+I. Is the sum of all we can need for ourselves or desire for others.+
+II. Is a revelation of His own character and of His regard for us.+
+III. May be sought with the utmost confidence and enjoyed in
ever-increasing measure.+
* * * * * * * *
+Transcriber's Notes+
- Page 299, Introduction, second paragraph, apply RC to "Divine
call."
- Page 300, second new paragraph, apply RC to "the Gospel." "Place
and time" section, second paragraph, change "iv. 32" to "ch.
iv. 32" and "i. 13" to "ch. i. 13." Fifth paragraph, add
sentence-ending period after "later date."
- Page 301, in the synopsis, change "ii. 19-30" to "ch. ii. 19-30";
add a row to indicate that no information is presented for chapter
ii. verses 12 through 18.
- Page 302, notes on chapter i., verse 7, apply RC to "the Gospel."
Verse 10, add right double quotes after "not causing offence."
- Page 303, notes on verse 12, apply RC to "the Gospel." Verse 13,
remove right double quotes after "body-guard"; correct "colouel"
to "colonel" and change double quotes to single quotes around it.
Verse 14, apply RC to "the Gospel." Verse 15, apply RC to "a
Gospel." Verse 19, add right double quote after "for me."
- Page 305, lesson "Christian Greeting," point I, change question
mark after "kingdom" to period. Point II, apply RC to "the
Gospel." Point III, apply RC to "Divine gifts," "the Divine
majesty," and "the Gospel."
- Page 306, "Commencement" note, point I, apply RC to "the Gospel."
Point II, apply RC to "the Gospel" and "Divine mercy." Point IV,
apply RC to "the Gospel." Lesson "Eulogy," point I, apply RC to
"the Gospel."
- Page 307, same lesson, point II, apply RC to "the Gospel." Point
III, apply RC to "the Divine."
- Page 308, "Making Request" note, point I, apply RC to "Divine
communications." "Grounds of Confidence" note, point II, apply RC
to "the Gospel."
- Page 311, lesson "Prayer," "Definiteness" note, point II, apply RC
to "Divine intelligence."
- The break between pages 311 and 312 is in a unit that style
indicates should not be broken "destination.--That." The entire
unit was moved to the earlier page.
- Page 312, "Fruits" note, point I 1, apply RC to "Divine Being."
"Spiritual Attainment" note, point IV, apply RC to "all Divine."
"Divine Culture" note, point IV, apply RC to "the Husbandman."
Lesson "Gospel Irrepressible," point I 1, apply RC to "the Gospel"
(five times). Point I 2, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 313, same point, apply RC to "the Gospel" (twice). Point
II 1, apply RC to "the Gospel" (thrice). Point II 2, apply RC to
"the Gospel" (thrice).
- Page 314, point III, apply RC to "the Gospel" (thrice).
Application ("Lessons"), point 1, apply RC to "the Gospel."
"Development" note, point III, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 315, "Ministry of Bonds" note, point III, apply RC to "the
Gospel." "Germ" note, point V, change "afflictions" to
"affliction." "Real" note, point II 4, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 316, lesson "Noble Attitude," point II 1, apply RC to "the
Gospel."
- Page 317, "Life and Death" note, point I 1 (3), apply RC to
"Divine knowledge."
- Page 319, lesson "Exhortation," point I 2, apply RC to "the
Gospel" (twice). Point I 3, apply RC to "the Gospel." Point III,
apply RC to "the Divine" (twice).
- Page 320, "Evangelical Consistency," each of points I, I 1, I 2
(twice), I 3, I 4, and II 1, apply RC to "Gospel." "Effects" note,
point I 1, apply RC to "the Gospel." Point I 2, apply RC to "the
Divine." Point II 1, apply RC to "the Gospel" and "its Author."
- Page 321, notes on chapter ii., verse 1, change "i. 8" to "ch.
i. 8." Verse 2, change "i. 4" to "ch. i. 4." Verse 5, apply RC to
"the Gospel." Verse 6, apply RC to "the Divinity."
- Page 322, verse 12, apply RC to "the Gospel." Verse 15, tag
"immaculatum" as Latin and set it in Italic.
- Page 323, verse 22, apply RC to "the Gospel." Verse 29, change
"#alue" to "value."
- Page 324, lesson "Christian Union," point II, apply RC to "the
Gospel." Point III 2, add sentence ending period after "(ver. 4)."
Point IV, add "Ps. cxxxiii. 1" reference.
- Page 325, "Unity" note, point 2, apply RC to "the Gospel."
"Looking" note, point III, change "th#" to "the." Lesson
"Humiliation," point I, apply RC to "His Divine" and "Divinity."
- Page 326, same lesson, point II, apply RC to "Divinity" (twice).
"Incarnate" note, point I, apply RC to "Divine glory." Point II,
apply RC to "Divine nature."
