The Epistle to the Romans, though it is not merely a systematic treatise, is more systematic than any other of the Pauline Epistles. Unlike the epistles that preceded it, it was written in a period of comparative quiet between two great stages in the apostle's work. Not unnaturally, therefore, it contains something like a summary of Paul's teaching. The summary, however, does not embrace the whole of the Pauline theology, but only one important department of it. The nature of God, for example, and the person of Christ, are not discussed in the Epistle to the Romans. Of course Paul held very definite views upon these subjects, and these views are presupposed on every page of the epistle—especially the loftiest possible conception of the person of Christ lies at the background of this entire account of Christ's work—but such presuppositions do not in this epistle receive an elaborate exposition. The real subject of the first eight chapters of Romans is not theology in general, but simply the way of salvation. How can man be saved—that is the question which Paul answers in this epistle.
Obviously the question is of the utmost practical importance. The Epistle to the Romans is absolutely fundamental for the establishment of Christian faith. This estimate, which was formerly a matter of course, has in recent years unfortunately fallen into disrepute. The Epistle to the Romans, after all, it is said, is concerned with theology, whereas what we need is simple faith. We must return from Romans to the Gospels, from Paul to Christ. The words of Jesus, recorded in the Gospels, are thus emphasized to the prejudice of the teaching of the apostle.
This tendency should be resisted with the utmost firmness. It is striking at the very vitals of the Church's life. After all, Jesus came, as has been well said, not to say something, but to do something. His words are very precious, we could never do without them; but after all they are subsidiary to his deeds. His life and death and resurrection—these are the things that wrought salvation for men. And these great saving acts could not be fully explained till after they had been done. For an explanation of them, therefore,we must turn not only to the Gospels but also to the epistles, not only to Jesus but also to Paul. Paul was in a special sense our apostle; like us, he had never known the earthly Jesus. Just for that reason, through the divine revelation that was granted him, he could guide all subsequent generations to the risen Christ. The Epistle to the Romans, more fully perhaps than any other book, points out the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ. It does not, indeed, solve all mysteries; but it reveals enough to enable us to believe.
The edict of Claudius which expelled the Jews from Rome was certainly not permanently effective; indeed there are some indications that it was modified almost as soon as it was issued. But although it did not keep the Jews out of Rome, it may at least have hastened the separation between Judaism and Christianity. If the conflict between the two, as a conflict within Judaism, had given rise to the hostile edict, then, as has plausibly been suggested, the separation might be in the interests of both parties. If the church were kept separate from the synagogue, the Jews would be protected from dangerous disorders and from the opposition which would be encountered by a new and illegal religion, and the Christians, on the other hand, would be protected from the Claudian edict against the Jews.
The address of the Epistle to the Romans is remarkable for the long addition which is made to the name of the author. Paul was writing to a church which he had never seen. His excuse for writing was to be found only in the gospel with which he had been intrusted. At the very start, therefore, he places his gospel in the foreground. Here, however, it is rather the great presupposition of the gospel which is in mind—Jesus Christ in his double nature. One who has been commissioned to preach to the Gentiles the gospel of such a Christ may certainly address a letter to Rome.
In connection with the customary thanksgiving, Paul mentions his long-cherished desire of visiting the Roman Christians. He desires to impart unto them some spiritual gift—no, he says, rather he desires to receive from them as well as to give. The correction is characteristic of Paul. Some men would have felt no need of making it. As a matter of fact, Paul was fully in a position toimpart spiritual gifts. But he was afraid his readers might feel hurt—as though the apostle thought they could make no return for the benefit which the visit would bring them. It is an exquisite bit of fine discernment and delicate courtesy. But like all true courtesy, it was based on fact. Paul was really not a man to decline help and comfort from even the humblest of the brethren.
In vs. 16, 17, the theme of the epistle is announced—the gospel the power of God unto salvation, the gospel which reveals a righteousness of God that is received by faith. The meaning of "a righteousness of God" has been much disputed. Some think that it refers to the righteousness which is an attribute of God. More probably, however, it is to be interpreted in the light of ch. 10:3; Phil. 3:9. It then refers to that right relation of man to God which God himself produces. There are two ways of receiving a sentence of acquittal from God the Judge. One is by keeping the law of God perfectly. The other is by receiving through faith the righteousness of Christ. The former is impossible because of sin. The latter has been made possible by the gift of Christ. As sinners, we are subject to the punishment of death. But that punishment has been paid for us by Christ. We therefore go free; we can start fresh, with the consciousness of God's favor. We are "justified"—that is, "pronounced righteous"—not because we are free from sin, but because by his grace God looks not upon us but upon Christ. We have been pronounced righteous, but not on account of our own works. We possess not our own righteousness but "a righteousness of God."
This righteousness of God is received by faith. Faith is not a work, it is simply the willingness to receive. Christ has promised by his death to bring us to God. We may not understand it all, but is Christ to be believed? Study the Gospel picture of him, and you will be convinced that he is.
Justification by faith, then, means being pronounced righteous by God, although we are sinners. It might seem to be a very dangerous doctrine. If we are pronounced righteous whether we are really righteous or not, then may we not go on with impunity in sin? Such reasoning ignores the results of justification. Faith brings more than forgiveness. It brings a new life. In the new life sin has no place. The Christian has broken forever with his old slavery. Though perfection has not yet been attained in practice, it has been attained in principle, and by the power of the Spirit all sin will finally be removed. The Christian cannot compromise with sin. Salvation is not only from the guilt of sin, but also from thepower of it. The sixth chapter of Romans leaves no room for moral laxness.
It is interesting to compare Romans with Galatians. The subject of the two epistles is the same. Both are concerned with salvation by faith alone, apart from the works of the law. In many passages the two are parallel. The fuller exposition in Romans is often the best commentary upon the briefer statements of Galatians. For example, the words: "What then is the law? It was added because of transgressions"—very obscure as they stand in Galatians—are explained by Rom. 5:20; ch. 7. In tone, however, the two epistles are widely different. Galatians is written in view of one definite attack upon the gospel; Romans is a general exposition summing up the results of the conflict. When Paul wrote Galatians he was in the thick of the battle; at the time of Romans he had fought his way through to the heights.
The Epistle to the Romans, however, is no cold, purely logical treatise. Theology here is interwoven with experience. No exposition can do justice to this wonderful letter. To read about it is sometimes dull; but to read it is life.
