem rather to have been Christian Jews of an ascetic turn of mind, and
imbued with the semi-oriental philosophy of that day, which contained in
itself the seeds of the later Gnostic systems. Having no clear
apprehension of the glory of Christ's person and the fulness of the
salvation which his gospel offers to men, they sought to supplement the
Christian system by their ascetic practices and their speculations
concerning the orders of angels, whom they seem to have regarded as
mediators between God and men. To all this human philosophy the apostle
opposes directly the divine dignity and glory of Christ's person, and
the completeness of the redemption which he has provided for men.
The _Jewish_ character of these false teachers appears in their
insisting on meats and drinks, holy-days, new moons, and
Sabbaths (chap. 2:16, 20, 21); their _ascetic_ character, in
their doctrine concerning the mortification of the body (chap.
2:23); their _speculations concerning angels_, in the fact that
they are described as "delighting in humility and the worship of
angels" (chap. 2:18, 23). The apostle apparently refers to a
false humility which, under the pretence that God is too great
to be approached except through the mediation of angels, made
them instead of Christ the way of access to him, thus
disparaging the Redeemer's person and office.
23. In respect to _plan_, the epistle naturally falls into two parts of
about equal length. The _first_ is _argumentative_. Chaps. 1, 2. After
an introduction, in which the apostle thanks God that the Colossians
have been made partakers of the gospel, commends them for the
fruitfulness of their faith, and assures them of his incessant prayers
in their behalf (chap. 1:1-12), and passes to his great theme, which is
to set forth the divine dignity and glory of Christ's person. He is the
image of the invisible God, existing before all things, and the creator
and upholder of all things, those angelic orders included whom the false
teachers regarded as objects of worship (verses 15-17). He is also the
head of the church, and as such unites under himself all holy beings in
heaven and earth in one happy family (verses 18-22). In him all fulness
dwells, and all believers are complete in him; receiving through him a
spiritual circumcision which brings to them holiness of heart,
forgiveness of sins, and life from the dead (verses 11-13). Christ has
abolished by his death on the cross "the handwriting of ordinances"--the
Mosaic ordinances under the figure of a bond which was before of binding
force, but which he has annulled--so that the former ground of
separation between Jews and Gentiles is done away (2:14). By the same
death on the cross he has "spoiled principalities and powers"--the
powers of darkness, of which Satan is the head--openly triumphing over
them (verse 15). The Colossians, then, have all that they need in
Christ, and the apostle affectionately warns them against being spoiled
through the philosophy of these false teachers, which is a compound of
ignorance, self-conceit, and will-worship, void alike of reality and
power.
The _second_ part is _practical_. Chaps. 3, 4. The duties on which the
apostle insists come mainly under two general heads. The first is that
of a _heavenly temper of mind_ growing out of their resurrection with
Christ who sits at the right hand of God, and who shall appear again to
receive his disciples to himself, that they also may appear with him in
glory. In view of this animating hope he exhorts the Colossians to put
away all the sins belonging to their former state of heathenism. Chap.
3:1-8. The second is that of _mutual love and harmony_ arising from
their union with each other in Christ, whereby they have been made one
holy body, in which outward distinctions are nothing "but Christ is all
and in all." On this ground they are urged to cultivate all the graces
of the Spirit, the chief of which is love, and faithfully to discharge,
each one in his station, the mutual duty which they owe as husbands and
wives, as parents and children, as masters and servants. Chaps. 3:9-4:1.
They are admonished, moreover, to let the word of Christ dwell in them
richly for their mutual edification (chap. 3:16); to be single-hearted
in their aim to please Christ (verse 17); to be prayerful and vigilant
(chap. 4:2-4); and wise in their intercourse with unbelievers (verses 5,
6). The epistle closes with notices of a personal character intermingled
with salutations (verses 7-18).
In chap. 4:16 the apostle directs that this epistle be read also
in the church of the Laodiceans, and that the Colossians
likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. What was this epistle
from Laodicea? (1) Some think it was a letter written by the
church of Laodicea to Paul, and forwarded by him to the
Colossians. (2) Others understand it of an epistle of Paul to
the Laodiceans (perhaps forwarded along with the three epistles
now under consideration) and which the Colossians were to obtain
_from_ Laodicea. This is the most probable supposition. On the
attempt to identify this epistle with our canonical epistle to
the Ephesians see below.
24. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.--Ephesus, the metropolis of Proconsular
Asia, which comprehended the western provinces of Asia Minor, lay on the
coast of the Ægean sea between Smyrna on the north and Miletus on the
south. In the apostolic age it was a flourishing city, and renowned for
the temple of the heathen goddess Diana. Two visits of the apostle to
Ephesus are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, the latter of which
was prolonged through most of three years. Acts 18:19-21; chaps. 19;
20:31. The _occasion_ of writing this epistle seems to have been of a
very general nature. The apostle was sending a letter by Tychicus to the
Colossians, and embraced the opportunity to write to the Ephesians also.
In entire accordance with this supposition is the _general character_ of
the epistle. The apostle has no particular error to combat, as he had in
the case of the Colossians. He proceeds, therefore, in a placid and
contemplative frame of mind to unfold the great work of Christ's
redemption; and then makes a practical application of it, as in the
epistle to the Colossians, but with more fulness, and with some
important additions.