- Page 327, "Christian Temper" note, application ("Lessons"), point
2, apply RC to "the Gospel." Point 3, apply RC to "God-like."
- Page 328, lesson "Exaltation," point I, apply RC to "Divine act";
add left parenthesis before "ver. 9." Point II, apply RC to "the
Divine" (thrice). Point III, apply RC to "Him"; change quote from
"and every tongue confess" to "and that every tongue should
confess" to match KJV; apply RC to "His Divine majesty."
- Page 329, same lesson, same point, apply RC to "the Gospel."
"Worthy" note, point 2, apply RC to "His Divine majesty." Point 3,
apply RC to "Divine honour."
- Page 330, lesson "Salvation," point II 2, apply RC to "Divine
aid." Point III, apply RC to "Divine work." Application
("Lessons"), point 2, apply RC to "Divine influences."
- Page 331, "Divine and Human" note, point II, apply RC to "Divine."
"Active Exertion" note, point I, capitalise "Promised Land."
"Co-operation" note, point I, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 332, same note, point III, apply RC to "Divine operations."
Lesson "Lustre," point I, apply RC to "Divine command." Point II,
apply RC to "the Gospel" and "the Word."
- Page 333, same lesson, point III 3, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 334, lesson "Projected," point II, apply RC to "the Gospel."
Point II 2, apply RC to "Divinity."
- Page 335, same lesson, point II 3, apply RC to "the Gospel"
(twice).
- Page 337, lesson "Devoted," point IV, apply RC to "glorious
Gospel" and "the Word." "Anxieties" note, insert point "2" at the
beginning of the second sentence.
- Page 338, notes on chapter iii., verse 1, change "iv. 8" to "ch.
iv. 8." Verse 8, insert "[R.V., 'soul' A.V.]."
- Page 339, verse 14, change "gaol" to "goal." Verse 17, apply RC to
"Good Shepherd."
- Page 340, lesson "False and True," point I, apply RC to "the
Gospel" (twice).
- Page 341, same lesson, point II 2, apply RC to "the Divine" and
"the Divinity"; change period after "yourself" to a question mark;
apply RC to "Divinity."
- Page 343, lesson "External," point III, apply RC to "the Divine."
"Excellent" note, point I, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 344, same note, renumber second point "VI" to "VII." First
"Excellency" note, point I, apply RC to "the Divinity." Lesson
"Features," point II, apply RC to "Divinely."
- Page 345, same lesson, same point, apply RC to "Divine." Point
III, apply RC to "Divine power"; insert point "1" before first
sentence in Italic; point III 1, apply RC to "Divine power" and
"Divine life." Point III 2, apply RC to "Good Shepherd."
- Page 346, "Power" note, point I, apply RC to "Divine mission."
Point II, apply RC to "Divinity" (twice). Point V, apply RC to
"the Gospel." "Resurrection" note, point II 4, apply RC to "the
Divine."
- Page 347, lesson "Highest," point I, apply RC to "Divinely" "the
Gospel," and "the Divine." Point III, change "Michael Angelo" to
"Michelangelo"; add comma between "he said" and quotation. Point
IV, apply RC to "Divine light."
- Page 348, "Pressing" note, point II 3 (2), change period to
question mark.
- Page 349, "Temper" note, point III 3, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 350, lesson "Examples," point III 3, apply RC to "the
Gospel." Point IV, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 351, lesson "Citizenship," point I, add sentence-ending
period to last sentence. Point III 2, apply RC to "Divine power."
- Page 352, same lesson, same point, apply RC to "the Divine"
(twice).
- Page 353, notes on chapter iv., verse 3, change double quotes
around "fellow-in-yoke, fellow labourer" to single quotes and
add closing double quotes.
- Page 354, notes on verse 8, identify the Cicero quotation as Latin
and set it in Italic. Verse 11, add em-dash after "etc." Verse 12,
add em-dash after "etc." and "Ps. xxiii." reference. Verse 18, add
"Matt. xxv. 40" reference.
- Page 355, lesson "Plea," point II, apply RC to "the Gospel";
change "strengthened by Him" to "him," speaking of Paul. Point
III, apply RC to "the Gospel" and "the Word."
- Page 356, lesson "Glimpses," point I, apply RC to "the Gospel."
Point II, apply RC to "Gospel." Point III, apply RC to "the
Gospel."
- Page 357, same lesson, point IV 2, apply RC to "the Gospel." Point
IV 3, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- Page 358, lesson "Joy," point II, apply RC to "Divine grace" and
"the Gospel."
- Page 359, same lesson, point III, apply RC to "Divine grace."
"Rejoicing" note, point I 2, add em-dash after "for." Point
II 3 (3), apply RC to "His Word."
- Page 360, lesson "Equity," point I, apply RC to "Divine Surety."
Point II, apply RC to "the Gospel" and "His professed followers."
- Page 361, lesson "Cure," point I, remove commas from "kill-joy,
and" and "blessings, and." Point II, remove commas from "mind,
but" and "anxieties, and."
