καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ, ἵνα παραστήσωμεν πάντα
ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐν Χριστῷ·
ὃν ἡμεῖς κ.τ.λ.] as in St Paul’s own language at Thessalonica, Acts
xvii. 3 ὃν ἐγὼ καταγγέλλω ὑμῖν, and at Athens, Acts xvii. 23 τοῦτο ἐγὼ
καταγγέλλω ὑμῖν, in both which passages, as here, emphasis is laid on
the person of the preacher.
νουθετοῦντες] ‘_admonishing_.’ The two words νουθετεῖν and διδάσκειν
present complementary aspects of the preacher’s duty, and are related
the one to the other, as μετάνοια to πίστις, ‘_warning_ to repent,
_instructing_ in the faith.’ For the relation of νουθετεῖν to μετάνοια
See Plut. _Mor._ p. 68 ἕνεστι τὸ νουθετοῦν καὶ μετάνοιαν ἐμποιοῦν, p.
452 ἡ νουθεσία καὶ ὁ ψόγος ἐμποιεῖ μετάνοιαν καὶ αἰσχύνην. The two verbs
νουθετεῖν and διδάσκειν are connected in Plato _Protag._ 323 D, _Legg._
845 B, Plut. _Mor._ p. 46 (comp. p. 39), Dion Chrys. _Or._ xxxiii. p.
369; the substantives διδαχὴ and νουθέτησις in Plato _Resp._ 399 B.
Similarly νουθετεῖν and πείθειν occur together in Arist. _Rhet._ ii. 18.
For the two functions of the preacher’s office, corresponding
respectively to the two words, see St Paul’s own language in Acts xx. 21
διαμαρτυρόμενος ... τὴν εἰς Θεὸν μετάνοιαν καὶ πίστιν εἰς τὸν Κύριον
ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν.
πάντα ἄνθρωπον] three times repeated for the sake of emphasizing the
_universality_ of the Gospel. This great truth, for which St Paul gave
his life, was now again endangered by the doctrine of an intellectual
exclusiveness taught by the Gnosticizers at Colossæ, as before it had
been endangered by the doctrine of a ceremonial exclusiveness taught by
the Judaizers in Galatia. See above pp. 77, 92, 98 sq. For the
repetition of πάντα compare especially 1 Cor. x. 1 sq., where πάντες is
five times, and _ib._ xii. 29, 30, where it is seven times repeated; see
also Rom. ix. 6, 7, xi. 32, 1 Cor. xii. 13, xiii. 7, xiv. 31, etc.
Transcribers have been offended at this characteristic repetition here,
and consequently have omitted πάντα ἄνθρωπον in one place or other.
ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ] The Gnostic spoke of a blind faith for the many, of a
higher γνῶσις for the few. St Paul declares that the fullest wisdom is
offered to all alike. The character of the teaching is as free from
restriction, as are the qualifications of the recipients. Comp. ii. 2, 3
πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως ... πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς
σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως.
παραστήσωμεν] See the note on παραστῆσαι, ver. 22.
τέλειον] So 1 Cor. ii. 6, 7 σοφίαν δὲ λαλοῦμεν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις ... Θεοῦ
σοφίαν ἐν μυστηρίῳ τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην. In both these passages the
epithet τέλειος is probably a metaphor borrowed from the ancient
mysteries, where it seems to have been applied to the fully instructed,
as opposed to the novices: comp. Plato _Phædr._ 249 C τελέους ἀεὶ
τελετὰς τελούμενος τέλεος ὄντως μόνος γίγνεται... 250 B, C εἶδόν τε καὶ
ἐτελοῦντο τελετῶν ἣν θέμις λέγειν μακαριωτάτην ... μυούμενοί τε καὶ
ἐποπτεύοντες ἐν αὒγῇ καθαρᾷ, _Symp._ 209 E ταῦτα ... κἂν σὺ μυηθείης· τὰ
δὲ τέλεα καὶ ἐποπτικά ... οὐκ οἷ δ’ εἰ οἷός τ’ ἂν εἴης, Plut. _Fragm. de
An._ vi. 2 (v. p. 726 Wyttenb.) ὁ παντελὴς ἤδη καὶ μεμυημένος (with the
context), Dion Chrys. _Or._ xii. p. 203 τὴν ὁλόκληρον καὶ τῷ ὄντι
τελείαν τελετὴν μυούμενον; see Valcknaer on Eurip. _Hippol._ 25, and
Lobeck _Aglaoph._ p. 33 sq., p. 126 sq. Somewhat similarly in the LXX 1
Chron. xxv. 8 τελέιων καὶ μανθανόντων stands for ‘the teachers (or the
wise) and the scholars.’ So also in 2 Pet. i. 16 _ἐπόπται_
γενηθέντες τῆς ἐκείνου μεγαλειότητος we seem to have the same metaphor.
As an illustration it may be mentioned that Plato and Aristotle called
the higher philosophy ἐποπτικόν, because those who have transcended the
bounds of the material, οἷον ἐντελῆ [l. ἐν τελετῇ] τέλος ἔχειν
φιλοσοφίαν [φιλοσοφίας] νομίζουσι, Plut. _Mor._ 382 D, E. For other
metaphorical expressions in St Paul, derived from the mysteries, see
above on μυστήριον ver. 26. Influenced probably by this heathen use of
τέλειος, the early Christians applied it to the baptized, as opposed to
the catechumens: e.g. Justin _Dial._ 8 (p. 225 C) πάρεστιν ἐπιγνόντι σοι
τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τελείῳ γενομένῳ εὐδαιμονεῖν, _Clem. Hom._ iii.
29 ὑποχωρεῖν μοι κελεύσας, ὡς μήπω εἰληφότι τὸ πρὸς σωτηρίαν βάπτισμα,
τοῖς ἤδη τελείοις ἔφη κ.τ.λ., xi. 36 βαπτίσας ... ἤδη λοιπὸν τέλειον
ὄντα κ.τ.λ.; and for later writers see Suicer _Thes._ s. vv. τελειόω,
τελείωσις. At all events we may ascribe to its connexion with the
mysteries the fact that it was adopted by Gnostics at a later date, and
most probably by the Gnosticizers at this time, to distinguish the
possessors of the higher γνῶσις from the vulgar herd of believers: see
the passages quoted in the note on Phil. iii. 15. While employing the
favourite Gnostic term, the Apostle strikes at the root of the Gnostic
doctrine. The language descriptive of the heathen mysteries is
transferred by him to the Christian dispensation, that he may thus more
effectively contrast the things signified. The true Gospel also has its
mysteries, its hierophants, its initiation: but these are open to all
alike. In Christ every believer is τέλειος, for he has been admitted as
ἐπόπτης of its most profound, most awful, secrets. See again the note on
ἀπόκρυφοι, ii. 3.
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