It has seemed surprising to many that the apostle should have
written in so general a strain to a church on which he had
bestowed so much labor, and where he had so many personal
friends; particularly that he should have omitted at the close
all salutations. To account for this various hypotheses have
been proposed. The words "_in Ephesus_" are omitted in the Sinai
and Vatican manuscripts, and there is reason for believing that
they were wanting in some other ancient manuscripts not now
extant. See the quotations from Basil the Great, and other
fathers in Alford, Ellicott, Meyer, and other critical
commentators. On this ground some have supposed that the present
epistle was intended to be _encyclical_--an epistle for general
circulation among the churches; others, that it is the
_Laodicean epistle_ referred to in Col. 4:16. But in favor of
the words "in Ephesus" there is an overwhelming weight of
evidence. They are sustained by all the versions and all the
manuscripts except the above. Besides, as every Greek scholar
knows, if these words are omitted, it compels the omission from
the original of the two preceding words which are found in every
manuscript and version--unless, indeed, we adopt the far-fetched
hypothesis that the apostle furnished Tychicus with two or more
copies of the epistle for different churches, leaving a _blank
space_ to be filled as occasion should require; and then it
becomes impossible to explain how the reading "in Ephesus"
should have been so universal in the manuscripts and versions.
There is no occasion for any of this ingenuity. The omission of
these words from single manuscripts is not wonderful. It finds a
parallel, as Alford remarks, in the omission of the words _in
Rome_ (Rom. 1:7) from one manuscript, whether from oversight or
for the purpose of generalizing the reference of its contents.
Nor can any valid objection be drawn from the general character
of the epistle. That depended much on the _occasion_ which
called it forth, which we have seen to have been general, and
the _frame of mind_ in which the apostle wrote. As to the
omission of salutations, we shall find upon examination that the
measure of Paul's personal acquaintance with the churches was
not that of his personal greetings. These abound most of all in
the epistle to the Romans whom he had never visited. Rom. 16.
They are found also in the epistle to the Colossians to whom
Paul was personally a stranger. Col. 4:10-14. On the contrary
they are wanting, except in a general form, in the epistles to
the Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians (in 2
Thessalonians wholly wanting as in this epistle), Titus, and the
first to Timothy. The other objections are founded on
misinterpretation, as when it is inferred from chap, 1:15 that
the author had never seen those to whom he wrote; and from chap,
3:2 that they had no personal acquaintance with him. But in the
former passage the apostle speaks simply of the good report
which had come to him from the Ephesian church since he left it;
and, in the latter, the words: "if ye have heard" imply no doubt
(compare 1 Peter 2:3), and cannot be fairly adduced to prove
that the writer was personally unknown to his readers.
25. This epistle, like that to the Colossians, naturally falls into two
divisions of about equal size; the first _argumentative_, the second
_practical_.
The _argumentative_ part occupies the first two chapters. Full of the
great theme with which the epistle to the Colossians is occupied--the
personal dignity and glory of Christ, the greatness of his salvation,
and especially the union through him of all holy beings in heaven and
earth in one family of God--the apostle begins, immediately after the
apostolic greeting, by pouring out his heart in thanksgiving to God for
his rich mercy, which has made him and his beloved Ephesians partakers
of Christ's redemption, the greatness and glory of which he describes in
glowing terms, bringing in, as he proceeds, the thought with which his
mind is filled, that it is God's purpose to "gather together in one all
things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth."
Chap. 1:10. He then adds a fervent prayer for the growth of the
Ephesians in the knowledge of Christ, whom God has raised above all
principality and power and made head over all things to his body the
church. Returning in the second chapter to the theme with which he
began, he contrasts with the former wretched condition of the Ephesians,
when they had no hope and were without God in the world, their present
blessed state, as fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household
of faith; God having through Christ broken down the middle wall of
partition between Jews and Gentiles, and built them all into a holy
temple upon one common foundation, of which Jesus Christ is the chief
corner stone. In the third chapter he dwells upon the grace of God which
had committed to him, in a special sense, the office of preaching among
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and adds a rapturous
prayer for the strengthening of the Ephesians through the Spirit in the
inner man, for their establishment in faith and love, and their
illumination in the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that they may
"be filled with all the fulness of God." Then follows a doxology in
which the apostle labors to find words wherewith to express his
conception of the greatness of God's power and grace through Jesus
Christ.
With the fourth chapter begins the _practical_ part of the epistle. He
begins with an exhortation to unity, the argument for which cannot be
abridged: "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in
one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Chap.
4:4-6. He next speaks of the diversity of gifts among believers, all of
which come from Christ, and have for their end the unity of the church
in faith and knowledge, and thus her stability (verses 7-16). Then
follow earnest admonitions to shun the vices of their former state of
heathenism, and cultivate all the graces of the Spirit. The mutual
relations of life are then taken up, as in the epistle to the
Colossians. Here occurs that grand digression in which the love of
Christ towards his church is compared with that of the husband towards
his wife. Chap. 5:23-32. The closing exhortation, in which the Christian
is compared to a warrior wrestling not with flesh and blood but with the
powers of darkness, and his heavenly panoply is described at length, is
(with the exception of the brief figure, 1 Thess. 5:8) peculiar to this
epistle and is very striking.
26. EPISTLE TO PHILEMON.--This short epistle is essentially of a private
character. It was sent to Colosse by Onesimus at the same time with the
epistle to the Colossians, of which Tychieus was the bearer. Col. 4:7-9.
The epistle itself plainly indicates its object. It is a plea for
Onesimus, the servant of Philemon, who had left his master and
apparently defrauded him (verse 18), but now returns to him a Christian.
As a model of Christian delicacy and courtesy it has been the admiration
of all ages.
V. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS.
27. The ancient name of Philippi was _Crenides_ (_Fountains_); but
Philip of Macedon fortified the place and called it after his own name.
