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PHILIPPIANS

1 1 PAUL and Timotheus, slaves of Christ Jesus,

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to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and ministers:

grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God whenever I remember you-as in every prayer of 5 mine I always offer prayer for you all with joy-for your fellowship as 6 regards the gospel from the first day up to the present, confident as I am of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will finish 7 it, up to the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to have these thoughts on behalf of you all, because I carry you in my heart—you who are all partakers of my grace, both in my imprisonment and in the 8 defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I 9 long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And my prayer is this, that your love may excel more and more in full knowledge and all 10 moral perception, that you may prize the things that transcend, so as to 11 be sincere and void of offence in view of the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of uprightness which is through Jesus Christ to the honour and praise of God.

12 Now, brothers, I would have you understand, that my affairs have 13 really tended to the progress of the gospel; the result being that throughout the whole Court of Appeal and everywhere else, my imprisonment 14 has been recognised to be the imprisonment of a Christian; and further, my imprisonment has given confidence to the greater number of the brothers in the Lord, who wax more and more bold in speaking the word 15 of God fearlessly. Some indeed are preaching Christ even out of envy 16 and quarrelsomeness, and some also out of good will. The latter proclaim Christ from love, as they know that I am destined to defend the 17 gospel; the former from factiousness, from no pure motive, thinking to 18 cause me distress as well as imprisonment. What does it matter? at all events, in every way, be it in pretext or in honesty, Christ is being 19 proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I shall rejoice; for I know that all this will result in my deliverance through your prayer and the 20 supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, as I eagerly anticipate and hope that I shall be put to shame in nothing, but that with all confidence now as ever Christ will be magnified in my body, either by life or 21, 22 by death. For to me life is Christ and death is gain. Yet if life in the flesh--if that means fruitful work for me, then I cannot tell which to 23 prefer. I am in a dilemma between two courses: I have the desire 24 to depart and be with Christ, for that is far far better; however, to stay 25 on in the flesh is more needful on your account. So, persuaded of this, I know that I shall remain and live on with you all for your progress and 26 joy in the faith; that through me you may have abundant reason for 27 exulting in Christ Jesus, over my return to you. Only, conduct

yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving together with one soul for the faith of 28 the gospel, and not scared in anything by your adversaries: such fearlessness is a proof to them of perdition, but to you of salvation, and salvation too 29 from God; because you have had this grace given you on behalf of Christ, 30 not only to believe on him but also to suffer on his behalf-while you wage the very contest that, as once you saw and now you hear, I wage. 21 I pray you then, by every exhortation in Christ, by every incentive of love, by any participation in the Spirit, by all affection and tender mercies, 2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, with the same love, with one 3 soul and one mind: do nothing by way of faction or empty pride, but 4 in humility let each consider the other better than himself, consulting not your own interests, but also those of each other.

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus—

6 Who though existing in the form of God, considered not equality with God a prize to be seized,

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But emptied himself by taking the form of a slave :

8 Born in the likeness of men, and found in fashion like a man

He humbled himself in obedience as far as death, even the death of the cross.

9 Therefore God also lifted him on high

And bestowed on him a name above every name,

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow In heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 And every tongue confess that "Jesus is Lord "--to the honour of God the Father.

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So then, my beloved, even as you have always been obedient, not as when I am present merely, but much more now when I am absent, work out 13 with fear and trembling your own salvation; for it is God who renders 14 both will and deed effective in you, for his own good pleasure. Do 15 all without murmurs and disputes; that you may be blameless and

guileless, the children of God, faultless in the midst of a generation crooked and perverse, among whom you appear like luminaries in the world: 16 holding fast the word of life, that I may have reason to exult in the day 17 of Christ that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. Yes, although I have my blood poured out on the sacrifice and sacred service of your 18 faith, I rejoice for myself and rejoice with you all; even so do you rejoice and rejoice with me.

