iRc^nol^ ^oa.?n
Zijt Cambntrge MMt (ox ^t|)Ciols
THE EPISTLE TO THE
PH I LI PPI AN S
aontion: C. J. CLAY and SONS,
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,
AVE MARIA LANE.
ffambritigc : DEIGHTON, BELL, AND CO.
ILeipjts: F. A. BROCKHAUS.
Cfje Camiritrge Bible for ^c|)noIs
General Editor:— J. J. S. PEROWNE, D.D.
Dean of Peterborough.
THE EPISTLE TO THE
PHILIPPIANS,
WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
THE REV. H. C. G. MOULE, M.A.
PRINCIPAL OF RIDLEY HALL, AND LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE,
CAMBRIDGE.
EDITED FOR THE SYNDICS OF THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
CAMBRIDGE :
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
1889
\All Kig/Us reserved. '[
CTambrtligc
PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY M.A. AND SONS
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
PREFACE
BY THE GENERAL EDITOR.
The General Editor of The Cambridge Bible for
Schools thinks it right to say that he does not hold
himself responsible either for the interpretation of
particular passages which the Editors of the several
Books have adopted, or for any opinion on points of
doctrine that they may have expressed. In the New
Testament more especially questions arise of the
deepest theological import, on which the ablest and
most conscientious interpreters have differed and
always will differ. His aim has been in all such
cases to leave each Contributor to the unfettered
exercise of his own judgment, only taking care that
mere controversy should as far as possible be avoided.
He has contented himself chiefly with a careful
revision of the notes, with pointing out omissions, with
6 PREFACE.
suggesting occasionally a reconsideration of some
question, or a fuller treatment of difficult passages,
and the like.
Beyond this he has not attempted to interfere,
feeling it better that each Commentary should have
its own individual character, and being convinced
that freshness and variety of treatment are more
than a compensation for any lack of uniformity in
the Series.
Deanery, Peterborough.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
I. Introduction.
Chapter I. Philippi : St Paul's connexion with it 9 — 14
Chapter II. Date and occasion of the Epistle 14 — 20
Chapter III. Authenticity of the Epistle 20—22
Chapter IV. Relation of the Epistle to the other
Epistles of the first Imprisonment 23 — 24
Chapter V. The Epistle of Polycarp to the Phi-
lippians 24 — 28
Chapter VI. Argument of St Paul's Epistle to the
Philippians 28—35
II. Text AND Notes 37
III. Appendices 125
IV. Index 135
* »
*
The Text adopted in this Edition is that of Dr Scrivener's
Cambridge Paragraph Bible. A few variations from the ordi-
nary Text, chiefly in the spelling of certain words, and in the
use of italics, will be noticed. For the principles adopted by
Dr Scrivener as regards the printing of the Text see his In-
troduction to the Paragraph Bible, published by the Cambridge
University Press.
In thy Orcharde (the wals, buttes and trees, if they could speak,
would beare me witnesse) I learned without booke almost all Paules
Epistles, yea and I weene all the Canonicall Epistles, saue only the
Apocalipse. Of which study, although in time a great part did depart
from me, yet the sweete smell thereof I truste I shall cary with me into
heauen : for the profite thereof I thinke I haue felte in all my lyfe tyme
euer after.
Bishop Ridley, to Pembroke Hall, (Pembroke College), Cambridge.
From A letter which he wrote as his last farewel to al his true and faythefull
/refides in God, October, 1555, a few days before he suffered. Transcribed fiom
Coverdale's Letters of Martyrs, ed. 1564.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER I.
Philippi : St Paul's Connexion with it.
The site of Philippi is near the head of the Archipelago
{Marc ^g(Xtim), eight miles north-westward of the port of
Kavala, or Kavalla, probably the ancient Neapolis. Just south
of it runs the 41st parallel of north latitude; a little to the west,
the 24th parallel of east (Greenwich) longitude. The place is at
present a scene of ruins. A village hard by, also in ruins, still
bears the name of Philibedjik'^. In the first century the town
occupied the southern end of a hill above a fertile plain, and
extended down into the plain, so as to comprise a higher and a
lower city. These were divided by the great Egnatian Road,
which crossed Roman Macedonia from sea to sea. The higher
town contained, among other buildings, the citadel, and a temple,
built by the Roman colonists, to the Latin god Silvanus. The
lower town contained the market-place, and the forum, a smaller
square on which opened the courts of justice. Four massive
columns are still standing at the foot of the hill, probably
marking the four corners of the forum. A little more than a
mile to the west of the town the small river Bounarbachi,
anciently Gangas, Gangites, or Angites, and still called, at least
at one part of its course, Angista, flows southward into a fen
which borders the plain of the city, and to the south of which
^ Lcwin, Life and Epistles of St Paul, vol. I. p. 208.
lo INTRODUCTION.
again rise the heights of Mount Pangaeus, now Pirnd.n, rich of
old in veins of gold and silver, and covered in summer with
wild roses. The whole region is one of singular beauty and
fertility.
The geographical position of Philippi was remarkable. It lay
on a great thoroughfare from West to East, just where the
mountain barrier of the Balkans sinks into a pass, inviting the
road builders of Greek, Macedonian, and Roman times. It was
this which led Philip of Macedon (B.C. 359—336) to fortify the
old Thracian town of Daton^, or Crenides {Fountains). To the
place thus strengthened he gave his name, and, by pushing his
border eastward into Thrace, converted it from a Thracian into
a Macedonian town 2.
This position of Philippi accounts for the one great event
in its secular history, the double battle in which (B.C. 42) some
ninety-five years before St Paul first saw Philippi, the com-
bined armies of Brutus and Cassius were defeated by Octavius
(afterwards Augustus) and Marcus Antonius. Cassius en-
camped on Pangaeus, south of the town, plain, and fen, Brulus
on the slopes to the north, near the town ; thus guarding from
both sides the pass of the Egnatian road. First Cassius was
routed, and two days later Brutus. Each in succession was
slain, at his own command, by the hand of a comrade, and
with them died the cause of the great republican oligarchy of
Rome.
Augustus erected Philippi into a colony {colonia, Kokavia,
Acts xvi. 12), with the full title Colonia Augusta Julia Victrix
Philipportwi, or Philippcnsis. A colony, in the Roman sense,
was a miniature Rome, a reproduction and outpost of the city.
The colonists were sent out by authority, they marched in
military order to their new home, their names were still en-
rolled among the Roman tribes, they used the Latin language
1 Lewin, I. 207.
2 To Philip it was important not only for military strength but as a
place of mines. He is said to have worked the old and almost
abandoned mines so vigorously as to have drawn from them 10,000
talents yearly. Long before the Christian era, apparently, the supply
of precious ore was finally exhausted.
INTRODUCTION. ii
and Latin coinage, their chief magistrates were appointed from
Rome, and were independent of the provincial governors^.
These magistrates were two in each colony, Dtiumviri, and
combined civil and military authority in their persons. At
Philippi we find them assuming the grandiose title of com-
mandants, praetors, arparrj-yoi (Acts xvi. 20), and giving their
constables the title of lictors, palBSovxoi (ver. 35). They posed,
in effect, as the more than consuls of their petty Rome. Much
of the narrative of Acts xvii. comes out with double vividness
when the colonial character of Philippi is remembered.
In Acts xvi. 12 we find Philippi called, in the Authorized
Version, "the chief city of that part of Macedonia." The better
rendering of the best-attested reading is, however, " a city of
Macedonia, first of the district." This may mean, grammati-
cally, either that Philippi first met the traveller as he entered
the region of Macedonia where it lay, or that it was the political
capital of that region. Mr Lewin (i. 202, 206) advocates the
latter view, and holds that Philippi succeeded Amphipolis as
the capital of the " first," or easternmost, of the four Roman
" Macedonias." Bp Lightfoot {PJiilippians, p. 50) prefers de-
cidedly the former view, maintaining that the fourfold Roman
division was, by St Paul's time, long disused. We incline, how-
ever, to an explanation nearer to Mr Lewin's view ; that Philippi
is marked by St Luke as first, in the sense of most important,
of its district ; not officially perhaps, but by prestige.
We may remark in passing that the geographical position of
Philippi is incidentally illustrated by the presence there of
Lydia, the purple-merchant from Asiatic Thyatira, come to this
important place of thoroughfare between her continent and
Roman Europe. And the colonial, military, character of Philippi
explains in a measure the comparative feebleness of its Jewish
element, with their humble proseucha, or prayer-house (Acts xvi.
13), outside the walls.
On the story of St Paul's work at Philippi there is little need
to dwell in detail, so full and vivid is the narrative of Acts xvi.,
^ Britain, like other frontier provinces, had its colonia:; e.g. Lindum
Colo Ilia, Lin-coln.
12 INTRODUCTION.
from the unobtrusive opening of the mission (a.d. 52) by the
Apostle, with his coadjutors Silas, Timothy, and probably Luke^
to the moment when Paul and Silas quit the house of Lydia,
and, probably leaving Luke behind them, set out westward
along the Egnatian road for Amphipolis. It is enough to say
here that the whole circumstances there depicted harmonize
perfectly with the contents and tone of our Epistle; with its
peculiar affectionateness, as written to witnesses and partners
of tribulation, with its entreaties to the disciples to hold to-
gether in the midst of singularly alien surroundings, and, we
may add, with its allusions to the " citizen-life " of the saints
whose central civic home is (not Rome but) heaven.
Twice after a.d. 52, within the period covered by the Acts, we
find St Paul at Philippi. Late in the year 57 he left Ephesus
for Macedonia (Acts xx. i ; cp. 2 Cor. ii. 12, 13, vii. 5, 6), and
undoubtedly gave to Philippi some of his " much exhortation."
In the spring of 58, on his return eastward from Corinth by
Macedonia, he spent Passover at Philippi (Acts xx. 6), lingering
there, apparently, in the rear of the main company of his fellow-
travellers, "that he might keep the paschal feast with his
beloved converts "2.
Intercourse with Philippi was evidently maintained actively
during his absences. Our Epistle (iv. 16) mentions two mes-
sages from the converts to St Paul just after his first visit, and
the frequent allusions to Macedonia in the Corinthian Epistles
indicate that during the time spent at Ephesus (say 55 — 57)
Philippi, with the other " churches of Macedonia," must have
been continually in his heart and thoughts, and kept in contact
with him by messengers.
On the question of a visit to Philippi later than the date
of this Epistle, see notes on ch. i. 25, 26.
Before leaving the topic of St Paul's intercourse with
Philippi, we may notice two points in which distinctively
^ The narrative (Acts xvi. i — 17) is in the first person. On the "wtf
sections" of the Acts see Sahnon, Introduction to the N. T., pp. 371 &c.
We may assume Timothy's presence from Acts xvi. i &c. and xvii.
14' 15.-
- Lightfoot, p. 60.
INTRODUCTION. 13
Macedonian traits appear in the Christian life of the mission
church. The first is the position and infiiie7ice of women.
We have women prominent in the narrative of Acts xvi., and in
Phil. iv. 2 we find two women who were evidently important
and influential persons in the Church. And similar indications
appear at Thessalonica (Acts xvii. 4) and Beroea {ib. 12). Bp
Lightfoot has collected some interesting evidence to shew that
Macedonian women generally held an exceptionally honoured
and influential position. Thus it is common, in Macedonian
inscriptions, to find the mother's name recorded instead of the
father's ; and Macedonian husbands, in epitaphs upon their
wives, use terms markedly reverent as well as affectionate.
The Gospel doctrine of woman's dignity would find good soil in
Macedonia. The other point is the pecuniary liberality of the
Philippians, which comes out so conspicuously in ch. iv. This
was a characteristic of the Macedonian missions, as 2 Cor.
viii., ix., amply and beautifully prove. It is remarkable that
the Macedonian converts were, as a class, very poor (2 Cor.
viii i); and the parallel facts, their poverty and their open-
handed support of the great missionary and his work, are
deeply harmonious. At the present day the missionary liber-
ality of poor Christians is, in proportion, vastly greater than
that of the rich. ^
The post-apostolic history of Philippi is very meagre. We
know scarcely anything of it with the one exception that
St Ignatius passed it, on his way from Asia to his martyrdom
at Rome, about the year no. He was reverently welcomed
by the Philippians, and his pathetic visit occasioned communi-
cations between them and Ignatius' friend Polycarp, bishop of
Smyrna, who then wrote to the Philippian Christians his one
extant Epistle (see below, ch. v.). "Though the see is said
to exist even to the present day," writes Bp Lightfoot {Philip-
fians, p. 65), "the city itself has long been a wilderness.... Of
the church which stood foremost among all the apostolic com-
munities in faith and love, it may literally be said that not one
stone stands upon another. Its whole career is a signal monu-
ment of the inscrutable counsels of God. Born into the world
14 INTRODUCTION.
with the brightest promise, the Church of Philippi has lived
without a history and perished without a memorial." (See
further, Appendix I.)
As we leave the ruins of PhiHppi, it is interesting to observe
that among them have been found, by a French archeological
mission (1864), inscriptions giving the names of the pro-
moters of the building of the temple of Silvanus, and of the
members of its " sacred college." Among them occur several
names familiar to us in the Acts and Epistles ; Crescens, Secun-
dus, Trophimus, Urbanus, Aristobulus, Pudens, and Clemens —
this last a name found in our Epistle.
CHAPTER II.
Date and occasion of the Epistle.
It may be taken as certain that the Epistle was written from
Rome, during the two years' imprisonment recorded by St Luke
(Acts xxviii. ^o); that is to say, within the years 61 — 63. It is
true that some scholars, notably Meyer^, have made Csesarea
Stratonis (Acts xxiv. 23 — 27) the place of writing of the PJiilip-
pians, Ephesians, and Colossiafisj and some who hesitate to
assign the two latter epistles to the Csesarean captivity assign
the Philippians to it (see Lightfoot, p. 30, note). But the reasons
on the other side seem to us abundantly decisive. Bp Light-
foot gives them somewhat as follows (pp. 30, 31, note), (i)
The notice of "Cesar's household" (iv. 22) cannot naturally
apply to Casarea. (2) The notice (i. 12 &c.) of the progress of
the Gospel loses point if the place of writing is not a place of
great importance and a comparatively new field for the Gospel.
(3) St Paul looks forward, in this Epistle, to an approaching
release, and to a visit to Macedonia. This does not agree with
his indicated hopes and plans at Caesarea, where certainly
his expectation (Acts xxiii. 11) was to visit Rome, under what-
ever circumstances, most probably as a prisoner on appeal.
^ His reasons are fully stated and answered in Alford's Prolegomena
to the Ephesians,
INTRODUCTION. 15
The chief plea, in the Philippians, for Caesarea is that
the wovdi prcetorin?n (i. 13) corresponds to the prcetorlum, or
residency, of Herod at Caesarea (Acts xxiii. 35). But here
again we may remark that the allusion in the Epistle indicates
an area of influence remarkable and extensive, conditions
scarcely fulfilled at Caesarea. And Rome affords an obvious
and adequate solution of the problem, as we shall see at the
proper place in the text.
The subordinate question arises, when within the two years of
the Roman captivity was our Epistle written ? Was it early or
late, before or after the Eplicsians and the Colossians? which
are plainly to be grouped together, along with the private letter
to the Colossian Philemon.
A widely prevalent view is that the PhiUppia7is was written
late, not long before St Paul's release on the final hearing of his
appeal. The main reasons for this view are
(i) the indications in the Epistle that the Gospel had made
great progress at Rome ;
(2) the absence in the Epistle of the names Luke and
Aristarchus, who both sailed from Syria with St Paul (Acts
xxvii. 2) and who both appear in the Colossians and Phi-
lemon;
(3) the lapse of time after St Paul's arrival at Rome de-
manded by the details of Epaphroditus' case (Phil., ii. iv.),
which seem to indicate that the Philippians had heard of St
Paul's arrival; had then despatched their collection (perhaps
not without delay, iv. 10) to Rome by Epaphroditus ; had then
heard, from Rome, that Epaphroditus had been ill there (ii. 26),
and had then somehow let it be known at Rome {ibid.) that the
news had reached them;
(4) the tone of the Epistle, in its allusions to St Paul's strict
imprisonment and to his entire uncertainty, humanly speaking,
about the issue of his appeal ; allusions said to be inconsistent
with the comparative freedom indicated by the Acts, but con-
sistent with a change for the worse in the counsels of Nero,
such a change as would have occurred when (a.d. 62) the
i6 INTRODUCTION.
wicked Tigellinus succeeded the upright Burrus in command of
the Guard.
Bp Lightfoot on the other hand takes the view that the
Philippians was the earliest of the Epistles of the Captivity.
And he meets the above arguments somewhat as follows.
(i) There is good evidence, both in the Acts and the Epistle,
and above all in the Romans, for the belief that "a flourishing
though unorganized Church" existed at Rome before St Paul's
arrival. Already, three years earlier, he had addressed his
greatest Epistle "to all that were in Rome, beloved of God,
called saints;" and there is strong reason to think that many of
the Christians greeted in that Epistle (ch. xvi.) were identical
with "the saints of the Household" of our Epistle (see on Phil,
iv. 22), and so that those " saints " were pre-Pauline converts, at
least in many instances. And when he lands at Puteoli, in 61,
he finds there too Christians ready to greet him. And on the
other hand the allusions in our Epistle to the progress of the
work at Rome must not be pressed too far, as if the whole
population of the City was being stirred. What is meant is
that a distinct and vigorous "new departure" was being made
by the Roman Christians, as willing evangelists, and that the
warders of the Apostle were carrying out the strange and inter-
esting news of his doctrine and character among their fellow
Praetorians and " people in general " (01 \omo\ TrdvT(s). But all
these notes excellently suit a time not long after the Apostle's
arrival, when the stimulus of his presence among the Christians
would be powerful in its novelty, and when of course already
the "soldiers that kept him" would be among his hearers, and
not seldom, by the grace of God, his converts. Even the allu-
sion (i. 15) to internal opposition suits such a time better than
a later, "when. ..antagonism. ..and. ..devotion. ..had settled down
into a routine" (Lightfoot, p. 34).
(2) As regards the absence from the Philippians of the
names Luke and Aristarchus, this is in the first place an argu-
ment from silence only, which cannot be conclusive. The
two disciples may be included under the "brethren" and
"saints" of iv. 21, 22. But further, it is at least doubtful
INTRODUCTION. 17
whether Aristarchus, though he sailed from Syria with St Paul,
landed in Italy with him. He was a Thessalonian, and the
vessel in which St Paul sailed was an Adramyttian, from the
/EgjEan, in which Aristarchus may have been on his way not to
Rome but to Thessalonica^. From Macedonia he may easily
have joined St Paul in Italy later, associating himself so closely
there with the imprisoned Apostle as to earn the title of his
"fellow-prisoner of war" (Col. iv. 10). As for Luke, it is obvious
that at any time he might have left Rome on a temporary
errand, to Puteoli perhaps, or some other outlying mission.
And of course the same remark may be made of Aristarchus,
supposing him to have been after all in Italy.
(3) The argument from the case of Epaphroditus is not
strong. It is not necessary to suppose that a special message
went from Rome to Philippi to announce St Paul's arrival.
Very possibly through Aristarchus (see just above), if not by
some other means, the Philippians may have heard that he was
far on his way, and may have acted on probabilities. Epa-
phroditus may even have left Philippi, with the collection, before
St Paul reached Italy. And a month, under favourable cir-
cumstances, would suffice for a journey from Philippi to Rome,
by Brundisium (Brindisi), Dyrrachium (the Illyrian port), and
the Egnatian road across Macedonia^. Thus if the Philippians
was written only four months after St Paul's arrival the time
would amply include all we need infer under this head.
(4) The tone of the Epistle, with its suspense, its allusions
to rigour of confinement, and on the other hand its expectations
of release, is not conclusive for a late date. The imprisonment
as depicted in it is after all no less and no more severe than
Acts xxviii. 16 implies. And the references to the trial and its
uncertain issue would probably be at least as appropriate in the
early stages of its progress, or under early experiences of its
delays, as lat^r. Doubtless the Epistle depicts trials and
^ Indeed, the first intention of the centurion Julius may have been
that his prisoners should be conveyed to Rome by way of the yEgajan,
Macedonia, and the Adriatic (Lightfoot, p. 35, note).
^ See Lightfoot's interesting proofs, p. 38, note.
PHILIPPIANS 9
i8 INTRODUCTION.
sorrows where the Acts speaks only of opportunity and success ;
but Bp Lightfoot well remarks that this is perfectly truth-
like. The historian reviews the sum total of a very fruitful
period of influence; the leiter-writer s'peak?, under the immediate
pressure of the day's, or the week's, chequered circumstances.
St Paul's expectation of release is discussed in the notes (ii. 24);
it certainly affords no decisive note of time. As for the pro-
motion of Tigellinus, Lightfoot justly says that such changes in
the Imperial court would make little difference, for better or
worse, in the case of an obscure provincial prisoner, the mis-
sionary of a cidtiis which had not yet come to be thought
politically dangerous.
If these arguments for a late date for the Epistle maybe fairly
answered thus, we have meanwhile positive evidence for an
earlier date in the doctrinal affinities of the Philippians. These
point towards the great central group of Pauline Epistles
{Romans, Corinthians, Galatians), and especially towards the
Romans, the latest written of that group. In Phil. iii. we have
in prominence the doctrine of Justification, in the precise form
of the doctrine of Imputed Righteousness, the believer's refuge
and peace in view of the absoluteness of the Divine Law.
Now this is the characteristic topic of the Roman and Galatian
Epistles, and in a minor degree of the Corinthian (i Cor. i.
30, iv. 4, vi. II ; 2 Cor. iii. 9, v. 19 — 21). But it is absent,
as regards just this form of presentation, from the Ephesian
and Colossian Epistles, in which St Paul was led by the Holy
Spirit to deal more expressly with the closely related, but dif-
ferent sides of truth conveyed in such words as Union, Life,
Indwelling, Universal Church. This is strong evidence for
an approximation of the Philippians to the Romans, &c., in
point of time, as near as other considerations allow. Certainly
it makes it likely that the Ephcsians and its group were not
interposed between the Romans and the Philippia7is.
And on closer examination we find many links of thought
and expression between the Romans and the Philippians,
besides this main Hnk. Bp Lightfoot (pp. 43, 44) collects the
following parallelisms of this sort :
INTRODUCTION. 19
Compare
I
HIL
i. 3-8
with Rom.
i. 8— 11:
—
—
i. 10
—
—
ii. 18:
—
--
ii. 2—4
—
—
xii. 10, 16-
-19:
—
—
ii. 8—1 1
—
—
xiv. 9 — II
—
—
iii. 3
—
—
ii. 28, i. 9,
V. II :
—
—
iii. 4. 5
—
—
xi. I :
—
—
iii. 10, II,
21 —
—
vi. 5 :
—
—
iii. 19
—
—
vi. 21, xvi.
18:
—
—
iv. 18
—
—
xii. I.
And he notes the following words and phrases as occurring
in the two Epistles, and not elsewhere : dnoKapaSoKia, (TVfjLfjLop(})os,
i^ epideias, axpi tov pvv, irpoa-bexea-dai iv Kvpia. See too our note
on i. 26.
On the whole, we may date the Epistle, with great pro-
bability, late in the year 61 or early in 62. See further T/u-
Epistle to the Epliesiaits, in this Series, Inirodiictioii, pp.
19 — 22.
Of the occasion of writing, little needs to be said; the
Epistle itself speaks clearly on the subject. The arrival of
Epaphroditus bringing the Philippian gift, his illness at Rome,
and his anxiety to return to Philippi, appear to have given the
immediate suggestion and made the opportunity. We gather that
besides this Epaphroditus had reported, as the one serious defect-
of Christian life at Philippi, a tendency to party-spirit, or at least
to personal antagonisms and differences, especially in the case
of two well-known female converts. See i. 2, 27, ii. 2, 3, 14, 26,
iv. 2, and notes. And meanwhile St Paul takes the occasion
to warn his beloved Philippians against errors of doctrine and
practice which, if not already rife at Philippi, were sure to find
their way there; the errors both of the Pharisaic legalist
(iii. 2 — 11), and of the antinomian would-be Paulinist (iii.
13—19)-
So, occasioned on the one hand by present circumstances,
and on the other guided by the secret working of the Holy
Spirit to form a sure oracle of God for the Church for ever,
the Letter was dictated, and the greetings of the Writer's
visitors were added, and the manuscript was given over to
2 — 2
20 INTRODUCTION.
Epaphroditus, to be conveyed across Italy, the Adriatic, and
Macedonia, to the plain and hill of Philippic
CHAPTER III.
Authenticity of the Epistle.
No trace of doubt on this subject appears in early Christian
literature. Amongst direct testimonies, and taking the later
first, we may cite Tertiillian (cent. 2 — 3). He {de Resurrectione
Carnis, c. xxiii.) quotes Phil. iii. 11 — 13 2, as "written by Paul
to the Philippians." He mentions {de Prcescriptione, c. xxxvi.)