It lay along the bank of a river on a plain in the eastern border of
Proconsular Macedonia, and was made a colony by Augustus in memory of
his victory gained there over Brutus and Cassius. Compare Acts 16:12.
Its port was Neapolis on the Ægean sea about twelve Roman miles to the
southeast of it. Philippi was the first place in Europe where the gospel
was preached by Paul, who had been summoned across the sea to Macedonia
by a vision. Acts 16:9. This was during his second missionary journey,
about A.D. 53. A record of his labors and sufferings on that occasion is
given in Acts 16:12-40. In his third missionary journey he twice visited
Macedonia, sailing the second time from Philippi, that is, from its port
Neapolis. Acts 20:1, 3-6.
28. The _occasion_ of this epistle seems to have been the contribution
made by the Philippians to supply the apostle's necessities while a
prisoner in Rome. Chap. 4:10-18. That he was a prisoner is plain from
chap. 1:13, 14, 16. That the _place_ of imprisonment was Rome is
inferred from the general tone of the epistle, which shows that the
apostle was awaiting a decision of his case, in accordance with his
appeal to Cæsar, with the confident expectation of a favorable result
(chaps. 1:19-25; 2:23, 24), and especially from the mention of Cæsar's
household (chap. 4:22). From chap. 2:23, 24 we infer, moreover, that the
time for a decision of his case was at hand. The date of this epistle,
then, was about A.D. 63.
The apostle speaks very confidently of a speedy release and
restoration to the work of his apostolic office. Chaps. 1:19,
25, 26; 2:24. This language is important in connection with the
two closely related questions, that of a second imprisonment at
Rome and that of the date of the pastoral epistles. See below,
No. 35.
29. The _character_ of this epistle answers well to its occasion. It is
a free outpouring of the apostle's heart towards his beloved
Philippians, who had remembered him in his bonds and sent Epaphroditus
to supply his wants. He bestows upon them no censure, unless the
suggestion to Euodias and Syntyche be regarded as such, but commends
them for their liberality, exhorts them to steadfastness in the
endurance of persecution, and admonishes them to maintain a deportment
which shall be in all things such as becomes the gospel, the several
parts of which he specifies in the course of the epistle, but not in any
very exact order. It is in connection with these admonitions that the
apostle, while insisting on the duty of humility and self-sacrificing
love, brings in that sublime description of the Saviour's original glory
and equality with God, which he laid aside for our redemption, taking
upon himself the form of a servant and submitting to the death of the
cross; for which act of self-abasement he is now exalted to be Lord of
heaven and earth. Chap. 2:5-11. Intermingled with the above named
commendations, exhortations, and counsels, are frequent notices
respecting himself, introduced in the most natural and artless manner,
and unfolding for our edification some of the deepest principles of
Christian character.
His faith in Christ and love for His cause raise him above the sphere of
human jealousies. He rejoices that Christ is preached, whether of
good-will or of envy, knowing that this shall turn to his salvation
through the prayers of the Philippians and the supply of Christ's
Spirit. Chap. 2:15-19.
He knows that for himself personally it is better to depart and be with
Christ: but to continue in the flesh is more needful for the
Philippians. He cannot, therefore, choose between life and death. Chap.
1:21-25. How different this from the spirit of some, who think of death
only in connection with their own personal comfort, and how much higher
the type of religion which it reveals!
So far as outward advantages are concerned, no man can have more
occasion than he to glory in the flesh. But all these he has renounced
and counted loss for Christ. His one ambition is to know Christ, and be
united with him in his death and resurrection. His present attainments
he forgets in his single purpose of pressing towards the goal for the
prize of God's heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. Chap. 3:4-14.
He warmly commends the Philippians for their liberality, but wishes them
to understand that he does not speak in respect to personal want; for
every where and in all things he has been taught the lesson of
contentment with present circumstances. Chap. 4:10-14.
VI. EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS.
30. The original name of Thessalonica was _Therme_, whence the gulf at
the head of which it is situated, was called the Thermaic gulf. The
modern name of the city is _Saloniki_, and of the gulf, the gulf of
Saloniki. In the apostolic age it was a large and wealthy city, and the
metropolis of the second district of Macedonia. At the present day it is
second only to Constantinople in European Turkey. Then as now a large
number of Jews resided in it. In his second missionary tour the apostle,
when driven from Philippi, went through Amphipolis and Apollonia to
Thessalonica. After his usual manner he first resorted to the Jewish
synagogue "and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the
Scriptures." After this a tumult was raised at the instigation of the
unbelieving Jews, and the apostle was sent away by night to Berea. Acts
17:1-10. We cannot affirm that his stay at Thessalonica was limited to
three weeks; yet it was very brief, and for this reason he was anxious
to return again that he might impart further instruction and consolation
to the converts there, who were undergoing a severe ordeal of temptation
through persecution. Chaps. 2:17-3:5. His labors at Thessalonica were
not confined to the Sabbath-day and the Jewish synagogue. He preached
the gospel to the Gentiles also, and his chief success seems to have
been among them. 1 Thess. 1:9; 2:14, 16.
31. THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS was written during the
apostle's _second_ missionary journey, the same journey in which he
first visited Thessalonica. This we gather from the fact that Silvanus
(Silas) was with him (chap. 1:1), for Silas was Paul's travelling
companion only during that journey (Acts 15:40; 16:19, 25, 29; 17:4, 10,
14, 15; 18:5); also from the notice of his being at Athens (chap. 3:1
compared with Acts 17:15, 16). He did not, however, write from Athens,
as the subscription erroneously states, but from _Corinth_; for it was
at this place that Silas and Timotheus rejoined him, bringing good
tidings from Macedonia respecting the church in Thessalonica. Chap.