Chapters 9 to 11 of this epistle are interesting in a great many ways. They are interesting, for example, in their tremendous conception of the mystery of the divine will. The ninth chapter of Romans is a good corrective for any carelessness in our attitude toward God. After all, God is a mystery. How little we know of his eternal plan! We must ever tremble before him. Yet it is such a God who has invited us, through Christ, to hold communion with himself. There is the true wonder of the gospel—that it brings us into fellowship, not with a God of our own devising, not with one who is a Father and nothing else, but with the awful, holy, mysterious Maker and Ruler of all things. The joy of the believer is the deepest of all joys. It is a joy that is akin to holy fear.
These chapters are also interesting because they attest the attachment of Paul to the Jewish people. Where is there a nobler expression of patriotism than Rom. 9:1-5? Exclusive attention to the polemic passages where Paul is defending the Gentile mission and denying the efficacy of the Mosaic law, have produced in the minds of some scholars a one-sided view of Paul's attitude toward Israel. Paul did not advocate the destruction of the identity of hispeople. He believed that even the natural Israel had a part to play on the stage of history. These chapters of Romans, together with some other passages in the epistles, such as I Cor. 9:20, confirm what the Book of The Acts tells us about Paul's willingness, when no principle was involved, to conform to Jewish custom.
The genuineness of the Epistle to the Romans is undoubted, but its "integrity" has been questioned. The epistle was certainly written by Paul, but was it all, as we now have it, originally part of one letter? By many scholars the greater part of the sixteenth chapter is supposed to have originally formed part of an epistle of Paul written not to Rome but to Ephesus. The chief argument for this hypothesis is derived from the long list of names in ch. 16:3-15. Could Paul have had so many personal acquaintances in a church which he had never visited? The argument is not conclusive. Just because Paul could not appeal in his letter to any personal acquaintance with the Roman church as a whole, it would be natural for him to mention at least all the individuals in the church with whom he stood in any sort of special relation. Furthermore, the frequency of travel in the Roman Empire must be borne in mind. Many persons whom Paul had met on his travels would naturally find their way to the capital. Finally, Aquila and Priscilla, though they had recently lived in Ephesus, I Cor. 16:19, may easily have resumed their former residence in Rome. Acts 18:2; Rom. 16:3-5.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 226-231. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves, (supplemented) article on "Romans, Epistle to the." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Robertson, article on "Romans, Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 77-82. Gifford, "The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans." Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. ii, pp. 193-280: Sanday, "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools": Moule, "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans." "The International Critical Commentary": Sanday and Headlam, "A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 352-438. The two last-named works presuppose a knowledge of Greek.
The material of this lesson is so extensive that only the barest summary can be attempted in the class. The great features of the narrative should be made to stand out clear—the bitter opposition of the Jews, the favorable attitude of the Roman authorities, the journey to Rome. Before the lesson is over the student should have a deeper impression of the character of Paul—his perfect ease and tactfulness in the various relations of life, his unswerving boldness where the gospel was concerned, his inexplicable power. Finally, the peculiar quality of the narrative should be appreciated. These chapters contain the two longer "we-sections" of The Acts.
At first Paul had intended to sail direct from Corinth to Syria, but a plot of the Jews caused him to change his plan. Acts 20:3. It has been suggested that the ship upon which he was intending to sail may have carried non-Christian Jews, going to the approaching feast in Jerusalem, v. 16, who could have done him harm upon the voyage. By choosing the route through Macedonia he averted the immediate danger.
The use of the first person plural begins again at Acts 20:5. It was broken off at ch. 16:17. Luke had parted from Paul at Philippi on the second missionary journey; and it is at Philippi that he now appears again. The following journeys, in which Luke himself took part, are narrated with the utmost vividness and minuteness. The narrative amounts practically to a diary—in some sections every day is accounted for.
The departure from Philippi took place "after the days of unleavened bread," that is, after the passover week. Acts 20:6. From the account of the subsequent journey it is not quite possible to tell whether Paul actually succeeded in carrying out his plan of being in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Pentecost, it will be remembered, came fifty days after the beginning of the passover week.
The description of the last evening at Troas, when Paul prolonged his discourse in the lighted room, is one of the inimitably vivid scenes of The Acts. Probably we are to understand that Eutychus, who fell down from a window in the third story, was really killed and not merely stunned. Verse 10 might seem to indicate that he was only stunned, but the last words of v. 9 point rather to actual, and not merely apparent, death. The miracle is paralleled by the raising of Dorcas by Peter. Acts 9:36-42.
When Paul told the elders that they would see his face "no more," or perhaps rather "no longer," Acts 20:25,38, he did not necessarily mean that he would certainly never return to Ephesus. For a period of years, at any rate, he was intending to transfer his labors to the west; his return to Ephesus, therefore, was at all events uncertain. His long activity at Ephesus, which had occupied the better part of the past three years, was for the present at an end. From the Pastoral Epistles it appears that as a matter of fact Paul did visit Ephesus again after his release from the first Roman imprisonment.
At Tyre and at Cæsarea, Paul received warnings against visiting Jerusalem. These warnings came through the Spirit, Acts 21:4,11, but not in the sense that the Holy Spirit commanded Paul not to go. The meaning is that the Spirit warned him of the dangers that were to befall him. In meeting these dangers bravely he was acting in full accordance with the divine will.
At Acts 21:18 the use of the first person plural ceases, because Luke had no immediate part in the events that followed. It is natural to suppose, however, that he remained in Palestine, for he joined Paul again in Cæsarea, at the beginning of the journey to Rome. For the events of Paul's imprisonment in Jerusalem and in Cæsarea he had first-hand information.
The vow in which Paul took part at the request of James was at least similar to the Nazirite vow described in Num. 6:1-21. Not all the details of such vows are perfectly clear. Paul himself, on his own account, had assumed a similar vow on his second missionary journey, Acts 18:18—unless indeed, as is grammatically possible, the words in that passage refer to Aquila rather than to Paul.
It was not true, as the Christians of Judea had been led to think,that Paul taught the Jewish Christians of the dispersion to forsake the law of Moses, though he was insistent that the Gentile Christians must not adopt that law. It was not even true that he himself had altogether given up keeping the law, though the exigencies of his Gentile work required him to give it up very often, and though he regarded himself as inwardly free from the law. His willingness to take part in a Jewish vow in Jerusalem is therefore not surprising. His action on this occasion was fully justified by the principles of his conduct as described in I Cor. 9:20,21. The keeping of the law was not for Paul a means of obtaining salvation. Salvation was a free gift of God, through the death of Christ. But for the present the general relinquishment of the law and abandonment of the distinctive customs of Judaism on the part of Jewish Christians was not required. Paul was willing to leave that question to the future guidance of God.