Philippi among the Churches which possessed ''authentic
apostolic epistles," that is, apparently, letters received at first
hand from apostles. In his Reply to Marcion, bk. v., taking
up the Pauline Epistles one by one for evidence against the
Gnostic theory of Christianity taught by Marcion, he comes
(c. XX.) to "the Epistle to the Philippians," and quotes, or refers
to, i. 14 — 18, ii. 6 — 8, iii. 5 — 9, 20, 21. It will be observed that
this latter evidence is doubly valuable, as it assumes his op-
ponent's agreement with him about the authenticity.
Irenceus (late cent. 2) quotes {tie Hceresibus, iv., c. xviii. 4)
Phil. iv. 18 as the words of " Paul to the Philippians."
Clement of Alexandria (late cent. 2) repeatedly quotes the
Epistle. He brings {Padogogus, i., c. vi., ed. Migne) Phil,
iii. 12 — 14 to refute those who "call themselves 'perfect' and
'gnostic'." In the Stromata, iv., c. iii., he refers to Phil. iii.
20, in the words "having obtained citizenship in heaven;" c. v.,
he quotes i. 13, 14 as the "words of the Apostle;" c. xiii. he
quotes i. 7, 29, 30, ii. i, 2, 17, 20, 21, and refers to the Philippians
as addressed by "the Apostle" in these passages.
^ For further particulars of St Paul's life and work at Rome see
Appendix A.
* With one curious variation of reading: persequor ad palntam
incriminationis; as if reading t6 ^pa^eTou rrjs dveyKXrjffeu^,
INTRODUCTION. 21
In the contemporary Letter of the Chitrches of Lyons atid
Vienne, describing the martyrdoms of A.D. 177', the sufferers
are said to have striven to " imitate Christ, vi'ho being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God"
(Phil. ii. 6).
Polycarp, in his Epistle to the Philippians (very early cent. 2),
both refers (c. iii.) to the Epistle which St Paul had addressed
to them, and manifestly echoes its phraseology. He speaks
indeed of "Epistles." But the plural is often used for the sin-
gular of this word ; see Lightfoot in his Edition of Polycarp
{Apostolic Fathers, Pt. ii. ; Vol. ii., sect, ii., p. 911). Polycarp's
Epistle is given below, nearly in full; Introduction, ch. v.
Ignatius, on his way to martyrdom (about A.D. no), wrote a
series of Epistles. In that to the Romans, c. ii., he speaks of
his desire to be "poured out as a libation to God"; to the
Philadelphians he writes (c. viii.), "do nothing in a spirit of
faction" (Phil. ii. 3); to the Smyrnasans (c. iv.) "I endure all
things, for He, the perfect Man, strengtheneth me"; and (c. xi.),
"being perfect, be ye also perfectly minded." These passages,
taken together, are good evidence for Ignatius' knowledge of
the Epistle.
All the ancient Versions, including the oldest Syriac (cent. 2),
and all the lists of N. T. books, of cent. 2, contain the Epistle.
Such evidence, combined on the one hand with the total
absence of ancient negative testimony, and on the other with
the perfect naturalness, and intense and tender individuality,
of the Epistle itself, is abundantly enough to satisfy all but the
ultra-scepticism which, however ingenious, really originates in
a priori views. Such surely is the account to be given of the
theory of F. C. Baur (1796 — 1860) — that the Epistle is a fabri-
cation of the second century, betraying a development of
doctrine 2 and Hfe later than the age of St Paul, and aiming
at a reconciliation between divergent Church parties (see on
iv. 2 below). His objections to the Epistle have, however,
1 Preserved by Eusebius, Hist. Eccl,, V. cc. i. — iv. The quotation
is from c. ii.
^ See further, Appendix F.
22 INTRODUCTION.
been discarded as futile even by rationalizing critics, such as
Hilgenfeld, Pfleiderer, and Renan^. Alford {Greek Test., iii. p. 27)
says, " To those who would see an instance of the very insanity of
hypercriticism I would recommend the study of these pages of
Baur {Paitlus, der Apostel Jesu Christi, pp. 458 — 475]. They
are almost as good, by way of burlesque, as the ' Historic
Doubts respecting Napoleon Buonaparte' of Abp Whately.
According to [Baur] all wjz/a/ expressions prove its spuriousness,
as being taken from other Epistles ; all nnusual expressions
prove the same, as being from another than St Paul, &c."
Lightfoot says {Phil., p. 74), "I cannot think that the mere fact
of their having been brought forward by men of ability and
learning is sufficient to entitle objections of this stamp to a
serious refutation." Salmon says {Introd. to N. T., pp. 465, 6),
"Baur has pronounced this Epistle dull, uninteresting, mono-
tonous, characterized by poverty of thought, and want of origin-
ality. But one only loses respect for the taste and skill of the
critic who can pass such a sentence on one of the most touch-
ing and interesting of Paul's letters. So far is it from shewing
signs of having been manufactured by imitation of the other
Epistles that it reveals aspects of Paul's character which the
other letters had not presented... Else where we are told how the
Apostle laboured with his own hands for his support, and
declared that he would rather die than let the disinterestedness
of his preaching be suspected; here we find (iv. 10 — 19) that
there was no false pride in his independence, and that when there
was no likelihood of misrepresentation, he could gracefully accept
the ungrudged gifts of affectionate converts. Elsewhere we read
only of his reprobation of Christian teachers who corrupted the
simplicity of the Gospel; here we are told (i. 18) of his satis-
faction that, by the efforts even of those whose motives were
not pure, the Gospel of Christ should be more widely published."
^ Wittichen, a decidedly negative recent critic, admits the Philip-
pians as genuine. {Lebcn Jesu, p. 14 ; quoted by Edersheim, Prophecy
and History, ^c, p. 68, note.)
INTRODUCTION. 23
CHAPTER IV.
Relation of the Epistle to the other Epistles of
THE First Imprisonment.
We have pointed out the strong doctrinal link of connexion
between the Philippian Epistle and the Romans with its at-
tendant Epistles. We find in the Philippians on the other
hand indications of similar connexion with the Ephesians and
the Colossians, and such indications as to harmonize with the
theory advocated above (p. 16) that these Epistles were dated
some time later in St Paul's captivity.
In two directions chiefly these connexions appear; {a) in the
view of the Church as a City or Commonwealth, and (J?) in the
view of Christ's personal Glory.
Under the first head, cp. Phil. iii. 20, with Eph. ii. 12, 19,
remembering that nowhere in the Epistles written before
the Roman imprisonment is this view of the Church distinctly
presented.
Under the second head, cp. Phil. li. 5—11 with Eph. i. 17—
23, ii. 8, &c. ; Col. i. 15—19, &c. And cp. Phil. ii. 10 with
Eph. i. 20; Col. i. 20. In the earlier Epistles the Apostle was
guided to the fullest statements of the salvation wrought out by
Christ, especially in its judicial and propitiatory aspects. But
this exposition of the grace and wonder of His personal majesty,
personal self-abasement, and personal exaltation after it, is in
a great measure a new development in the revelations given
through St Paul.
Observe in connexion with this the insistence on the blessed-
ness of ''knowing Him'' (iii. 10), compared with the glowing
language of Eph. iii. 19 ("to know the love of Christ, &c.").
Most certainly the idea is present everywhere in the Epistles of
St Paul; but it reaches its full prominence in this group of
Epistles, as other sides of truth do in the Romans and the
Galatians.
24 INTRODUCTION.
Among minor notes of kinship in these Epistles observe the
view of faith as the '''gift of God'''' (Phil. i. 29; Eph. ii. 8);
the mention of the Divine ^^ good pleasure" , or gracious sovereign
purpose (Phil. ii. 13; Eph. i. 4) ; the phrase "preach Christ'"
(Phil. i. 16, 18; Col. i. 28); the Apostle's '^joy" in his trials
(Phil. i. 18; Eph. iii. 13; Col. i. 24); the Divine '■' inworkiiig^'
in the saints (Phil. ii. 13; Col. i. 29; cp. Eph. ii. 10); and the
following words or phrases peculiar to these among the Pauline
Epistles — TaTT€ivo(^pocrvvr} (Phil. ii. 3; Eph. iv. 2; Col. iii. 12),
(TTrkayxva olKTipfimv (or nearly so) (Phil. ii. i; Col. iii. 12; cp.
Philem. 7, 12, 20); oV/x^ evablas (Phil. iv. 18; Eph. v. 2); eVt-
Xoprjyia (Phil. i. 19; Eph. iv. 16; cp. Col. ii. 19).
CHAPTER V.
The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians.
This Epistle, the only other extant letter addressed to the
Church of Philippi, has been already mentioned (p. 21). For
the text, fully edited with notes, see Lightfoot's Apostolic
Fathers, Part II. vol. ii., sect. 2, pp. 898, &c. We give a trans-
lation of the Epistle slightly abridged. It is interesting to
observe the wealth of N. T. quotations, and the frequent tacit
allusions to the topics of St Paul's Epistle. All clear Scripture
quotations are italicized, as well as phrases apparently sug-
gested by Scripture.
Polycarp and his elders to the Church of God sojourning at
Philippi ; grace and peace be multiplied from God Almighty
and Jesus Christ our Saviour.
i. I rejoiced greatly with you in the Lord, in your joy on
welcoming those Copies^ of the True Love, chained with those
holy fetters which are the diadems of the elect ; and that your
long-renowned faith persists, and bears fruit to Christ, who for
^ Ignatius and his companion Confessors.
INTRODUCTION. 25
our sins died and rose, in whom, not having seen Him, yoti
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, a joy into which
many long to enter, knowing that by grace ye have been saved,
not of works, but by the will of God in Christ.
ii. So gird up your loins, forsake the prevalent specious
errors, believe on Him who raised our Lord from the dead and
gave Him glory, to whotn (Christ) all things in heaven and
earth are stibjected, to whom every living thing does service,
who comes to judge the quick atid dead, whose blood God will
require of the unbelieving. He who raised Him will raise us
also, if we walk in His ways, abstaining from all injustice,
avarice, and evil-speaking, 7!ot rendering evil for evil or railing
for railing; remembering how the Lord said, fudge not, that
ye be 7iot judged; blessed are the poor, and the persecuted for
righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
iii. I write thus concerning righteousness, not of my own
motion but because you have invited me. Neither I nor any
likf me can approach the wisdom of the blessed and glorious
Paul, who when among you, face to face with the men of that
day, taught accurately and with certainty the word concerning
the truth, who also when absent wrote to you letters 1, which if
you study diligently you shall be able to be built up in the faith
given you; which faith is the mother of us all, followed by
hope, and by hope's forerunner, love to God, to Christ, and to
our neighbour. For if any one is given to these, he hath ful-
filled the precept of righteousness. He who hath love is far
from all sin.
iv. Now the beginning of all evils is the love of money. We
brought nothing into the world, and can carry nothing out.
Let us put on the armour of righleoicsness and teach one another
to walk in the precept. Teach your wives too to walk in the
faith, love, and purity given them, faithful to their husbands in
all truth, amiable to all around them in true modesty, training
their children in the fear of God. Let your widows be sober in
^ See p. 21.
26 INTRODUCTION.
the faith, instant in intercession, holding aloof from evil-speak-
ing, from avarice, and from all wrong. They are God's altar,
and He inspects the victim to see if it has any blemish.
V. God is not inockedj let us walk worthy of His precept
and glory. Let the deacons {diaconi, ministers) be blameless
before Him, as ministers of God and Christ, avoiding likewise
evil-speaking, and avarice, and unkindness, before Him who
was viinister of all. If we please Him in this world we shall
receive the world to come ; if we walk (lit., live as citizens)
wortJiy of Him, we shall reign with Him, if we believe. Let
the juniors too walk in holy strictness. Every lust warreth
against the spirit; fornicators and such like shall not inherit
the kingdotn. So let them watch and abstain ; let them submit
to the elders and deacons. And let the virgins walk in
holiness.
vi. The presbyters should be compassionate, watchful over
the erring, the weak, the widows, orphans, and poor, providing
always for that which is good before God and men, renouncing
wrath, partiality, avarice, and rash judgment. If we ask remis-
sion, we must remit. We must all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ, and give accottnt each of himself . Let us do Him
bond-service, as He bade us, and His Apostles, and the Pro-
phets who shewed before of His co7ning. Be zealous for good;
avoid offences, and false brethren, who deceive the careless.
vii. For whosoever confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come
in thefesh is antichrist. Whosoever confesses not the mystery
of the Cross is of the devil. Whosoever perverts the Lord's
oracles to his lusts, and says that there is neither resurrection
nor judgment, is Satan's firstborn. So let us forsake the
current vain doctrines, and turn to the once-delivered Gospel,
watching unto prayer, persevering in fastings, praying ithe all-
seeing God 7iot to lead us into temptation ; as the Lord said,
The spirit is willing, btct the flesh is weak.
viii. Let us hold fast to our hope and to the earnest of our
righteousness, which earnest is Christ Jesus, who bore our sins
in His own body to the treej who did no sin, neither was guile
INTRODUCTION.
found in His viotith; who bore all that we might live in Him.
Let us imitate His patience. If we suffer for Him, let us
glorify Him. — He left us this example.
ix. All of you obey the word of righteousness, and practise
true endurance, which you have seen exemplifi'jd before you
not only in blessed Ignatius, Zosimus, and Rufus, but in others
of your own body, and in Paul himself and the other Apostles.
You know that they all did not run in vaiii. They have gone,
in the path of faith and righteousness, to their promised (lit.,
owed) place, beside the Lord with whom they suffered.
X. Stand fast then, according to His example, steadfast and
unvioveable in the faith, kindly affectio/ied one to another with
brotherly lovej sharing together in truth, in the Lord's gentle-
ness {tnoderatioji, Phil. iv. 5) prefej'ring one another. When
able to do good, defer it not, for almsgiving rescue th from death
(Tobit iv. II, xii. 9). All beitig subject to one atiothcr, have
your conversation ho?test among the Gentiles, that by your good
■works you may obtain praise, and the Lord be not blasphemed.
Teach all men true sobriety.
xi. I am exceedingly grieved for Valens, once made an elder
among you, that he so ignores the position given him. Do you
avoid avarice ; be pure, be true. He who cannot steer himself
aright in such duties, how can he preach them? If he avoids
avarice he will be defiled by idolatry, and judged as one of the
Gentiles. Know we 7iot that the saints shall judge the world?
as Paul teaches. I never heard of such sins in you, among
whom the blessed Paul toiled, who were his '■'■{living) cpistles^''^
in the first (days of the Gospel). About you he glories in the
churches which knew the Lord before we knew Him. I am
deeply grieved for Valens, and for his wife ; God grant them
repentance. Count them not as enemies, but restore them as
diseased and wandering members, that your whole body may be
in safety.
xii. You know the holy Scriptures perfectly; a knowledge
^ So Lightfoot explains the difficult sentence.
28 INTRODUCTION.
not granted to me. Only, (I know that) it is there said, Be angry
and sin tiot; let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Now
the God and Father of our Lord, and He, the eternal High-
Priest, (our) Godi, Jesus Christ, build you up in all hohness,
and give you part and lot among His saints, and to us with you,
and to all everywhere who shall believe on our Lord and God
Jesus Christ, and on His Father who raised Him from the
dead. Pray for all the saints, and for kings and rulers, and for
them that persecute you, and for the enetnies of the Cross, that
your fruit may be tnanifest in all things, that ye may be perfect
in Him.
xiii. Both you and Ignatius have asked me that, if a mes-
senger is leaving us for Syria, he may carry your letter with
ours. This I will do, in person or by delegate. The letter
of Ignatius to us, and all others in our hands, we have sent
you, as you desired, attached to this letter. They will greatly
benefit you spiritually. Report to us anything you hear of
Ignatius' companions.
xiv. My letter-bearer is Crescens, whom again I commend
to you, as a blameless Christian. His sister too I commend to
you, in prospect. Farewell in the Lord Jesus Christ, in grace,
with all who are yours. Amen.
CHAPTER VL
ARGUMENT OF ST PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS.
Ch. I. 1 — 2. Paul and Timotheus, servants of Jesus Christ, greet
the Christians of Philippi and their Church-officers, invoking blessing
on them from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3—11. Paul assures them that his whole thought of them is full of
thanksgiving, his every prayer for them full of joy, in view of their
warm, steadfast cooperation from the first in his evangelical labours.
^ So Lightfoot; in preference to the reading, ''the Son of God,"
which he thinks to be later.
INTRODUCTION. 29
He is quite sure [on this bright evidence] that the work of grace in them
will reach its consummation in glory. His affectionate regard for them
is but just, so fully have they claimed his heart by their identification of
themselves with him in the trials of captivity and the toils of Christian
witnessing and teaching. God knows with what yearning tenderness,
drawn from the heart of Christ, he misses them and longs for them.
[And his affection expresses itself above all things in prayer], the
prayer that their love [of which he for one has had such proofs] may
increasingly be guided and fortified by a quick spiritual perception,
sifting truth from error, holiness from sin, and forming a character
which at the Great Day should prove pure in principle, and rich in the
frait [of the Spirit], fruit generated by communion with Christ, and
bringing glory to God.
12 — 20. As regards his own present circumstances, he rejoices to
inform them that they are conducing to the advance of the Gospel at
Rome. [His imprisonment is in itself a mission]; its connexion [not
with political or social offences but] with Christ is now well known
throughout the Imperial Guard [which supplied his warders] and among
the Romans in general. And the Roman Christians, for the most part, have
felt a spiritual impetus [after a time of depression]. His captivity has
nerved them to bear a bolder witness among their heathen neighbours.
[True, there is a shadow across this light] ; some thus proclaim Christ
[with new energy] from motives of opposition to Paul, while others do
so in loyal sincerity. On the one side is love, which sees in the
imprisoned Apostle a centre of action, set there by Christ, for the
propagation of the Gospel ; on the other side is the spirit of the
partizan and of self, defiling the motive of the work, actually wishing
to make his imprisonment doubly trying [by intercepting enquirers
and converts]. Does it matter to him? [No — and] yes. [No, so far
as his peace in God is concerned], yes, [happily yes, so far as the spread
of the primary Gospel truth is concerned]. For thus in every way
Christ is being proclaimed. Here is cause of joy for Paul ; and here
shall be cause of joy [even in the eternal future] ; for the situation shall
only animate the Philippians to earnest prayer for him, and this shall
bring him a new fulness of the Holy Spirit, and so .shall promote his
grace and glory. Yes, it shall forward the realization of his longing
anticipation, that at this crisis, as at all others, Christ shall be glorified,
whether through his body's living energies, or through his submission
to his body's death.
30 INTRODUCTION.
21 — 26. For indeed life is for him identified with, summed up in,
Christ; and death, [as the introduction to Christ's fuller presence] is
gain [even over such a life]. If [it is his Lord's will that] he should
live on, [the prolonged life] will mean only larger work with richer
fruit. And indeed the case is one of blessed dilemma. Personal
preference is for dying, dying into the presence of Christ ; a far, far
better state [than the best here] ; while duty, manifested in the needs
of his converts, is for living patiently on. And thus he feels sure that
he will live on, for the spiritual benefit of his converts, and particularly
in order that his restoration to them in bodily presence may give them
fresh occasion for triumph in Christ.
27 — 30. Meanwhile, let them live a life of holy practical consistency.
Above all, let him see, or let him hear, as the case may be, that they
are standing firm, and standing together, cordially at one in Christian
witness and work, and calm amidst opposing terrors. Such calmness
[under such circumstances] will be an omen of their opponents' ruin
and their own coming heaven. God has thus adjusted things, God who
has granted them not only faith in Christ but also the privilege of
suffering for Him; a conflict one with that which they had seen in
Paul's case [at Philippi] and now hear of in his case [at Rome].
Ch. II. 1 — 4. [Yes, let them above all things hold together, watching
against a tendency towards internal dissension ; a tendency which he
fears has shewn itself, however faintly, amongst them]. By the
common blessings of believers, by the pity of their human hearts,
he begs them to crown his joy in them with the joy of an assurance
that they are living in holy harmony; shunning the spirit of self,
taking each the lowest room, entering with unselfish love into each
other's needs.
5 — 11. Let them remember, and reflect, the supreme Self-forgetfulness
of their Saviour. He, [in His preexistent glory,] being and seeming
God, [looked indeed on the things of others]. He dealt with His true
and eternally right Equality with His Father [in nature and majesty]
not as a thing held, like a prize of strength or guile, anxiously and for
Himself, [but as a thing which admitted of an act of most gracious
sacrifice for others' good]. In a marvellous "Exinanition" [He laid
by the manifested glories of Deity], and willed to be, and to seem,
[as Man], the Bondservant [of God], putting on the visible garb of
embodied manhood, [while always also more than man]. Aye, and
INTRODUCTION. 31
having thus presented himself to men as man, He bowed yet lower,
[in His supreme outlook "upon the things of others,"] in His supreme
obedience to His God; He extended that obedience to the length of
dying, dying on a Cross, [that last degradation in the eyes of Gentile and
Jew]. [So He "pleased not Himself," and now, what was the result?]
The Father raised Him to the eternal throne [in His now double glory,
God and Man], giving to Him [as the once-abased One] the rights of
supreme Majesty, that all creation in all spheres should worship Him,
and the Father through Him, all beings confessing that Jesus Christ is
"I AM," to the Father's glory.
12 — 18. [With such an Example in view] let the beloved Philip-
pians, now as always obedient to Paul's appeals, so watch, so live,
in tender, solemn earnestness (and more than ever now, in the absence
of their Apostle, [whose presenec might have seemed to excuse in them a
lack of such care] as to realize and carry out the plan of their salvation.
[And to promote at once their solemn care and their restful hope let
them remember that] it is God who is personally effecting in them
[in the regenerate life] both their holy desires and their just works,
in order to accomplish His own blessed purposes. Let them renounce
all mutual murmurings and dissensions ; seeking to prove their spiritual
sonship by a perfectly consistent walk, in the midst of a rebellious
world, in whose darkness they are seen as spiritual stars ; offering the
news of Christ to their neighbours' notice. So Paul would rejoice at
the Great Day, looking back on his course of toil, that he had not lived
in vain. [Aye, and that he had not died in vain] ; for what if he should
after all shed his blood as a libation on the altar at which the Phi-
lippians offered themselves a living sacrifice? He would rejoice, and
would congratulate his converts. Let them rejoice, and congratulate
him.
19 — 30. [But to turn to another subject;] he hopes to send Timothy
ere long, to report to him (it will be a cheering report) on their state.
None of the Christians round him is so entirely in sympathy with
him and with Philippi. Others of his friends might otherwise go, but
alas their devotedness to the Lord's will proves too partial. As for
Timothy, the Philippians know by old experience how he had done
bondservice to the Lord, with Paul, [in their very midst,] in a perfectly
filial spirit. Immediately on Paul's learning the issue of the trial,
Timothy shall thus be sent. And he trusts ere long to follow person-
ally to Philippi. Epaphroditus meanwhile, Paul's fellow-labourer, and
2,2 INTRODUCTION
the bearer of the Philippians' bounty to him, is to be spared and sent
immediately, as a matter of duty. That duty is made plain by
Epaphroditus' state of feeling — his yearning to revisit Philippi, his sore
trouble at the thought of the grief which must have been caused at
Philippi by news there of his serious illness. He has indeed been
ill, almost fatally. But God has spared him the grief [of premature
removal from his work, and of being the cause of mourning at
Philippi], and has spared Paul too the grief of bereavement added
to his other trials. So he has taken pains to send him [in charge of the
present Epistle], to the joy of the Philippians and the alleviation of Paul's
own sadness. Let them give their messenger a glad Christian welcome
back again. Let them shew their value for him and such as him.
For Christ's work's sake he has all but lost his life; he has run great
hazards with it, in order to do for them, in their loving assistance to
Paul, what in person they could not do.
Ch. III. 1 — 3. Now to draw to a close. Let them rejoice in the
Lord [as their all in all, cherishing a joyful insight into His fulness as
their Righteousness and Life]. In effect, he has been saying this all
along. But to emphasize it again is welcome to him and wholesome
for them. Let them beware of the Pharisee-Christian, [cruelly exclusive,
while] really excluding himself from the true Israel ; of the advocate of
salvation by works, himself a bungling work-man; of the assertors
of a circumcision that is only now a physical maltreatment. We
Christians are the true circumcised Israel, worshipping by the rites
of the Spirit, making Christ Jesus our boast, renouncing all trust in
self.
4 — 11. If indeed such self-trust ever has just grounds, /•«?</ claims
it. He can surpass the claims of any such theorists [on their own
principles,] in point of sacrament, pedigree, education, school of
ascetic piety, tremendous earnestness, punctilious observance. These
things were once his hoarded gains ; but he has now decisively judged
them to be one great loss, in the light of that Christ [to whose glory
they blinded him]. Yes, and he holds that judgment now, con-
cerning not these things only, but all things whatever [that can obscure
his view of] the surpassing bliss of knowing Him as Saviour and as
Lord. For Him he has been deprived of his all, and treats it now
as refuse, that he may [in exchange] gain Christ for his, and be found
[by the Judge] in living union with Him, presenting to the Eternal
Holiness not a satisfying claim of his own, based on fulfilment of the
INTRODUCTION. 33
Law as covenant of life, but the satisfying claim which consists of
Christ for him, appropriated by humble trust; God's way of accept-
ance, thus made good for Paul. [And is this to terminate in itself,
in acceptance of his guilty person, and no more? No ;] its true,
its necessary issue is that he gets to know his Redeemer spiritually
[in His personal glory and beauty], and to experience the power of His
resurrection [as conveying assurance of peace and hope of glory, and
also in the inflow of His blessed Risen Life], and the joy of entrance,
[in measure,]' into His experience as the Sufferer, [bearing the cross daily
after Him], growing thus into ever truer conformity to His willingness
to die. And all this, with the longing to attain [in the path of
holiness], at any cost [of self-surrender], to the resurrection of glory [in
Him who died to rise again].