- Page 362, "Remedy" note, point II 3, apply RC to "Divine will."
- Page 363, "Subjects" note, point IV, apply RC to "the Gospel."
Lesson "Science," point I, change "livable" to "liveable."
- Page 364, same lesson, point II, apply RC to "the Gospel" (twice).
Point III, apply RC to "Divine blessing." Application ("Lessons"),
point 1, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- The break between pages 364 and 365 is in the word "upward":
up|ward.
- Page 365, "Paul" note, point II, apply RC to "Divine life." Point
V, apply RC to "Divine providence." Lesson "Joy," point I, apply
RC to "the Gospel"; remove comma from "frequently, but"; apply RC
to "the Gospel" (twice).
- Page 366, same lesson, point II 2, apply RC to "Divine strength"
and "Divine grace." Point IV, apply RC to "Divine source."
- Page 367, same lesson, application ("Lessons"), point 2, apply RC
to "Divine grace." "Tendency" note, point II 1, apply RC to
"Divine Master."
- Page 368, lesson "Generous," point I, apply RC to "the Gospel."
Point II, apply RC to "Divine blessing," "Divine approbation," and
"Divine reward."
- Page 369, same lesson, point IV, remove comma from "invested,
and"; apply RC to "Divine generosity." Lesson "Last Words," point
I, apply RC to "Divine Giver."
- Page 370, same lesson, point II, apply RC to "the Gospel." Point
III, apply RC to "Divine favour." Application ("Lessons"), point
3, apply RC to "Divine grace."
+THE+
+EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS.+
* * * * * * * *
+INTRODUCTION.+
+Colossæ and its people.+--In Asia Minor, a few days' journey to the
east of Ephesus, is a district which for natural beauty, as described
by many travellers, is hardly to be surpassed. At the foot of Mount
Cadmus--now known as Baba Dagh, or "the Father of Mountains"--near
the stream of the Lycus, a tributary of the Mæander, stood the town
of Colossæ. Within a day's journey stood Hierapolis and Laodicea, the
latter the home of a Church in the later years where a poor,
half-hearted religion was a constant offence to God. Owing to its
political significance, it quite eclipsed Colossæ, as Hierapolis also
did, owing to its natural advantages as a health-resort or
watering-place. Though at one time Colossæ was a flourishing town,
where the vast forces of Xerxes or those of Cyrus could halt, in this
country it was only with difficulty and some uncertainty that its
exact site was discovered. Chronos (so called from the funnel-shaped
holes into which the river drops) is its modern substitute, though
from two to three miles south of the site of Colossæ.
The inhabitants of Colossæ were largely of Phrygian derivation,
highly religious, if dread of the supernatural in every form
constitutes religion, but ready to yield themselves up to the wildest
orgies and the most degradingly sensual types of worship. But there
were also many Jews in the town, as we learn not only from the
indications in this letter, but from other sources. It was not the
only occasion in history when travelled Jews had learnt to blend with
their ancestral religion the philosophical or theosophical opinions
of the neighbourhood where they had settled. The result was an
amalgam very hard to catalogue. The Hellenism of these Phrygian Jews
did as little for them as in later days it did for Heine, the German
Jew. So, because its results were pernicious, the uncompromising
opponent of Pharisaic dead works and herald of one God set himself to
make known to the Colossians the sufficiency of Christian doctrine
without admixture of heathen wisdom (ch. ii. 8, 9) or the
administration of Jewish rites (ch. ii. 11).
+Occasion, aim, time, and place of composition.+--Epaphras, a member
of the Colossian Church, and to whom the whole neighbourhood was
indebted as the bringer of Gospel tidings, had given St. Paul an
account of the state of the Church to which he ministered, with
intimations of the perils threatening it. This it was which led the
apostle to send Tychicus with this letter. The runaway slave Onesimus
accompanied him, sent back to Philemon his master in Colossæ by St.
Paul.
The aim of the apostle in writing the letter was chiefly to warn the
Colossians against the specious errors of certain teachers who had
tried to unite Christianity with Judaism, and these to theosophical
notions. The results of this blend could only be regarded with a
pitiful smile. It was pernicious, and, with all its semblance of
humility, immoral. Its main offence to the apostle was that it
dishonoured his Lord, "who is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation."
Lightfoot thinks this letter, with those to Ephesus and Philemon, was
sent by Tychicus "towards the close of the apostle's captivity in
Rome, about the year 63." Meyer, who contends that it was sent, not
from Rome, but from Cæsarea, thinks 60 or 61 was the date. The
ancient tradition was that the letter emanated from a Roman prison,
and the reasons given against this are too slender to set it aside in
favour of Cæsarea.
