ἔθνεσιν, ὅ ἐστιν Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης· ^{28} ὃν ἡμεῖς
καταγγέλλομεν νουθετοῦντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον
^{27} ὅς ἐστιν.
ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν] i.e. ‘as exhibited among the Gentiles.’ It was just
here that this ‘mystery,’ this dispensation of grace, achieved its
greatest triumphs and displayed its transcendant glory; φαίνεται μὲν γὰρ
καὶ ἐν ἑτεροις, writes Chrysostom, πολλῷ δὲ πλέον ἐν τούτοις ἡ πολλὴ τοῦ
μυστερίου δόξα. Here too was its _wealth_; for it overflowed all
barriers of caste or race. Judaism was ‘beggarly’ (Gal. iv. 9) in
comparison, since its treasures sufficed only for a few.
ὅ ἐστιν] The antecedent is probably τοῦ μυστηρίου; comp. ii. 2 τοῦ
μυστηρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ ἐν ᾧ εἰσιν πάντες κ.τ.λ.
Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν] ‘_Christ in you_,’ i.e. ‘you Gentiles.’ Not Christ, but
Christ given freely to the Gentiles, is the ‘mystery’ of which St Paul
speaks; see the note on μυστήριον above. Thus the various reading, ὃς
for ὅ, though highly supported, interferes with the sense. With Χριστὸς
ἐν ὑμῖν compare μεθ’ ἡμῶν Θεός Matt. i. 23. It may be a question
however, whether ἐν ὑμῖν means ‘_within you_’ or ‘_among you_.’ The
former is perhaps the more probable interpretation, as suggested by Rom.
viii. 10, 2 Cor. xiii. 5, Gal. iv. 19; comp. Ephes. iii. 17 κατοικῆσαι
τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν.
ἡ ἐλπίς] comp. 1 Tim. i. 2; so ἡ [κοινὴ] ἐλπὶς ἡμῶν Ign. _Eph._ 21,
_Magn. Philad._ 5, etc., applied to our Lord.
28, 29. ‘This Christ we, the Apostles and Evangelists, proclaim without
distinction and without reserve. We know no restriction either of
persons or of topics. We admonish every man and instruct every man. We
initiate every man in all the mysteries of wisdom. It is our single aim
to present every man fully and perfectly taught in Christ. For this end
I train myself in the discipline of self-denial; for this end I commit
myself to the arena of suffering and toil, putting forth in the conflict
all that energy which He inspires, and which works in me so powerfully.’
28. ἡμεῖς] ‘_we_,’ the preachers; the same opposition as in 1 Cor. iv.
8, 10, ix. 11, 2 Cor. xiii. 5 sq., 1 Thess. ii. 13 sq., etc. The Apostle
hastens, as usual, to speak of the part which he was privileged to bear
in this glorious dispensation. He is constrained to magnify his office.
See the next note, and comp. ver. 23.
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