12 — 16. [Meantime— there is reason why he should say it — ] he
is not yet at the goal, not yet perfected. He is pressing on, aiming
to grasp that crown which Christ who grasped him [in conversion]
converted him that he might grasp. [Others may say of themselves
and their perfection what they will]; Paul does not think of himself
as having grasped that crown. His concentrated purpose is to re-
nounce all complacency in attainment, and to seek for ever higher
things, and to take for his aim nothing short of that eternal glory which
is the Divine Arbiter's award at the close of that life of heavenly
conversion which is ours in Christ. Are any of us perfect Christians,
then? [Christians mature and ideal?] Let us shew it [among other
things] by such humbling views [of our personal imperfection, and
of the greatness of our goal]. Should their views in this matter still
differ from his own, he leaves them with calmness to the sure processes
of God's enlightening grace [in experience]. Only, up to present
light and knowledge, let harmony of conviction, and so of behaviour
and action, be cherished by Apostle and converts alike.
17 — 21. [Nay, let him solemnly appeal to them to] l^ecome imi-
tators, one and all, of his principles and practice, and to take for their
visible models those among them who manifestly lived those prin-
ciples out. For there were many [so-called Christians abroad whose
life was a terrible and ensnaring travesty of the Gospel of free grace,
antinomian claimants of a position in Clirist lifted above the holy
moral law, men] of whom he often warned them at Philippi, and warns
them now, even with tears [over their own ruin and over the deadly
mischief they do]. These men are the real enemies of the Cross [which
PHILirPIANS 3
34 INTRODUCTION.
won our pardon, but only that we miglit be holy]. Their end [in such
a path] is eternal perdition. Their God is [not He with whom they
claim special intimacy but] their own sensual appetites. They boast
[of their insight and experience], but their lofty claims are their deepest
disgrace. Their interests and ideas, [pretending to soar above the
skies], are really " of the earth, earthy." [Such teachings, and lives,
are utterly alien to those of Paul and his true followers]. The seat
and centre of their life is in heaven, whose citizens they are [free of
its privileges, "obliged by its nobility"]. And from heaven they are
looking, [in a life governed by tliat look], for the Lord Jesus Christ,
as Saviour [of body as well as of soul]. He shall transfigure the body
which now abases and encumbers us into true and eternal likeness to
the Body He now wears upon the throne. [Do they ask, how can
this be?] It is a possibility measured by His ability to subdue to
His will, and to His purposes, nothing less than all things.
Ch. IV. 1—7. [With such a present, and such a future], let the dear
and sorely missed Philippians [cleanse themselves from all pollution,
and to that end] let them keep close to Christ, or rather dwell in Christ.
[Let them in particular renounce the spirit of self; and here] he entreats
two Christian women, Euodia and Syntyche, to renounce their differ-
ences. And let his truehearted yoke-fellow [Epaphroditus?] help these
two persons to a loving reconciliation, remembering how they toiled and
strove for the cause of Christ, by Paul's side, [in the old days]; and let
Clement, and Paul's other fellow-labourers, whose names the Lord has
marked for heaven, do the like kind service [for Euodia and Syntyche].
Let all rejoice always in the Lord; yes, let them indeed rejoice in Him !
Let all around them find them self-forgetful, void of self; the Lord's
[remembered] presence is the way to this. Let them be anxious in
no circumstance ; everything must be taken at once to God in prayer,
with thanksgiving. Then the peace of God, [the glad tranquillity caused
by His presence and rule in the heart], shall ncircle as with walls their
inner world and its actings, as they dwell in Christ.
8—9. In conclusion, let their minds, [thus shielded, not lie idle,
but] be occupied with all that is true, honourable, right, pure, amiable;
with all that man truly calls virtue, all that has the praise of his
conscience.
And once more, let them practise the principles they have learned of
Paul, and seen exemplified in him. So the God of peace, [peace in
the soul and in the community], shall be with them.
INTRODUCTION. 35
10—20. [He must not close without loving thanks for a gift of
money, for himself and his work, received lately from them.] It has
given him holy joy to find that their thought about him has burst into
life and fruit again after an interval. Not that they had ever forgotten
him; but for some time (he knows) no means of communication had
been found. Not, again, that he has been feeling any painful deficiency;
for himself, he has learned the lesson of independence of circumstances.
He understands the art of meeting poverty and plenty [in equal peace].
He has been let into the secret how to live so. [And the secret is —
Jesus Christ]. In living union with Him and His spiritual power,
Paul can meet every incident of the will of God, [to bear it, or to do it].
Not that he does not warmly feel their loving participation [by this
gift] in his trials. But [there was no need of this particular gift to
assure him of their affection] : they will remember that when he first
evangelized Macedonia, and was now leaving it, they were the only
Church which aided him with money, more such gifts than one reached
him even when he was no further off than Thessalonica. Do not let
them think that he is hunting for their money [by such reminiscences] ;
no, [so far as he welcomes their money at all] it is because such gifts
are deposits bearing rich interest of blessing for the givers. But he has
indeed been supplied, and over-supplied, in this contribution now sent
by Epaphroditus' hands; this sweet incense from the altar [of self-
sacrificing love to Christ in His servant]. For himself, [he can send
back no material present, but] his God shall supply their every need,
out of the wealth of eternal love and power, lodged for the saints
in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be the glory for ever.
Amen.
21 — 23. Let them greet individually from him every Christian of
their number. The Christians associated with him greet them. So do
all the Roman believers, especially those connected with the Imperial
household.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with their inmost being.
Amen,
3—2
i
If we submit ourselves fairly and honestly to the influence which
the Gospel would bring to bear upon us, we may trust it to verify itself
by producing inwardly "righteousness, and peace, and joy, in the Holy
Ghost." There is no manner of question that it was thus with the
great Apostle, and if the faith he preached is a living reality, it is not
only capable of producing the like results now, but must and will do so,
where there is a corresponding hold of it. If in Christ Jesus there is
forgiveness of sins, and if by Him "all that believe are justified," then,
most assuredly, that which was offered by St Paul... to all, without
distinction, is the heritage of Gentile as well as Jew, and may be the
priceless possession of Englishmen in the nineteenth century after
Christ, no less than of Greeks and Asiatics in the first. There wants
but the same tenacious grasp of truth, the same uncompromising zeal,
the same unflinching boldness, and the ancient message will awaken
the old response. The same flower will bud and open, will form and
set, in the mature and golden autumn of Christian experience, into the
same rich, fragrant... fruit, which will be "Christ in us, the hope of
glory."
Stanley Le.-\thes, D.U. ; T/ie Witness of St Paul to Christ,
pp. 87—8.
I
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
P
PHILIPPIANS.
AUL and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to 1
all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi,
Title.
The oldest known form is the briefest, To the Philippians, or,
exactly, To the Philippesians (see on iv. 15). So in the "Subscrip-
tion" to the Epistle, which see. The title as in the Authorized Version
agrees with that adopted in the Elzevir editions of 1624, 1633.
Ch. I. 1 — 2. Greeting.
1. Paul'] See Acts xiii. 9. The Apostle probably bore, from in-
fancy, both the two names, Saul {Haonl, Sauhis) and Paul. See on
Eph. i. I, and Romans, p. 8, in this Series.
Timotheus] Named 24 times in N. T. See Acts xvi. i for his
parentage and early home, and for indications of his character as man
and Christian cp. i Cor. iv. 17, xvi. 10, ii; i Tim. i. 2 ; 2 Tim. i.
4, 5; and especially below, ii. 19 — 22. His association with St Paul
was intimate and endeared, and his connexion with the Philippian
Church was close. See Acts xvi., where it is clearly implied that with
Silas he accompanied St Paul on his first visit to Philippi (cp. xvii. 14,
and below, ii. 22), though for unknown reasons he did not share the
maltreatment of his friends. Later, Acts xx. 4, he appears accom-
panying St Paul from Macedonia to Asia Minor, and the mention of
Philippi, ver. 6, makes it practically certain that by then Philippi had
been visited again. With Macedonia generally, including of course
Thessalonica, we find his name often connected; see mentions of him
in Acts xvii. and xix. 22; 2 Cor. (written in Macedonia) i. i ; i Thess.
iii. 1, 6. — His name is associated as here with St Paul's 2 Cor. i. i ;
Col. i. I ; I Thess. i. i ; 2 Thess. i. i. — In this Epistle the association
38 PHILIPPIANS, I. [v. 2.
2 with the bishops and deacons : grace be unto you, and
begins and ends with this verse, and the Apostle writes at once in the
singular number. It is otherwise in 1 Cor., Col., and Thess.
the servants'] Bondservants, slaves. The word is used by St Paul
of himself (with or without his missionary brethren), Rom. i. i; Gal.
i. 10; Tit. i. I. Cp. Acts xx. 19, xxvii. 23; Gal. vi. 17. He was a
bondservant, in the absolute possession of his redeeming Lord, not
only as an apostle but as a Christian ; but he loves to emphasize the
fact in connexion with his special mode of service. On the principles
and conditions of the believer's sacred and happy bondservice see
e.g. Matt. vi. 24; Luke xvii. 7 — 10; Rom. vi. 19, vii. 6; i Cor. vi.
20, vii. 22; Eph. vi. 7; 2 Tim. ii. 24. The word with its imagery
conveys the truth that the spiritual bondservant is altogether and always
not only the helper, or agent, but the property and implement of his
r Master; having no rights whatever as against Him. Only, the Master*
I being what He is, this real bondage is transfigured always into the
! "perfect freedom" of the regenerate and loving heart. _
of yesus Christ\ Better, on documentary evidence, of Christ Jesus.
This order of our blessed Lord's Name and Title is almost peculiar
to St Paul, and is the most frequent of the two orders in his writings.
It is calculated that he uses it (assuming the latest researches in the
Greek text to shew right results) 87 times, and ''Jesus Christ" 78 (see
The Expositor, May, 1888). The slight emphasis on ''Christ" is
suggestive of a special reference of thought to the Lord in glory.
the saints] Holy ones ; men separated from sin to God. The word
takes the man, or the community, on profession ; as being what they
ought to be. This is not to lower the native meaning of the word,
but to use a well-understood hypothesis in the application of it. A
saint is not merely a professing follower of Christ, but a professing fol-
lower assumed to be what he professes. He who is not this is in name
only and not in deed a saint, faithful, a child of God, and the like.
See Appendix B.
ift Christ yesus] Holy ones, because united in Life and Covenant,
by grace, to the Holy One of God. See further on Eph. i, i, and below,
on ver. 8.
Philippi] See Introduction, p. 10, &c.
with the bishops and deacons] In this address the laity come before
the clergy. — " With" because these persons, though merely some of
"the saints" as men, were differenced from the others by office. Apart
from all questions in detail on the Christian Ministry, observe this
primeval testimony to so>ne already established and recognized order
and regimen in a young Church; to a special "oversight" and "service"
committed to not all but some. — The "bishop" (episcopus) of this
passage is identical with the "presbyter" of e.g. Acts xx. 17, called
episcopus there, ver. 28. For further remarks on the offices here
mentioned, see Appendix C.
2. Grace be unto yoit, &c.] See, on the whole verse, the notes in
this Series on Eph. i. 2, where the wording is identical. — " Grace," as a
vv. 3, 4-] PHILIPPIANS, I. 39
peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always ^
in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, ^
Scriptural term, demands careful study. In its true idea, kindness is
always present, with the special thought of entire atid marked absence
of obligatio7i in the exercise of it. It is essentially unmerited and free.
See e.g. Rom. xi. 6. In its normal application, the word denotes the
action of Divine kindness either in the judicial acceptance of the believer
"not according to his works," for Christ's sake (e.g. Rom. iii. 24),
or in the gift and continuance of new life and power to the believer
(e.g. I Cor. XV. 10). And, as the action is never apart from the Agent,
we may say that grace in the first reference is "God for us" (Rom.
viii. 31), in the second, "God in us" (below, ii. 13). — In the first
reference grace is the antithesis to ?nerit, in the second to nature.
our Fathcr\ in the new birth and life, which is coextensive with
union with Christ the Son. See below, on ii. 15.
3—11. Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Philippian
Saints.
3. I thank'\ So Rom. i. 8; i Cor. i. 4; Eph. i. 16; Col. i. 3;
1 Thess. i. 2, ii. 13; 2 Thess. i. 3, ii. 13; Philem. 4. St Paul's thanks-
givings for the two Macedonian Churches, Philippi and Thessalonica,
are peculiarly warm and full. See Bp Lightfoot here. Observe the
recognition in all these thanksgivings of God as the whole cause of
all goodness in the saints.
7ny God] So Rom. i. 8; i Cor. i. 4; 2 Cor. xii. 21; below, iv. 19;
Philem. 4. Cp. also Acts xxvii. 23 ; Gal. ii. 20 ; and below, iii. 8.
See too Psal. Ixiii. i, and many other O. T. passages. — Profound per-
sonal appropriation and realization speaks in the phrase. And we are
reminded that the salvation of the Church takes place through the
salvation of individuals, and their personal coming to (Joh. vi. 37) and
incorporation into Christ.
upon every remembrance] Lit. and better, in my whole remem-
brance ; as in a habit rather than as in single acts. For such remem-
brance, and its expressions, cp. Rom. i. 9; Eph. i. 16; i Thess. i. 2;
2 Tim. i. 3 ; Philem. 4.
4. every prayer] every request. The Greek word is narrower than
that, e.g. Eph.i. 16, which includes the whole action oi worship. See
below on iv. 6.
for you all] See, for the same phrase, or kindred words, vv. 7, 8,
25, ii. 17, 26. We seem to see, in this emphasis on the word "a//,"
a gentle reference to the danger of partizanship and divisions at Philippi.
See Introduction, p. 19.
request] Lit. and better, the request just mentioned.
with joy] These words strike the key-note of a main strain of the
40 PHILIPPIANS, I. [vv. 5, 6.
s for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until
6 now ; being confident of this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform // until the day of
Epistle. — They are here the emphatic words of the sentence. He
illustrates the assurance of his thankfulness for them by saying that
every request for them is lighted up with happiness. For St Paul's
joy over his converts' consistency cp. 2 Cor. ii. 3, vii. 4, 13; below,
ii. 2, iv. I ; I Thess. ii. 19, 20, iii. 9; Philem. 7.
5. For your fellowship in the gosper\ Lit. "<?« account of your
participation tmto the Gospel"; i.e. because of your efforts, in union
with mine, for the furtherance of the Gospel. See R. V.; and cp.
2 Cor. ii. 12, and ii. 22 below. The immediate reference doubtless is
to the pecuniary help sent again and again to the Apostle as a mis-
sionary. (See iv. 10 — 19.) But the fact and thought would far transcend
this speciality.
from the first day until now\ See the passage below, just referred
to, for comment and explanation.
6. Being confident'] This verse is a parenthesis in the thought,
suggested by the continuity '■^ until now" of the Philippians' love and
labour. The past of grace leads him to speak of its future. The
English word '■'■confident" happily represents the Greek, which like it
sometimes denotes 7-eliance, on definite grounds (so Matt, xxvii. 43;
Mark x. 24; 2 Cor. i. 9; Ijelow, ii. 24, iii. 3, 4; Heb. ii. 13, &c.),
sometimes a more or less arbitrary assurance (so Rom. ii. 19). In
every case in the N. T. the word indicates a feeling of personal
certainty, for whatever cause.
this very thing'\ A favourite phrase with St Paul; Rom. ix. 17
(where he varies the phrase of the LXX.), xiii. 6; 2 Cor. ii. 3, v. 5,
vii. 11; Gal. ii. 10; Eph. vi. 18, 22; Col. iv. 8. Elsewhere it occurs
only 2 Pet. i. 5, and there the reading is disputed. The words are
a characteristic touch of keen and earnest thought.
he which hath begu7i\ Lit. lie that began; at the crisis of their
evangelization and conversion. "■He" is God the Father (as habitually,
where nothing in the context defines Either of the Other Persons), the
supreme Author of the work of grace.
The Greek verb here occurs also Gal. iii. 3, where the crisis of con-
version is viewed from the converfs point of view; "ye began by the
Spirit." The reference to the Holy Spirit, however, reminds us there
also that a Divine enabling is absolutely needed in order to man's
"beginning" the new life.
a good work] We may perhaps render the good work. The article
is absent in the Greek, but the reference is obviously to the work of
works. Cp. below, ii. 13, and note.
will perform it] Better, as R.V., will perfect it. Cp. again Gal.
iii. 3; "ye bega7t by the Spirit; are ye now being perfected by the
flesh?"
For the thought of this sentence cp. Ps. cxxxviii. 8; "the LORD
will complete (all) for me; O Lord, Thy mercy is for ever; forsake
v.;.] PHILIPPIANS, I. 41
Jesus Christ : even as it is meet for me to think this of you 7
all, because I have you in my heart ; inasmuch as both in
my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the
not the works of Thy hands." There the individual believing soul
expresses the confidence of faith which is here expressed with regard
to the community ("j'ti«") of such souls.
until the day, &ic.\ The glorious goal of the redeeming process,
because then, and not before, the whole being of the saint, body (Rom.
viii. 23) as well as spirit, shall be actually delivered from all the results
of sin. The mention of this Day here is thus equally in point whether
or not the Apostle were contemplating a speedy or distant return of
the Lord. If He returns before the believer's death, His coming is
of course the final crisis; if otherwise, "the redemption of the body,"
and so far the redemption of the being, is deferred. Cp. Eph. iv. 30;
2 Tim. i. 12.
The "Day" of Christ is mentioned below, i. 10, ii. 16; and alto-
gether, in St Paul, about twenty times. For the Lord's own use of
the word " Day" for the Crisis of His Return as Judge and Redeemer,
cp. Matt. vii. 22, x. 15, xi. 22, 24, xii. 36, xxiv. 36; Luke xvii. 24, 26
("days"), 30, 31, xxi. 34 ; Joh. vi. 39, 40, 44, 54.
7. i?u\'t] Lit., and better, just, right.
for me] The pronoun is emphatic in the Greek ; " for nie, whatever
may be right for others."
to think this] Better, to be of tMs mind, to feel the thankfulness
and joy described above (ver. 3, 4). The Greek verb (a favourite with
St Paul) almost always denotes not an articulate act of thought but a
"state of mind." See, for some passages where this remark is im-
portant, Rom. viii. 5, 6, 7, 27 ; xii. 3, 16; below, iii. 15, 19; Col. iii. 2.
For another shade of meaning see iv. 10, and note.
of yoic] R.V., "o« behalf of you.'" His joyful thanks were given
not only " about " them but "on behalf" of them, as being an elemeiit
in intercessory worship. But the usage of the Greek preposition allows^
either rendering.
because, &c.] Such feelings are s;iecially right for him, because of
the intimacy of affectionate intercourse which has brought him into
living contact with the glow of their spiritual life.
/ have you in my heart] The Greek admits the rendering (A.V.
and R.V., margins) "you have me in your heart.'^ But the following
context favours the text. — For the warm thought, cp. 2 Cor. v. 12,
vi. II, vii. 3; I Thess. ii. 17.
in my bonds] The first allusion in the Epistle to imprisonment.
Here again the grammar leaves two explanations open. Grammati-
cally, the Apostle may say either that he has them in his heart both in
his bonds and in his advocacy of the Gospel ; or that in both these ex-
periences they are partners of his grace. But the latter is the far more
probable. There is something artificial in the statement that he carried
them in his heart both in his imprisonment a7id in his work ; for to him
42 PHILIPPIANS, I. [v. 8.
8 gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my
record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of
the two experiences would run up into one. But it would be natural
for the Philippians (see next note but one) to isolate the two experiences
of the Apostle in thought and sympathy.
the defence and con/i?-mation\ The two words are linked, in the
Greek, into one idea. '■'■Defence" : — Greek, apologia. For the word,
see Acts xx. i, xxv. i6; below, i6; and esp. i Pet. iii. 15. Unlike our
word "apology," in its every-day use, it means the statement of a good
case against an accuser. Acts xxviii. 17 — 23 shews us St Paul "apolo-
gizing" in his Roman prison. — The early "Apologies" for Christianity,
e.g. by Justin and TertuUian (cent. 1), are apologies in this sense.
ye all are partakers of ?>iy grace] This has been explained to mean
that they too knew by experience the power of grace under imprison-
ment and in evangelistic work. But we have no reason to think that
"all" (if indeed any) of the Philippian converts had been imprisoned
at this date. The natural meaning is that their sympathy, and active
assistance (iv. 10 — 19), had so united them with both the bearing and
doing of the Apostle that in this sense they were bound with him, and
worked with him, and felt the power of God with him. — The word
"grace" here (as in Rom. i. 5; Eph. iii. 2, 8) may refer to ihe gracious
gift to him of apostolic work and trial, rather than to the internal
Divine power for service. In this case, still more plainly, the Philip-
pians were partners in "his grace." — A closer rendering of the Greek
is, copartners of my grace as you all are.
8. God is my record] Better, witness; for which word ^'record"
is a synonym in older English, e.g. in Chaucer. — For this solemn
and tender appeal cp. Rom. i. 9; i Thess. ii. 5, 10; and see 2 Cor.
i. 18.
long after] The Greek verb is full of a yearning, homesick tenderness.
It occurs in similar connexions, Rom. i. 11 ; i Thess. iii. 6; 2 Tim. i.
4; below, ii. 26; and its cognates, Rom. xv. 23; 2 Cor. vii. 7, 11 (?),
ix. 14 ; below, iv. i. St Paul employs the verb also, with beautiful
significance, to denote the believer's yearning for heavenly rest and
glory, 2 Cor. v. 2 ; St James, for the Spirit's yearning jealousy for our
spirits' loyalty, Jas. iv. 5 ; St Peter, for the regenerate man's longing
for the "milk" of Divine truth, i Pet. ii. 2.
in the botvcls of Jesus Christ] MS. evidence favours the order Christ
Jesus, see note on ver. i. — "/« the bowels" : — better perhaps in tlie
heart. The Greek word in the classics means, strictly, the "nobler
vitals," including the heart, as distinguished from the intestines
(yEschylus, Agam., 1221). On the other hand the Septuagint in their
(rare) use of the word do not observe such a distinction, and render by
it the Heb. rachamtm, the bowels, regarded as the seat of tender
feeling. But in any case, the question is not of anatomy, but of cur-
rent usage and reference; and our word '■'■heart" is thus the best
rendering. — The phrase here carries with it no assertion of a physico-
spiritual theory ; it only uses, as a modem naturalist might equally weU
I
VV.9, lo.] PHILIPPIANS, I. 43
Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound 9
yet more and more in knowledge and m all judgment; that 10
do, a physical term as a symbol for non-physical emotion. — R.V. para-
phrases ^'■tender mercies.''''
The phraseology ("?« the heart of Christ yesus ") is deeply signifi-
cant. The Christian's personality is never lost, but he is so united to
his Lord, "one Spirit" (i Cor. vi. 17), that the emotions of the re-
generate member are, as it were, in continuity with those of the ever-
blessed Head. Tyndale (1534), Cranmer (1539), and Geneva (1557)
render "from the very heart root in Jesus Christ." — The ministration
of His life to the member is such that there is more than sympathy in
the matter; there is communication.
9. / p}-ay^ He takes up the words, ver. 4, " in every request for
you all."
that] Lit., by classical rules, '■'in order that." But in later Greek
the phrase has lost its more precise necessary reference to purpose, and
may convey (as here) the idea oi purport, significance. So we say, "a
message to this effect," meaning, "in these terms." — In Joh. xvii. 3
(where lit., "/« order to knoiv, &c."), the phrase conveys the kindred
idea of equivalence, synonymous description ; " life eternal " is, in
effect, "to know God."
your love] Perhaps in its largest reference ; Christian love, however
directed, whether to God or man, to brethren or aliens. But the pre-
vious context surely favours a certain speciality of reference to St I'aul ;
as if to say, "your Christian love, of which / have such warm evi-
dence." Still, this leaves a larger reference also quite free.
abouftd] A favourite word with St Paul. In this Ep. it occurs
again, ver. 26, iv. 12, 18. Cp. i Thess. iv. i for a near parallel here.