3:1-6 compared with Acts 18:1-5. This is, then, _the earliest of Paul's
epistles_, having been written about A.D. 53.
32. The epistle clearly indicates its _occasion_. In consideration of
the brief time which the apostle had been able to spend at Thessalonica,
and of the severe persecution to which the converts in that city were
exposed, he was very desirous to make them a second visit. But having
been twice frustrated in this purpose, he sent Timothy and Silas to
learn the condition of the Thessalonian church and bring him word
concerning it, which they did while he was at Corinth. Chaps. 2:17-3:6.
The letter is an affectionate outpouring of his heart in view of the
good tidings received through these brethren, into which are interwoven
encouragements, instructions, and admonitions adapted to the
circumstances of the brethren at Thessalonica, with abundant references
to the apostle's own labors there. In the first chapter he commends,
with devout thanksgiving to God, the faith and love and patience of the
Thessalonian Christians. The second and third chapters are mainly
occupied with a notice of his own labors and those of his colleagues at
Thessalonica, of his strong desire to revisit them which he had thus far
been hindered from carrying into execution, and of his joy at the good
tidings brought by Timothy, the whole closed with a fervent prayer in
their behalf. The two remaining chapters contain miscellaneous
instructions suited to the condition of a church that had been recently
gathered in great part from the ranks of heathenism. In the course of
these he corrects an error into which the Thessalonian believers had
fallen from the idea that they who should die before Christ's second
coming might fail of their share in its glory and blessedness. Chap.
4:13-18. In both of the epistles he admonishes the Thessalonians against
the neglect of their proper worldly business, a fault that was
apparently connected with visionary ideas respecting the speedy second
coming of our Lord, and which he rebukes in severe terms. 1 Thess. 4:11;
2 Thess. 3:10-12.
33. THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS, like the first, is written
in the name of "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus," and seems to have
been sent from _Corinth_ not many months after the first. The apostle's
main _design_ was to correct a pernicious error respecting the time of
our Lord's second advent, which some at Thessalonica seem to have been
strenuously engaged in propagating, and to give them further instruction
respecting this great doctrine and their duty in relation to it. After
the apostolic salutation he expresses his gratitude to God for the
growth of their Christian faith and love, and comforts them under the
pressure of the persecution to which they were subjected with the
assurance of our Lord's second coming in glory to destroy his and their
enemies and give rest to his suffering servants; but proceeds in the
second chapter to show that this day is not yet at hand, and cannot come
till there has first been a great apostacy, the characteristic features
of which he proceeds to give (verses 3-12). The remainder of the epistle
is occupied with commendations and encouragements to perseverence,
mingled with admonitions. The latter have special reference to certain
idle and disorderly members of the church, whom the apostle describes as
"some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy
bodies" (chap. 3:11), and who also set themselves in opposition to his
apostolic authority (verse 14). These disorderly persons seem to have
been the same as those who were engaged in propagating erroneous notions
respecting the time of our Lord's second advent. Their visionary views
on this subject made them self-conceited, talkative, and self-willed,
and led them to neglect the sober duties of daily life.
The apostle beseeches the Thessalonians not to be soon shaken in
mind, or troubled, "neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." And he
adds: "Let no man deceive you in any way"--in any of the ways
specified or any other way. Chap. 2:2, 3. There were then
persons at Thessalonica busily occupied in misleading the
Thessalonians: (1) "by spirit," that is, by prophesies which
they professed to have received from the Holy Spirit; (2) "by
word," by oral teaching; (3) "by letter as from us," that is,
purporting to come from the apostle. Or, perhaps, we should
render: "nor by word nor by letter as from us:" that is, neither
by oral teaching nor by written communication alleged to have
come from me. We can well understand how the unwritten words of
the apostle should have been perverted by these false teachers.
The question remains: Did they pervert the meaning of his
language in the first epistle, or did they employ an epistle
forged in his name? The latter has been from ancient times a
common interpretation of this clause, and it is favored by the
words: "The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the
token in every epistle: so I write." Chap. 3:17. Yet the
supposition of such a forged epistle is something so improbable
that many are inclined to adopt the former supposition.
The question respecting "the man of sin" belongs to the
commentator. In a brief introduction like the present, we cannot
enter upon it farther than to say that, though we are not
warranted in affirming that it has its exhaustive fulfilment in
the Papacy, yet its chief embodiment thus far has been in that
corrupt and persecuting power whose character answers so
remarkably to the apostle's description.
34. The epistles to the churches of Philippi and Thessalonica, both
lying within the bounds of ancient Macedonia, have a remarkable
agreement in their general tone and manner. In both cases we have the
same affectionate outpouring of the apostle's heart towards the brethren
to whom he writes, and the same abundant personal notices respecting
himself and his ministry. Yet they differ precisely as we might suppose
they would in view of the fact that the two to the Thessalonians are the
earliest of Paul's writings, and are separated from that to the
Philippians by an interval of ten eventful years. In writing to the
Thessalonians he gives peculiar prominence to the doctrine of our Lord's
second coming, perhaps because, in the persecutions which they were
undergoing, they especially needed its strengthening and consolatory
influence; perhaps also because in the continual maltreatment which he
had encountered ever since he entered Macedonia--at Philippi (Acts
16:19-40; 1 Thess. 2:2), at Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-10), at Berea (Acts
17:13, 14), at Corinth (Acts 18:6-17)--he was staying his own soul on
the same glorious hope. On the contrary, we find in these earlier
epistles no mention of Judaizing Christians, nor any contrast between
the two opposite systems of justification by faith and by the works of
the Mosaic law, such as appears in his later epistles, that to the
Philippians included. Phil. 3:4-9. His opponents at Thessalonica are not
Judaizing Christians, but unconverted Jews, whose malignant opposition
he describes in strong terms. 1 Thess. 2:15, 16. To the Thessalonians
the apostle speaks of himself; but it is of his ministry, and the manner
in which he has discharged its duties among them. To the Philippians he
also speaks of himself; but then it is from a prison, with a trial for
life or death before him, and the retrospect of a long ministry behind
him. He unfolds, therefore, as is natural, his deep experiences as a
Christian and an apostle of Christ. See above, No. 29. In this contrast
between the earlier and the later epistles we have an evidence of their
genuineness which is all the stronger because of its indirectness. It is
such a mark of truth as no falsifier has power to imitate.
