TEXT. 12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord. 13 Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. 15 Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. 16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. 17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such, serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good; and simple concerning evil. PARAPHRASE. Salute all those of the household of Narcissus, who have em12 braced the Gospel. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who take pains in the Gospel. Salute the beloved Persis, who laboured 13 much in the Lord. Salute Rufus, chosen or selected to be a 14 disciple of the Lord; and his mother and mine. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren 15 who are with them. Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. с 17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark those who cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, 18 and avoid them. For they serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies, and by good words and fair speeches, insinuating themselves, deceive well-meaning, simple men. 19 Your conversion and ready compliance with the doctrine of the Gospel, when it was brought to you, is known in the world, and generally talked of: I am glad, for your sakes, that you so forwardly obeyed the Gospel. But give me leave to advise you to be wise and cautious in preserving yourselves steady in what is wise and good; but employ no thought, or skill, how to circumvent or injure another: be in this re NOTES. 18 Such as these we have a description of, Tit. i. 10, 11. * A direction much like this you have, 1 Cor. xiv. 20, and Eph. iv. 13-15. TEXT. 20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 21 Timotheus my work-fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. 22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. 23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, saluteth you, and Quartus, a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my PARAPHRASE. 20 gard very plain and simple. For God, who is the giver and lover of peace, will soon rid you of these ministers of Satan', the disturbers of your peace, who make divisions amongst yous. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 21 Timothy my workfellow, and Lucius and Jason, and Sosi22 pater, my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius, who wrote this 23 epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the 24 city, saluteth you; and Quartus, a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all. Amen. you 25 Now to him that is able to settle and establish you in an adherence to my Gospel, and to that which I deliver, con h NOTES. 20 f So those who made divisions in the church of Corinth are called, 2 Cor. xi. 14, 15. 25h "Shall bruise Satan," i. e. shall break the force and attempts of Satan, upon your peace, by these his instruments, who would engage you in quarrels and discords. My Gospel." St. Paul cannot be supposed to have used such an expression as this, unless he knew that what he preached had something in it, that distinguished it from what was preached by others; which was plainly the mystery, as he every where calls it, of God's purpose, of taking in the Gentiles to be his people, under the Messiah, and that without subjecting them to circumcision, or the law of Moses. This is that which he here calls τὸ κήρυγμα Ἰησοῦ Χρισοῦ, "the preaching of Jesus Christ;" for without this he did not think that Christ was preached to the Gentiles as he ought to be: and therefore in several places of his epistle to the Galatians he calls it "the truth," and "the truth of the Gospel" and uses the like expressions to the Ephesians and Colossians. This is that mystery which he is so much concerned that the Ephesians should understand and stick firm to, which was revealed to him according to that Gospel, whereof he was made the minister; as may be seen at large in that epistle, particularly chap. iii. 6,7. The same thing he declares to the Colossians in his epistle to them, particularly chap. i. 27-29, and ii. 6-8. For that he, in a peculiar manner, preached this doctrine so as none of the other apostles did, may be seen Acts xxi. 18-25. Acts xv. 6, 7. For though the other apostles and elders of the church of Jerusalem had determined, that the Gentiles should only keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; yet it is plain enough from what they say, Acts xxi. 20—24, that they taught not, nay, probably did not think, what St. Paul openly declares to TEXT. Gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, (according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began; 26 But now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations, for the obedience of faith.) 27 To God, only wise, be glory, through Jesus Christ, for ever. Amen. PARAPHRASE. cerning Jesus Christ, in my preaching, conformable to the revelation of the mystery, which lay unexplained in the 26 secular times; But now is laid open, and, by the writings of the prophets, made known (according to the commandment of the everlasting God) to the Gentiles of all nations, for the bringing them in to the obedience of the law of faith. 27 To the only wise God be glory, through Jesus Christ, for ever. Amen. NOTES. the Ephesians, that the law of Moses was abolished by the death of Christ, Eph. ii. 15. Which, if St. Peter and St. James had been as clear in as was St. Paul, St. Peter would not have incurred his reproof, as he did by his carriage, mentioned Gal. ii. 12, &c. But in all this may be seen the wisdom and goodness of God, to both Jews and Gentiles. See note, Eph. ii. 15. iThat the mystery, he here speaks of, is the calling of the Gentiles, may be seen in the following words; which is that which, in many of his epistles, he calls mystery. See Eph. i. 9, and iii. 3-9. Col. i. 25-27. k Xpóvos aluviois, "in the secular times," or in the times under the law. Why the times, under the law, were called xpóvos aiwo, we may find reason in their jubilees, which were alves, "secula" or "ages," by which all the time, under the law, was measured; and so xpóvo alú is used 2 Tim. i. 9. Tit. i. 2. And so alves are put for the times of the law, or the jubilees, Luke i. 70. Acts iii. 21. 1 Cor. ii. 7, and x. 11. Eph. iii. 9. Col. i. 26. Heb. ix. 26. And so God is called the rock by aiwvwv, of ages, Isai. xxvi. 4, in the same sense that he is called the rock of Israel, Isai. xxx. 29, i. e. the strength and support of the Jewish state for it is of the Jews the prophet here speaks. So Exod. xxi. 6, ohyb, eis tòv aiŵya, signifies not, as we translate it," for ever," but "to the jubilee;" which will appear, if we compare Lev. xxv. 30-41, and Exod. xxi. 2: see "Burthogg's Christianity, a revealed Mystery," p. 17, 18 Now, that the times of the law were the times spoken of here, by St. Paul, seems plain, from that which he declares to have continued a mystery during all those times; to wit, God's purpose of taking in the Gentiles to be his people, under the Messiah for this could not be said to be a mystery, at any other time but during the time that the Jews were the peculiar people of God, separated to him, from among the nations of the earth. Before that time, there was no such name, or notion of distinction, as Gentiles. Before the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the calling of the Israelites to be God's peculiar people was as much a mystery as the calling of others, out of other nations, was a mystery afterwards. All that St. Paul insists on here, and in all the places where he mentions this mystery, is to show, that though God has declared this his purpose to the Jews, by the predictions of his prophets, amongst them; yet it lay concealed from their knowledge, it was a mystery to them; they understood no such thing; there was not any where the least suspicion or thought of it, till, the Messiah being come, it was openly declared, by St. Paul, to the Jews and Gentiles, and made out by the writings of the prophets, which were now understood. VOL. VIII, CC |