It is somewhat surprising that the Book of The Acts mentions the great collection for the Jerusalem church only incidentally, in the report of a speech of Paul. Acts 24:17. The interest of Luke in this part of the narrative is absorbed in the relations between Paul and the non-Christian Jews and the Roman authorities. The internal affairs of the Church are left for the most part out of account. The Acts and the Pauline Epistles, here as so often, must be allowed to supplement each other. Luke gives a vivid picture of the external events, and a clear view of the relations of Christianity to the outside world; while Paul affords us a deeper insight, in some respects at least, into the inward development of the Church's life.
The famous reply of Agrippa to Paul, Acts 26:28, is exceedingly difficult to translate and to interpret. The translation in the Revised Version is by no means certainly correct. The words may mean, "A little more of this persuasion will make me a Christian!" or else, "You seem to think that the little persuasion you have used is sufficient to make me a Christian." In any case, the sentence displays a certain perplexity on the part of the king. He certainly does not mean that he is on the point of accepting Christianity—his words have a half-ironical tone—but on the other hand his interest is aroused. The same thing is probably to be said for Festus. He said, "Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad," but he said it with a loud voice as though he were agitated. There was something uncanny about this prisoner!
The dates of many events in the apostolic age have usually been fixed by counting from the accession of Festus. Unfortunately, however, that event itself cannot be dated with certainty. Some put it as late as A. D. 61, others as early as A. D. 55. If the date A. D. 60 be provisionally adopted, then Paul's arrest in Jerusalem occurred in A. D. 58, and his arrival in Rome in A. D. 61. The conclusion of the narrative in The Acts would then fall in the year A. D. 63. It will be remembered that the proconsulship of Gallio now affords an additional starting point for a chronology of the apostolic age.
After the meeting between Paul and James, which is narrated in Acts 21:17-26, the Jerusalem church, at least so far as any direct narrative is concerned, disappears from the pages of the New Testament. It will be observed that in the account of Paul's last visit, only James, the brother of the Lord, and "the elders" are mentioned as representatives of the church. Possibly some of the twelve apostles may be included under the term "elders," but it is also perfectly possible that the apostles were all out of the city.
James, the brother of the Lord, continued to be the head of the Jerusalem church until he was martyred—in A. D. 62, or, as others suppose, in A. D. 66. Before the war which culminated in the capture of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, the Christians of the city fled to Pella beyond the Jordan. From that time, on, though the Christians returned after the war, Jewish Christianity was quite uninfluential. The supremacy of the Jerusalem church was gone. But that church had already rendered a priceless service. It had laid the foundations of Christendom. It had sent forth the first missionaries. And it had preserved the record of Jesus' life. The Synoptic Gospels, in substance at least, are a product of the Jerusalem church.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 160-166, 231-239. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on the many persons and places mentioned in the narrative, especially "Felix," "Festus," and "Herod" (4). Ramsay, "St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen," pp. 283-362; "Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 270-285, 310-364. Lewin, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," vol. ii, chs. ii, iii, iv, v, and vi. Conybeare and Howson, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," chs. xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, xxiv and xxv. Stalker, "The Life of St. Paul," pp. 121-133. Lumby, pp. 266-380. Cook, pp. 485-534. Plumptre, pp. 136-184. Rackham, pp. 370-513.
With the lesson for to-day, we are introduced to the third group among the epistles of Paul. The epistles of the second group, which were written during the third missionary journey, are concerned with the problem of sin and salvation; the epistles of the third group are interesting especially for their teaching about the person of Christ and about the Church. A period of about three or four years separates the last epistle of the second group from the first epistle of the third. Most of this interval had been spent by Paul in captivity. Undoubtedly, during this period of enforced leisure, there had been development in Paul's thinking, but it is very difficult to determine exactly wherein that development consisted. The differences of the third group of epistles from the second are due to the difference in the readers at least as much as to a difference in Paul himself. It is hard to say just how much of Colossians and Ephesians Paul would have been incapable of writing during the third missionary journey.
At any rate, the epistles of the captivity differ from those of the former group in being for the most part quieter in tone. During the third journey Paul had had to continue the great battles of his career against various forms of Judaizing error. Christianity at one time seemed to be in danger of being reduced to a mere form of Judaism; the free grace of God was being deserted for a law religion; faith was being deserted for works. In Galatia, the question of principle had been uppermost; in Corinth, the personal attack upon Paul. Everywhere, moreover, the gospel of salvation by faith was exposed to misconception. Pagan license was threatening to creep into the Church. Unless it could be kept out, the legalists would have some apparent show of reason on their side. Taking it all in all, it had been a hard battle. But it had been gloriously fought, and it had been won. Now Paul was able to turn his attention to new fields of labor and to new problems.
The Epistle to the Colossians is peculiarly "Christological." More fully and more expressly than in any other of his letters Paulhere develops his view about the person of Christ. Even here, however, this teaching is incidental; it was simply Paul's way of refuting certain errors that had crept into the Colossian church. Except for those errors Paul would perhaps never have written at length, as he does in Col. 1:14-23, about the relation of Christ to God and to the world. Yet in that case his own views would have been the same, and they would have been just as fundamental to his whole religious life. In the epistles, which are written to Christians, Paul takes many things for granted. Some of the things which are most fundamental appear only incidentally. Just because they were fundamental, just because they were accepted by everyone, they did not need to be discussed at length.
So it is especially with the person of Christ. From the first epistle to the last, Paul presupposes essentially the same view of that great subject. Practically everything that he says in Colossians could have been inferred from scattered hints in the earlier epistles. From the beginning Paul regarded Jesus Christ as a man, who had a real human life and died a real death on the cross. From the beginning, on the other hand, he separated Christ sharply from men and placed him clearly on the side of God. From the beginning, in other words, he attributed to him a double nature—Jesus Christ was always in Paul's thinking both God and man. Finally, the preëxistence of Christ, which is so strongly emphasized in Colossians, is clearly implied in such passages as Gal. 4:4; and his activity in creation appears, according to the best-attested text, in I Cor. 8:6.