+Style of the epistle.+--"The style of the epistle is somewhat
laboured. It lacks the spontaneity, the fire, the passion, the tender
emotion which mark most of St. Paul's letters. The reason for this is
twofold. It is partly because he is addressing strangers, the members
of Churches which he had not directly founded, and to whom his
expressions did not flow forth from the same full spring of intimate
affection. It is still more because he is refuting errors with which
he was not familiar, and which he had not witnessed in their direct
workings. . . . When he was a little more familiar with the theme (in
writing Ephesians) he writes with more fervency and ease. . . . In
the close similarity between these two, and yet in the strongly
marked individuality of each, we have one of the most indisputable
proofs of the genuineness of both. . . . If Colossians has less of
the attractive personal element and the winning pathos of other
letters of St. Paul, it is still living, terse, solid, manly,
vigorous; and brief though it be, it still, as Calvin says, contains
the nucleus of the Gospel" (_Farrar_).
+Outline of the epistle.+
Introduction. i. 1, 2, greeting. 3-8, thanksgiving. 9-14, prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving.
i. 15-23. Main theme of the epistle. Christ's personal supremacy
and the universal efficacy of His mediatorial work.
24-29. The apostle's personal explanation of his motive in
addressing them.
ii. 1-7. His interest in the highest welfare of Christians
unknown to him.
8-15. Warning against a philosophy born of earth, able only
to deal externally with outbursts of sin as contrasted
with the complete putting away of it by Christ's death
and resurrection.
16-23. A protest against the attempt to foist precepts and
prohibitions on those who in Christ have passed beyond
the stage of legalism.
iii. 1-17. The sufficiency, for conduct, of living consistently
with the life hid with Christ in God, which is fatal,
as it grows, to every form and manifestation of the old
and corrupt life.
18-22. Duties of wives (18), husbands (19), children (20),
fathers (21), servants (22).
23-25. Motives, incentives, and deterrents in service.
iv. 1. Duties of masters, and motive of conduct.
2-18. Sundry exhortations, commendations, and greetings. The
latter concludes with the apostle's autograph signature,
a touching reference to his "bonds," and a benediction.
+CHAPTER I.+
_CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES._
Ver. 1. +Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.+--Here,
as in the Ephesian epistle, St. Paul traces his apostolate to the
will of God. It does not seem as if any reason could be given why in
these two epistles he uses the phrase and omits it in the
Philippians. +Timotheus our brother.+--If Philemon, who was a
Colossian Christian, had met St. Paul at Ephesus, probably he had
seen Timothy, too, and would no doubt say to the Church how the
apostle valued him (Phil. ii. 19).
Ver. 2. +To the saints and faithful brethren.+--We may observe that
such a phrase is characteristic of St. Paul's later epistles; in the
earlier it was "to the Church." It seems better thus to translate
than to give the meaning "to the holy and believing brethren" (see on
Eph. i. 1). +Grace . . . and peace, from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.+--Not "grace" from the Father and "peace" from the Lord
Jesus Christ, as the usual benediction shows--"The grace of our Lord
Jesus." "Whatsoever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son" (John
v. 19).
Ver. 3. +We give thanks to God.+--The apostle here, as usual, gives
credit for all that is worthy in his readers, though the tidings from
Colossæ had been disquieting.
Ver. 4. +Having heard of your faith.+--This last word might possibly
mean "fidelity," the steadiness of an unwavering loyalty. But it is
better to take it as the act of personal trust. +Love to all the
saints.+--This was the distinguishing trait of all Christians--love
one for another (John xiii. 35). How often have we heard the irony,
"How these Christians love one another!" We are not warranted in
withholding love until men are paragons of spiritual perfection--all
in Christ are "saints."
Ver. 5. +For the hope.+--This word completes the triad, though the
order is changed, and hope here is the object--the thing hoped for.
+Laid up for you in heaven.+--It is the same word in Luke xix. 20,
"laid up in a napkin"; in 2 Tim. iv. 8, "henceforth there is laid
up"; and in Heb. ix. 27, "it is appointed unto [laid up for] men once
to die." +The word of the truth of the gospel.+--Not to be
interpreted into "the truly evangelic word." There is an imposing
sound in the phrase meant to agree with the thing denoted.
Ver. 6. +In all the world.+--A hyperbolic expression, by which the
apostle at the world's centre, Rome, seems to say the messengers of
the Gospel, go forth to the utmost bounds of the empire. The faith
you have received is no local cult, nor is it an ephemeral
excitement. +And bringeth forth fruit.+--The R.V. adds to "bearing
fruit," "and increasing." It is not a Gospel that is decadent, on
which a few fruits may be found, but with too evident traces that
soon fruitfulness will be past.
Ver. 7. +As ye learned of Epaphras.+--Short for Epaphroditus, but not
he of Phil. ii. 25. He is one of the Colossians; beyond that and his
prayerful zeal for them we know nothing of the only one whom St. Paul
calls "a fellow-servant."