19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus soon to send you Timotheus, that I also 20 may be of good courage when I learn of your affairs. For I have no man with a soul like his, who will have a genuine concern for your affairs; 21 one and all are seeking their own interests, not the interests of Jesus 22 Christ. But you know his tried character, how he served with me in the 23 gospel, like a child with his father. I hope then to send him directly, so 24 soon as I see how my own affairs turn out; but I am confident in the 25 Lord that before long I shall also come myself. And I consider it needful to send you Epaphroditus, who is my brother and fellow-worker and fellow26 soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need; for he was longing for you all and sorely troubled because you had heard that he 27 was ill and ill he was indeed, nearly to death; but God had pity on him, and not merely on him, but also on me, lest I should have sorrow 28 upon sorrow. I send him then all the more eagerly, that you may rejoice 29 once more at seeing him, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive

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30 him in the Lord then with all joy, and value men like him; because for the work of Christ he came near to death, hazarding his life to make up for the lack of your ministry towards me.

31 Well then, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write you the same 2 things is not irksome to me, and it is prudent for you.-Beware_of 3 the dogs! Beware of the wicked workers! Beware of the Incision. For we are the Circumcision, we who worship with the Spirit of God and exult 4 in Christ Jesus, and put no reliance in the flesh. Though I myself also possess ground for relying on the flesh. If any one else presumes to put 5 reliance on the flesh, far more can I!-circumcised on the eighth day, belonging to the race of Israel, to the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born 6 of Hebrews, as regards the law a Pharisee, as regards zeal a persecutor of the Community, as regards the uprightness of the law proved blameless. 7,8 But what was gain to me, this I have for Christ considered loss. Yes indeed, and I consider everything to be loss for the sake of the surpassing knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I forfeited everything, and 9 consider it as mere refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in him (possessing not the uprightness which is from the law as my uprightness, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the uprightness which 10 faith has from God), so as to know him-know the power of his resurrection and what it is to participate in his sufferings, being conformed to 11 his death, if so be that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have obtained it already, or that already I am perfected; nay

I press on to try and overtake it, seeing that I myself have been over13 taken by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not 1 reckon myself to have overtaken it. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and stretching 14 forward to what lies before, I press on to the goal for the prize of the 15 high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let all of us therefore who are perfect be of this mind; and if you differ in mind upon any matter, God 16 shall reveal that also to you. At any rate, so far as we have attained, let 17 us walk in the same steps. Brothers, unite in imitating me, and 18 mark those who walk even as you have us for a pattern. For many are walking-of whom I often used to tell you and tell you now with tears, 19 that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: perdition is their fate, the

belly their god, in their shame they glory, men whose mind is set on earthly 20 things. It is in heaven our commonwealth exists; and from heaven we 21 wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall fashion the body that belongs to our humiliation till it is like the body that belongs to his majesty, in virtue of the force with which he is also able to subject everything to himself.

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So then, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and wreath, 2 stand thus firm in the Lord, beloved. I appeal to Euôdia and Í 3 appeal to Syntychê to be of the same mind in the Lord. Also I pray thee, true Synzygus, assist these women'; for they strove by my side in the service of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my 4 fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord 5 always. Again I will say it, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to 6 all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and entreaty together with thanksgiving let your requests be 7 made known before God; so shall the peace of God which surpasses all conception guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Well then, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is serious, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is courteous, all

1 Reading où.

9 excellence, all merit, keep these in mind! Practise what you have also learned and received and heard and seen in me; so shall the God of peace be with you.

10 It was a great joy to me in the Lord that you at last blossomed out in thoughtfulness on my behalf; though what you did lack indeed was not 11 thoughtfulness but opportunity. Not that I speak on the score of want; For I have learnt to be content with my position.

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I know how to live in straits,

I know also how to live in wealth:

In each and every case I hold the secret

of fulness and of hunger,

of wealth and of want.

I am able for anything, in him who strengthens me.