Nevertheless, the more systematic exposition in Colossians is of the utmost value. It serves to summarize and explain the scattered implications of the earlier epistles. Christ according to Paul is, in the first place, "the image of the invisible God." Col. 1:15. He is the supreme Revealer of God, a Revealer, however, not merely by words but by his own nature. If you want to know what God is, look upon Christ! In the second place, he is "the firstborn of all creation." Of itself that phrase might be misconstrued. It might be thought to mean that Christ was the first being that God created. Any such interpretation, however, is clearly excluded by the three following verses. There Paul has himself provided an explanation of his puzzling phrase. "The firstborn of all creation" means that Christ, himself uncreated, existed before all created things; he was prior to all things, and, as befits an only son, he possesses all things. Indeed he himself was active in the creation of all things, not only the world, and men, but also those angelic powers—"thrones ordominions or principalities or powers"—upon whom the errorists in Colossæ were inclined to lay too much emphasis. He was the instrument of God the Father in creation. And he was also the end of creation. The world exists not for its own sake, but for the sake of Christ. Especially is he the Head of the Church. His headship is declared by his being the first to rise from the dead into that glorious life into which he will finally bring all his disciples. In a word, the entire "fulness" of the divine nature dwells in Christ. That word "fulness" was much misused in the "Gnostic" speculations of the second century. It is barely possible that the word had already been employed in the incipient Gnosticism of the Colossian errorists. If so, Paul by his repeated use of the word in Colossians and Ephesians, is bringing his readers back to a healthier and simpler and grander conception.
In Col. 1:20-23, Paul bases upon the preceding exposition of the nature of Christ a noble description of Christ's work. The work which has been intrusted to Christ is nothing less than that of reconciling the creation unto God. Through sin, an enmity had been set up between God and the work of his hands. That enmity applies primarily of course to the sinful persons themselves. They are under God's wrath and curse. Sin is not a trifle. It cannot simply be treated as though it had never been. If God be righteous, then there is such a thing as a moral order. The wrath of God rests upon the sinner. But by the sacrifice of Christ, that enmity has been wiped out. Christ has paid the awful penalty of sin. Christ has brought the sinner again near to God. The enmity and the following reconciliation concern primarily the men who have sinned. But they also apply to the whole world. The ground has been cursed for man's sake. The end of the reconciliation will be a new heaven and a new earth. The groaning and travailing of the creation will one day have an end. Compare Rom. 8:18-25.
This brief description of the work of Christ in Col. 1:20-22; 2:10-15, can be richly paralleled in the earlier epistles. What now needs to be emphasized is that the Pauline view of Christ's work depends absolutely upon the Pauline view of Christ's person. All through the epistles of Paul the life and death and resurrection are represented as events of a cosmic significance. But they can have such significance only if Christ is the kind of being that is described in the Epistle to the Colossians. The glorious account ofsalvation, which runs all through the epistles and forms the especial subject of the second group, is unintelligible if Christ were merely an inspired prophet or merely the greatest of created things. It becomes intelligible only if Christ is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." The mysterious Christology of Colossians lies at the very heart of Christian faith.
The Epistle to the Colossians, though addressed to a church that Paul had never visited, is full of warm-hearted affection. Paul could hardly have been cold and formal if he had tried. He was a man of great breadth of sympathy. Hence he was able to enter with the deepest interest into the problems of the Colossian Christians—to rejoice at their faith and love, to lament their faults, and to labor with whole-souled devotion for their spiritual profit.
The simple, unconstrained affection of Paul's nature, however, had freer scope in the delightful little letter to Philemon. Philemon apparently was a convert of Paul himself. Philem. 19. He was not a man with whom Paul had to be on his guard. Paul is perfectly confident that Philemon will fully understand the motives of his action and of his letter.
The letter is addressed to Philemon primarily, but also to Apphia and to Archippus and to the church in Philemon's house. We are here introduced into a Christian household of the apostolic age. Apphia was probably Philemon's wife and Archippus perhaps his son. Evidently Archippus held some sort of office in the Colossian church. "Say to Archippus," says Paul in a strangely emphatic way, at the very end of the Epistle to the Colossians, "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it." We should like to know what the ministry was which Archippus had received. At any rate, we hope that he fulfilled it. It was a solemn warning which he received—a warning which might well have made him tremble. We also may well take the warning to heart. Our task of imparting Bible truth is no light responsibility. To us also the warning comes, "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it."
The letter is addressed not only to Philemon and his family, but also to the "church" which met in his house. This "church" was a part of the Colossian congregation. In the early days, when it was difficult to secure meeting places, well-to-do Christians frequently offered the hospitality of their own homes. A certain Nympha orNymphas—the name varies in the manuscripts—performed this service in Laodicea, Col. 4:15, Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth, I Cor. 16:19, and also Gaius in the same city. Rom. 16:23.
The Epistle to Philemon exhibits that perfection of courtesy and delicacy of feeling which has been observed again and again in Paul. A man of coarser feeling might have kept Onesimus with him until receiving the response of Philemon. In that case no doubt Philemon would have replied not only that Onesimus was forgiven, but that Paul might retain the benefit of his services. But Paul saw clearly that that would have made Philemon's goodness seem to be of necessity and not of free will. Philem. 14. There was only one really fine, honorable, high-toned way of dealing with the situation, and that was the way which Paul adopted.
The letter is informal and affectionate. There is even apparently a little delicate play on the name Onesimus, which means "helpful." Once Onesimus belied his name, but now he has become helpful again. Philem. 11. In v. 20, also, where Paul says, "Let me have joy of thee," he uses a word which comes from the same root as that which appears in the name of the slave. Nevertheless, despite all informality, Paul has succeeded, here as always, in lifting the matter to a lofty plane. Paul was a man who ennobled everything that he touched.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 241-246. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible," articles on "Colossæ," "Hierapolis" and "Laodicea": Purves, articles on "Colossians, Epistle to the" and "Philemon" (supplemented). Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Ramsay, articles on "Colossæ," "Hierapolis," and "Laodicea"; Murray, article on "Colossians, Epistle to the"; Bernard, articles on "Philemon," and "Philemon, Epistle to." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 91-98. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii: Barry, "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians," pp. 1-8, 96-124; "The Epistle of Paul to Philemon," pp. 265-274. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Moule, "The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 439-479. Lightfoot, "Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon." The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
The special effort in the lessons of the second quarter has been to produce some lively impression of the wonderful variety among the letters of Paul. That variety is due largely to the variety in the occasions of the letters. Just because Paul entered with such sympathy into the varying circumstances of his many churches, the letters of Paul reflect the wonderful manifoldness of life.