Ver. 9. +Do not cease to pray for you, and to desire.+--R.V. "pray
and make request." The general notion comes first, then, the
particulars; so in Mark xi. 24. In the Lord's Prayer there are
several "petitions" or "requests." +Knowledge.+--Here represents the
advanced knowledge of the initiated. "Spiritual understanding" is the
use in the realm of things spiritual of the faculty which, as
employed in physical research, makes the difference between the man
of scientific method and the empiric. Compare the union of "wisdom"
and "spiritual understanding" with our Lord's words, "Thou hast hid
these things from the _wise_ and _prudent._"
Ver. 10. +Walk worthy.+--"The end of all knowledge, the apostle would
say, is conduct" (_Lightfoot_). The previous verse taken with this
gives the "theory and practice" of religion. +Unto all
pleasing.+--With the end ever before you of being approved by God.
For the same combination, see 1 Thess. iv. 1. +Being fruitful . . .
and increasing.+--Like the Gospel itself (see ver. 6).
Ver. 11. +Strengthened with all might according to His glorious
power.+--Lit. "with all power made powerful," etc. The two words
representing "might" and "power" have become familiar in "dynamite"
and the termination of "auto-_crat_"; the one indicating stored-up
energy; the other victorious or ruling force. +Patience and
longsuffering.+--the first word indicates the attitude of an
unfainting mind when things go wrong; the second the quiet endurance
under irritation from others, the being "not soon angry."
Ver. 12. +Made us meet.+--Duly qualified us, gave us competence. Just
as a man needs to be a qualified practitioner of medicine or the law,
so these Colossians are recognised as fit and proper persons for
participation in the kingdom of light.
Ver. 13. +Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness.+--The
metaphor commenced in the previous verse is carried on here. The
settlement in the land flowing with milk and honey is preceded by
deliverance with a high hand from the house of bondage--the land of
thick darkness. +And hath translated us.+--The same word by which the
Jewish historian describes the carrying over of the Israelites to
Assyria by Tiglath-Pileser. The apostle regards the deliverance, so
far as the Deliverer is concerned, as a thing accomplished. +His dear
Son.+--The A.V. margin has become the R.V. text, "The Son of His
love." We do not again find this expression; but as there is "no
darkness at all" in God, who "is love," so His Son, into whose
kingdom we come, reveals the love of the Father.
Ver. 14. +In whom we have redemption.+--A release effected in
consideration of a ransom. See on the verse Eph. i. 7. The
forgiveness of our sins--lit. "the dismissal of our sins."
Ver. 15. +Who is the image of the invisible God.+--In 2 Cor. iv. 4
St. Paul had so named Christ. "Beyond the very obvious notion of
_likeness,_ the word for image involves the idea of _representation_
and _manifestation_" (_Lightfoot_). Man is said to be the image of
God (1 Cor. xi. 7), and to have been created in the image of God, as
an image on a coin may represent Cæsar, even though unrecognisable
almost. Christ is "the very image" (Heb. i. 3) of God, able to say,
"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." +Firstborn of every
creature.+--"Not that He is included as part of the creation, but
that the relation of the whole creation to Him is determined by the
fact that He is the 'firstborn of all creation' (R.V.), so that
without Him creation could not be" (_Cremer_). The main ideas
involved in the word are (1) priority to all creation;
(2) sovereignty over all creation (_Lightfoot_).
Ver. 16. +Thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.+--That
Paul believed in a heavenly hierarchy can scarcely be doubted; but
this letter shows that in Colossæ it had become an elaborate
superstition.
Ver. 18. +And He is the head of the body, the Church.+--As He held
priority of all creation, so also His is the name above every name in
the new creation. +The firstborn from the dead.+--The cardinal point
of the apostle's faith.
Ver. 19. +For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness
dwell.+--The great question on this verse is--seeing that "the
Father" has been added--what is the nominative to the word rendered
"it pleased"? At least three are possible: (1) "the Father," as A.V.,
R.V., and many commentators; (2) "all the fulness," etc.; and
(3) "the Son was pleased." Lightfoot urges that, as (2) would be an
anachronism, and (3) a hopeless confusion of the theology, "the
Father was well pleased" seems to be the best rendering.
Ver. 20. +To reconcile all things unto Himself.+--The word
"reconcile" is meant to indicate the restoration of a lost
friendship; and re-establishment of peaceful relations. It is a good
specimen of the care with which St. Paul's advanced expressions are
selected.
Ver. 21. +You, that were sometime alienated.+--Does not mean, of
course, occasionally alienated, but as the R.V. gives it, "being in
time past alienated"--up to the time of the reconciliation _always_
estranged. +Enemies in your mind by wicked works.+--The most
interesting question here is whether God is reconciled to the sinner
or only the sinner to God. Is "enemies" to mean "hostile" or
"hateful"? Lightfoot says, "It is the mind of man, not the mind of
God, which must undergo a change that a reunion may be effected."