— Nothing short of spiritual growth ever satisfies St Paul. "The fire
in the Apostle never says. Enough" (Bengel).
in] As a 7uan "abounds in" e.g. "hope" (Rom. xv. 13). He
prays that their love may richly possess knowledge and perception as
its attendants and aids.
knowledge] Greek, epigndsis, more than gnosis. The structure of
the word suggests developed, full knowledge; the N.T. usage limits the
thought to spiritual knowledge. It is a frequent word with St Paul.
all judgment] ''AW': — with reference to the manifold needs and
occasions for its exercise ; judgment developed, amplified to the full
for full use. — "judgment'": — lit. " sensation, perception.'" The word
occurs here only in N.T., and cognates to it only Luke ix. 45 ; Heb. v.
14. — R.V., " discef-nment." But the word "judgment" (in the sense
e.g. of criticism of works of art, or of insight into character) is so fair an
equivalent to the Greek that the A.V. may well stand. — In application,
the "judgment" would often appear as delicate perception, fine tact ; a
gift whose highest forms are nowhere so well seen as in some Christians,
even poor Christians.
10. That] Better, as better marking a close sequence on the last
clause, 80 that.
44 PHILIPPIANS, I. [v. lo.
ye may approve things that are excellent ; that ye may
be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
approve] Better, in modem English, test. The spiritual "judgment "
was to be thus applied.
things that arc £xcelleni\ '■'■the things, &c." R.V. An alternative
rendering is, that ye may prove (test) the things that differ; so
margin R.V. ; "that you may use your spiritual judgment in sepa-
rating truth from its counterfeit, or distortion." The two renderings
come to much the same; for the "approval of the excellent thing"
would be the immediate result of the " detection of its difference."
We prefer the margin R. V., however; first, as giving to the verb its
rather more natural meaning, and then, as most congruous to the
last previous thought, the growth of "judgment."
that ye 7nay be\ It is implied that the process of "discernment"
would never be merely speculative. It would be always carried into
motive and conduct.
sincere'] The idea of the Greek word is that of clearness, disengage-
ment from complications. One derivation (favoured by Bp Lightfoot
here) is military; from the orderly separateness of marshalled ranks.
Another and commoner one is solar; from the detection of pollution by
sunlight, with the thought of the clearness of what has passed such a
test well. — The word "sincere" (from Lat. si?tcerus) has a possible
connexion with "jz'w-gle," and so with the idea of separation, disen-
gagement, straightness of purpose. In Latin, it is the equivalent to our
" unadulterated."
without offence] I.e., "without stmnhling-block" (h,2Lt., offendiculum).
Our common meaning of "offence," with its special reference to
grievances and pique, must be banished from thought in reading the
English Bible. There these words are always used to represent original
words referring to obstacles, stumbling, and the like. So e.g. i Cor.
vi. 3, "giving no offetice^'' means, presenting no obstacle such as to
upset the Christian principle or practice of others. — " Without offence"
here (one word in the Greek) may mean, grammatically, either ^^ ex-
periencing no such obstacle" or ^^ presenting none." The word occurs
elsewhere only Acts xxiv. 16; i Cor. x. 32; and the evidence of these
passages is exactly divided. On the whole the context here decides
for the former alternative. The Apostle is more concerned at present
with the inner motives than the outer example of the Philippians : he
prays that the simplicity (sincerity) of their spiritual relations with God
may be such as never to "upset" the inner workings of will and
purpose. — Tyndale and Cranmer render here, "that ye may be pure,
and such as (should) hurt no man's conscience;" Geneva, "that
ye may be pure, and go forward without any let." So Beza's Latin
version.
//// the day of Christ] Lit. unto, &c.; "against, in view of, the
great crisis of eternal award." So ii. 16, where see note. On the
phrase '■'■ the day of Christ" see note on i. 6, above.
vv. II, 12. PHILIPPIANS, I. 45
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by 1 1
Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God.
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the 12
things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto
11. Being Jilkd] Lit. and better, having been filled. He antici-
pates the great Day, and sees the Philippians as then, completed and
developed as to the results of grace. His prayetfor them is that they
may be then found "filled" with such results; bearers of no scanty
or partial "fruit"; trees whose every branch has put forth the produce
described Gal. v. 22, 23.
fruits'] Rather, on documentary evidence, fruit; as in Gal. v. 11.
The results of grace are manifold, and yet a total, a unity; effects and
manifestations of one secret, ingredients in one character, which, if
it lacks one of them, is not fully "itself."
of righteousness'] The phrase ''fruit of righteousness" occurs in the
LXX., Prov. xi. 30, xiii. 2 ; Amos vi. 12; and in St James, iii. 18. By
analogy with such phrases as e.g. "fruit of the Spirit," it means not
"fruit which is righteousness," but "fruit which springs from right-
eousness." — "Righteousness" is properly a condition satisfactory to
Divine law. Thiis it often means the practical rectitude of the regene-
rate will; and so probabjy here. But often in St Paul we can trace an
underlying reference to that great truth which he was specially com-
missioned to explain, the Divine way of Justification; the acceptance
of the guilty, for Christ's sake, as in Him satisfactory to the Law,
broken by them, but kept and vindicated by Him. See further
below, on iii. 9. Such an inner reference may be present here ;
the "fruit" may be the fruit not merely of a rectified will, but of a
person accepted in Christ.
which are] Read, which is.
by Jesus Christ] Through Him, as both the procuring cause, by
His merits, of the new life of the saints, and the true basis and secret
of it, in their union with His life. Cp. Rom. v. 17.
unto the glory and praise of God] The true goal and issue of the
whole work of grace, which never terminates in the individual, or in
the Church, but in the manifestation of Divine power, love, and holiness
in the saving process and its result. "To Him are all things; to whom
T)e glory for ever. Amen" (Rom. xi. 36). — "■God" here is distinctively
the Eternal Father, glorified in the members of His Son.
12 — 20. Account of St Paul's present Circumstances
AND Experience.
12. But] Better, now, as R.V.
/would, &c.] More lit. and simply, I wish you to know; I desire
to inform you.
the things which happened unto me] More lit. and simply, my
46 PHILIPPIANS, I. [vv. 13, 14.
13 the furtherance of the gospel ; so that my bonds in Christ
14 are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; and
circumstances, with no special reference to the past. Wyclif renders,
with the Vulgate Latin, "the thingis that ben aboute me"; so the
(Romanist) Rhemish version 1582; "the things about me"; Tyndale,
"my business." He means his imprisonment, which had proved and
was proving a direct and indirect occasion for Gospel-work.
rather] than otherwise, as had seemed so likely h priori.
furtherance] Better, as R. V., progress. The Greek gives the idea
of an advance made by the Gospel.
13. So that, &c.] Render, So that my bonds are become mani-
fest (as being) in Christ. In other words, his imprisonment has come
to be seen in its true significance, as no mere political or ecclesiastical
matter, but due to his union of life and action with a promised and
manifested Messiah.
in all the palace] Greek, "in theivhole Prtxtoriian {praitorioti).'''' The
word occurs elsewhere in N. T., Matt, xxvii. 27; Mark xv. 16; Joh.
xviii. 28, 33, xix. 9; Acts xxiii. 35 ; in the sense of the residence, or
a part of it, of an official grandee, regarded as a prcetor, a military
commander. (Not that the word, in Latin usage, always keeps a military
reference ; it is sometimes the near equivalent of the word villa, the
country residence of a Roman gentleman.) The A. V. rendering here
is obviously an inference from these cases, and it assumes that St
Paul was imprisoned within the precincts of the residence of the
supreme Praetor, the Emperor ; within the Palatiu7n, the man-
sion of the Cccsars on the Mons Palatinus, the Hill of the goddess
Pales. In Nero's time this mansion (whose name is the original of
all "palaces") had come to occupy the whole hill, and was called the
Golden House. — The rendering of the A. V. is accepted by high
authorities, as Dean Merivale {Hist. Rom. VI. ch. liv.), and Mr
Lewin {Life and Epistles of St Paul, II. p. 282). On the other hand
Bp Liglitfoot (on this verse, Philippians, p. 99) prefers to render "in
all the Praetorian Guard," the Roman life-guard of the Cssar; and
gives full evidence for this use of the word Prcetorium. And there
is no evidence for the application of the word by Romans to the
imperial Palace. To this last reason, however, it is fair to reply,
with Mr Lewin, that St Paul, as a Provincial, might very possibly
apply to the Palace a word meaning a residency in the provinces,
especially after his long imprisonment in the royal Prcetorium at
Coesarea (Acts xxiii. 35, xxiv. 27). But again it is extremely likely,
as Bp Lightfoot remarks, that the word Prcctoriiun, in the sense of
the Guard, would be often on the lips of the "soldiers that kept"
St Paul (Acts xxviii. 16); and thus this would be now the more
familiar reference. On the whole, we incline to the rendering of
Lightfoot, (and of the R. V.) throughout the (whole) Praetorian
Guard. Warder after warder came on duty to the Apostle's chamber
(whose locality, on this theory, is nowhere certainly defined in N. T.),
and carried from it, when relieved, information and often, doubtless,
V. I4.J PHILIPPIANS, I. 47
many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my
deep impressions, which gave his comrades knowledge of the Prisoner's
message and of the claims of the Saviour.
Other explanations of the word Pratorium are {a) the Barrack
within the Palatium where a detachment of Praetorians was stationed,
and within which St Paul may have been lodged; {b) the great Camp
of the Guard, just outside the eastern walls of Rome. But the barrack
was a space too limited to account for the strong phrase, "in all the
Prffitorium"; and there is no evidence that the great Camp was ever
called Prffitorium.
Wyclif renders, curiously, "in eche moot (council) halle"; Tyndale,
Cranmer, and Geneva, "throughout all the judgment hall."
in all other places] Better, to all other (men) ; to the Roman
"public," as distinguished from this special class. The phrase points
to a large development of St Paul's personal influence.
14. viany'\ Better, most. It is noticeable that the Apostle should
imply that there were exceptions. Possibly, he refers here to what
comes out more clearly below, the difference between friendly and
unfriendly sections among the Roman Christians. We can scarcely
doubt (in view of Rom. xvi. and Acts xxviii.) that the friendly were
the majority. If so, St Paul may here practically say that a majority
of the brethren were energized into fresh efforts, by his imprisonment,
while a minority, also stirred into new activity, were acting on less
worthy motives. In view of the context, this seems more likely than
that he should merely imply by this phrase that the revival of activity
was not universal. >
In any case, this verse implies that a spirit of languor and timidity
had recently infected the believing community at Rome.
the brethren in the Lord] So also R.V. Bps EUicc^t and Lightfoot
connect the words here otherwise; "//?<? brethren, having in the Lord
confidence, &c." Grammatically, either is possible. But to us the
"rhythm of the sentence," a sort of evidence not easy to define and
explain, but a real item for decision, seems to plead for the connexion
in the text. It is true that the precise phrase "brethren in the Lord"
is not found elsewhere. But a near parallel is Rom. xvi. 13, " Rufus,
the chosen one in the Lord"; for there too the words "in the Lord"
are in a certain sense superfluous. See too Rom. xvi. 8, 10.
waxing confident] More strictly and simply (for the Greek participle
is practically, though not in form, a pi-esent), being confident, con-
fiding. — The idea is that of a sense of rest and reassurance after mis-
givings.
by my bonds] More closely, perhaps, in my bonds. The "confi-
dence" was, in a sense, reposed "in," or on, Paul's chains, his cap-
tivity, just so far as that captivity vividly reminded the Roman believers
of the sacredness and goodness of the cause, and of the Person, for
whose sake the Apostle unflinchingly incurred it and willingly bore it.
The heart is the best interpreter of such words.
48 PHILIPPIANS, I. [v. 15.
bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife ; and
For the construction in the Greek, cp. Philem. 21, the only exact
N.T. parallel. It is found, but rarely, in the LXX.
are much more bold^ Lit., and better, more abundantly venture.
They "venture" more often, more habitually, than of late. — On the
bearing of such statements on the date of the Epistle see Introduction,
p. 16.
to speak the word'\ "The word of the cross" (1 Cor. 1. 18); "of
truth" (Eph. i. 13); "of life" (below, ii. 16); "of Christ" (Col. iii.
16); "of the Lord" (i Thess. i. 8, iv. 15); &c. It is the revealed and
delivered account of what Christ is, has wrought, &c. — It is observable
that St Paul regards such "speaking" as the work, not only of the
class of ordained Christians, but of Christians in general. See further
on ii. 16.
15. Some indeed^ Here he refers to members of that Judaistic
party, or school, within the Church, which followed him with persistent
opposition, especially since the crisis (Acts xv.) when a decisive victory
over their main principle was obtained by St Paul in the Church-council
at Jerusalem. Their distinctive idea was that while the Gospel was
the goal of the Mosaic institutions, those institutions were to be per-
manently, and for each individual convert, the fence or hedge of the
Gospel. Only through personal entrance into the covenant of circum-
cision could the man attain the blessings of the covenant of baptism.
Such a tenet would not necessarily preclude, in its teacher, a true belief
in and proclamation of the Person and the central Work of the true
Christ, however much it might (as it did, in the course of history) tend
to a lowered and distorted view even of His Person (see further. Ap-
pendix D.). St Paul was thus able to rejoice in the work of these
preachers, so far as it was a true conveyance to Pagan hearers at Pome
of the primary Fact of the Gospel — Jesus Christ. The same Apostle
who warns the Galatian and Philippian (iii. 1) Christians against the
distinctive teaching of this school, as a teaching pregnant with spiritual
disaster, can here without inconsistency rejoice in the thought of their
undistiuctive teaching among nan- Christians at Rome.
For allusions to the same class of opponents see Acts xv. i — 31, xx.
30 (perhaps), xxi. 20 — 25 ; and particularly the Ep. to the Galatians
at large. The passages in which St Paul asserts his authority with
special emphasis, as against an implied opposition, or again asserts his
truthfulness as against implied personal charges, very probably point in
the same direction.
Not that the Judaizer of the Pharisaic type was his only adversary
within the Church. He had also, very probably, to face an opposition
of a "libertine" type, a distortion of his own doctrine of free grace
(Rom. vi. I, &c., and below, iii. 18, 19); and again an opposition of
the mystic, or gnostic, type, in which Jewish elements of observance
were blent with an alien theosophy and angelology (see the Ep. to the
I
vv. i6, 17.J PHILIPPIANS, I. 49
some also of good will : the one preach Christ of contention, 16
not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds : but 17
Colossians). But ch. iii. i — 9 fixes the reference here to Christians of
the type of Acts xv. i .
even of etivy\ A mournful paradox, but abundantly verifiable. —
Render (or paraphrase) here, some actually for envy and strife, while
others as truly for goodwill.
good will \ The Greek word, eiidokia, in N.T. usually means "good
pleasure," in the sense of choice of what is "good" in the chooser's
eyes. See Matt. xi. 26; Luke x. 21; Eph. i. 5, 9; below, ii. 13. But
in the few remaining passages the idea of benevolence appears; Luke
ii. 14; Rom. X. i ; and perhaps 2 Thess. i. 11. Both meanings appear
in the use of the word in the LXX, and in Ecclesiasticus. There it
often denotes the favour of God ; Heb. ratson. The idea here is
strictly cognate ; what in a lord is the goodwill of favour is in a servant
the goodwill of loyalty.
16. The one preach Christy &c.] There is good critical evidence for
reading vv. 16, 17 in the opposite order to that of the A.V. Render,
with R.V., The one do it of love, knowing that I am set for the
defence of the Gospel ; but the other proclaim Christ of faction, &c.
It is possible to render, with Bp Ellicott, " Those who are {men) of lave,
do it, &c but those who are (we/i) of faction, &c." But this puts a cer-
tain strain on the Greek, and is not rcipiircd by the context.
preach^ Better, with R.V., proclaim ; not the same verb as that
rendered "preach" just above. It is a word of slightly greater
force.
contention'] Better, faction, or rather factiousness, partizanship.
The Greek word means first, "work for hire"; passes thence by usage
into special political references, denoting hired canvassing, or other
interested party-work; and lastly emerges into the present meaning.
It is used similarly Rom. ii. 8; 2 Cor. xii. 20; Gal. v. 20; below, ii. 3
(where see note); Jas. iii. 14, 16.
sincerely] Lit. purely.
to add affiiciiott to my bonds] So the Received Text. But a better
reading gives to raise up. The R.V. gives a good paraphrase ; thinking
to raise up aflliction for me in my bonds. So Alford. — Lightfoot sug-
gests the paraphrase, "thinking to make my chains gall me,''' the word
rendered "affliction" meaning literally "r/^M/;?^''," or '■''pressure." (The
Vulgate here has pressura, a word which easily bears, however, a
non-physical meaning.) But the suggestion seems to us not altogether
probable.
How did the persons in question expect to "raise up trouble" for
the imprisoned Apostle? By preventing the access of enquirers or
converts to him, unable as he was to go after them. Loyal fellow-
workers would have made it a point to bring their hearers under the
personal influence of the great Messenger of Christ, and also into a con-
nexion of order with him. Every instance in which the opposite was
PHILIPPIANS. A
50 PHILIPPIANS, I. [vv. i8, 19.
the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of
18 the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether
in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein
19 do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall
done was fitted to try severely the spirit of St Paul ; to afflict him in
and through his position of restraint.
17. / am sei\ Lit., ''Hie:' But the A.V. and R.V. are right. See
the same verb clearly in the same sense, Luke ii. 34 ; i Thess. iii. 3.
The thought is as of a soldier posted, a line of defence laid down.
Still, there may be also an allusion in the word, used in this context,
to the fact of his lileraljixhere in one spot.
defence] Lit., '■'apology,'^ apologia; vindication. See on ver. 7
above. — Perhaps the point of the word here is that the loyal Chris-
tians recognized in their freedom a call to move about as active
evangelists ; in St Paul's captivity, a call to him rather to clear up
the difficulties and develope the intelligent faith of enquirers brought
in by them. The "men of faction" might. affect to see in St Paul's
chain a sign of Divine prohibition and displeasure; the "men of love"
would recognize in it a sign of designation to a special and noble work.
18. What then?} "What matters it? Qu'iniporte?" The right
order of the two previous verses gives full force to such a question.
7totiinthstanding\ Better, only. With beautiful significance he modi-
fies the thought that it matters not. There is one respect in which it
matters; it promotes the diffusion of the Gospel.
R. V. reads, only that; an elliptical phrase, for "only I must confess
that," or the like. The documentary evidence for the word ''that"
is strong, but not decisive.
pretence\ The Judaists would "pretend," perhaps even to them-
selves, that their energy came of pure zeal for God.
p7-eached'\ Better, proclaimed. See second note on ver. 16. — In
modern English the Greek (present) tense is best represented by is
being proclaimed.
/ therein] Better, therein I, &c. There is no emphasis on "/" in
the Greek.
will rejoice'] Better, perhaps, with Alford, Ellicott, and l^ightfoot
(but not so R. v.), shall rejoice; an expectation, rather than a resolve.
He is assured that the future will only bring fresh reasons for re-
joicing.
No long comment is needed on the noble spiritual lesson of this
verse. The interests of his Lord are his own, and in that fact, realized
by the grace of God, he finds, amidst circumstances extremely vexatious
in themselves, more than equanimity — positive happiness. Self has
yielded the inner throne to Christ, and the result is a Divine harmony
between circumstances and self, as both are seen equally subject to Him
and contributing to His ends.
19. For I knocu] A development of the thought implied in "I
shall rejoice," just above. Subordinate to the supreme fact that
"Christ is being proclaimed," comes in here the delightful certainty
V. 20.] PHILIPPIANS, I. 51
turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of
the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expecta- 20
that the attendant discipline will further his own spiritual and eternal
good, always in connexion with service rendered to his Lord.
that this shall turn to my salvation^ Rather more closely, in view
of the Greek idiom, that I shall find this thing result in salvation.
^^ Salvation" : — here, probably, final glory. The word sSteria in-
cludes, in its widest reference, the whole process of saving mercy, from
the gift of the Saviour to the ultimate bliss of the saved. More defi-
nitely, in the life of the Christian, it points sometimes to his first know-
ledge of and faith in the Saviour (2 Cor. vi. ■2), sometimes to the life-
long process of his Divine preservation in Christ (2 Tim. ii. 10; i Pet.
i. 9), more frequently to the heavenly issue of the whole in glory (Rom.
xiii. 11; I Thess. v. 8; Heb. ix. 28; i Pet. i. 5). The same may be
said of the cognate verb, only that it more often than the noun refers
to the lifelong process.
In a few passages (e.g. Acts xxvii. 34) the noun refers to bodily
preservation. But this meaning is precluded here by the reference
just below to the "supply of the Spirit."
th7-ough yow- prayer\ He is sure of the coming blessing, and equally
'.sure of the efficacy of the means to it — intercessory prayer. For St
Paul's high estimate of the worth of intercession for himself and his
work cp. e.g. Rom. xv. 30; 2 Cor. i. 11 ; Col. iv. 3; 2 Thess. iii. i.
the supply] The Greek word slightly indicates a supply which is
large and free. — For the thought cp. Joh. x. 10.
0/ the Spirit of Jesus Christ] Here first, what is ^'the Spirit of
Jesus Christ"''! Certainly not merely "His principles and temper."
So vague a meaning of the word "vSpirit" is foreign to the N. T.
The analogy of e.g. Rom. viii. 9; Gal. iv. 6 ; i Pet. i. ir ; taken along
with our Lord's own teaching about the personal Paraclete who was
to be His Divine Representative and Equivalent in the true Church
(Joh. xiv. — xvi.), assures us that this is the Holy Spirit, the Third
Person of the blessed Trinity. He is "the Spirit of Jesus Christ"
because in the eternal relations within Deity He "proceeds" from
the Eternal Son, and is sent by Him (Joh. xv. 26) as well as by the
Father (xiv. 16, 26), and is so one with Christ that where the Spirit
comes Christ comes (xiv. 18). His whole work for and in the Church
and the soul is essentially and entirely connected with the glorified
Lord. He regenerates by effecting our vital union with Christ; He
sanctifies and strengthens by maintaining and developing it. We
possess the Spirit because of Christ ; we possess Christ, in the sense of
union, by the Spirit.
Secondly, what is "the supply of the Spirit"? Grammatically, the
phrase may mean either, "the supply which is the Spirit," or, "the
supply which the Spirit gives." Happily the two practically con-
verge. But we prefer the former, in view of Gal. iii. 5, where the verb
'■^ minister eth" R. V. '■^ supplieth" is cognate to the noun "supply"
here. The Apostle thus anticipates, in answer to the Phiiippians'
PHILIPPIANS, I. [vv. 21, 22.
tion and 7ny hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but
that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be
magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if /
prayers, a new outpouring within him of the power of the blessed
Paraclete, developing there the presence of Jesus Christ. Cp. his own
prayer for other converts, Eph. iii. 14 — 19.
20. According to\ He describes this "supply of the Spirit" by
its longed for and expected results, which would thus prove the test
"according to" which it would be known as present.
earnest expectatio7i\ Lit., '■^-waiting with outstretched head"; one
forcible word in the Greek. It occurs here and Rom. viii. 19.
ashamed'] I.e. practically, disappointed; as often in .Scripture lan-
guage. See Psal. xxv. 3; Zech. ix. 5; Rom. v. 5, ix. 33; 1 Tim.
i. 12.
boldness'] More precisely, boldness of speech. See Eph. iii. 12,
vi. 19, and notes in this Series. He looks to "the supply of the
Spirit" to maintain in him an unwavering testimony to the Lord and
His truth. Cp. Joel ii. 28 with Acts ii. 17, 18; i Cor. xii. 3. — Such
testimony might or might not be literally verbal; but it would be
titter ance, whether in speech or act.
in 7ny body'] The body is the spirit's vehicle and implement in
action upon others. See Rom. xii. i, and note in this Series; and
cp. 2 Cor. iv. 10. The impression made on others, the " magnifi-
cation" of Christ in the view of others, " whether by means of life or
by means of death," would have to be effected through bodily doing
or suffering.
by life, or by death] We gather hence, and from ii. 23, that the
Epistle was written at a time of special suspense and uncertainty,
humanly speaking, regarding the issue of the Apostle's trial. See
further just below.
21 — 26. The same subject: the Alternative of Life or
Death: Expectation of 'Life.
21. For, &c.] He takes up and expands the thought of the alterna-
tive just uttered, and the holy "indifference" with which he was able
to meet it.
to me] Strongly emphatic in the Greek. It is not self-assertion,
however, but assertion of personal experience of the truth and power
of God.
to live is Christ] Luther renders this clause Christus ist mein
Leben ; and so Tyndale, ' ' Christ is to me lyfe " ; so also Cranmer, and
the Genevan version. The Vulgate has vivere Christus ; and this,
the rendering of A.V. and R.V., is undoubtedly right. For, the
Apostle, undoubtedly, Christ was life, in the sense of source and
secret; see Gal. ii. 20; Col. iii. 4. But what he is thinking of here is
V. 23.] PHILIPPIANS, 1. 53
live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour : yet what
I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, 23
not the source of life, but the experiences and interests of living.
Living is for him so full of Christ, so preoccupied with Him and for
Him, that "Christ" sums it up. Hence the "eager expectation" just
expressed; eager, because it has to do with the supreme interest of life.