Nevertheless, it is also an advantage that at least one letter is largely independent of any special circumstances whatever. This is the case with the epistle which is to be studied to-day. The Epistle to the Ephesians is addressed to a definite group of churches, but that group is addressed not with regard to its own special problems, but simply as representative of Gentile Christianity in general. For once Paul allows his thoughts to flow unchecked by the particular needs of his readers.
The purpose of Ephesians, therefore, is quite different from the purpose of any other of the Pauline Epistles. To the difference in purpose corresponds a difference in style. The style of Ephesians is characterized especially by long sentences, heaped full of an almost bewildering wealth of thought. This characteristic had appeared to some extent even in the earliest epistles—compare II Thess. 1:3-10—but in Ephesians it becomes more pronounced. Ephesians 1:3-14, for example, is only one sentence, but it is a world in itself. Apparently in this epistle Paul has allowed his mind and heart to roam unchecked over the whole realm of the divine economy. This freedom might conceivably be thought to involve a sacrifice of logical symmetry and of euphonic grace, but at any rate it possesses a certain beauty and value of its own. Ephesians may lack the splendid rhythm of the first chapter of First Corinthians or the eighth chapter of Romans, but on the other hand these tremendous periods, with their heaping-up of majestic phrases, serve admirably to express the bewilderment of the soul in the presence of divine wonders. Human language is inadequate to do full justice to the grace of God. In Ephesians, we see an inspired apostle striving togive utterance in human language to things which in their full reality are unspeakable.
The Epistle to the Ephesians is strikingly similar to the Epistle to the Colossians, not only in thought, but also in many details of language. Another case of striking similarity between two epistles of Paul was encountered in First and Second Thessalonians. There the two similar letters were written both to the same church, though at no very great interval of time. The similarity was due to the desire which Paul felt of reiterating, with some additions and explanations, the teaching of his former letter. In the case of Ephesians and Colossians the similarity is even more easily explained. These two epistles were written to different churches at the same time. What more natural than that the same thoughts and to some extent the same words should appear in both? Only, the teaching which in Colossians is directed against a definite form of error is in Ephesians reproduced in freer, more general form. The relation between the two epistles is somewhat like that which exists between Galatians and Romans. In Galatians, the doctrine of salvation by faith appears in conflict with the opposing error; in Romans, the same doctrine finds expression, but this time in quieter, more systematic development, after the conflict is over. The similarity between Galatians and Romans is, however, not so close as that between Colossians and Ephesians—partly because the contrast of spirit is not so striking in the latter case, Colossians being far less bitterly polemic than Galatians; and more particularly because a considerable interval separates Romans from Galatians, whereas Colossians and Ephesians were dispatched by the same messenger.
In the Student's Text Book, it has been shown that the words "at Ephesus" in the first verse may perhaps be no part of what Paul wrote, but a later addition. It cannot be claimed, however, that the problem of the address has been completely solved. Without the words "at Ephesus," the address becomes very difficult. "To the saints that are and the faithful in Christ Jesus" hardly seems to make sense. The Greek words might be construed perfectly well to mean, "To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus," but that is a rather unusual expression. The suggestion has been made that in the first copies of the epistle a blank space was left after "thesaints that are," to be filled in with the names of the particular churches of the group which is addressed. Every church among the group would thus receive a copy with its own name inserted. The hypothesis is not altogether satisfactory. Probably we shall simply have to admit that there is an unsolved problem here.
Before the customary thanksgiving for the Christian state of the readers, Paul inserts here, in accordance with the nature of this epistle, a general thanksgiving for the whole Church, which is applied especially to the readers only at the very end. The passage contains a wonderful summary of the whole of salvation, but it begins with the plan of God and it closes with the glory of God. God is the beginning and end of all things. His mysterious decree is the cause of our being chosen for salvation, and his own glory is the ultimate object in view. Men are often rebellious against such a God-centered view of things. Predestination is an unpopular doctrine. But it was at any rate the doctrine of Paul, and it lay at the roots of his experience. It is sometimes hard for us to write God so large in our thoughts. Because we think of him merely as a somewhat greater man, we are inclined to reject the doctrine which attributes all things to the workings of his will and to the furtherance of his glory. If, however, we could think of him, not only as a person, but also as an infinite, eternal and holy person, then we should murmur no longer, but should, with Paul, burst forth in praise of the inscrutable wonder of his grace. The glory of a merciful God has involved for its full unfolding the salvation of guilty sinners. God's glory finds its full expression only when he is revealed as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beginning with thanksgiving for the present faith and love of the readers, Paul passes at once to a prayer that they may be given understanding to appreciate the wonderful salvation which has been celebrated in the preceding section, especially the mighty Saviour who has been bestowed upon the Church. Then the greatness of the present salvation, not only of Gentiles, but also of Jews, is celebrated by a contrast with the previous condition of sin and misery. The blessed change has been due, not to anything in man, but simply and solely to the grace of God, received by faith.
Here the contrast between past and present is applied especially to the Gentiles. Formerly they were excluded from the people of God. But now by the death of Christ the "middle wall of partition" has been broken down. Gentiles and Jews have now a common access to the Father.
This reception of the Gentiles is the work that has been intrusted especially to Paul. It is a glorious ministry, far too great for human strength. It can be fulfilled only through the grace of God. The full mystery of God's grace, concealed for many generations, has at last been revealed. The first half of the epistle is fittingly closed by a doxology.
This section may be called the practical part of the epistle. It exhibits the results in holy living which proceed from the glorious gospel which has just been proclaimed. Even in the "practical" part, however, the great doctrines of God's grace are so constantly finding renewed expression that it is difficult to separate one part from the other. Paul never separated moral precepts from the great truths which give them force. Let the readers live like citizens of the commonwealth of God, and members of the body of Christ!