VII. THE PASTORAL EPISTLES.
35. The attempt to find for the pastoral epistles a place in Paul's
ministry as far as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles is beset with
difficulties which amount to impossibilities.
Among these difficulties are the following:
(1.) Whoever carefully studies these three epistles in their
connection with each other, and in contrast with the other
Pauline epistles, must be profoundly impressed with the
conviction that they all belong, as it respects style and tone
of thought, to the same period of the apostle's life; and, as it
respects subject-matter, to the same era when the churches were
troubled by the same forms of error. But if we assume that they
were written during that part of Paul's ministry of which Luke
has left us the record, the second to Timothy must be widely
separated from the other two. That was certainly written during
Paul's last imprisonment near the close of his life. But when he
wrote the first to Timothy and that to Titus he was at liberty
and prosecuting his missionary labors in Asia Minor and the
vicinity. It must have been then, upon this assumption, during
his third missionary tour (when Apollos appears for the first
time, Acts 18:24 compared with Titus 3:13), and before his last
recorded journey to Jerusalem, his arrest there, his two years'
imprisonment at Cesarea, his voyage to Rome, and his
imprisonment there for the space of at least two more years.
(2.) There is no part of Paul's history "between his first visit
to Ephesus and his Roman imprisonment, which satisfies the
historical conditions implied in the statements of any one of
these epistles." Conybeare and Howson, vol. 2, Appendix 1. The
student may see the arguments on one side in Davidson's
Introduction to the New Testament; and on the other in Alford,
and other critical commentators. Reference may also be made to
the biblical dictionaries.
(3.) Upon the assumption that the first epistle to Timothy, whom
Paul had left in charge of the Ephesian church, was written
_before_ his recorded imprisonments at Cesarea and Rome, it must
be earlier than his farewell address to the elders of Ephesus,
and also his epistle to the Ephesians. But the contents of the
epistle manifestly point to a later period, when the errors in
doctrine and practice which he had predicted (Acts 20:29, 30),
but of which he takes no notice in his epistle to the Ephesians,
had already begun to manifest themselves. The more one compares
with each other these two epistles, the deeper must his
conviction be that the first to Timothy is not the earlier but
the later of the two.
(4.) The peculiar tone and diction of the pastoral epistles and
the peculiar character of the errors combated in them all
indicate a later period in the apostle's life, and a later stage
in the history of the churches. To place the first and third of
these among those to the Galatians, Corinthians, and Romans, and
the second, among those to Philemon, the Colossians, Ephesians,
and Philippians, must appear forced and unnatural. It is much
easier to assume the lapse of some years. Even then the contrast
between these and the other epistles of Paul in respect to tone
and diction is very striking. But it may be explained partly
from the peculiar theme of the pastoral epistles, partly from
the change which the lapse of time with its manifold experiences
had brought to the apostle's style and diction.
We assume, therefore, that the apostle was released from the
Roman imprisonment recorded by Luke; and that, not very long
before his second imprisonment which was terminated by his
martyrdom at Rome, he wrote the three epistles now under
consideration. It is well known that this is in accordance with
ancient tradition. See the testimonies in Conybeare and Howson,
chap. 27; in Alford, and in other commentators.
Against this view is urged the apostle's declaration to the
elders of Ephesus that they should see his face no more;
whereas, according to the present supposition, he visited
Ephesus _again_ after his first imprisonment. As a fair offset
to this may be urged on the other side his equally strong
declaration to the Philippians that his present imprisonment
should have a favorable issue (Phil. 1:25); which was not the
case upon the hypothesis of a single imprisonment at Rome. Such
declarations, where no doctrine or fact of Christianity is
concerned, are not to be taken as revelations of the Spirit. We
know, for example, from Paul's own words, that he changed his
declared purpose respecting a visit to Corinth, for which his
enemies accused him of using lightness. 2 Cor. 1:15-18.
It is urged again that when Paul wrote the pastoral epistles
Timothy was a _young man_. 1 Tim. 4:12; 2 Tim. 2:22. But
according to ancient ideas one might be called a young man at
any age under thirty-five or even forty years. Paul found
Timothy in his second missionary journey, about A.D. 52. It is
not necessary to assume that he was then more than twenty years
old. At the time of Paul's martyrdom, then, about A.D. 67 or 68,
he may have been, for anything that appears to the contrary, a
young man in the ancient sense of the word.
36. The false teachers with whom the apostle deals in these epistles are
corrupt in _practice_ as well as in doctrine. 1 Tim. 1:6; 6:5; 2 Tim.
2:16, 17; 3:6, 8; Titus 1:15, 16. They were chiefly Jews (1 Tim. 1:7;
Titus 1:10, 14; 3:9); but not Jews who held to simple Phariseeism, like
the false teachers among the Galatians. They more nearly resembled those
who troubled the Colossians--Jews of a speculative turn of mind, who
sought to bring into Judaism the semi-oriental philosophy of that day.