What the Apostle experienced in his own case is intended to be the
experience of every believer, as to its essence. See Col. iii. 17; and
cp. Eph. iii. 14 — 21.
to die is gaiii] This wonderful saying, uttered without an effort, yet
a triumph over man's awful and seemingly always triumphant enemy,
is explained just below.
22. But if I live in the flesh, &c.] The Greek construction here is
difficult by its lirevity and abruptness. R.V. renders "But if to live
in this flesh — if this is the frmt of my work, then &c. " ; and, in the
margin, "■But if to live in the flesh be my lot, this is the fruit of my
■work; and &c." ; a rendering practically the same as A.V. This latter
we much prefer, for grammatical reasons. It requires the mental inser-
tion of "■be my lot," or the like; but this is quite easy, in a sentence
where the words "to live" are obviously echoed from the words
" to live is Christ" just above. As if to say, " But if this 'living' is still
to be a ' living in the flesh,'' this is fruit &c."
this is the fruit of my labour] Rather better, in view of the Greek
idic.m, tMs I shall find fruit of work. This " living in the flesh," as it
will be " Christ," so will be " fruit," result, of lifelong work. He means
that work for Christ, the being employed by Christ, is for him the pulse
of life on earth; is life for him, in a certain sense. And this he ex-
presses with additional force by saying not merely "work" but "fruit
of work." For the work is of course fruitful: he who abides in
Christ "beareth much /)-«/'/■," fruit that shall "remain" (Joh. xv. 5,
i6), whether or no he sees it. It is only the "works of darkness " that
can be "unfruitful" (Eph. v. 11).
yet^ Lit. and better, and. The simple word suits the great rapidity
of transition.
woti An old English present indicative, of which the infinitive is to
wit. It was probably a past tense originally. See Skeat's Etymological
Dictionary. — Wyclif has "knowe". — -The Greek here is, precisely, "I
recognize not"; " I do not see clearly" (EUicott).
23. Fo)-\ Read But, with conclusive evidence. The word here
marks addition rather than distinction. An English writer would have
dispensed with a transitional particle, probably.
in a strait betwixt two] More precisely, with R.V., the. two; the
two alternatives just spoken of, life and death. — -The imagery is of a
man hemmed in right and left, so as to be stationary. Quite literally
the words are, "I am confined yVow the two (sides)"; the position is
one of dilemma, vinved from whichever side.
Wonderful is the phenomenon of this dilemma, peculiar to the
living Christian as such. " The Apostle asks which is most worth
54 PHILIPPIANS, I. [v. 23.
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ ; 7vhich is
his while, to live or to die. The same question is often presented
to ourselves, and perhaps our reply has been that of the Apostle.
But may we not have made it with a far different purport? Life
and death have seemed to us like two evils, and we knew not which
was the less. To the Apostle they seem like two immense blessings,
and he knows not which is the better." (Ad. Monod, Adiejix, No. ii.)
To the question, "Is life worth living?" this is the Christian answer.
having a desire] lAt., the desire. That is, the whole element
of personal preference lies that way, not merely one desire among
many. — We may paraphrase, " /'«j/ lotiging being towards depar-
ture &c."
to depart] The verb (analuein) occurs only here and Luke xii. 36,
where A. V. and R.V. render " when he shall retunt from the wedding,"
but where we may equally well render, "when he shall depart, set out
homewards, from the wedding." The cognate noun a?talusis, whence
our word analysis is transliterated, occurs 2 Tim. iv. 6, in a connexion
exactly akin to this ; " the time of my departure is at hand." The root
meaning of the verb has to do with loosing, undoing ; and by usage it
can refer to either {a) the dissolution of a compound (so the Vulgate here,
cupio dissoh'i), or {b) the unmooring of a ship, or striking of a tent
or camp. It does not occur in the LXX., but is not infrequent in the
Apocrypha, and there usually means to go away, or, as another side
of the same act, to return (cp. Tobit ii. 8; Judith xiii. i). Such a
meaning is doubtless to be traced to the imagery of (b) above, but
appears to have dropped all conscious reference to it. This apocryphal
usage, and the comments here of the Greek expositors (St Chrysostom
paraphrases our text by ''•migration from hence to heaven"), are de-
cisively in favour of our Versions as against the Vulgate. St Paul
desires to leave for home; to break up his camp, to weigh his anchor,
for that better country. See the same thought under other phraseology
2 Cor. V. I — 8; where we see a "tent taken down," and a wanderer
"going to be at home with the Lord."
Suicer (Thesaurus, under aVa\i5w), says that Melanchthon on his
death-bed called the attention of his learned friend Camerarius to this
word, dwelling with delight on the passage, correcting the " dissolu-
tion" of the Vulgate, and rendering rather, " to prepare for departure,"
"to migrate," or "to return home." — Luther renders here abzu-
scheiden, "to depart."
and to be with Christ] The other side of the fact of departure, and
that which makes its blessedness. From this passage and 2 Cor. v.
quoted above we gather that as it were not a space, but a mathematical
line, divides the state of faith this side death from the state of sight that
side; see esp. 2 Cor. v. 7, in its immediate context. — "Those who
blame as... presumptuous the fervours and speciality of devout affection,
such as eminent Christians have expressed in their dying moments,
know probably nothing of Christianity beyond the bare story they read
vv. 24, 25.] PHILIPPIANS, I. 55
far better : nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more need- si
ful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I 25
in the Gospels, and nothing of human nature... as affected by religion,
beyond what belongs to the servile sentiments of a Pelagian faith, belter
called distrust. ..Christianity meets us where most of all we need its
aid, and it meets us with the very aid we need. It does not tell us of
the splendours of the invisible world ; but it does far better when, in
three words, it informs us that {avoKvaai) to loosen from the shore of
mortality is (<xvu XpLar^ ehai) to be with Christ." (Isaac Taylor, Safur-
day Evening, ch. xxvi.)
It is divinely true that the Christian, here below, is "with Christ,"
and Christ with him. But such is the developed manifestation of that
Presence after death, and such its conditions, that it is there as if it had
not. been before.— Cp. Acts vii. 59; words which St Paul had heard.
which is far better] Probably read, for it is &c. And the Greek,
quite precisely, is "■much rather better'' ; a bold accumulation, to
convey intense meaning. R.V., for it is very far toetter.
Observe that it is thus "better" in comparison not with the shadows
of this life, but with its most happy light. The man who views the
prospect thus has just said that to him "to live is Christ." Death
is "gain" for him, therefore, not as mere escape or release, but as
a glorious augmentation; it is "Christ" still, only very far more of
Chiist.
24. to abide in the flesh] Quite lit., as Bp Lightfoot, to abide by
the flesh, to hold fast to its conditions of trial, for the sake of the Lord
and His flock.
more needful] More necessary. Desire, and the sense of better-
ness, lie on the side of death ; obligation, in view of the claims of
others, lies on the side of life.
for you] Lit. and better, on account of you.
25. having this cottfidence] The Greek is the same as in ver. 6
above, where see note.
/ knozv] An unqualified assertion, made more explicit still by the
next verse. We have the strongest ground, from the merely historical
point of view, for saying that this expectation was verified by the event;
that the Apostle was released, and enabled to revisit his missions.
See I Tim, i. 3 for an intimation of a visit to Macedonia, later in date
than the writing of this passage.
It has been asked how this '■^ I know" is to be reconciled with the
"I know that ye all .shall see my face no more,''' of Acts xx. 25. Were
both verified by the event? We believe that they were, and that only
our necessary ignorance of the history in detail makes the difficulty.
We believe that the guidance of the Divine Spirit, however His action
worked through a perfect freedom of mental processes in St Paul,
secured the veracity of his deliberate forecasts in a way quite super-
natural. But apart from this ground of inference, we think that
Acts XX. 25 has natural evidences of its fulfilment. The narrative
56 PHILIPPIANS, I. [v. 26.
shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance
26 and joy of faith ; that your rejoicing may be more abundant
in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
there, vv. 37, 38, calls special and pathetic attention to the prediction;
and it seems hardly credible that if it had been contradicted by events
within a few years the passage should have remained intact; some
sort of intimation that St Paul had after all met them again would
have crept in. And we have seen that there is good evidence for
the fulfilment of the present anticipation also. It seems reasonable,
then, from the merely historical point of view, to assume that events
did prevent an after-visit of St Paul's to Ephesus, though he did revisit
Miletus (2 Tim. iv. 20) ; or at least that there was no such after-visit
as allowed him to meet that body of presbyters again.
and continue with you all] Better, with R.V., yea, and abide with
you all. The word "abide" is repeated: it will be not only con-
tinuance, but continuance luith you. — Quite lit., "abide by you all";
as side by side in Christian life and labour.
fiiitherauce'] R.V., progress; more accurately. The A.V. suggests
St Paul's helping them on, which is not the pomt of the Greek word
here. See above on ver. 12.
joy of faith'] Lit., ''joy of the faith." R.V. 'foy in the faith."
But Rom. XV. 13 ("joy...j« believing") seems to us to favour the A.V.,
and Marg. R.V. The definite article quite naturally may mean "■your
faith," your act and experience of believing. For the deep connexion
between joy and faith see Rom. quoted above; Acts xvi. 34; i Pet. i. 8.
— Both ''progress" and "joy" in this verse have relation to the word
"faith."
26. rejoicing] Better, with R.V., glorying ; not the same word
as that just previous, nor akin to it. The Greek word is a favourite
with St Paul, especially in the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians,
and Galatians. This fact is an item in the evidence for the time of
writing of this Epistle. See Introduction, p. 14.
7?iay be more abundant] On the Greek word thus rendered we may
make the same remark precisely as on "glorying"; see last note.
in Jestis Christ] Read, with all the evidence, in Christ Jesus ; and
see note on ver. 1 above. — Observe here, as so often (see above, on
ver. 8), how the whole action of the Christian's life is carried on "in
Christ." This glad exultant pleasure, this "glorying," was to be ex-
perienced as by men in vital union with their Lord by the Spirit.
for me] Lit. and better, in me. — -Here, on the other hand,
"/«" bears its frequent meaning of "in the case of" "on occasion
of." Cp. e.g. Gal. i. 24 (iiot Gal. i. 16) and 2 Thess. i. 4, a close
parallel. This change of interpretation of the same preposition in one
passage is not arbitrary. The phrase "in Christ" is, so to speak,
stereotyped; not so this latter. — St Paul was to be their occasion for
"glorying," as a living example of the Lord's faithfulness and love,
restoring him to the needing disciples.
V. 27.] PHILIPPIANS, I. 57
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel 27
of Christ : that whether I come and see you, or else be
absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one
by my coming to yoii] R.V., "through my presence with yor^." Better,
perhaps, through my coining to you. The word {paronsia) rendered
"coming" is lit. "presence"; but by usage it very frequently means
"coming to be present," as especially in the case of the "Parousia" of
the Lord at the Great Day.
27—30. Entreaties to cherish Consistency, and especially
Unity, more than ever now in the Apostle's absence.
27. 07ily, &c.] The mention of his anticipated coming and its
joyful effects leads him to speak by way of caution and entreaty of
the unvarying law of Christian duty, the same always whether he visited
them or not. We trace in this Epistle, along with the Apostle's desire
that they should in a general sense live consistently, a special anxiety
that the consistency of holy and unselfish mutual love should be more
prevalent among them.
let your conversation be &c.) Lit., "live your citizen-life in a way
worthy of &c." The verb represented by "live your citizen-life"
occurs, in N.T., here and Acts x.xiii. i; where A.V. simply, "I
have Itvedy A cognate noun occurs below, iii. 20, an important
illustrative passage ; see note there. The verb is used in 2 Maccabees
(vi. I, xi. 25) in the same sense of living a life, living according to
certain laws or principles, without emphasis on the "citizen" element
of the word. K.V., like A.V., here drops that element out of its
rendering; let your manner of life be worthy &c. It is interesting
to find the same verb in Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians, ch. v.
(Introduction, p. 2']).— '' Conversation" in A.V. is used in its old and
exact sense, still apparent in our word ''conversant." It is the whole
active intercourse and business of life, not merely the exchange of
wo)-ds. See note in this Series on Eph. ii. 3. The Gospel is meant,
by its essential principle, to rule and leaven the whole of human life.
or &\%e be absent] Words which are perfectly consistent with the two
previous verses. He bids them live the life of holy consistency at once
and always, not ivaiting for his presence in order to begin. See further,
in the same strain, ii. 12.
I may hear} Strictly, of course, this refers only to the alternative
of his prolonged absence. If he "came and saw them" hearing would
be superseded. But this is obviously implied in the whole sentence.
your affairs'] Better, with R.V., your state. The literal rendering
is "the things concerning you." The phrase occurs also, in St Paul,
Eph. vi. 22, and below ii. 19, 20.
standfast] The Greek is one word, a verb not found earlier than
the N.T., where it occurs eight times; here, and Mark xi. 25; Rom. xiv.
4; I Cor, xvi. 13; Gal. v. i; below, iv. i; i Thess. iii. 8; 2 Thess. ii.
58 PHILIPPIANS, I. [v. 27.
spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
15. In Mark it appears to mean simply " io siand"; but in all thej
other places the idea of good foothold is conspicuous,.
in otie spirii\ For the precise phrase see (in the Greek) i Cor. xii.
13; Eph. ii. 18. In both these passages the reference is clearly to
the Holy Spirit, "in" whom the saints have been baptized with new
life, and "in" whom they approach the Father through the Son. We
therefore explain this place also of Him, as the surrounding, pene-
trating, Giver of life and power to each saint and to the commu-
nity. On the word "Spirit" see notes in this Series on Rom. viii. 4;
Eph. i. 17.
Manifestly, in the two places quoted above, the point of the word
"one" is that the Unity of the Divine Agent must have its holy counter-
part in the unity of the saints' action "in Him."
zvith one inind\ Lit. and better, with one soul. So Tyndale and
Cranmer. Latin Versions, tmanimes. — Cp. in this Epistle the ad-
jectives '■'■ one-soided" (ii. 2, where A.V. and R.V. "■ oi one accord''),
'^equal-souled" (ii. 20), and notes. The phrase "one soul" occurs also
Acts iv. 32 ; a close parallel to this passage, in which as in many
others (see e.g. Matt, xii, 18, xxvi. 38; Luke ii. 35; Joh. xii. 27;
Acts xiv. 22; Eph. vi. 6; Heb. vi. 19, xii. 3), the word soul (psyche)
is associated with ideas of sensibility, as manifested either in suffering
or action. It is possible that the word '■^Spirit'''' suggested, humanly
speaking, the word ''^souV to the Apostle, by the law of association.
See Isai. Ivii. 16; i Thess. v. 23; Heb. iv. 12. If so, it may be
further possible that he uses the two words in a significant connexion.
"Soul" in Scripture appears often to connote life embodied, organized.
Now here in the first place is the Divine Life-giver, the One Spirit ;
then we have the result and manifestation of His presence, the organi-
zation of it, as it were, in the "one sotd'" of the believing company.
striving together^ The same word occurs below, iv. 3, and only
there in N.T. By derivation it refers to the athletic, or prize-seeking,
contests of the games ; the races, wrestlings, and boxings of the
Greeks; favourite similes and metaphors with St Paul. See e.g. i Cor.
ix. 24, 27 ; 2 Tim. ii. 5, iv. 7, and cp. Conybeare and Howson, Life &'c.
of St Paid, ch. XX. at the beginning. But the reference is quite
subordinate to the general one of close and vigorous encounter with
complex obstacles.
for the faith] It is possible to render "with the faith", and Lightfoot
adopts this version. But not only does it involve a personification
of "the faith" bolder than any parallel personification in St Paul
(Lightfoot adduces for parallels i Cor. xiii. 6 ; 2 Tim. i. 8, itself a
doubtful case; 3 Joh. 8), but the whole stress of the passage lies on
the cooperation of the Christians not with anything else but ivitk one
another. This is lost in the rendering in question.
^^ The faith of tJie Gospel": — i.e. the faith which embraces the
Gospel. Cp. "faith of (the) truth," 2 Thess. ii. 13. They were to
vv. 28, 29.] PHILIPPIANS, I. 59
gospel ; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries : which 23
is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of
salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in 29
strive, side by side, for the object of bringing men to believe the Gospel
of their Lord.^ — The objective meaning of the word "faith," the body
of truth, the Christian's creed, is a meaning very rare, to say the least,
in St Paul (see note on Eph. iv. 5 in this Series); and this other suits
both context and construction better.
28. terrified\ More precisely, scared. The verb (found here only
in N.T., and nowhere in LXX. and Apocrypha) is used in classical
Greek of the starting, or "shying," of frightened animals, and thence
of alarm in general. The word would specially suit the experience of
the "little flock " in violent Philippi.
which is to them &c.] lie means that the whole phenomenon of this
union, stedfastness, energy, and calm of the saints in face of seemingly
hopeless odds, is in itself an omen of the issue. Of course the statement
is made not in the abstract, but in the particular case of the Gospel.
Many a false and finally losing cause may conceivably be maintained for
a time courageously and calmly. But the Apostle assumes that the
Gospel is the eternal truth, sure of ultimate victory, and then says here
that the realization of this fact, in the convictions of both its foes and its
friends, will be all the more impressive the more the Church acts in the
spirit of calm, united, decisive resolution.
perdition] in its deepest and most awful sense; the eternal loss and
ruin of all persistent opponents of God and His truth. So below, iii. 19 ;
and so always in N.T., excepting only Matt. xxvi. 8; Mark xiv. 4;
where the word means waste, spoiling, loss of a material thing.
salvation] This word also bears its deepest sense here. The faithful
believer, witness, and worker, is on the way to eternal glory ; and the
prospect brightens in anticipation and realization as the company of
such disciples unites around, and in, the cause of Jesus Christ. On the
word '^salvation" see note above, on ver. 19.
and that] " That" in the Greek, refers not immediately to the word
"salvation" but to the whole previous idea, o{ opposition met in aivay
to encourage faith. God Himself has ordained the circumstances, and
given the union and courage. See next note but one.
of God] Lit. ''from God''; so R. V. But the older English of the
A.V. (and all previous English versions) is scarcely mistakable.
29. For, &c.] He carries out the statement just made (see last note
but one), by saying that not only the grounds of faith in Christ, and
the power to believe, but the occasion of suffering for Christ, and the
power to meet the suffering, are things of Divine grant and gift.
it is given] Lit. ''it was given." But the A.V. is true to English
idiom. The verb rendered "give" denotes specially a grant of^free
favour or kindness. It is thus often used of free forgiveness, e.g. Luke
vii. 42; 2 Cor. ii. 7, 10; Eph. iv. 32 ; sometimes of the work of free
grace and salvation, e.g. Rom. viii. 32; i Cor. ii. 12. (In Acts iii. 14,
6o PHILIPFIANS, I. II. [w. 30; i.
the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also
30 to suffer for his sake ; having the same conflict which ye
2 saw in me, and now hear to be in me. If there be therefore
XXV. II, 16, it is used of an arbitrary, extra-legal, giving up of a
prisoner to others, eitlier for liberation or penalty.) Thus the word
here, with its associations of sovereignty, favour, boon, forms a noble
paradox.
on the bthalf of Chrisi\ The structure of the Greek indicates that
the Apostle was about to write simply, "zV is granted you to suffer on
behalf of Christ", but that he suspended the thought and phrase to
insert, '■'■■not only to believe on Him but to suffer on His behalf." Thus
"on the behalf of Christ" anticipates here the close of the verse, where
it is repeated.
to believe on hi»i] Lit., '■'■into HimT a phrase suggesting the direct-
ness and holdfast of saving faith. But this speciality of meaning must
not be pressed far, for the phrase occurs here and there in connexions
not naturally adapted to such thought ; e.g. Joh. ii. 23, xii. 42. — The
Greek verb is in the present tense, and points to the continuousness of
the action of faith. The Christian, having once believed, lives by still
believing. See Rom. xi. 20 ; Gal. ii. 20; Heb. x. 38. — Faith in
Christ is here incidentally spoken of as a grant of Divine grace. See
further on this, Eph. ii. 8, and note in this Series.
for his sake'\ Better with R.V., in His behalf, to mark the con-
nexion of thought with the "in the behalf of Christ " just above.
30. Having &c.] The Greek construction, if strictly taken, points
back to the first clause of ver. 28, and leaves the intermediate words
as a parenthesis. But it is much likelier that the construction here
is free, and that this verse accordingly carries out the last words of ver. 29
into detail.
conflict'\ Greek agon, a word suggestive of the athletic arena rather
than the battle-field. See above on ''striving together" ver. 27. It
recurs Col. ii. i (perhaps for the " wrestlings" of prayer) ; i Thess. ii. 2;
I Tim. vi. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 7; Heb. xii. i. Our blessed Lord's great
"Wrestling" in Gethsemane, His sacred "Agony," is called by the
kindred word agonia, Luke xxii. 44.
ye sawl in the streets and in the court-house at Philippi; Acts xvi.
One of the probable recipients of this letter, the Jailer, had not only
"seen " but inflicted other sufferings in the dungeon.
Ch. IL 1 — 4. The subject continued: appeal for self-
forgetful Unity.
1. therefore'] The connexion of thought with the previous sentences
is close. He has pressed on them the duty and blessing of concord
and cooperation, and now enforces it further, with a special appeal
to them to minister happiness to himself, as to a Christian brother,
by obedience.
V. 2.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 6i
any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ;
ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love,
consolation] R.V. comfort, which is better. The Greek word, in
its prevailing meaning, denotes rather encouragement, strengthening,
than the tenderer "consolation"; and the word "comfort", by its
derivation (conforia(io), may fairly represent it. The thought of the
mutual love and union of the Philippians would cheer and animate their
Apostle and friend.
in Christi Getting its motive and virtue from the union in Christ
of the Apostle and the Philippians.
comfort of love\ Better, consolation, &c. See last note but one. —
The word occurs here only in N.T. A closely similar form occurs
in a kindred connexion, i Cor. xiv. 3. — '■'■ Of love'": — love's result and
expression.
fellowship of the Spirit'] Cp. 1 Cor. xiii. 14 "the communion of the
Holy Spirit." In the Greek here the word pneutna (spirit) is without
the article, and many scholars hold that in all such cases not the
Divine Spirit as a Person, but His gift or gifts, is meant ; and that
thus here the meaning will be "if there is a participation, on your
part and mine alike, in the same spiritual love, joy, peace, &c."
But the presence or absence of the article in these cases is a very
precarious index of meaning, when the substantive is a great and
familiar word. Context and parallels are necessary to the decision
in each place. And in this place the parallel (2 Cor.) quoted, seems to
us to point clearly to the highest reference — to "the one and the self-
same Spirit" (i Cor. xii. 11), the promised Paraclete Himself, Whom
all the saints "share" as their common Life-Giver, Strengthener, and
Sanctifier. — "Fellowship of^ might grammatically mean "union of heart
and interests, prompted by." But usage is decisively for the meaning
*^ participation in"
boivels and 7tiercies] Better, with R.V., tender mercies and com-
passions. No English version before 1582 has the word '■'■bowels."
On that word see note above on ver. 8. — He appeals with pathetic
directness and simplicity, last of all, to their human emotions as such.
2. Fulfil ye my joy] Lit. "fill" it. He already rejoices in them
(i. 4) ; but the manifestation in them of the unity of holy love would
complete the reasons and the experience of that joy. — "He felt small
anxiety for himself, if but the Church of Christ might prosper "
(Calvin).
that ye be] The Greek construction (see on i. 9) denotes (in N.T.)
sometimes \ht purpose (as in the phrase "we ask, to test your kindness"),
sometimes i'^ae purport (as in the phrase "we ask, to be forgiven").
A modification of the latter meaning appears here. In the words
" fulfil ye," &c. the Apostle is practically asking thetn to be what he now
describes.
liheminded] R.V., of the same mind, for the sake of uniformity
62 PHILIPPIANS, II. [vv. 3, 4.
3 being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory ; but in lowliness of mind let
4 each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every
with the last clause of this verse. — We have here the weak point of the
Philippian Church plainly indicated.
the same love'] on both sides ; i.e. practically, general love, holy charity
in ail towards all.
of one accord} More literally, "one-souled." See on ver. 27
above.
of one mind] A similar expression to that just above, "^ the same
ttiind", but somewhat stronger. — The word {phronetn) represented by
"mind" in these clauses obviously denotes not so much intellectual as
moral action and attitude. — See on i. 7.
3. Let nothing be done] The briefer original, in which no verb
appears, is very forcible, but would be exaggerated in a literal rendering.
— Observe the totality of the prohibition. It is a rule for all Christian
lives at all times.
through] Lit. '' accordi7tg to,''^ on the principles of
strife] The same word as above, i. 16; see note. And see p. 16
for Ignatius' use of the word. — R.V. 'faction." Only, the word may
denote not merely the combined self-seeking of partizanship, but also a
solitary ambition, working by intrigue.
in lowliness of tnind] The Greek (dative) may be more precisely re-
presented by in respect of lowliness, &c. Their lowliness was to be
embodied in, and proved by, what he now describes.