Naturally, in this part of the epistle the unity of the Church—which is perhaps the central theme of the whole—is especially emphasized. The first half of the fourth chapter, for example, is a magnificent hymn to Christian unity. Even in the midst of the directions for the various relationships of life the great theme of Christ and the Church, under the figure of husband and wife, is brought again into view.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 246-249. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves and Davis, article on "Ephesians, Epistle to the." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Lock, article on "Ephesians, Epistle to." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 99-103. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii: Barry, "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians," pp. 9-60. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Moule, "The Epistle to the Ephesians." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 479-522. Robinson, "St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians." The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
The Epistle to the Philippians is the only one of the letters of Paul which is addressed to an approved church with whom he stood on terms of untroubled intimacy and affection. In Galatians and both the Corinthian epistles, serious errors in the churches addressed, as well as unscrupulous personal criticism, lend a tone of bitterness to the apostle's words; Romans, Colossians and perhaps "Ephesians" are addressed to churches which he had never seen. In some ways the little letter to Philemon is very similar to Philippians. Both Philippians and Philemon display the same perfect confidence in the readers, the same perfection of courtesy, the same tone of untroubled cordiality. But Philemon is addressed primarily to an individual, and Philippians to a church; Philemon confines itself almost exclusively to one little personal matter, while Philippians discusses a variety of topics. Among the letters addressed to churches, perhaps the First Epistle to the Thessalonians is more similar to Philippians, at least in tone, than is any of the others. Like Philippians it is animated by a deep satisfaction with the readers, and a certain pleasing simplicity of manner. But here again of course there are wide differences. First Thessalonians is addressed to an infant church, which has just passed through its first trial, and needs the most elementary instruction; in Philippians Paul is writing to old friends, to a church which for ten years has endured bravely the hardships incident to the Christian profession, and has shared in fullest sympathy the joys and sorrows of the apostle's life.
During the ten years, moreover, which have elapsed between First Thessalonians and Philippians, there has been a change in the apostle himself, as well as in his readers. Those years of conflict and labor and meditation and suffering have borne fruit in the apostle's own thinking. His gospel was the same from the beginning, but the expression of it has become richer and maturer and nobler with the advancing years. Philippians is a wonderful letter. Simplicity and profundity are here combined. This simple letter of thanks, with its delicate courtesy and tactful admonition, hasengaged the profoundest study of the theologians, and touched the grandest chords of the Christian heart.
The address of Philippians is remarkable because of the mention of bishops and deacons, which occurs in this way in no other of the Pauline Epistles. Possibly, as has been suggested, these officers are here mentioned because they had had a special part in sending the gifts of the church. It is important to observe that there was a plurality of bishops in the Philippian church. At a later time, when the "bishops" were exalted above the other presbyters, there was only one bishop in every church. In The Acts and in the Pauline Epistles, "bishop" and "presbyter" appear plainly as nothing more than two names for exactly the same office.
It should be noticed that the title "apostle," which appears at the beginning of all the other Pauline Epistles addressed to churches, except First and Second Thessalonians, the two earliest, is lacking in the address of Philippians. Perhaps in writing to such a devoted church Paul considered it unnecessary to mention his apostleship as he had regularly done in his epistles since the denial of it in Galatia. On account of the peculiar nature of the Philippian church, the Epistle to the Philippians partakes somewhat of the informality and intimacy of such a letter as that to Philemon, where the title is also lacking in the address.
Very naturally Timothy is associated with Paul in the address of the epistle, for he had been one of Paul's companions in founding the Philippian church. At what time Timothy had come to Rome we do not know. His name appears also in the address of Colossians and of Philemon. Luke, although he had journeyed with Paul to Rome, and was in Rome at the time when Colossians and Philemon were written, Col. 4:14; Philem. 24, was apparently absent at the time of Philippians; for since he, like Timothy, had assisted in founding the Philippian church, and perhaps had even remained in Philippi for years after the departure of the others, he would probably have been associated in the address, or at least would have sent greetings, if he had been at hand.
As might have been expected, the thanksgiving for the Christian state of the readers is in this epistle of unusual cordiality. In the mention of their "fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from thefirst day until now," there is perhaps a delicate allusion to the material assistance which they had sent him from time to time and especially a little while before the writing of the letter; but such material assistance was for Paul of course not the only, or even the principal, manifestation of their fellowship. Here as often, the thanksgiving runs over into a prayer—and this time it is a prayer of singular beauty and depth.
In this section, Paul hastens to relieve the minds of his readers about the course of events in Rome. Even his bonds, and the jealousy of certain preachers, have resulted only in the furtherance of the gospel. With regard to the outcome of his trial, there is every reason to be hopeful. For his part he would prefer to depart and to be with Christ, but there is still work for him to do. And whether he is present or absent, let the Philippians give him joy by living in a manner worthy of the gospel, and by being steadfast in the persecutions which are bound to come to them as well as to him. It is a high privilege not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him.
With the utmost earnestness, Paul here appeals to his readers to keep their Christian life free from selfishness and quarreling. The stupendous "Christological" passage of the epistle, vs. 5-11, which has given rise to endless discussion, is introduced merely in an incidental way, in order to strengthen the apostle's exhortation. So it is frequently in the letters of Paul. The apostle was always able to make the profoundest verities of the faith immediately effective in conduct. Theology in Paul was never divorced from practice. The converse of the proposition, however, is also true. If Paul's theology did not exist apart from practice, neither did his practice exist apart from theology. It is the latter proposition which needs to be emphasized to-day. Modern liberalism has sometimes endeavored to reproduce Paul's religion apart from his theology; but the effort has resulted in failure.
The example of Christ which Paul holds up before his readers is briefly as follows: Originally Christ not only existed in the form of God—that is, was in full possession of the divine attributes—but also lived in glory, in a way befitting deity. Instead, however, of keeping hold of this heavenly glory, he humbled himself bybecoming man. He laid aside, not indeed his divine attributes, but the enjoyment of his divine glory. He who was Lord of all took the form of a servant like other men. And even more. His obedience extended even to death, and to the shameful death of the cross. But after humiliation came exaltation. God gave to him a name that is above every name. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in earth and in heaven, to the glory of God the Father.
The personal appeal with which the preceding section closed leads Paul to speak of the plans which he has for the comfort and help of the readers. Timothy will be sent as soon as the issue of Paul's trial is definitely in view; Epaphroditus will return to Philippi at once.
The men who are rebuked in very vigorous language in the former part of this section evidently placed an excessive emphasis upon circumcision and connection with the people of Israel. Perhaps also they were advocates of a law righteousness. V. 9. The most obvious suggestion is that they were Judaizers like those in Galatia, or at least like the opponents of Paul in Corinth. Paul's account in vs. 4-6 of the Jewish advantages, fully equal to those of his opponents, which he counts as nothing in view of the superior advantages of faith in Christ, is strikingly similar to II Cor. 11:21,22. If, however, Paul is here referring to Judaizers, it looks as though they were at least as cautious as the opponents in Corinth about presenting the claims of the law. At any rate, the danger of a legalistic propaganda either in Philippi or in Rome does not seem to be very seriously in view. Apparently the acute stage of the Judaistic controversy is over. It is possible that Paul is referring to Jews rather than Jewish Christians. We must remember that Judaism in the first century was still an active missionary religion. A Jewish propaganda, with stress upon circumcision and law righteousness, might conceivably become, even in Philippi, where the Jews seem not to have been numerous, a serious danger, if not to the stability, at least to the rapid extension, of the Christian Church.