They were not Gnostics; for Gnosticism was essentially anti-Judaistic,
separating the God of the Jews from the God of Christianity, and placing
the two in antagonism to each other. The speculations of these false
teachers took a direction which was in some respects akin to the
Gnosticism of the second century; but the allegation that they were
themselves Gnostics rests upon the misinterpretation of certain passages
in these epistles, or unwarrantable inferences from them.
37. The _genuineness_ of these epistles is sustained by the unanimous
testimony of the ancient church. Only in modern times has it been called
in question by certain writers, who rest their arguments wholly on
alleged internal evidence.
So far as their objections are founded on the assumed early date
of the pastoral epistles--before the close of Paul's
imprisonment at Rome recorded by Luke, on their peculiar tone
and diction, or on the supposed references in them to the
Gnosticism of the second century, they have already been
considered. But it is further alleged:
(1.) That they reveal a _hierarchical spirit_ foreign to the
character of the apostle Paul. The answer is that no trace of
such a spirit is discernible in them. The churches had from the
first their officers--bishops or elders and deacons; and the
apostle simply gives the necessary directions for the selection
of these, with a few brief hints respecting the line of conduct
to be observed towards them. 1 Tim. 5:1, 17, 19, 22.
(2.) That the _institution of widows_ (1 Tim. 5:9-16) belongs to
a later age. Respecting the exact position of those who were
enrolled in the class of widows there have been different
opinions. One is that this class consisted of those who were to
receive relief from the funds of the church; another, that they
were matrons set apart for special service in the church,
performing for their own sex duties analogous to those which the
presbyters performed for the church generally. The latter
opinion is the more probable of the two, as it explains the
conditions insisted on by the apostle. But according to either
view there is no difficulty in admitting the existence in
apostolic times of such an arrangement.
38. In these pastoral epistles we have the affectionate counsels of the
great apostle to the Gentiles, when he was now ripe in years and
Christian experience and about to close his earthly ministry, addressed
to two young men whom the Holy Ghost had made overseers of the churches.
They are a rich storehouse of instruction for all to whom God has
committed the ministry of reconciliation. Let them, as they hope at last
to render up an account of their stewardship with joy and not with
grief, prayerfully study and reduce to daily practice these precepts of
heavenly wisdom given by the Holy Spirit through the pen of "Paul the
aged."
39. THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY.--The _time_ of this epistle lies, as
we have seen, beyond the recorded history of the apostle, and before his
second and final imprisonment at Rome, perhaps about A.D. 65 or 66. It
was addressed to Timothy at Ephesus not long after the apostle had left
that city to go into Macedonia (chap. 1:3), but whether from Macedonia
or some other province of the Roman empire cannot be determined. The
_occasion_ we learn from the epistle. Paul had left Timothy in charge of
the Ephesian church, and, being apprehensive of a protracted absence, he
sends him these written instructions relating partly to his own personal
demeanor as a Christian minister, but chiefly to his office as the
overseer of the Ephesian church. In the discharge of this office he is
(1) to withstand and keep down the growing heresies of the day; (2) to
superintend the government of the church in various particulars which
the apostle specifies.
The _contents_ of the epistle though not arranged in systematic order,
are in harmony with its occasion and design. Into the first chapter,
which is of an introductory character, the apostle, in the free
intercourse of confiding affection, inserts a personal notice of
himself, which breathes the spirit of devout gratitude and deep
humility. He then proceeds to give directions pertaining to the public
worship of God--prayer, the costume of women, and their place in the
public assembly (chap. 2); and to the choice of bishops and deacons
(chap. 3). After a digression in the fourth chapter respecting the
character of the coming apostacy foretold by the Spirit, which is
followed by admonitions to Timothy of a personal character, he proceeds
in the fifth chapter to give directions respecting the appointment and
treatment of elders, of the elder and younger women, and especially of
widows, with personal counsel to Timothy. Then follows an admonition to
servants, a notice of the false teachers, a warning to the rich with
further counsels to Timothy, and an animating glance at the second
coming of our Lord.
Eunice, the mother of Timothy, was a Jewess distinguished for
her piety, as was also his grandmother Lois. Acts 16:1; 2 Tim.
1:5. By them he was carefully trained in the knowledge of the
holy Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:15), and had a good reputation among
the brethren when Paul found him at Derbe and Lystra (Acts 16:1,
2). His father being a Greek, he had never been subjected to the
rite of circumcision. But in consideration of his mixed descent
Paul, to allay the prejudices of his countrymen, "took and
circumcised him," while he would not allow this rite to be
imposed on Titus, who was of unmixed Gentile origin. Timothy was
one of the most trusty and beloved of Paul's fellow-laborers, as
we learn from these and his other epistles, and he naturally
desired the comfort and help of his presence in his final
imprisonment at Rome. 2 Tim. 4:9, 21. His health was feeble (1
Tim. 5:23), and there are in Paul's epistles some indications
that he was naturally timid and diffident (1 Cor. 16:10, 11; 2
Tim. 1:7, 8; 2:3). But grace made him faithful to the end.
40. THE EPISTLE TO TITUS which comes next in chronological order, has a
remarkable agreement with the first to Timothy in both subject-matter
and style. With the exception of what relates to widows and the demeanor
of women in the public assemblies, it contains the same general
precepts, with additional exhortations that young men be sober-minded,
and that the Cretan Christians obey magistrates and be meek and gentle
in their deportment. With these counsels the apostle interweaves, as in
the first epistle to Timothy, exhortations to Titus of a personal
character, and animating notices of God's grace in the gospel and of the
second coming of our Lord.