"Lowliness of mind": — essentially a Christian grace. The word itself
(one Greek word is represented by the three English words) is not found
in Greek before the N.T. And kindred words in the classics are always
used in a tone of blame, as of a defect of proper courage and self-
assertion. This fact is deeply suggestive. In its essential principles
the mighty positive morality of the Gospel is based on the profound
negative of the surrender and dethronement of self before a Redeeming
Lord who has had compassion on perfectly unworthy objects. The
world's "poor spirited," and the Lord's "poor in spirit," are phrases
used in very different tones.
let each esteem other] Lit., "mutually counting others superior to {your-')
selves." — The precept is to be read in the light of the Holy Spirit's
illumination of the individual conscience. Even where one Christian
might see another to be manifestly less gifted than himself, spiritually
or otherwise, yet "if the endowments, and the obligations connected
with them, were properly estimated, they would rather conduce to
humble than to exalt " (Scott). And in any case, where the man ha-
bitually viewed himself in the contrasted light of the Divine holiness,
with that insight which belongs to self-knowledge alone, he would
respond instinctively to this precept.
4. Look] Better, with documentary evidence, looking. — '^Look...
on" becomes in R.V. "look. ..to" a change not greatly needed. — The
vv. 5, 6.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 63
man on his own t/ii/igs, but every man also on the t/n/igs of
others. Let this mind be in you, which loas also in Christ 5
Jesus : who, being in the form of God, thought it not 6
look is the look of sympathy, kindly interest, self-forgetful coopera-
tion. This short verse is a noble and far-reaching lesson in Christian
ethics.
every t?tafi... every f?iaii\ The Greek here, in the first case probably,
in the second certainly, gives "each" in the fhtral ; a phrase which may
be paraphrased "each circle,'''' "each set,''' or the like. If cliques or
petty factions were the bane of the Philippian Church this language
would have a special point.
5 — 11. The appeal enforced by the supreme Example of the
Saviour in His Incarnation, Obedience, and Exaltation.
5. Let this mind ie] R.V., Have this mind; adopting a reading
different in form but scarcely so in import from that taken for the A.V.,
which fairly represents either reading.
In the great passage which follows we have a suggestive ex-
ample of Christian moral teaching. One of the simplest and most
primary elements of duty is being enforced, and it is enforced by
appealing to the inmost secrets of the truth of the Person and Work
of Christ. The spiritual and eternal, in deep continuity, descends into
the practical. At the present time a powerful drift of thought goes
in the direction of separating Christian theology from practical Chris-
tianity; the mysteries of our Lord's Person and Work from the great-
ness of His Example. It may at least check hasty speculations in this
direction to remember that such a theory rends asunder the teaching of
the New Testament as to its most characteristic and vital elements.
The anti-doctrinal view of Christianity is a theory of it started strictly
and properly a^e novo. See further Appendix E.
■which was] The verb is not in the Greek, but is necessarily implied.
Meanwhile the sacred character which came out in the mysterious past
{"was") of the Lord's pre-temporal glory, still and for ever is His
character, His "mind."
in Christ Jesns'X It is observable that he calls the Lord not only
"Christ" but "Jesus," though referring to a time before Incarnation.
Historically, He had yet to be "anointed" {Christ), and to be marked
with His human Name (yesns). But on the one hand the Person who
willed to descend and save us is identically the Person who actually
did so; and on the other hand what is already decreed in the Eternal
Mind is to It already fact. Cp. the language of Rev. xiii. 8.
6. Who] in His pre-existent glory. We have in this passage a
N.T. counterpart to the O.T. revelation of Messiah's "coming to do the
will of His God" (Psal. xl. 6—8, interpreted Heb. x. 5).
being] The Greek word slightly indicates that He not only "ivas,"'
64 PHILIPPIANS, II. [v. 7.
7 robbery to be equal with God : but made himself of no
but "-^ already was" in a state antecedent to and independent of the
action to be described. R.V. margin has *^Gr. originally being"; but
the American Revisers dissent.
in the fonn of God^ The word rendered '■^ form " is morphi. This
word, unlike our "form" in its popular meaning, connotes reality along
with appearance, or in other words denotes an appearance which
is manifestation. It thus differs from the word [schema) rendered
^^ fashion" in ver. 8 below; where see note. See notes on Rom. xii. 2
in this Series for further remarks on the difference between the two
words ; and cp. for full discussions, Abp Trench's Synonyms, under
HopcpTj, and Bp Lightfoot's Fhi/ippians, detached note to ch. ii.
Here then our Redeeming Lord is revealed as so subsisting "in the
form of God" that He was what He seemed, and seemed what He
was — God. (See further, the next note below, and on ver. 7.) "Though
[morphe] is not the same as [oiesia, essence], yet the possession of the
[fnorpke] involves participation in the [onsia] also, for [morphe] implies
not the external accidents [only ?] but the essential attributes"
(Lightfoot).
thought] The glorious Person is viewed as (speaking in the forms
of human conception) engaged in an act of reflection and resolve.
rodbery] The Greek word occurs only here in the Greek Scriptures,
and only once (in Plutarch, cent. 2) in secular Greek writers. Its
form suggests the meaning of a process or act of grasp or seizure. But
similar forms in actual usage arc found to take readily the meaning of
the result, or material, of an act or process. "An invader's or plunderer's
prize'" would thus fairly represent the word here. This interpretation
is adopted and justified by Bp Lightfoot here. R.V. reads "a prize,"
and in the margin "Gr. a thing to be grasped.^' Liddell and Scott
render, "a matter of robbery,^'' which is substantially the same; Bp
Ellicott, "a thing to be seized on, or grasped at." — The context is the
best interpreter of the practical bearing of the word. In that ct)ntext
it appears that the Lord's view of His Equality (see below) was
not such as to ivithstatid His gracious and mysterious Humiliation
for our sakes, while yet the conditions of His Equality were such as to
enhance the ivonder and merit of that Humiliation to the utmost.
Accordingly the phrase before us, to suit the context, (a) must not imply
that He deemed Equality an unlawful possession, a thing which it would
be robbery to claim, as some expositors, ancient and modern, have in
error explained the words (see Alford's note here, and St Chrysostom
on this passage at large) ; (b) must imply that His thought about the
Equality was one of supremely exemplary kindness towards us.
These conditions are satisfied by the paraphrase — "He dealt with His
true and rightful Equality not as a thing held anxiously, and only
for Himself, as the gains of force or fraud are held, but as a thing
in regard of which a most gracious sacrifice and surrender was possible,
for us and our salvation."
The A.V., along with many interpreters, appears to understand the
V. 7.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 65
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
Greek word as nearly equal to " usurpalion" ; as if to say, "He knew
it was His just and rightful possession to be equal with God, and
yet" &c. But the context and the Greek phraseology are unfavourable
to this.
to be equal with God] R. V., to be on an equality with God, a phrase
which perhaps better conveys what the original words suggest, that
the reference is to equality of attributes rather than person (Lightfoot).
The glorious Personage in view is not another and independent God,
of rival power and glory, but the Christ of God, as truly and fully
Divine as the Father.
Let us remember that these words occur not in a polytheistic reverie,
but in the Holy Scriptures, which everywhere are jealous for the
prerogative of the Lord GoD, and that they come from the pen of a
man whose Pharisaic monotheism sympathized with this jealousy to
the utmost. May it not then be asked, how — in any way other
than direct assertion, as in Joh. i. i — the true and proper Deity of
Christ could be more plainly stated?
The word "God" on the other hand is here used manifestly with a
certain distinctiveness of the Father. Christian orthodoxy, collecting
the whole Scripture evidence, sees in this a testimony not to the view
(e.g. of Arius, cent. 4) that the Son is God only in a secondary and
inferior sense, but that the Father is the eternal, true, and necessary
Fountain of the eternal, true, and necessary Godhead of the Son. —
For this use of the word GoD, see e.g. Joh. i. i ; 2 Cor. xiii. 14; Heb.
i. 9 ; Rev. xx. 6, xxii. i.
7. But made himself of no reputation] '■'■ But^'' here introduces the
infinitely gracious action of the Saviour as the contrary to what it
would have been had He "thought His Equality with God a prize."
We may paraphrase, "That He did not so think of it. He shewed
by making Himself," &c. See Bp Ellicotl's careful note here, in
which this explanation is advocated against that which would para-
phrase, ''Although He thought it no usiirpatiofi to be equal with God,
yet He made, &c."
''Himself^ is slightly emphatic by position, laying a stress on the
sacred free will of the Lord in His Humiliation.
"■Made himself of no reputation'': — lit., as R.V. , emptied Himself.
The (Romanist) Rhemish Version, 1582, verbally following the Vulgate
(semetipsum exinanivit), has, "'exinanited Himself.'''' From the Greek
the word kenosis (K^vwaLs) has passed into theological language, ap-
pearing here and there in the Fathers, frequently in modern treatises.
Of recent years much has been said upon this great mystery in the
direction of proving or suggesting that during "the days of His Flesh"
(Heb. V. 7) the Lord {practically) parted with His Deity; becoming
the (Incarnate) Son of God only in His glorification after death. Such
a view seems to contravene many plain testimonies of the Gospels,
and most of all the pervading to>ie of the Gospels, as they present to
us in the Lord Jesus on earth a Figure "meek and lowly" indeed,
PHILIPPIANS. e
66 PHILIPPIANS, II. [v. 8.
8 was made in the likeness of men : and being found in
but always infinitely and mysteriously majestic; significantly depen-
dent indeed on the Father, and on the Spirit, but always speaking
to man in the manner of One able to deal sovereignly with all man's
needs.
It is enough for us to know that His Humiliation, or to use the word
here, Exinanition, KenSsis, was profoundly real ; that He was pleased,
as to His holy Manhood, to live in dependence on the Spirit; while
yet we are sure that the inalienable basis of His Personality was always,
eternally, presently, Divine. The ultimate and reasoned analysis of
the unique Phenomenon, God and Man, One Christ, is, as to its actual
consciousfuss, if we may use the word, a matter more for His knowledge
than our enquiry. Bp Lightfoot's brief note here says nearly all that
can be said with reverent certainty: "'He divested Himself not of His
Divine nature, for this was impossible, but of the glories, the preroga-
tives, of Deity. This He did by taking upon Him the form of a
servant."
and took upon him] Lit. and better, with R.V., taking. The
thought is that the Exinanition zvas the "taking"; not a process
previous to it. In the word ^'taking''' the Lord's free choice and
action is again in view.
the forni of a servant] Lit. and better, of a bondservant, a slave.
The word rendered ''form'" is the same as that in ver. 6, on which
see note. Here, as there, the thing implied is not semblance but inani-
festation. He became in reality, and in consequent appearance, a
bondservant.
With what special reference is the word "bondservant" here used?
Does it point to His stooping to serve men in great humiliation?
Or to His undertaking, in the act of becoming Man, that essential
condition of man's true life — bondservice to God? The order of words
and thought is in favour of the latter. The Apostle goes on to say, in
effect, that His taking the slave's "form" was coincident with His
coming "in the likeness of men''^ generally, not of specially humiliated
or oppressed men. As Man He was "bondservant." And this points
to a bondservice related directly to God, as Lord of man. In this as in
other things He was the archetype of all His true followers.
True, our blessed Lord made Himself the servant of all, and on
one occasion (J oh. xiii.) took literally the place and work of a
menial attendant ; a fact to which much allusion is made by St
Chrysostom here. But all the while He was far more Lord than
servant, certainly than bondservant, in His relations with men, even
in His most tender and gracious relations. Literal "slavery" to man
He certainly did not enter upon; royally descended as He was, and
toiling as a free artificer, and commanding and teaching always with
authority.
and was made] Lit., coming to toe, becoming. The fact is stated
as coincident with the last statement. See previous note.
in the likeness of men] A double suggestion lies in the words; [a) that
V. 9-J PHILIPPIANS, II. 67
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God 9
He was really like man, as He truly ivas man; accepting the conditions
involved in a truly human exterior, with its liabilities to trial and
suffering; and {h) that He was also tnore than man, other than man,
without which fact there would be not resemblance but mere identity.
Cp. a somewhat similar case, Rom. viii. 3, where lit. "in the likeness of
the flesh of sin."
" Of men,'' not "0/ man" : — as if to make the statement as concrete
as possible. He appeared not in the likeness of some transcendent
and glorified Manhood, but like men as they are.
8. fonnd\ as one who presented Himself for inspection and test.
See Appendix F.
fashio7i\ See third note on ver. 6 above. The Greek word scMma
denotes appearance tvith or without underlying reality. It does not
negative such reality any more than it asserts it; it emphasizes ap-
pearance. In the context, we have the reality of the Lord's Manhood
abundantly given ; and in this word accordingly we read, as in the
word "likeness" just above, an emphatic statement that {a) He was
Man in guise, not in (/zVguise; presenting Himself to all the conditions
of concrete life as Man with man; and that (b) all the while the schema
had more beneath it than its own corresponding reality : it was the veil
of Deity.
as a man] Better, perhaps, as man, though R.V. retains "as
a man." As the Second Man, our Lord is rather iMan, the Man of
men, than a Man, one among men. — Yet the assertion here is rather
as to what He was pleased to be in relation to those who "found"
Him, came into contact with Him, in His earthly walk; and to such
He certainly was "a man." And so, with wonderful condescension.
He speaks of Himself as "a man that hath told you the truth" (Joh.
viii. 40).
Ae humiled himself] in "the acts of condescension and humiliation
in that human nature which He emptied Himself to assume" (Ellicott).
More particularly the reference is to the specially submissive, bearing,
life, under the afflictive will of His Father, which He undertook to lead
for our sakes; see the next words. The Greek verb is in the aorist,
and s^lms up the holy course of submission either into one idea, or into
one initial crisis of will.
and became] Lit. and better, becoming; an aorist participle coin-
cident in reference with the previous aorist verb.
obedient] to the Father's will that He should suffer. The utterance
of Gethsemane was but the amazing summary and crown of His whole
sacred course as the Man of Sorrows. His "Passion," standing in some
vital respects quite alone in His work, was in other respects only the
apex of His "Patience."
tmto death] R.V. rightly supplies even before these words. "Unto"
means (by the Greek) "/^ the length of." He did not "obey" but i
"abolish" death (2 Tim. i. 10); He obeyed His Father, "even to the I
68 PHILIPPIANS, II. [v. 9.
also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
I extent of" dying, as the sinner's Sacrifice, at the demand of the holy
I Law, and "l)y the determinate foreknowledge" (Acts ii. 23) of the
Lawgiver.
of the cross\ "Far be the very name of a cross not only from the
bodies of Roman citizens, but from their imagination, eyes, and ears"
(Cicero, p}-o Rabirio, c. 5. Cp. Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. XX.).
Every thought of pain and shame was in the word, and was realized
in the terrific thing. Combining, as we should do in the case of our
Redeemer's Crucifixion, the significance to the Jew of any death by
suspension, with the significance to the Roman of execution on the
cross, we must think of this supreme "obedience" as expressing the
holy Sufferer's submission both to "become a curse for us" (Gal. iii.
13, with Deut. xxi. •23) as before God the Lawgiver, and meanwhile
to be "despised and rejected oi men" (Isai. liii. 3) in the most extreme
degree.
On the history of thought and usage in connexion with the Cross,
and Crucifixion, see Zockler's Cross of Christ.
9. lVhcrefore'\ From the point of view of this passage, the glorifi-
cation of the Crucified Lord was the Father's recognition and reward
of His infinitely kind and gracious "looking upon the things of others."
The argument is, of course, that similarly the Christian who humbles
himself shall be exalted.
hath highly exalted^ Better, with R.V., highly exalted; at Resur-
rection and Ascension. Cp. Joh. xvii. 4, 5 ; Acts ii. 23, 24, 32, 33, 36,
iii. 13, v. 30, 3r; Rom. i. 4; Eph. i. 20 — 22; i Pet. i. 21, &c.
"• Highly exalted'": — one compound verb in the Greek. Compounds
expressive of greatness or excess are a characteristic of St Paul's
style. Of about seventeen of them in the N.T. quite twelve are found
in St Paul's writings only, or very rarely elsewhere.
given hivi\ Better, as again R.V. (see last note), gave. The verb
indicates a gift of love and approval.
a ttame'] Lit. and better, the name. What is this Name? Is it the
sacred personal Name Jesus? (Alford, Ellicott). Or is it Name in
the sense of revealed majesty and glory? (Lightfoot). The difficulty of
the former explanation is that Jesus, the human Name of the Lord,
was distinctively His before His glorification, so that the "giving" of
it on His glorification is a paradox. The reply will be that its elevation
for ever into the highest associations, in the love and worship of the
saints, was as it were a new giving of it, a giving of it as new. Still
the usage is unlikely. And it is to be noticed that in the Epistles
and Revelation, compared with the narrative parts of the N.T., the holy
Name Jesus is but sparingly used alone. (See, as examples of such
use, Rom. x. 9 ; i Cor. xii. 3 ; Heb. ii. 9, iv. 14 ; i John v. 5 ; Rev. xxii.
16, 20; cp. Acts vii. 55, 59, viii. 16.) Very much more frequent is
Jesus Christ. And on the other hand there are clear cases for
the use of the word "Name" in the N.T. to denote recognized
dignity or glory; see especially Eph. i. 21. We believe that
V. lo.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 69
is above every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee w
should bow, of thhigs in heaven, and things in earth, and
the true explanation lies in this direction. The "Name given" is
the supreme Name, The Lord, Jehovah. In other words, the
lowly and suffering Jesus is, as the abased and slain One, now to
be found and worshipped on the eternal Throne ; recognized there
by all creation as He who for man's sake, in preexistent glory
and Godhead, willed to be humiliated even to the Cross. — As in
the study of the whole mystery of the Incarnation of the Eternal
Son, so here, we trace throughout the wonderful progression a perfect
Personal Identity, while the unique presence in the Incarnate One
of two Natures, with each its will, under one Personality, allows a
range of language which speaks of the eternally glorious Son of God as
being de novo glorified and exalted after the Humiliation which in His
Second Nature He underwent.
above every name] Cp. Eph. i. ■zi just referred to. On St Paul's
view of the altogether unique exaltation of the Lord, in comparison
with every created existence, see Liddon's Bampton Lectures, Lect. v.
§ IV. 2.
10. at the name of jfesus] Lit., with R.V., in the name of Jesus,
or as far as grammatical form goes, "z« the name yestis." "It is not
'the name Jesus' but 'the name of Jesus'" (Lightfoot). This must
mean that the context decides it thus ; the grammar is ambiguous.
But the previous argument (see last note but one), if valid, is decisive
for the rendering of the R.V.
"/« the name. ..should bow, &c." Does this mean, "all should wor-
ship Him," or "all should worship through Him"} Doubtless the
latter is Divine truth. But the context is wholly in favour of an imme-
diate reference to His enthronement; and particularly the very next
verse speaks distinctly of the recognition of Him as " Lord." So Light-
foot; and he gives proofs from the LXX. (e.g. Psal. Ixii. 5 (Heb.
Ixiii. 4); I Kings viii. 44) that the phrase " in the name of" may imply,
in proper contexts, the adoration of Him who bears the Name. We
may thus paraphrase, "that before the revealed Majesty of the glorified
Jesus all creation should adore." — The ancient custom of bowing at
the mention of the Name Jesus (see Canon xviii. of the Church of
England) derives no direct sanction from this passage.
every knee should bozv\ An implicit citation of Isai. xlv. 33 ; and as
such a powerful testimony to St Paul's view of the proper Deity of
Jesus Christ. — The context of the passage in the prophet contains the
phrases "a just God and a Saviour" (ver. 21 ; cp. Rom. iii. 26) ; "in
the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory" (ver.
25 ; cp. Rom. viii. 30). May we not suppose that the Apostle of Justi-/
fication was thus specially guided to the passage, and to its inner refer-
ence to the Son? — The same passage is directly quoted Rom. xiv. i\
(where in ver. 10 read, ^' of Christ"). \
Xhmgs in heayen... in earth. ..under the earth] Created existence, in
its heights and depths. Cp. Rev. v. 13 for close illustration; words'
70 PHILIPPIANS, II. [v. II.
II things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
whose whole context is a Divine commentary on this passage. In view
of the language there, in a scene where angels have been already men-
tioned, it is better not to divide the reference here, e.g. between angels,
living men, and buried men (Alford), or angels, men, and lost spirits
(Chrysostom). Not only animate and conscious but inanimate existence
is in view ; Creation in its total ; the impersonal and unconscious ele-
ments being said to "worship," as owning, after their manner, tht Jiat
of the exalted Jesus.
11. every tongue should confess] Again an implicit quotation of
Isai. xlv. 23.
The verb rendered '■^confess," as Lightfoot points out, has in Scrip-
tural Greek almost resigned its literal meaning of open avowal, to take
that of praise and thanksgiving. Our Lord Himself uses it. Matt.
xi. 25; Luke X. 21; ("I thank Thee, O Father, &c.") Every tongue
shall "give thanks to Him for His great glory." — It may be asked,
how shall this be fulfilled in the case of the lost? We reply, either
there is no explicit reference here to any but the subjects of final
redemption, as in Eph. i. 10, where see note in this Series ; or the
mysterious state of the lost may admit, for all we know, such a re-
cognition that even their hopeless woe is the ordinance of "supremest
Wisdom and primeval Love^," manifested in Jesus Christ, as shall be
tantamount to the adoration indicated here.
Jesus Christ is Lord] Cp. i Cor. xii. 3 ; a passage which teaches us
that the Lordship in question is such as to be known only by Divine
revelation. It is supreme Lordship, a session on the eternal throne.
(Cp. Rev. iii. 21, and see xxii. 3.) He "who being in the form of God
took the form of a bondservant" of God, and "obeyed even unto the
cross," is now owned and adored as "God, whose throne is forever and
ever" (Heb. i. 8), and as exercising His dominion as the Son of Man.
The Person is eternally the same ; but a new and wonderful condition
of His action has come in, the result of His Exinanition and Passion.
It is observable that the Valentinian heretics (cent. 2), according
to Irena;us (Bk. I. ch. i. § 3) ascribed to Jesus the title Saviour, but
refused Him that of Lord.
For proof that in apostolic doctrine the supreme Name, Jehovah,
was recognized as appropriate to the Person of the Christ, cp. Joh. xii. 4
with Isai. vi. 5. In that passage, as here, we have presented to us the
personal identity of the Preexistent and the Humiliated Christ.
to the glory of God the Father] the ultimate Object of all adoration,
inasmuch as He is the eternal Origin of the eternal Deity of the Son.
1 "Justice the Founder of my fabric moved,
To rear me was the task of power divine,
Supremest wisdom and primeval love.
All hope abandon, ye who enter here."
Dante, I>ifer7io, canto iii (Cary).
V. 12.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 71
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as "
Cp. Joh. V. 23, xiii. 31, 32, xvii. i ; i Pet. i. 21 ; for this profound rela-
tion between the glory of the Son and the glory of the Father. But no
isolated references can properly represent a subject which is so deeply
woven into the texture of the Gospel.
In the light of the Scriptural truth of His Nature, a truth sum-
marized with luminous fulness in the "Nicene" Creed^, we see the
Christ of God as at once properly, divinely, adorable, and the true
Medium for our adoration of the Father.
St Chrysostom here in a noble passage shews how the attribution of
full and eternal Godhead to the Christ enhances, not diminishes, the
Father's glory. "A mighty proof it is of the Father's power, and good-
ness, and wisdom, that He hath begotten such a Son, a Son nowise
inferior in goodness and in wisdom. ..When I say that the Son is not
inferior in Essence to the Father, but equal, and of the same Essence,
in this also I adore the Lord God, and His power, and goodness, and
wisdom, that He has revealed to us Another, begotten of Himself, like
to Him in all things. Fatherhood alone excepted" {Ho7n. vii, in Ep.
ad Philipp. c. 4).
Thus closes a passage in which, in the course of practical exhortation,
the cardinal truth of the true Godhead and true Manhood of Christ, and
that of His example, are presented all the more forcibly because inci-
dentally. The duty of unselfish mutual love and self-sacrifice is enforced
by considerations on the condescension of Christ which are quite mean-
ingless if He is not preexistent and Divine, and if the reality of His
Manhood is not in itself a sublime example of unforced self-abase-
ment for the good of others. All merely humanitarian views of His
Person and Work, however refined and subtilized, are totally at
variance with this apostolic passage, written within fresh living memory
of His life and death.
12 — 18. Inferences FROM THE FOREGOING PASSAGES : the Great-
ness OF the methods of Salvation : the consequent Call
TO A Life reverent, self-forgetful, fruitful, joyful.
12. Wherefore'] The Apostle has now pressed on them the duty
and blessing of self-forgetting sympathy and love, above all by this
supreme Example. He here returns to the exhortation, in a measure,
but now only subordinately ; his mind is chiefly now possessed with the
greatness of salvation, and it is through this, as it were, that he views ,
the duty and joy of Christian humility and harmony.
my beloved] So again iv. i. Cp. i Cor. x. 14, xv. 58 ; 2 Cor. vii. i,
xii. 19 ; where this tender word similarly introduces earnest practical
appeals. See too Heb. vi. 9; Jas. i. 16; i Pet. ii. 11, iv. 12; 2 Pet.
iii. I, 8, 14, 17 ; I Joh. iii. 2, 21, iv. i, 7, 11; Jude 3, 17, 20.