Ver. 22. +In the body of His flesh through death.+--When a teacher
has to be explicit it may seem to those familiar with the subject as
if he were verbose or tautological. So here the body is no phantasm,
but fleshy and mortal. +To present you holy.+--They were professedly
holy "saints" (ver. 2), and the final purpose of their reconciliation
is reproachless saintship (on this word, and "unblameable," see Eph.
i. 4). +Unreproveable in His sight.+--It is a lofty eminence to which
the holy apostle invites us to look in this word. The light in which
we walk--fierce indeed towards sin--reveals no evil, so that the most
captious critic has no objection (Tit. ii. 8).
Ver. 23. +Grounded and settled, and not moved away.+--In that land of
volcanic agency the readers would perceive only too readily the
graphic force of this metaphor. Where stone buildings tumbled over
like a house of cards, the figure of a faith, proof against all
shocks, was effective (see Heb. xii. 28). +Every creature under
heaven.+--The same rhetorical form of expression as in ver. 6,
affirming the universal fitness of the Gospel as well as its wide
dissemination. +Whereof I Paul am made a minister.+--Wonder that
increases and unceasing gratitude are in these words--that the
persecutor should serve the faith he once destroyed.
Ver. 24. +Fill up that which is behind in the afflictions of
Christ.+--R.V., "and fill up on my part that which is lacking." How
we seem to hear through these words the cry of the head of the
Church, "Why persecutest thou Me?" And now the persecutor shares the
pain of Christ and those to whom it is granted as a favour to suffer
for His sake (Phil. i. 29).
Vers. 25-27. See notes on Eph. iii. 7 ff.
Ver. 28. +Whom we preach.+--What a glorious comprehensiveness there
is in preaching Him in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead!
Here is nothing narrow. +Warning every man.+--R.V. "admonishing." It
is a direction of the reflective faculty--a reproof administered with
intent to amend the conduct. It corresponds to "Repent ye!" +And
teaching every man.+--The positive side of which the warning is the
negative. It is not enough to tell a man he is wrong--the right must
be indicated; so the heralds of the Gospel followed up "Repent ye"
with "Believe the Gospel." Note the repeated "every man."
Exclusiveness which shuts the door in the face of any "weak brother
for whom Christ died" is utterly strange to the teaching of St. Paul.
+That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.+--St. Paul,
and every true successor, labours for this end; and, as ver. 22
shows, in so doing all are "workers together with God." We have the
idea of presentation elsewhere in St. Paul, as where he speaks of
presenting his converts as a chaste virgin to Christ. The risk of
offering a tainted animal for sacrifice is as nothing in comparison
of offering a hypocrite as a trophy of the Gospel.
Ver. 29. +I also labour.+--The word implies strenuous effort. "The
racer who takes care to slack his speed whenever he is in danger of
breaking into a perspiration will not win the prize" (_Maclaren_).
+Striving.+--Lit. "agonising," as in Luke xiii. 24. Like a stripped
gymnast, every encumbrance cast off. The same word in 1 Tim. vi. 12.
"Fight the good fight."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
_Apostolic Salutation._
In this verse we have _a description of the office and character_ of
the persons from whom the salutation emanates.
+I. An exalted and important office.+--"Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ." An apostle is one _sent._ Paul was commissioned to declare
the grandest truths--truths destined to illumine and upraise mankind.
His sphere was the world, his audience the generations of every age.
The work of the apostle lives to-day--its vigour is perennial. His
was no empty, unmeaning title. It involved incredible thought,
overburdening care, incessant toil, unparalleled suffering. It was an
office created by the circumstances of the time. That period was the
beginning of a gigantic campaign against the consolidated errors and
sins of ages. An ordinary officer can keep and govern a garrison; but
it requires a gifted general to marshal and direct the militant host
in the daring manœuvres of war. In the Divine government of the world
the occasion calls forth the man.
+II. The authority that designates and qualifies.+--"By the will of
God." The will of God is the great originating and dynamic moral
force of the universe. That will raised Paul to the apostleship, and
invested him with all essential qualifications. The miraculous
incidents of the journey to Damascus (Acts ix.) formed a crisis in
his career. The startling discovery as to the character of the Being
he had madly opposed evoked the utterance of a changed and willing
heart: "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" That was the sublime
moment of his _sending._ In undertaking the highest work for God, it
is not enough that we possess learning, gifts, piety, unless with all
there be a consciously Divine commission. There are crises when we
can gain fresh inspiration for the exigencies of the work only by
falling back on the clearest call and appointment of the Divine will.
+III. A familiar Christian relationship.+--"Timotheus, our brother."
Paul was the means of Timothy's conversion; and in another place he
calls him his "own son in the faith." Here he recognises him on the
more equal footing of a brother. Christianity is a brotherhood. Not a
low, debasing communism that drags down all to its own common level,
but a holy confederacy in which men of all ranks, ages, and talents
unite. The equality of Christian brotherhood is based on a moral and
spiritual foundation. The minister whose reputation is won, and
position assured loses nothing by honouring his younger brethren.