Respecting the founding of the Cretan churches we have no
information in the Acts of the Apostles. The only time mentioned
by Luke when Paul touched at Crete was on his voyage to Rome as
a prisoner (Acts 27:8); and then he had neither time nor liberty
for the work of preaching the gospel in that island. Crete
contained many Jews, some of whom were present at Jerusalem on
the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:11). The apostle's visit to Crete
referred to in this epistle we assume to have taken place
between his first and second imprisonment at Rome. Whether the
churches of the island were then founded for the first time or
had previously existed, it is certain that Paul left them in an
imperfect state of organization. For this reason he requested
Titus to remain, that he might set in order the things that were
wanting, and ordain elders in every city. Chap. 1:5.
It is remarkable that we have no notice of Titus in the Acts of
the Apostles. From the epistles of Paul we learn that he was his
companion in travel, and intrusted by him at different times
with missions to the churches. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas
to the so-called Council of the Apostles and Elders at
Jerusalem, where, being a Greek, he was exempted from the
necessity of circumcision. Gal. 2:1, 3. For other notices of him
see 2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6, 13, 14; 8:6, 16, 23; 12:18. His stay in
Crete was not to be permanent; for the apostle directs that upon
the arrival from him of Artemas or Tychicus he should rejoin him
at Nicopolis--probably Nicopolis in Epirus. Chap. 3:12.
41. SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY.--The first epistle to Timothy and that to
Titus are in a certain sense official; that is, they are largely
occupied with apostolic counsels and directions to these two men
respecting the administration of the churches which Paul had committed
to their care. The present epistle is of a more private and personal
character. It was written from Rome when Paul was a prisoner there
(chaps. 1:8, 16, 17; 2:9), and expecting soon to seal his testimony with
his blood (chap. 4:6). In his extremity, when fidelity to him could be
shown only at the hazard of life, many of his friends had forsaken him.
Chaps. 1:15; 4:10. He needed the presence and help of Timothy, and wrote
urging him to come speedily, and to bring certain articles which he had
left at Troas. Feeling that his end was near, he improved the occasion
to give Timothy his affectionate apostolic counsel and encouragement.
Hence the present epistle differs strikingly in its preceptive part from
the other two. They contain specific directions for ordaining officers
and managing the affairs of the churches; for in them the apostle writes
to men in charge of specific fields of labor. In the second epistle to
Timothy, on the contrary, the apostle's exhortations are general, for he
is summoning him away from his particular field to give attendance upon
himself at Rome. But all three of the pastoral epistles agree
remarkably, as well in their general style and diction as in their
description of existing errors and false teachers. It is generally
thought that Timothy was at Ephesus; and with this opinion agrees the
salutation to "the household of Onesiphorus," who was at Ephesus. Chap.
4:19 compared with 1:18. The words of chap. 4:12, however, "Tychicus
have I sent to Ephesus," do not favor this supposition. Hence some have
thought that Timothy was not in that city, but only in its vicinity. The
present is undoubtedly the last of Paul's epistles in the order of time.
As such we cannot but peruse it with solemnity, as the closing testimony
of one who has fought the good fight, finished the appointed course, and
kept the faith; and who here instructs all, especially all preachers of
the gospel, how they may do the same. "And thus we possess an epistle
calculated for all ages of the church; and in which while the maxims
cited and encouragements given apply to all Christians, and especially
ministers of Christ, in their duties and difficulties--the affecting
circumstances in which the writer himself is placed carry home to every
heart his earnest and impassioned eloquence." Alford, Introduction to 2
Timothy.
VIII. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
42. In regard to the _authorship_ of this epistle biblical scholars are
not agreed. Each of the thirteen preceding epistles bears the name of
Paul. But the present epistle is without either name or address, and it
omits also at the beginning the apostolic salutation. Thus it commences
in the form of an essay, though it closes in that of an epistle. These
circumstances, in connection with its peculiar style and diction and the
peculiar range of the topics discussed in it, have produced a diversity
of opinion on the question whether Paul was its author, at least its
author in the immediate sense in which he was the author of the
preceding epistles. For the full discussion of the arguments on both
sides the reader must be referred to the commentaries, some of which are
accessible to all. Our limits will only permit us to indicate certain
facts and principles which have a bearing on the authorship of the
epistle and its canonical authority.
The unanimous belief of the _Eastern_ church, where we must suppose that
it was first received and whence the knowledge of it was spread abroad,
ascribed it to Paul as its author either immediately or virtually; for
some, as Origen (in Eusebius' Hist. Eccl., 6. 14) accounted for its
peculiar diction by the supposition that Paul furnished the thoughts,
while they were reduced to form by the pen of some other person. Another
opinion was that Paul wrote in Hebrew, and that our present canonical
epistle is a translation into Greek (Eusebius' Hist. Eccl., 3. 38;
Clement of Alexandria in Eusebius' Hist. Eccl., 6. 14). In the _Western_
church Clement of Rome did indeed refer to the epistle as authoritative,
but without naming the author. Yet its Pauline authorship was not
generally admitted, nor was it received as a part of the sacred canon
till the fourth century, when here too the opinion of the Eastern church
was adopted. The Muratorian canon, which represents the belief of the
Western church before the fourth century, omits this epistle. The Syriac
Peshito, on the other hand, inserts it in accordance with its uniform
reception by the Eastern church. This uniformity of belief in the
Eastern church must have had for its starting point the Hebrews to whom
the epistle was sent; and it is a strong argument for the supposition
that it did originally come to them under the sanction of Paul's name
and authority; whether dictated to an amanuensis, as were most of his
epistles, or written with his knowledge and approbation by some inspired
man among his attendants and fellow-laborers who was thoroughly
conversant with his views on the subjects treated of in the epistle.