' And more elaborately in the '"Definition" of the Council of Chalcedon, a.d. 451.
72 PHILIPPIANS, 11. [v. 13.
in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
13 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For
ye have always obeyed] So too R.V. Lit., ye did always obey; the
aorist. And so better here. The Apostle views as one past experi-
ence his personal intercourse with them of old at Philippi. See the
next words, where such a retrospect is impHed.
not as in my presence only &c.] The Greek shews that these words
are to be joined with what folloxvs ; " work out your own salvation,
now in my absence, not only in my presence."
'■'■As in my presence'' : — "aj" suggests the thought, or point of view,
of the agent ; " influenced by the fact of my presence."
work out your oivn salvatiori\ "Your own" is strongly emphatic.
The Apostle is in fact bidding them "learn to walk alone," instead of
leaning too much on /lis presence and personal influence. "Do not
make me your proxy in spiritual duties which must be your own."
Hence the " tnuc/i more" of the previous clause ; his absence was to be
the occasion for a far fuller realization of their own personal obliga-
tions and resources in the spiritual life.
"Salvation" : — see above on i. 19. The main reference here is to
final glory (see remarks just below). But as life eternal is continuous
and one, here and hereafter, a side-reference may well be recognized
to present preservation from falling and sinning. " In this way of
diligence we receive daily more and more of 'salvation' itself, by
liberty from sin, victory over it, peace and communion with God, and
the earnests of heavenly felicity" (Scott).
" Work out" : — the verb is that used also e.g. Rom. iv. 15 ("the law
worketh wrath"); 2 Cor. iv. 17, a close and instructive parallel. As
there the saint's "light affliction" "works out for him a weight of
glory," so here his watchful, loving, reverent consistency, for his
Lord's sake, "works out," issues in the result of, his "salvation."
There is not the slightest contradiction here to the profound truth of
Justification by Faith only, that is to say, only for the merit's sake of
the Redeemer, appropriated by submissive trust; that justification
whose sure issue is "glorification" (Rom. viii. 30). It is an instance
of independent lines of truth converging on one goal. From one point
of view, that of justifying merit, man is glorified because of Christ's
work alone, applied to his case through faith alone. From another
point, that of qualifying capacity, and of preparation for the Lord's
individual welcome (Matt. xxv. ■ai; Rom. ii. 7), man is glorified as
the issue of a process of work and training, in which in a true sense
he is himself operant, though grace lies below the whole operation.
with fear and trembling] not of tormenting misgiving (cp. i Joh. iv.
18), but of profound reverence and wakeful conscience. So i Cor. ii. 3;
1 Cor. vii. 15; Eph. vi. 5. Chrysostom quotes Fsal. ii. 11, "Serve
the Lord in fear, and exult unto Him in trembling." — The Douay
(Romanist) Bible here has a note: — "This is against the false faith
and presumptuous confidence of modern sectaries"; a reference to the
V. 13.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 73
it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
doctrine of a personal assurance of present Divine favour and coming
glory. But this is both to mistake the meaning of St Paul's phrase
"fear and trembling," and to forget such passages as e.g. Rom. v. i,
2, 9, viii. 28 — 39. — It is the formulated tenet of the Church of Rome
that "no man can know, with a certainty under which nothing false
can lurk, that he has attained the grace of God" {Canones Concil.
Trident., Sess. vi. cap. ix.). See further just below.
13. For it is God &c.] Here is the reason for the "fear and trembling."
The process of "working out" is one which touches at every point the
internal presence of Him before whom "the stars are not pure" (Job
XXV. 5). iVIeanwhile the same fact, in its aspect of the presence of His
tower, is the deepest reason for strength and hope in the process ; and
this thought also, very possibly, is present here.
God ivliich -worketh in yoii\ The Immanence, Indwelling, of God in
His saints, in deep and sacred speciality and reality, is a main doctrine
of the Gospel. The Paraclete is not only " with" but " in" them (Joh.
xiv. 17; and see below, on iv. 23). By the Paraclete's work, in
giving new birth and new life, "Christ, who is our life" (Col. iii. 3),
"is in them" (cp. esp. Rom. viii. 9 — 11, and see 2 Cor. iv. lo, 11, xiii.
5 ; Col. i. 27) ; and "in Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead"
(Col. ii. 9). See further on this all-important subject Eph. iii. 17. — In
the light of a passage like this we arrive at the animating truth that the
" grace" which is present in the Christian is not only a power, or influ-
ence, emitted as it were from above ; it is the living and eternal God
Himself, present and operating at "the first springs of thought and
will."
''Worketh'': — the Greek word has a certain intensity about it,
"worketh effectually.''''
to will] I.e. His working produces these effects, not merely tends
towards them. Effecteth in you your willing would be a fair render-
ing. Here, though in passing, one of the deepest mysteries of grace is
touched upon. On the one hand is the will of the Christian, real, per-
sonal, and in full exercise; appealed to powerfully as such in this very
passage. On the other hand, beneath it, as cause beneath result, if the
will is to work in God's way, is seen God working, God "effecting."
A true theology will recognize with equal reverence and entireness of
conviction both these great parallels of truth. It will realize human
responsibility with "fear and trembling"; it will adore the depths of
grace with deep submission, and attribute every link in the chain of
actual salvation to God alone ultimately ^
and to do'] Or, as before, and your doing, or better, your working;
the verb is the same as that just above. The "will" is such as to
express itself in "effectual work."
' On the philosophy of the subject see some excellent suggestions in M'Cosh's
Intuitions of the Mind, Bk. iv. ch. iii.
74 PHILIPPIANS, 11. [vv. 14, 15.
14 his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and
15 disputings : that ye may be blameless and harmless, the
sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
of his good pleasure^ Better, with R.V., for His good pleasure ; for
its sake, to carry it out. The saint, new created, enabled by grace to
will and do, is all the while the implement of the purposes of God, and
used for them. Cp. Eph. ii. 10 for a close and suggestive parallel in
respect of this last point.
14. Do &c.] The general principle of holiness of life in the power
of the Divine Indweller is now carried into details, with a view to the
special temptations and failings of the Philippians. See above, on ii. 1.
all things] Observe the characteristic totality of the precept. Cp.
Eph. iv. 15, 31 ; and see 2 Cor. ix. 8.
without murmurings and disputings] amongst and against one ano-
ther. For the word "■ })turmuring" in a similar connexion cp. Acts
vi. I ; I Pet. iv. 9; and for '^disputing,'" Jas. ii. 4. This reference
suits the context, and the indications of the whole Epistle as to the
besetting sins of Pliilippi, better than the reference to murmurs and
doubts as toivards God. And such sins against one another would be
prevented by nothing so much as by the felt presence of "God working
in them." See below, on iv. 5.
'■'■ Disputings" :—iox example, about the duties of others and the
rights of self. The older Latin versions render detradiones.
15. be\ Better, with the true reading, toecome, prove ; a gentle
intimation that a change was needed.
blameless] Secure against true charges of inconsistency of temper and
conduct.
harmless] So too R.V. But this can be only a derived rendering.
The literal and ordinary meaning of the Greek is '■'■unmixed, unadul-
terated, pure." The character denoted is simple as against double;
single-hearted in truth and love. It occurs elsewhere, in N.T. , only
Matt. X. 16 ; Rom. xvi. 19 ; but often in secular writers.
the sons of God] More exactly, with R.V., children of God. The
Greek word rendered "children" points more specially than the other
to the nature and character of the family of God ; the {■ixoJAy -likeness.
The precise phrase " children of God," occurs elsewhere (in the Greek)
Joh. i. 12, xi. 52; Rom. viii. 16, 17, 21, ix.-8; i Joh. iii. i, 2, 10, v. 2.
Here the evident meaning is, "that you may prove the fact of your
spiritual sonship to God by your spiritual likeness to Him, which is its
one true proof." As a rule, Scripture tends to use the words "Father,"
"son," "child," as between God and man, to indicate not the con-
nexion of creation but that of new-creation, as here.
7vithoiit rebuke] One Greek adjective; the same word (in the best
attested reading here) as that in Eph. i. 4, v. 27; Col. i. 22 ; passages
in this same Roman group of St Paul's Epistles.
This word is closely connected with the preceding words; we may
paraphrase, "children of God, blameless as such." — There is an im-
V. i6.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 75
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the
world ; holding forth the word of life ; that I may rejoice '6
in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither
plicit reference in the phrase to Deut. xxxii. 5, where the LXX. reads,
" 77ie}' sinned; they were not children to Him, but blanieivorthy chil-
dren ; a generation crooked oid perverse." The "true Israelites" of
Philippi v/ere to be the antithesis of the ancient rebels.
in the midst of &c.] A continued allusion to the words (see last
note) of Moses; a beautiful inversion of them. "A crooked and dis-
torted generation" is still in view, but it is now not the Lord's Israel,
but "they which are without" (Col. iv. 5), whose moral contrariety was
both to bring out the power and beauty of grace in the saints, and at
length to yield to its blessed charm.
"In the midst of ' : — not in selfish or timid isolation from the duties
and difficulties of life. The Gospel has no real sanction for the
monastic idea. Cp. Joh. xvii. 15; and the tenor of the Epistles at
large.
ye shine'] Better, ye appear, ye are seen (R.V.). The Greek verb
is used of the rising and setting of the stars, the '■'■phenomena" of the
heavens. Perhaps this is meant to be remembered here. The saints,
in the beautiful light of holiness, were to rise star-like upon the dark
sky of surrounding sin. See next note.
lights'] Better, ligM-bearers, luminaries {luminaria, Latin Ver-
sions). The word appears in both secular and Biblical Greek as a
designation of the heavenly bodies ; see e.g. Gen. i. 14, 16. It occurs
agam, in N.T., only Rev. xxi. 11, apparently in the very rare sense of
"radiance."
Cp. Isai. Ix. i; Matt. v. 14, 16; Eph. v. 8.
16. Holding forth] as offering it for acceptance; presenting it to
the notice, enquiry, and welcome, of others. The metaphor of the
luminary is dropped.— It is intimated that the faithful Christian will
not be content without making direct efforts, however humble and un-
obtrusive, to win attention to the distinctive message of his Lord.
the word of life] The Gospel, as the revelation of eternal life in
Christ. Cp. Joh. vi. 68; i Joh. i. i (where the reference of the phrase
is not to the personal Logos ; see Westcott there) ; and see also, in
illustration of the meaning of "word" here, i Joh. v. 11, 12; and
above, on i. 14.
thai I 7nay rejoice] Lit., '*to (be a) rejoicing for me.'" For the
thought, cp. I Thess. ii. 19. He looks forward to a special recogni-
tion of his converts at Philippi, at the Lord's Coming, and to a special
"joy of harvest" over them.
in the day of Christ] Lit., "■unto the day &c."; in view of it, till I
am in it. On the "day'''' see note on i. 6.
that I have not run] Better, that I did not run. He speaks as if
already looking back on life as on one collected past. — " /?ten" : — a
favourite metaphor with St Paul, to represent the energy and progress
1^ PHTLIPPIANS, II. [v. 17.
17 laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacri-
fice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you
of life, moving towards its goal. Cp. Acts xiii. 25, xx. 24 (both Pauline
passages) ; i Cor. ix. 24, 26 ; Gal. ii. 2 (a close parallel), v. 7 ; 2 Tim.
iv. 7. See also Rom. ix. 16 ; 2 Tliess. iii. i ; Heb. xii. i.
laboured] Better, did labour ; see last note. Cp. i Thess. iii. 5 for
nearly the same words.
in vaifi] Lit., "/<? w/ia^ is empty,'''' in vacuuyn. The phrase is
peculiar to St Paul in N.T.
17. Yea, and if hzi\ He takes up the last word, characteristically.
" Laboured for you, did I say? Nay, if I have to say also died, poured
out my heart's blood, it is only joy to me."
be offered upon\ Lit. and better, am being sbed as a libation upon.
The imagery is sacrificial. He views the Philippians as an altar-sacri-
fice, a burnt-offering, in their character of consecrated believers ; and
upon that sacrifice the drink-offering, the libation, the outpoured wine,
is Paul's life-blood, Paul as their missionary martyr. On the libations
of the Mosaic ritual, cp. Num. xv. 3 — 10, where the drink-offering
appears as a conspicuous detail in the rite of the burnt-offering. Bp
Lightfoot thinks that a reference to the pagan ritual of libation is more
likely, in an Epistle to a Church of Gentile converts. But surely St
Paul familiarized all his converts with O.T. symbolism; and his own
mind was of course deeply impregnated with it. — The same word, but
without any detail of imagery, appears again a Tim. iv. 6, on the
then actual eve of St Paul's death by the sword. — "The present
^^.^^^{^ am being shed''\ places the hypothesis vividly before the eyes:
but it does not. ..refer to present dangers. ..comp. e.g. Matt. xii. 26"
(Lightfoot).— Ignatius {To the Romans, c. 2) speaks of being " libated
to God" ; probably an allusion to this phrase.
the sacrifice and service of your faith] As we have just explained,
their faith in Jesus Christ, resulting in their living self-sacrifice to
God (Rom. xii. i), constituted them as it were victims at a spiritual
altar, and their lives a sacerdotal ritual or "service." Cp. for an
instructive parallel Rom. xv. 16, with note in this Series. — These
are the only two passages in his whole writings where the Apostle
applies the language of sacerdotalism to the work of the Christian
ministry. (See Appendix C.) It is remarkable that in each place
the language is obviously that of figure and, so to speak, poetry. ■
In the Ep. to the Romans, "the Gentiles" are "the oblation," and J
■ "the glad-tidings" is the matter on which his "priest-work" is ^
' exercised. In this passage the Philippians are both " sacrifice " and *
"altar-ministers," while Paul is the "libation."
/ joy, and rejoice ivith you all] Again the warm and significant
words, "you all." — His willing death for Christ, viewed as a last
contribution to their spiritual good, a last aid in their life of believing
self-consecration, would be a personal joy to him, and an occasion of
united joy with them or (as Lightfoot explains the phrase here) con-
gratulation of them. The Apostle assumes that they would rejoice,
vv. 18—21.] PHILIPPIANS, 11. 77
all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with 18
me.
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly 19
unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I
know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will 20
naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not 21
with the deep joy of men who shared the martyr spirit. Cp. Eph.
iii. 13 for a somewhat similar thought.
Polycarp's Epistle (see our Introduction, ch v.) almost begins with a
phrase which is a reminiscence of this sentence and iv. 10.
18. For the same cause] Better, with R.V., In the same manner.
The same phrase occurs Matt, xxvii. 44.
do ye joy &c.] A loving imperative. He bids them be glad, and
share their joy with him as he with them. It is an emphatic reitera-
tion of what he has implied in the words just above, that his death
would be their joy, as being, if the Lord so willed, their spiritual
blessing.
19 — 30. He proposes soon to send Timotheus : He sends
WITHOUT DELAY EpAPHRODITUS.
■ 19. But I trust &Lz:\ Lit., But I hope &c. He refers back to the
allusion to his absence from them, ver. 12. That trial, while it brings
them its special calls and opportunities, is yet to be relieved.
in the Lord Jesus'l See last note on i. 8.
Timotheus'] See on i. i.
/ also] as well as you. He affectionately assumes that they, in
accordance with his entreaties above (ver. 12 &c.) will be "strong and
of a good courage" in the Lord. He would share this, through the
joy of hearing of it.
he of good comfort] More lit., ''be of good {hafpy) soul.'''' A single
word (verb) in the Greek.
20. For] He gives his reason for sending Timothy.
likeminded] Lit., "■ equal-soiihd ;" a slight echo, in form, of the
verb just above. Timothy's "soul," his loving and willing self, was
"equal," level, to St Paul's, in pure, cordial, interest in the Philip-
pians. — The Greek adjective occurs nowhere else in the N.T., and in
the LXX. only Psal. liv. 13 (Heb., Iv. 14), for the Hebrew ''after viy
scale, or standard'"'': a good parallel. The A.V. margin, "so dear
unto me,'''' is certainly mistaken.
naturally] R.V. "truly.''' But the A.V. well conveys the meaning.
The word is literally, genuinely ; so that heart corresponds to action.
care] Better, take careful, anxious thought. The verb {fnerimndn)
is traced by recent philologists into connexion with root-words giving
the idea of mindfulness, earnestness of thought, not, as according to the
once current etymology, divisioti of thought. — It is the same verb as
that below, iv. 6, where see note. — The apparent contradiction of the
two passages has a beautiful harmony beneath it. Timothy's "anxiety"
78 PHILIPPIANS, II. [vv. 21—23.
22 the things which are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof
of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with
23 me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently,
was in fact painstaking thought for others; the "anxiety" forbidden,
iv. 6, is the result of our failure, as each felt burthen comes, to pass it
on to the love and care of the Lord. — The verb (or its cognate noun)
rendered "rar^" here occurs in the sense it bears here, i Cor. vii. 32,
34, xii. 25 ; 2 Cor. xi. 28. In all other places its reference is to anxiety
in an unfavourable sense of the word.
21. all\ The Greek would be more exactly represented by they all,
or all of them ; all of a definite group in question. This is a severe
censure on the persons really indicated. St Paul must have suffered
grave disappointments where he had a special right to expect ready
help. Demas (2 Tim. iv. 10) had his precursors ; indeed he may
have been included in this censure, for he was at Rome about this
time (Col. iv. 14; Philem. 24). But we must not assume that St Paul
here (or even 2 Tim. iv. 10) excommunicates, so to speak, those whom
he refers to ; the true disciple may have his weak, because faithless
and selfish, hour. See Acts xiii. 13, with xv. 38, and contrast 2 Tim.
iv. II. And again common sense bids us interpret the " they all" with
a reserve. He must mean not "all the Christians around me," but
"all the possible Christian messengers around me." "The saints of
C.-esar's household" (iv. 22), for example, could not be in question;
nor was Epaphroditus (ver. 25, &c.).
seek their own] things, literally ; their own ease or safety ; perhaps
their own preferences in toil and duty. See i Cor. xiii. 5 for the oppo-
site choice as the choice of holy Charity.
the things which are Jesus Christ's] The interests of His disciples
laid upon them by His Apostle.
22. the proof ^ of hi}7i\ The test Of him ; the practical evidence of
what he is. This they "knew," by eyewitness at Philippi.
as a son with \}!\& father] Better, as child with father. The Greek
word rendered "child" is a tender one. See above on ver. 15. For
St Paul's paternal love for Timothy cp. 2 Tim. i. 2, and that whole
Epistle.
he hath served ivith »ie] More precisely, with me (slightly emphatic,
suggesting the speciality of his devotion in Christ to Paul) he did
bondservice. The reference is to the labours of Timothy (gathered up
by the aorist into one recollection) at Philippi. See above, on i. i,
note 2. — Grammatically, we might render, "with me he accepted bond-
service'''' ; with a reference to Timothy's first dedication to missionary
work under St Paul, Acts xvi. i — 3. But lie evidently refers to their
own observation of Timothy and so to a later period.
in the gospel] Lit., ''nnto the GospeV ; well paraphrased by R.V.,
in furtherance of the Gospel. See note on i. 5 above.— For ''the
Gospel" in the sense of "the work of the Gospel" cp. below, iv. 3.
vv. 24, 25.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 79
so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust 24
in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Yet I ?5
supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my
23. presetifly^ Better, with R.V., forthwitli, promptly, on ascertain-
ing the issue of his trial.
so soon as I shall see] He is sure, ate fond, of the prospect of conti-
nued life (i. 25 and note) ; but tliis leaves him as much as ever obliged
to wait the development of the Roman legal process. And it needs
no very subtle psychology to see the possibility of the presence, in the
same person, of certainties and uncertainties about the same event.
— Observe that Divine inspiration is far from conveying universal
prescience.
Jioiv it will go with me'] A good paraphrase for the lit., '^ the things
around me," my circumstances.
24. / trust'] For the Greek and its force see on i. 25, with the
reference there to i, 6.
in the Lord] See last note on i. 8.
shortly] The word is of course elastic ; it may mean a few weeks,
or many months, as relations of comparison vary. What he is confi-
dent of is that Timothy's arrival would be followed at no great interval
by his own. — Bp Lightfoot compares i Cor. iv. 17, 19, for a curiously
close parallel to the language of this passage, without any connexion
of events.
25. Yet I supposed] Better, But I have counted, or, I count. —
" Yet" is too strong a word of contrast or exception.
" I have counted" : — the Greek verb is an aorist, but an "epistolary'
aorist, in which the writer of a letter puts himself mentally at the
time of its reception. And this we often express in English by the
perfect or the present. — Epaphroditus was probably the bearer of the
Epistle.
necessary] as against the less obligatory conditions of Timoth/s
intended mission. That concerned St Paul's comfort, this, the Phi-
lippians'; and in his view, on Christian principles, the latter was of
course more urgent. — For the phrase cp. 2 Cor. ix. 5.
Epaphroditus] We know him only from this Epistle, indeed only
from this passage, for the mention iv. 18 merely adds the fact that he
was the conveyer to St Paul of the Philippians' present. But the
few lines now before us are enough to shew us a Christian full of
spiritual love and practical devotion to Christ and the flock. — Epa-
phroditus has been identified with Epaphras (Col. i. 7, iv. 12; Philem.
23). But this is improbable. The shorter name is indeed only an
abbreviation of the longer; but "Epaphras" always denotes the con-
vert and missionary of Colossae, "Epaphroditus" the messenger from
Philippi, two widely separated mission-stations. And the man in
each case appears to be a native of, or resident in, the station. Both
names were very common at the time. — It is observable that this
Christian's name embodies the name of the goddess Aphrodite. No
8o PHILIPPIANS, II. [v. 26.
brother, and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but
26 your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For
he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because
scruple appears to have been felt among the primitive Christians
about the retention of such pre-baptismal names. See note on Rom.
xvi. I in this Series.
my brother, &c.] The loving commendation is most emphatic.
Epaphroditus had evidently at some time toiled and striven "in the
Gospel," along with St Paul, in no common way. This may have
been in past days at Philippi, or, as Lightfoot suggests, just recently
at Rome, since his arrival from Philippi. — '^Fellow-soldier'" : — cp.
Philem. 2, and see 2 Cor. x. 3; i Tim. i. 18; 2 Tim. ii. 3, 4. The '
Christian "worker" is a '■'soldier^'' as having to deal with "all the |
power of the enemy" (Luke x. 19) in his work.
your messenger^ In the Greek, "■your apostolos.'" Some have ex-
plained this to mean "your chief pastor," in fact "your bishop," leader
of the ''episcopV and ''diacoiiV of i. i. But there is no real Scripture
parallel for such a meaning; and meanwhile 2 Cor. viii. 23 gives a
clear parallel for the meaning ''your delegated messenger (to me)." The
Greek wording of the clause fully confirms this; it may be paraphrased,
"messenger, and minister of need, sent by you to me." R.V. your
messenger and minister to my need. Meanwhile the word apostolos
seems to have had from the very first a certain sacredness and speciality
about it. Even when not used of the Lord's Apostles, it has borrowed
something of greatness from His use of it (Luke vi. 13) for them; it
is not 7nerely (as by derivation) "one sent," a messenger; it is a sacred
and authoritative messenger. — We may perhaps reverently trace here
' a slight play upon the word, as if the Philippians were the superior
party and Paul the inferior. As if he said, "One whom you have sent
as your missionary to me."
he that ministered to my wants'] Lit. and better (see above) [your]
minister of [to] my need. The Greek word is leiiourgos, which again
is a word of dignified and often sacred connexion, exactly represented
by our "minister." See Rom. xiii. 6 for its use of magistrates; Heb.
viii. 2 for its use of priests. We see here again a certain affectionate
play upon the word : Epaphroditus bore an ojice and authority given
by — the Philippians' love.
26. For] Here lay the "necessity," in St Paul's view, of his friend's
return to the Philippians; in Epaphroditus' longing for them, and their
love and anxiety in regard of him.
he longed] The Greek is full and emphatic, lie was (in a state of)
longing, of home-sickness. See note on i. 8. — Doubtless the feeling
was a recent if not a present one; and in an English letter we should
say accordingly, "he has been in a home-sick condition."
after you alt] A reading which has considerable support is "to see
you all." The precise phrase thus formed occurs Rom. i. 11; i Thess.
iii. 6; 2 Tim. i. 4. Perhaps this is a reason for deciding against it here,
as it might be a transcriber's reminiscence.
V. 27, 28.] PHILIPPIANS, II. 8i
that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he 27
was sick nigh unto death : but God had mercy on him ;
and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have
sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more care- 28
Observe the slill recurring '■^yoic all." Epaphroditus may have
been in some vi^ay involved in those differences between sets and
circles at Philippi (see above, on i. 27, &c.) which gave St Paul
anxiety. So he emphasizes Epaphroditus' impartial affection for
them.
was fiill of heaviness'] Better, [has been] sore troubled. The word
is used of our blessed Lord's "sore trouble" in the Garden, Matt. xxvi.