+IV. Union of sympathy and desire.+--"Paul . . . _and_ Timothy." The
greatest intimacy existed between the two, notwithstanding the
disparity in rank and abilities. There were qualities in Timothy that
elicited the admiration and love of the great apostle. They were
constant companions in travel; and Timothy was often a source of
comfort to Paul in captivity. They had a common sympathy in the
propagation of the Gospel, and with the changing fortunes of the
newly founded Churches and joined in prayer for their welfare. The
union of Timothy with himself also strengthened the testimony of the
apostle regarding the supernatural character of the truths declared.
+Lessons.+--_Christian salutation_--1. _Takes its value from the
character of the sender._ 2. _Should be pervaded with genuine
sympathy._ 3. _Implies a mutual interest in the success of Christian
work._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
_Apostolic Estimate of Christian Character._
+I. Suggestive phases of Christian character.+--"Saints and faithful
brethren in Christ which are at Colossæ."
1. _Saints._--This implies union with God and a personal
participation in His righteousness. This is the root of the saintly
life. Faith in Christ is the point and means of junction.
Canonisation cannot make a saint. Must be saintly experience to
produce saintly conduct. A holy reputation excites to action
consistent with itself. Nehemiah refused to hide from threatened
assassination as an act beneath his well-known character for high
integrity and bravery (Neh. vi. 11).
2. _Faithful brethren which are at Colossæ._--Implies union with each
other. They embraced a common faith and held steadfastly together
amid the agitations of false teachers and the defections of the
wavering. Christianity blends the strangest elements. It is a foe to
all national enmities and prejudices. Paul, a Jew, Timothy, a
Grecian, and the Colossians, a mixture of several races, are here
united in a holy and faithful brotherhood. "Here the Gentile met the
Jew whom he had been accustomed to regard as an enemy of the human
race; the Romans met the lying Greek sophist, the Syrian slave, the
gladiator born beside the Danube. In brotherhood they met, the
natural birth and kindred of each forgotten, the baptism alone
remembered in which they had been born again to God and to each
other" (_Ecce Homo_).
3. _The sublime origin of the Christian character._--"_In_ Christ."
Character is the development and crystallisation of a _life._ The
character of the blossom and fruit is decided by the vital energy in
the tree. Christ is the unfathomable fount of all spiritual life; the
ideal pattern and formative force of a perfect character. He is the
centre and bond of all true brotherhood.
+II. The salutation supplicates the bestowment of highest Divine
blessings.+--1. _Grace._ A term of vast significance, inclusive of
all the blessings that can flow from the superabundant and free
favour of God. Grace is the source of all _temporal_ good--life,
health, preservation, success, felicity; and of all _spiritual_
benefactions--pardon, soul-rest, guidance, strength, deliverance,
purity, final triumph. The generosity of God is illimitable.
2. _Peace._--Grace expresses the spirit and fulness in which Divine
manifestations come to us; peace the result they accomplish in us.
_Peace with God._ Sin has thrown human nature into a state of discord
and enmity. The reception of grace must ever precede the enjoyment of
peace. The universal mistake is, in first seeking, through many
avenues, the happiness which peace with God alone can bring, instead
of accepting humbly, penitently, believingly, the grace of God in
Christ. _Peace with each other_--peace in the Church. How great a
blessing is this! One turbulent spirit can ruffle the tranquillity of
thousands.
3. _The source of the blessings desired._--"From God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ." The Father's love and the Son's work are the
sole source and cause of every blessing to humanity, while the Holy
Spirit is the agent of their communication. The Trinity is ever
harmonious in acts of beneficence; the Divine fountain is
inexhaustible.
+Learn.+--1. _The broad, deep charity of the apostolic spirit._
2. _The scope and temper of the prayers we should offer for the race._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 3-5.
_The Causes of Ministerial Thanksgiving._
It is customary with the apostle to begin his epistles with the
ardent expression of thanksgiving. This showed the devout habit of
his mind, his constant and emphatic recognition of the grand source
of good, and his deep interest in the spiritual condition of those to
whom he wrote.
+I. Thanksgiving an essential element in prayer.+--"We give
thanks, . . . praying always for you" (ver. 3). The participle marks
the thanksgiving as part of the prayer, and the adverb makes it
prominent, indicating that when they _prayed for them they always
gave thanks._ There is no true prayer without thanksgiving. Gratitude
intensifies the soul's sense of dependence on God and prompts the cry
for the needed help; and, on the other hand, earnest prayer naturally
glides into fervent thankfulness. As one sin is interlinked with and
produced by another, so the use of one grace begets another. The more
temporal things are used, the more they wear and waste; but spiritual
things are strengthened and increased with exercise. Every spiritual
grace has in it the seed of an endless reproductiveness. Underlying
every thanksgiving for others is a spirit of tender, disinterested
love. Moved by this passion, the apostle, from the midst of
imprisonment and sorrow, could soar on the wings of gratitude and
prayer to heaven. "Thanksgiving will be the bliss of eternity."