Finally, it is uncertain whether "the enemies of the cross of Christ," Phil. 3:18, are the same as those who are combated in the former part of the section.
Fortunately these various uncertainties do not affect the lofty teaching of this part of the epistle. Whoever the opponents were, what Paul says in opposition to them is the thing of real value. In the wonderfully terse, complete, vigorous description of the Christian salvation and of the Christian life which Paul gives in ch. 3:7-14,20,21, the long years of the Judaistic controversy have borne glorious fruit. The final, eternal truth of God, in classic statement, has at last emerged triumphant from the conflict.
The principal contents of this section have been discussed in the Student's Text Book. First Paul applies the general exhortation to unity, Phil. 2:1-11, to the case of Euodia and Syntyche, and adds certain other brief exhortations. The "true yokefellow" of ch. 4:3 probably refers to Epaphroditus, the bearer of the epistle. Then, in a characteristically delicate and worthy manner, he acknowledges the gift of the Philippians. Next, in just a word, he transmits, along with his own, the greetings of his immediate companions, and of the Roman church in general, especially of those members who were connected, as slaves or officials, with the immediate service of the emperor. Finally, with a brief benediction, the epistle closes.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 249-251. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (edited) article on "Philippians." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Gibb, article on "Philippians, Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 83-90. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers", vol. iii: Barry, "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians," pp. 61-90. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Moule, "The Epistle to the Philippians." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 522-564. Lightfoot, "Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians." The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
The emphasis which the Pastoral Epistles lay upon sound instruction and upon orderly government is sometimes looked upon with distaste. Orthodoxy and organization are thought to be destructive of religious fervor. In the New Testament, however, the two aspects of the Church's life appear side by side. In the New Testament, enthusiasm and sanity are united. And the New Testament is right. Religion is a concern of every individual soul—the final decision must be made by every man in the immediate presence of his God—but normally no man can do without association with his fellows. The Church is a great permanent community. It is not merely an aggregation, but an institution. To break away from its restraints may be attractive, it may produce a certain temporary impression of zeal and new life; but in the long run the old way is usually best.
The Pastoral Epistles, however, are sometimes thought to indicate an unfortunate change in Paul himself as well as in the Church. Some students would prefer to know only the Paul of Galatians and Corinthians and Romans. This judgment is one-sided. The Pastorals do not contradict, but supplement, the earlier letters. The earlier period, no doubt, is the more inspiring; there is nothing in the Pastoral Epistles like the first few chapters of First Corinthians, or the fifth chapter of Second Corinthians, or the eighth chapter of Romans. These passages are overpowering in the intensity of their eloquence; the later letters are soberer, graver, more matter-of-fact. These latter qualities, however, are much needed in the Church. The Church needs enthusiasm; but she also needs gravity and sanity. Her function is not merely evangelistic; it is also conservative and educational. In both functions Paul was a leader. The quiet gravity of the Pastoral Epistles supplements the glories of Galatians and Romans. Only when these last epistles are added to the others can the many-sided greatness of Paul be fully appreciated. Exaggerations, moreover, should be avoided. The soberness of the Pastorals is not commonplace. Back of the details of organization, back of the concern for sound instruction, there canbe detected throughout the glow of the Pauline gospel. The Pastoral Epistles, like the other letters of Paul, are a perennial fountain of Christian life.
The Second Epistle to Timothy was clearly the last of the extant epistles of Paul; but the order of First Timothy and Titus cannot be certainly determined. The difficulty of reconstructing the history implied by the Pastoral Epistles reveals anew the supreme value of The Acts. After the conclusion of the Lucan narrative the historian is almost helpless. From about A. D. 63 on into the second century, the history of the Church is shrouded in profound darkness, with gleams of light only here and there.
At the time when First Timothy was written, Paul had recently made a journey to Macedonia. I Tim. 1:3. Perhaps he had gone thither from Ephesus, though the words do not make that perfectly clear. At any rate, he had directed Timothy to remain in Ephesus, where he hoped to join him before long. In case of delay, however, he writes the epistle. Chs. 3:14,15; 4:13.
On a previous occasion, perhaps by word of mouth when he had been in Ephesus, he had warned Timothy to put a stop to certain false teaching in the Church, and the warning is now reiterated in the epistle. The exact nature of this teaching is somewhat difficult to determine. Apparently it had been concerned with the Jewish law. Ch. 1:7-11. Compare Titus 1:10,14. Like the false teaching at Colossæ, it seems not to have been directly subversive of the truth of the gospel. At least, however, it diverted attention from the great things of the faith to useless questionings. I Tim. 6:4. The myths and endless genealogies, ch. 1:4, compare 4:7, were perhaps elaborations of the Old Testament history. Whether the ascetic tendency which is combated in ch. 4:3,8, is connected with this same teaching, is not certain, but is on the whole perhaps probable.
The first reference to the false teaching, ch. 1:3-10, leads Paul to speak of the norm by which it could be combated. Vs. 11-20. That norm was the gospel with which he had been intrusted. The bestowal of the gospel had changed him from a blasphemer and persecutor into an apostle. The gospel had been bestowed purely by the free grace of Christ, and its content was the salvation which Christ offers. A doxology to God, v. 17, is natural whenever that gospel is mentioned. That gospel will overcome all error, and ifattended to diligently will prevent disasters like that which has befallen Hymenæus and Alexander.
In the second chapter, Paul insists upon gravity and order in the public worship of the Church. In the prayers which are to be offered, the civil authority is not to be forgotten, even though it be non-Christian. The sympathies of the Christian must be broad. God desires all men to come to a knowledge of the truth.
The highest regular officers of the Church are in the third chapter called "bishops." It is abundantly evident, however—especially from Titus 1:5,7—that "bishop" is only another name for "presbyter" or "elder." At a later time the term "bishop" was applied to an officer who had the supreme oversight over a church and to whom the elders were subject. These conditions did not prevail at the time of the Pastoral Epistles. At first sight, indeed, it might seem as though Timothy and Titus themselves were "bishops" in the later sense of the word. But this also is false. Timothy and Titus do not appear at all as officers of individual congregations. They had oversight over a plurality of churches, and evidently their authority was special and temporary. They did not fill an office which was intended to become permanent in the Church, but were simply special representatives of the apostle. As the apostles had no successors, so no man after the apostolic age had a right to assume the functions of Timothy and Titus.