14 Nevertheless, you have done well to make common cause with me in my 15 hardship. You yourselves are aware, Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel when I left Macedonia no Community had dealings with me in 16 the matter of debit and credit, none except yourselves; for even when I 17 was in Thessalonika you sent once and again to relieve my need. Not that 18 I crave the gift; I crave the accumulation of interest to your account. I have got everything, and I abound; I am fully supplied, after receiving from Epaphroditus what you sent, an odour of fragrance, an acceptable sacrifice 19 well-pleasing to God. And my God shall fully supply every need of yours through his riches in majesty in Christ Jesus.

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Now to our God and Father be the honour for ever and ever: Amen.

Salute every saint in Christ Jesus.

The brothers who are with me salute you.

All the saints salute you, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.

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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER

Two tides of fire swept through the Christian world of the first century: the outburst of Nero's malevolence and the persecution under Domitian. Up to the time of the former, the capital enemy of Christianity had been the Jew, not Caesar. But the punishment of the Christians (64 A.D.) as scapegoats for the Emperor first introduced persecution to the Christian horizon, which had hitherto (Phil 112f-Ac 2831) been comparatively unclouded. The agitation and shock produced by this forms the background of 1 Peter. Evidently sporadic and spasmodic persecution (év T xóoμ, 59) was going on in the provinces upon the charge of the Name.1 The Christians quá Christian were liable to be sought out and punished. Ripples had passed out from the capital, where Peter wrote, to the Asiatic provinces, and recently affected the position of Christians in those localities. Consequently the purport of this message to Northern Asia is practically the same as the instruction and encouragement given nearly twenty years earlier, perhaps, by Paul and Barnabas to Southern Asia: ὅτι διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεου (Ac 1422). Only, the situation is graver. Possibly it was aggravated by the local restlessness and turbulence, e.g. in the province of Bithynia during its senatorial administration between 27 B.C. and the despatch of Pliny in 112 A.D. to execute necessary reforms. In these years disorganisation and riot were a common feature of the province, so that references such as those made in 1 Peter to social interference are historically credible by the seventh decade of the first century. There is not, indeed, any reason "why Asia Minor should not have had persecutions of its own, independent of any known persecution bearing an Emperor's name, and perhaps even a little earlier than Nero's persecution" (Hort). At the

1 This is a weighty and disputed point. On the view taken above, persecution and punishment for the "name" of Christian commenced as early as the seventh decade of the first century. Even under Nero it became criminal to be a Christian. This is practically Mommsen's position, supported by Mr. E. G. Hardy (Christianity and the Roman Empire, 1894, pp. 70 f., 80 f., 125 f.), Prof. Sanday (Exp. vii. p. 405 f.), and those editors who accept the seventh-decade date and authenticity of the writing. A casual remark like that in Phil 113 shows that the distinctiveness of Christianity was not unrecognised in Rome even as early as the opening of the seventh decade. This is put with much force by Chase (DB, iii. p. 784 f.), whose article on the epistle is the finest piece of work upon it in any language. He adopts the pre-64 date.

2 The figurative sense of " Babylon" suits excellently the situation and the semiapocalyptic tinge of the writing (314-22 47f. 12-19 58 f.). It is widely accepted in modern criticism: cp. Renan, l'Antéchrist, chap. v.; Seufert, ZwTh (1885), pp. 146–156; Salmon, INT, p. 440 f.; Lightfoot, Clement, ii. p. 491 f.; O. Holtzmann, Neutest. Zeitgesch. (1885), p. 97; Hort, Jud. Christ. p. 155; von Soden, HC, ad loc.; Jülicher, Einl. p. 132; Ramsay, CRE, pp. 286, 287; Sanday and Headlam, "Romans," ICC, p. xxix.; McGiffert, AA, p. 598; Chase, DB, i. pp. 213, 214; and Zahn (Einl. ii. pp. 19-21), with many others.

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On the flagitia of Christians, cp. the English summaries and discussions in Church Quart. Review (Oct. 1895), pp. 26-47; F. C. Conybeare, Monuments of Early Christianity 2 (1896), pp. 282-288; and Lecky, Hist. Europ. Morals, chap. iii.

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