+II. The Being to whom all thanksgiving is due.+--"To God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ" (ver. 3). God is the Father of Jesus
Christ, not only as God, by an eternal generation and communication
of His whole essence unto Him in a method to us mysterious and
ineffable, but also as man by virtue of the personal union of the two
natures in Christ, and in a special sense exceeding every other way
in which He is Father to man or angels. Thus, God and the Father of
our Lord Jesus are one; the particle "and" being exegetic of the same
thing, not copulative of something different. All our blessings have
their source in the bosom of the Divine Father. Christ is the only
revealer of the Father, and the active agent in bestowing the
paternal benefits on humanity. The paternal aspect of the Divine
character as unfolded by Jesus Christ is most fascinating and
assuring; and the loving heart delights to trace its blessings up to
the Parent of all good and to render Him devout and grateful praise.
+III. This thanksgiving was grounded on the reputation of their faith
in the Author of Christianity.+--"Since we heard of your faith in
Christ" (ver. 4).
1. _Christ is the object and foundation of all true faith._--He is so
as the Divinely consecrated Deliverer of the race. The grandeur of
His redeeming work and the dignity and glory of His character are
suggested by the titles here given to Him. Man must believe in
Christ, not as an abstract truth, not as a poetic conception, not as
a dim impersonal force acting in the sphere of ideality, but as a
Divine-human _person_--the anointed Saviour.
2. _True faith is the root principle of the Christian life._--Without
it neither love nor hope could exist. All the graces that strengthen
and beautify the Christian character must grow out of faith.
3. _True faith is ever manifest._--"Since we heard." It is seen in
the changed disposition and conduct of the individual believer. It is
marked by the anxious Christian worker and becomes known to a wide
circle of both friends and foes. Epaphras rejoiced to bear tidings of
the fact; and the soul of the apostle, since he heard, glowed with
grateful praise. Happy the people whose highest reputation is their
faith in Jesus!
+IV. This thanksgiving was grounded on their possession of an
expansive Christian love.+--"And of the love which ye have to all the
saints" (ver. 4). Love to Christ is necessarily involved, for love to
the saints is really a generous, unselfish affection for Christ's
image in them. Love is all-embracing. Peculiarities, defects,
differences of opinion, distance, are no barriers to its penetrating
ardour. It is the unanswerable evidence of moral transformation
(1 John iii. 14). It is the grandest triumph over the natural enmity
of the human heart. It is the indissoluble bond of choicest
fellowship.
"While we walk with God in light,
God our hearts doth still unite;
Dearest fellowship we prove,
Fellowship in Jesu's love."
+V. This thanksgiving was further grounded on their enjoyment of a
well-sustained hope.+--The grace of hope naturally springs out of and
is properly associated with the preceding two. Not one member of the
holy triad can be divorced from the other without irreparable damage;
without, in fact, the loss of that which is the resultant of the
three--viz. active religious life. "Faith rests on the past; love
works in the present; hope looks to the future. They may be regarded
as the efficient, material, and final causes respectively of the
spiritual life" (_Lightfoot_).
1. _The character of this hope._--"The hope which is laid up for you
in heaven" (ver. 5). It is the prospect of future heavenly felicity.
Hope is put for the object hoped for--the hope of possessing a
spiritual inheritance whose wealth never diminishes, whose splendours
never fade; the hope of seeing Christ in all His regal glory; of
being like Him; of dwelling with Him for ever. A prospect like this
lifts the soul above the meannesses, disappointments, and sufferings
of the present limited life.
2. _The security of this hope._--"Laid up." This priceless
inheritance is safely deposited as a precious jewel in God's secret
coffer. There no pilfering hands can touch it, no breath can tarnish,
no rust corrode, no moth corrupt. Earthly treasures vanish, and
sometimes, to God's people, nothing but the treasure of hope remains.
The saint's enduring riches are in the future, locked up in the
heavenly casket. Where the treasure is there the heart should ever be.
3. _The source and foundation of this hope._--"Whereof ye heard
before in the word of the truth of the gospel" (ver. 5). The Gospel
is based on unchangeable truth and is therefore worthy of universal
credence. It alone unfolds the mysteries and glories of the future.
The hope of heaven rests, not on the discoveries of human philosophy,
but on the revelations of the true Gospel. In vain do men seek it
elsewhere. By the preaching of the Gospel this hope is made known to
man. How dismal the outlook where hope is unknown!
+Lessons.+--1. _We should thank God for others more on account of
their spiritual than temporal welfare._ 2. _Learn what are the
essential elements of the Christian character--faith, love, hope._
3. _The proclamation of the Gospel should be welcomed, and its
message pondered._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._