This is as far as we have any occasion to go, since we know that the
gift of inspiration was not confined to the circle of the apostles.
As we cannot affirm that _all_ who were associated with the
apostles in the work of the ministry had the gifts needful for
the composition of writings that should be given to the churches
as the authoritative word of God, so neither can we deny to
_some_ the possession of these gifts, as is plain from the
examples of Mark and Luke. When men who stood in the second
grade of relation to Christ--_apostolic men_, as we may
conveniently call them--composed their works, it is not
necessary to assume that they wrote under a formal apostolic
supervision. The "discerning of spirits" is a gift which we must
concede to all of the apostles. If, then, an associate of one of
the apostles had such relations to him and wrote in such
circumstances that we cannot suppose it to have been done
without his knowledge and approbation formal or implied, we have
for his work all needful authority. What further connection the
apostle may have had with it in the way of suggestion or
supervision is a question which we may well leave undetermined.
In judging of this matter we consider first of all the testimony
of the early churches, since they enjoyed the best means of
ascertaining the origin of a writing; and then the character of
the writing itself. Proceeding in this way we come to the full
conviction of _the canonical authority_ of the epistle to the
Hebrews, whether we believe, with many, that Paul was its
immediate author, or, with Origen, that "the ancients not
without reason have handed it down as Paul's; but on the
question who wrote the epistle God only knows the truth."
43. That the apostle wrote for the instruction of Jewish Christians is
manifest. The uniform tenor of the epistle indicates, moreover, that
they were _Jewish Christians_ without any admixture of a Gentile
element. The salutations at the end further imply that the epistle
addresses not Hebrew Christians in general, but some particular
community of them, which is most naturally to be sought in Palestine,
perhaps in Jerusalem. As to the _time_ of the epistle, the manner in
which it refers to the temple and its services makes it certain that the
author wrote before the overthrow of Jerusalem, that is, before A.D. 70.
The arguments adduced to show that Paul was its author, either
immediately or virtually, carry it back beyond A.D. 67 or 68, when,
according to ancient tradition, the apostle suffered martyrdom. It was
probably written not many years before that event; but a more exact
determination of the time is impossible. According to the most probable
interpretation of chap. 13:24, the epistle was written from Italy. But
that Timothy was not the bearer of it, as the subscription states, is
plain from the preceding verse, in which he conditionally promises to
come with Timothy at a future time.
The references in the epistle to the Levitical priesthood and
the temple services connected with it are in the _present_ or
perfect _tenses_--"is ordained," "is encompassed," "he ought,"
"taketh this honor," "have a commandment to take tithes"
"receive tithes" "_hath given attendance_ at the altar" (chap.
7:13), "_have become_" (chap. 7:21, 23), "maketh men high
priests," "who serve," "hath made the first old" (the references
in chap. 9:1-5 are to the ancient tabernacle), "_enter_ always
into the first tabernacle" (chap. 9:6), "which he _offers_"
(verse 7), "the Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the
holiest places _has not yet been made manifest_, while the first
tabernacle _is as yet standing_" (verse 8), "gifts and
sacrifices _are offered_" (verse 9), "sanctifieth," "are by the
law purged," "can never," "standeth." It is to be regretted that
our version has not in all cases observed this distinction of
tenses.
44. The _central theme_ of this book is the superiority of the Christian
over the Mosaic dispensation considered on the side of its divine
Mediator and High-priest. In unfolding this great theme the writer
dwells on the glory and dignity of Christ's person in contrast with the
ancient prophets, with the angels, and with Moses, all of whom were
connected with the first economy. He then proceeds to exhibit the divine
efficacy of Christ's priesthood. This is the substance, of which the
Levitical priesthood, with its altar, its offerings and all the
temple-services connected with it, was only the shadow. In no book of
the New Testament is our Lord's priestly office set forth with such
fullness and rich variety of illustrations, always with reference to its
divinely appointed type, the Levitical priesthood. This was especially
needful to fortify the Hebrew Christians, who had been educated and
lived under the constant impression of the splendid Mosaic ritual with
its magnificent temple, against the danger of being turned from the
simplicity of the gospel to reliance on the "carnal ordinances" of
Judaism, which would have been virtual apostacy from Christ. This
magnificent epistle constitutes in some sense a solemn requiem to the
old temple service with its altar and priesthood, where the blood of
bulls and goats that can never take away sin had flowed for so many
centuries. This service had accomplished its end in prefiguring Christ
the true "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," and it
was destined soon to pass away forever "with tumult, with shouting, with
the sound of the trumpet"--to pass away forever, that men might give
their undivided faith to Christ, our great High-priest, who ministers
for us in the heavenly tabernacle, presenting there before his Father's
throne his own blood shed on Calvary to make propitiation for the sins
of the world.
To the argumentative part of this epistle are appended exhortations
(partly, indeed, anticipated in the preceding part) to constancy in the
Christian profession, drawn from the awful doom that awaits apostates,
from the examples of faith furnished by ancient worthies, and especially
from the example of Christ himself and the glorious fellowship to which
his gospel introduces us. To these are added some admonitions of a more
special character. Thus the present epistle performs an office in the
general system of revelation which is supplied by no other book of the
Old or New Testament. To the book of Leviticus it may be said to hold
the relation of substance to shadow, and it is its divinely appointed
expositor.