The fourth chapter calls attention to the revelation of the Holy Spirit, probably through the lips of Christian prophets, that in the future there would appear apostates from the faith. The errorists who are combated in vs. 7-10 are apparently to be regarded as forerunners, still within the Church, of the more open apostasy which is one day to follow.
The institution of the "widows," which is discussed in the fifth chapter, is to us somewhat obscure. Evidently those who were accounted "widows," being helpless, were entitled to support by the church. The necessity of sound teaching, with emphasis upon the really fundamental things of the faith, is again insisted upon; and certain false teachers are accused of practicing or inculcating piety as a means of worldly gain. Ch. 6:3-10. The last warning of the epistle characteristically concerns vain babblings and oppositions of a so-called knowledge. Probably these errors are connected in some way with those which are combated in the first section of the epistle. In the final words, "Grace be with you," the "you" in the Greek, according to the best attestation, is plural; and in the correspondingpassages at the end of Titus and of Second Timothy, it is certainly plural. This may furnish an indication—to be added to more general considerations—that the Pastoral Epistles were intended not merely for those to whom they are formally addressed, but also to the churches under their care.
The address of the Epistle to Titus is noteworthy for the long addition to the title of the author, which is to be compared with the similar addition in Romans.
At the time when the epistle was written, Paul had recently been with Titus in Crete. Paul had not labored on that island before the first Roman imprisonment. His journeys in the east between the two imprisonments therefore involved something more than the revisitation of former fields. The reason why Titus was left behind in Crete was somewhat similar to the reason why Timothy, according to First Timothy, was told to remain in Ephesus. Titus was to give attention to organization, and to the maintenance of sound instruction.
Like Timothy, Titus is given the power of establishing presbyters, and of establishing them not merely in one church but in various churches. The function of the presbyter was that of "bishop" or "overseer." Titus 1:5-7. In vs. 9-16, the close connection of organization with sound doctrine becomes particularly apparent. One important function of the presbyters was to counteract the errors which were springing up. The account of the errorists in Crete is perhaps in some respects clearer than that which is given of the related phenomenon in Ephesus. The false teachers were animated by a love of gain. V. 11. Some of them were Jews or proselytes. V. 10. They had a fondness for Jewish fables. Apparently, also, they tried to atone for a lack of real inward purity by an outward asceticism. Vs. 15, 16. They were concerned with vain questionings and genealogies and legal disputes. These last are perhaps to be regarded as casuistic discussions like those which play such a large part in Jewish tradition.
The Epistle to Titus is somewhat richer than First Timothy in personal details. After Titus has been relieved in Crete by Artemas or Tychicus, who may soon be sent, he is to join Paul in Nicopolis. Tychicus, it will be remembered, had served as Paul's messenger during the first imprisonment. He was the bearer of Colossians and Ephesians. The Nicopolis where Paul is intending to pass theapproaching winter, is probably the chief of the many cities of that name, the Nicopolis in Epirus. Zenas, a lawyer otherwise unknown, and the well-known Apollos, who appears so prominently in The Acts and in First Corinthians, are to be furnished in Crete with everything that they need for their further journey.
The First Epistle to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus are in many respects strikingly similar. A certain strong family resemblance extends also to Second Timothy. Evidently all three of the Pastoral Epistles belong to the same general period of Paul's life, and were intended to subserve similar purposes. Second Timothy, however, as compared with the other two, exhibits some marked peculiarities.
The personal element, in particular, is in this letter much more prominent. Second Timothy contains a wealth of interesting biographical details about Timothy, about Paul, and about a very considerable number of other persons. Some of these last are known only from this epistle; others have been brought to our attention again and again.
In Second Timothy Paul appears as a prisoner, no doubt at Rome. This time there seems to be little hope of his release. Apparently his imprisonment is not of long standing. Only recently he has been at Corinth and at Miletus. II Tim. 4:20. He speaks in one place of his first defense. V. 16. Some suppose that this is a reminiscence of the trial which had taken place years before, during the first imprisonment. More probably it refers to some preliminary hearing which had only recently been held. Paul is oppressed with a sense of loneliness, even more than during the first imprisonment. There was no one to stand by him at his first hearing. For one reason or another, his intimate associates have been scattered—some of them, no doubt, for good and sufficient reasons, but Demas, at any rate, out of an unworthy love of the world. Luke, fortunately, is still with him; and Timothy, with Mark, is urged to come before the winter. Vs. 11, 21. Mark seems to have changed since he turned back from the work at Perga. At the beginning he was rebuked for desertion; but now at the end he is one of the few faithful ones.
It is not quite clear where Timothy was when the letter was addressed to him. The greeting to Priscilla and Aquila might seem to point to Ephesus. They had lived there before; perhapsthey returned thither after a residence in Rome. Rom. 16:3. If Timothy was in Ephesus, then Tychicus, who was sent thither, II Tim. 4:12, was probably expected to linger by the way; otherwise his sending would be no news to the reader of the letter. Something is to be said, perhaps, for the view that Timothy was not at Ephesus, but perhaps at Lystra, his original home.
The Second Epistle to Timothy contains warnings against false teaching similar to those which appear in First Timothy and Titus. But the characteristic feature of the letter is to be found in the references to the apostle's own life. Even the warnings and admonitions are brought into relation to these. Paul does not hesitate to point to himself as an example for his beloved followers. He does so, without a touch of vain glory, in the simple consciousness of a divine commission. Second Timothy is a letter of farewell, in which reminiscence and exhortation are characteristically blended. It is a farewell from the apostle, primarily for Timothy, though he is expecting to see Timothy again, but also for all of the Pauline churches. The letter has taken deep hold of every generation in the history of the Church. The fitting end of a life of true service, the calm facing of death, the certainty of heavenly communion with the Lord—these are the things above all others that have been learned from the last of the epistles of Paul.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 252-261. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves, articles on "Timothy" and "Titus." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 104-115. Lewin, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," vol. ii, chs. vii, viii, ix, x and xi. Conybeare and Howson, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," ch. xxvii. Stalker, "The Life of St. Paul," pp. 133-136. Warfield, "Acts, Timothy, Titus and Philemon," in "The Temple Bible," pp. xxvii-xliii. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 171-264: Spence, "The Pastoral Epistles of St. Paul." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Humphreys, "The Epistles to Timothy and Titus." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 1-133. The last named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.