37; Mar. xiv. 33. By derivation (see Lightfoot here) it probably
suggests the restlessness of profound dislike, shrinking from loathed
pain or grief. — We see a character of great sensitiveness and ten-
derness.
ye had heard, &c.] An English letter-writer would more naturally
say you have heard that he has been ill. The reference is to com-
parative recency, and present results. See Introduction, p. 16.
27. For indeed, &c.] Epaphroditus would have made light of the
illness; St Paul assures them that the report was seriously true, and
that the illness had a generous origin.
he was] He has been.
God had mercy on hini] Though for him also "to die" would have
been "gain" (i. 21), yet death in itself is a dark passage, even to
the Christian (see Joh. xxi. 18; and 2 Cor. v. 4). And meanwhile
great are the joys of service on the pilgrimage, and deep their con-
nexion with the coming joys of the heavenly country. "Those who
are departed this life," says St Chrysostom here, "can no longer
win sotiUy But perhaps the immediate thought is simply that death
would have bereavetl the Philippians of their friend, to whose loving
heart it was thus "a mercy," for their sakes, to recover.
on me also] Here, as so often in St Paul, a heart glowing with holy
and generous affection expresses itself in a recognition of the im-
portance of his friends to him. See e.g. Rom. xvi. 4.
sorrozv upon sorrow] A sore bereavement would have been added
to the grief caused him by the "brethren" of i. 15, 16, and to the
pervading grief of his separation by imprisonment from so many beloved
friends. — Observe the perfect naturalness of his language. He abides
in "the peace of God"; he "has strength for all things" (iv. 7, 13).
But that peace is no frost, or torpor, of the heart ; that strength is
not hardness. He is released from embitterment and from murmurs,
but every sensibility is refined by that very fact. It was so with his
Lord before him ; Joh. xi. 33, 35, 38.
This passage among others (e.g. 2 Tim. iv. 20) shews that the
mysterious "gift of healing," used by St Paul at Melita (Acts xxviii.
8), was not at the absolute disposal of even the faith of its recipient.
PTIILIPPTANS. 6
82 PHILIPPIANS, II. [vv. 29, 30.
fully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that
29 I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the
30 Lord with all gladness ; and hold such in reputation : be-
cause for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not
28. I scnt\ In an English letter it would run, I have sent, or I am
sending.
carefully] Better, with R.V. diligently; taking pains to arrange.
less sorrowful] A beautiful touch of character. Among his sorrows,
he intimates, was his being the unwilling cause of separating Epaphro-
ditus from the Philippians, and bringing him into risks at Rome. To
think of him as safely returned to Philippi would be a solace, though it
would be a new separation for himself. — Under the shadow of that last
thought, perhaps, he says not '"'happier'' but '■'less sorrowful."
29. Receive him therefore] " Therefore" : — as the consequence of
my sending him. The whole verse supports the suggestion that the
internal friction among the Philippians had somehow made Epaphro-
ditus unacceptable to some. See above on ver. 26.
in the Lord] See above on i. 8.
xvith all gladness] The cloud in his own sky interferes not in the least
with this holy soul's interest in the joy of others.
in reputation] R.V., in honour. The word occurs Luke vii. 2, of
the centurion's ''highly-valued slave"; and i Pet. ii. 4, 6, of the "pre-
cious stone." — There was a slight risk, we gather here (and see iii. 17,
and note), lest such unobtrusive and devoted holders of, and workers
for, the Gospel should fall out of favour at Philippi. Cp. i Thess.
V. 11, 13.
30. the work of Christ] One most ancient MS. (C) omits "of
Christ''; and some other evidence is for " of the Lord" instead. R.V.
retains the reading of A.V., mentioning in the margin the reading "of
the Lord." Alford and Lightfoot advocate the omission. — For the
phrase " the work " used without further definition, cp. Acts xv. 38.
he was nigh unto death] Lit., "he drew near, up to death" a pecu-
liar but unmistakable expression.
not regarding his life] R. V. , hazarding his life. The two renderings
represent each a different reading, the ditl'erence lying in the presence
or absence of a single letter in the Greek {parabo{u)leusanunos). On
the whole that represented by R.V. has the better support. In the
more ancient Latin Version this Greek word is almost transliterated:
— paraholatus de anirnd sud; words which might almost be rendered,
"having played the desperado with his life. " The verb (found here
only) is formed on a common Greek verb of which one meaning is
"to wager in a game of chance," and so to run a risk. Bp Light-
foot renders here, " having gambled 'with his life." — From the same
root comes the ecclesiastical word (Greek and Latin) parabolaniis, a
member of a "minor order" devoted to nursing the infected, and
similar hazardous duties. The order originated in Constantine's time.
v.^o] PHILIPPIANS, II. 83
regarding /lis life, to supply your lack of service toward
me.
Unhappily it soon degenerated into a notoriously turbulent sort of
club.
^'//is /i/e": — lit., ^'/lis sou/." For the very frequent use of the
Greek word J>s}'cM in the sense of bodily life cp. e.g. Matt. ii. 20.
to supply your lack &c.] More lit., " that he 7night fill up your defi-
ciency in the ministration designed for fite." " Your" is slightly em-
phatic. Obviously, the Apostle means no reproof to the Philippians,
whose "ministration" of supplies he so warmly appreciates below (iv.
10 — 19). He means that they, as a community, were of course unable
to aid him by a personal visit, without which however their " minis-
tration" would have "lacked" a necessary condition of success. That
condition Epaphroditus had supplied; he had undertaken the journey,
and doubtless had thrown himself at Rome into the Apostle's interests
and efforts. And somehow, whether by accidents on the journey, or
by risks run at Rome, or by both, he had incurred dangerous illness. —
See for a close parallel to the language liere i Cor. xvi. 17; and cp.
the important phraseology of Col. i. 24, and notes there.
Ch. III. 1 — 3. Let them cultivate Joy in the Lord, as
the true preservative from the dangers of judaistic
Teaching.
1. Finally'] Lit., '^ For the rest" ; ^^ For what rem.ains^'' See Eph.
vi. 10, and note in this .Series. In 2 Cor. xiii. i; i Thess. iv. i; 1
Thess. iii. i; below iv. 8; and (in a slightly different form) Gal. vi. 17;
the phrase appears to mean " ?'« conclusion." But it is plainly
elastic, and in i Thess. we have an example, as here, of its use (and
of course of its retention by the writer on review of his writing)
some time before the actual farewell. As a fact the Apostle is just
about to open the last large topic of his letter, the topic of the dif-
ference between a true and a false Gospel; all else in the remaining
paragraphs is only accessory. Hitherto he has been dealing, in effect,
with the duty and blessedness of unity, secured by humility and watch-
fulness ; bringing in some all-important doctrinal statements, but only
by the way. He will now close with a definite and solemn message of
spiritual truth, in a matter of present urgency.
The connexion of this passage has been much debated, and particu-
larly the bearing of the phrase "to write the same things unto you."
What does he refer to ? To a previous Epistle ? To a previous similar
statement in this Epistle ? But there is -no other hint whatever of a
previous letter; and in this present letter there is no previous injunc-
tion to rejoice. The solution offered by Bp Lightfoot is as follows : —
" The same things " are the exhortations to unity so often made
already, and which the Apostle ^vas about to reinforce. But he was
6—2
84 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. i.
3 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the
same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for
interrupted in his work, and not till after an interval of days, perhaps,
did he resume it. He then dropped the intended appeal, and turned
instead to the yet more serious subject of doctrinal error.
This ingenious suggestion offers, however, a serious difficulty, by
assuming that St Paul, with his scribe beside him, would have sent
out an Epistle in a state so disjointed, simply for lack of revision. No
view of Divine inspiration demands it; and certainly all considerations
of thoughtful authorship are against it.
We offer the following theory : — The Apostle sees before him, as
he thinks of Philippi, the danger of doctrinal error ; error which in
one way or another undervalues Christ and Him crucified. The
true antidote to such error is a developed and rejoicing intuition into
Christ and His work, such as had been granted to himself. This he
will now make his theme. But he has, in a sense, done so already,
by the oft-repeated allusions to the Lord's sovereign and vital con-
nexion with His people ("m the Lord,'" "■ iji the heart of Christ,'' &c.),
and above all by the opening passages of ch. ii. So he is " writing the
same things" when he writes now "finally" about "rejoicing in the
Lord'" as their righteousness, life, glory, strength, and peace. All
" other Gospels" were obscurations of that great joy.
Thus the special injunction to '■'' rejoice'" has regard to the past and
coming context at once. In particular, it anticipates ver. 3 below,
{^^ glory in Christ j^esus").
A suffrage in one of the Litanies of the venerable Church of the
Unitas Fratriim ("the Moravians") is in point here: — ''* From the
loss of our glory in Thee, preserve and keep us, gracious Lord and
God."
rejoice^ R.V. margin, '■^ ox, farewell.''' But the evidence of iv. 4,
which plainly takes this phrase up, and adds the word "always,'''' is
altogether for the text R.V., and A.V. "Farewell ahvays" is an im-
possible formula of conclusion ; we are constrained to render " ^e glad
always" there. And already ii. 18 he has used the same Greek word
in that sense beyond doubt. See the last note.
in the Lord'\ See last note but one, and that on i. 8.
To write the same things] See last note but two, for a reference of
this to "the things" already written in this Epistle about the glery and
fulness of Christ.
to me indeed... safe\ The Greek words form an Iambic trimeter, a
verse corresponding in the Greek drama to our blank heroic, and may
thus be a quotation by the way^. In i Cor. xv. 33 we almost certainly
have such a quotation from a Greek dramatist, Menander or perhaps
Euripides; " III converse withers fair morality ." We may render here,
with a view to the rhythm, To me not irksome, it is safe for you. —
^ I owe this remark to a friend.
A
vv. 2, 3.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 85
you // ts safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, 2
beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, 3
St James (i. 17) appears similarly to adopt a Greek hexameter; ^^ Every
giving of good a>id every boon of perfection."
2. Beware of\ Lit., "'see.'" For this use of the verb, cp. Col. iv.
17; 2 John 8.
dogs\ Lit. and better, the dogs. He refers to a known and defined
class ; and these evidently were those Judaistic teachers within tlie
pale of the Church to whom he has referred already (i. 15) in another
connexion and in a different tone. These Pharisee-Christians very
probably called the uncircumcised, and (from their point of view)
non- conforming, converts, "dogs," as the Pharisees-proper called
all Gentiles; cp. Matt. xv. 26, 27, for words alluding to this use of
the term. The habits and instincts of the dog suggest ideas of unclean-
ness and wantonness ; and its half-wild condition in Eastern towns
adds the idea of a thing outcast. Thus everywhere in Scripture the
word "dog" is used in connexions of contempt, reproach or dread:
see e.g. i Sam. xxiv. 14; 2 Sam. xvi. 9; 2 Kings viii. 13; Psal.
xxii. 16, 20, lix. 6; Eccl. ix. 4; Matt. vii. 6; Rev. xxii. 15. — The
Apostle "here turns the tables" on the Judaist, and pronounces /nV«
to be the real defiled outcast from Messiah's covenant, rather than
the simple believer, who comes to Messiah not by way of Judaism,
but direct. The same view is expressed more fully Gal. v. 2 — 4. — It
is just possible that the word "dog" refers also to positive immorality
underlying, in many cases, a rigid ceremonialism. But this is at most
secondary here. See below vv. 18, 19, and notes, for another "school"
more open to such charges.
evil workers'] Better, the bad work-men. lie refers to the same
faction under another aspect. Very proljably, by a play on the
word " worker," he censures them as teaching a salvation by "works,"
not by faith. (See e.g. Rom. iii. 27, iv. 2, 6, xi. 6 ; Gal. ii. 16,
iii. 2 ; Eph. ii. 9 ; 2 Tim. i. 9 ; Tit. iii. 5.) As if to say, "They are
all for working, with a view to merit; but they are bungling work-
men all the while, adjusting wrongly the fabric of the Gospel, and
working not rightly even what in itself is right." Cp. 2 Cor. xi. 13 for a
passage where the same double meaning seems to attach to this
word. — For the other side of the truth of "working" see ii. 12, and
notes.
the concision'] " The gashing, the }?iutilation." By this harsh kindred(i
word he satirizes, as it were, the rigid zeal of the Judaist for bodily
circzitncision. In the light of the Gospel, the demand for the con-
tinuance of circumcision in the Church, as a saving ordinance, was in
fact a demand for a maltreatment of the body, akin only to heathen
practices ; cp. e.g. i Kings xviii. 28.
Cp. Gal. V. 12, with Lightfoot's notes, for a somewhat similar use of
words in a kindred connexion. Lightfoot here remarks on the frequent
occurrence in the N.T. of verbal play. See e.g. the Greek of Acts
viii. 30; Rom. xii. 3 ; 2 Thess. iii. ir.
86 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. 4.
which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus,
4 and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also
Wyclif curiously, and without any support in the Latin, renders this
clause, " se ye dyuysioun"; Tyndale and Cranmer, "Beware of dis-
sencion (dissensyon)."
3. we are the circiitncision\ See the previous note. For the thought,
cp. especially Gal. iii. 7, 29, vi. 16; Eph. ii. 19; Col. ii. 11.
which worship God in the spirit] R.V. , who worship by the Spirit
of God. This is based on the better-supported reading of the Greek,
and should be adopted. The word "worship" is thus used without an
expressed object, as Luke ii. 37; Acts xxvi. 7; (in both which places,
in A. v., the word "God" is in italics). The verb here {latreuein) ori-
ginally imports any sort of service, domestic or otherwise ; but usage
gives it in the N.T. a fixed connexion with the service of worship, and
occasionally (Heb. viii. 5, ix. 9, x. 2, xiii. loj a special reference to the
worship of priestly ritual. Very probably this last usage is in view
here. The Judaist claimed to be the champion of the true ritual of
worship, as well as of the true initiation into covenant. The Apostle
replies that the spiritual Christian is as such the ideal worshipper, the
priest of the true rite.
^' By the Spirit of God^\ — cp. for the phrase in St Paul, Rom. viii.
9, 14; I Cor. ii. 10, II, 12, 14, iii. 16, vi. 11, vii. 40, xii. 3; 2 Cor. iii.
3. The effect of the whole work of the Blessed Spirit in the regenerate
Christian was to bring him into right relations of worship with God
who "is Spirit" (Joh. iv. 24); to make him a "worshipper in (the)
Spirit and in truth."
and rejoice in Christ ycstts] R. V., and glory &c. Better so, for the
Greek is not identical with that in i. 18, ii. 17, 18, 28, iii. i,iv. 4, 10. It
means a joy emphatically triumphant ; such as would find its parody
in a proud and eager boastfulness (as e.g. I\.om. ii. 23, iii. 27 ; i Cor.
iv. 7 ; 2 Cor. v. 12 &c. ; Gal. vi. 13 ; Jas iv. 16).
What national and ritual privilege was, in his own distorted estimate,
to the Judaist, that the true Messiah, the Incarnate Son of God, Christ
Jesus, was to the spiritual Christian— at once pedestal and crown,
righteousness and life and glory.
For the thought cp. Rom. v. 11 ; i Cor. i. 31 (observe previous con-
text); Gal. vi. 14.
have no confidence in the flesh] Quite lit., ^^ not in the flesh are confi-
dent"; with the implication that we are confident, on another and a
truer ground.
" 7 he flesh" :— a. most important word in the distinctive teaching of
St Paul. A fair popular equivalent for it would be "self," as far as
that word expresses that attitude or condition of our moral being which
is not subject to God's law or reliant on His grace. The "flesh" is
sometimes that state, or element, of man in which sin predominates ;
whatever in man is not ruled and possessed by the Holy Spirit ; the
unsanctified intellect, the unsanctified affections. The "flesh" is some-
5.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 87
have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh
that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the s
times, again, as here, anything other than God taken by man as his
trust and strength, e.g. reHgious observances regarded as occasion for
self-confidence. In this latter case the word "flesh" is, as here,
shifted, so to speak, by a natural transition of language, from the
chooser to the thing chosen.
See further on this word Rom. viii. 4 ; Eph. ii. 3 ; and notes in this
Series. See also Dickson, On St Paul's Use of the Terms Flesh and
Spirit (the Bain Lecture, 1883).
This short verse gives us one of the deepest and most inclusive
descriptions of the true Christian to be found in Scripture.
4 — 11. His own experience as a converted Pharisee: Jus-
tification BY Faith: its spiritual and eternal issues.
4. Though I might also &c.] The Greek seems to assert that he
not only might have, but has, such confidence. But the whole context,
and St Paul's whole presentation of the Gospel, alike assure us
that this is but a "'way of speaking." What he means is to assert,
in the most concrete form, his claim, if any one could have such a
claim, to rely on privilege and observance for his acceptance. Render
accordingly with R.V., Tliougli I myself might have confidence even
in the flesh. So the Latin versions ; Quanquani ego habeam ice.
thinketh\ R.V. margin, '' seemeih." But A.V., and text R.V., are
certainly right. The "seeming" or "appearing" is to the man's self;
he thinks it to be so. Cp. for this (frequent) use of the Greek verb
(dokein) e.g. Luke xxiv. 37 ; Acts xii. 9. And see esp. Matt. iii. 9,
''Do not think (seem) to say in yourselves &c."; where common sense
gives, the paraphrase, "Z'tJ ftot think that you may say." So here,
"thinketh that he may have confidence &c. "
/ more] " \,frotn his point of view, think that I may have it more."
Cp. 2 Cor. xi. 21, 22, a passage closely akin to this.
5. Circumcised ^Q..\ Quite lit., "aj to circumcision, eight days oldP
See Gen. xvii. 12; Luke ii. 21. He was neither a proselyte, circum-
cised as an adult, nor an Ishmaelite, circumcised (as Josephus tells us,
Antiquities, XII. i. § 2 ; see Gen. xvii. 25) at thirteen, but a member of
the covenant from infancy.
Tsrael] The name may refer here either to the original and indivi-
dual Israel, Jacob (Gen. xxxii. 28 &c.), or to the collective Israel, the
chosen nation. The former is more likely, in view of the next clause,
and would besides be the more vivid and emphatic reference ; " one of
the race descended from God's Prince."
The words Israel, Israelite, indicate specially the sacred privileges
and dignity of the Covenant People as such; see Trench, N.T. Syno-
nyms, § xxxix., and Lightfoot, on Gal. vi. 16. Cp. Rom. ix. 4, xi. i;
7, Cor. xi. 22; Eph. ii. 12; and see Job. i. 47, 49.
88 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. 6.
tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touch-
6 ing the law, a Pharisee ; concerning zeal, persecuting the
Benjamin'] So he had previously said, Rom. xi. i. See Acts xiii.
21 for another mention by St Paul of his tribe, though in another con-
nexion. He names his tribe, not only to emphasize his nationality,
but no doubt because the Benjamites, descendants of the last and much
loved son of Jacob, had given the nation its first lawful king (whose
name the Apostle bore), and had with Judah remained "faithful among
the faithless" at the great Disruption (i Kings xii. 21). Ehud early
in O.T. history (Judges iii.), and Mordecai late (Esther ii. 5), were
Benjamites. It is interesting to trace in St Paul's character some of
the characteristics of this small but remarkable tribe ; stern courage
and persistent fidelity. But certainly it was something better than
Benjamite "obstinacy and persistency" (Smith's Bible Diet., s.v. Ben-
jamin) which made him resist the entreaties of the disciples and avow
himself ready to die for the Lord (Acts xxi. 12, 13).— See further,
Conybeare and Howson, Life b'c. of St Paul, ch. ii.
a Hebreiv of the Hebre%vs\ With R. V., omit '■'t/ie." Cp. again
1 Cor. xi. 22. The words mean that he was a Hebrew and of Hebrew
lineage. — What is a "Hebrew" in N.T. phraseology? In O.T. the
word is the distinctive national term, as against other national terms,
as Egyptian, Philistine &c. ; and is thus the term by which a heathen
would designate an Israelite. By the N.T. era its bearing had changed,
and in the N.T. (not in later Christian writers, or in Jewish and pagan
writers,) it designates the Jew who retained, more or less fully, his
national language and manners, as against the "Hellenist" who habi-
tually spoke Greek and largely conformed to Gentile customs. See
Acts vi. I. The "Hebrew" would thus naturally regard himself as
one of the elite of his race, from the historical and traditional point of
view. See further. Trench, as quoted just above on ^^ Israel," and
Conybeare and Howson, ch. ii.
the la-w] Lit., ^^laiv"; but here, as often, the article is omitted
because not needed before a word defined by use or context. Obviously
the Mosaic ordinances are mainly intended.
a Pharisee] So he declares himself Acts xxiii. 6, xxvi. 5. And see
Acts xxii. 3; Gal. i. 14. " The Pharisees... were the enthusiasts of the
later Judaism" (Conybeare and Howson, as above) ; the zealous and
rigid votaries of religious legal precision, elaborate devotion, vigorous
proselytism, and exclusive privilege. St Paul was " the son of Phari-
sees" (Acts xxiii. 6; though Lightfoot suggests that this means "dis-
ciple of Pharisees"; improbably, as it seems to us), and the student-
follower of the Pharisee (Acts v. 34) Gamaliel, probably "Rabban"
Gamaliel, grandson of Hillel. Cp. Acts xxii. 3.
6. zeal] "of God, but not according to true spiritual knowledge
{epigndsis)," Rom. x. 2. Cp. Acts xxvi. 9 — 11. He implies here
that this "zeal" was perfectly sincere, though sinfully conditioned by a
moral blindness. See in this connexion Acts xxiii. i ; 2 Tim. i. 3.
vv. 7, 8.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 89
church ; touching the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I 7
counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all 8
persecuting the church^ Cp. i Cor. xv. 9; Gal. i. i.',, 23; i Tim.
'• 13-
the righteousness which is tn the /aw] Lit., again, " z« /aw"; see
fifth note on ver. 5. The reference is to completeness of observance
and privilege, from the point of view of the Pharisaic legalist. The
most rigid inquisitor in this direction could not have found fault with
Paul's title. See further on ver. 3. — " /n (the) /a7u'\ — included within
its terms.
htame/ess'\ Better, with R.V., found blameless, a good paraphrase
of the Greek, which is literally, "having become b/at?ie/ess."
His title, or temptation, to "confidence in the flesh" was thus com-
pounded of a natal right to the seal of the covenant ; hereditary and
educated loyalty to the purest Jewish life and practice ; personal devo-
tion to the strictest Jewish religionism ; the utmost practical energy in
its defence; the most minute attention to its rules. Of its kind, the
position was perfect.
7. what things] The Greek might almost be paraphrased, "the
kind or c/ass of things which"; including anything and everything, as
ground of reliance, other than Christ. So more fully, ver. 8.
gain] Lit. and better, gains. The plural suggests the proud and
jealous care with wliich the religionist would count over the items of
his merit and hope. One by one he had found them, or had won them;
each with its separate value in the eyes of the old self.
those] There is emphasis and deliberation in the pronoun.
/ counted] Lit. and better, I have counted. The perfect tense
indicates not only the decisive conviction, but its lifelong permanence.
/oss] A singular noun. The separate and carefully counted gains
are heaped now into one ruthless estimate of loss. From the new
point of view, they a/i sink together.
He does not mean that he discovered his circumcision, ancestry,
energy, diligence, exactness, to be in thonseives evil things. But he
found them evil in respect of his having used them to shut out the
true Messiah from his obedience, faith, and love. As substitutes for
Him they were not only worthless, but positive /oss. Every day of
reiiance on them had been a day of delay and deprivation in regard
of the supreme blessing.
Wyclif's word here is "apeiryngis," and just below "peirement";
i.e. impairings, losses.
for Christ] Lit. and better, on account of the Christ; because of
the discovery of Jesus as the true Messiah, and of the true Messiah as
no mere supreme supernatural Jewish Deliverer, but as Son of God,
Lamb of God, Lord of Life. He cast away entirely all the old reli-
ance, but, observe, for something infinitely more than equivalent.
8. Yea doubt/ess, and Sec] Better, perhaps. Yea rather I even &c.
90 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. 8.
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all
He adds a twofold new weight to the assertion ; "/ count'''' (not only
"■ I have counted"), emphasizing the presentness of the estimate; and
" all things" not only specified grounds of rehance. Whatever, from
any point of view, could seem to compete with Christ as his peace
and life, he renounces as such ; be it doings, sufferings, virtues, inspira-
tion, revelations.
for\ Better, again, on account of.
the excellency'] More lit., the surpasslngness. For St Paul's love
of superlative words see on ii. 9 above.
the knozvledge &c.] He found, in the light of grace, that "this is
life eternal, to hiow the only true God, and Jesus Christ" (Joh. xvii. 3).
On the conditions and blessedness of such "knowledge" cp. e.g. Matt.
xi. 27 (where the word is kindred though not identical); Joh. i. 10—12;
X. 14, xiv. 7, xvii. 25; 2 Cor. v. 16, x. 5; Gal. iv. 9; Eph. iii. 19;
2 Pet. iii. 18; I Joh. ii. 3 — 5, iii. 6, iv. 7, 8. The Apostle sometimes
speaks with a certain depreciation of "knowledge" (e.g. i Cor. viii. i,
xiii. 2, 8). But he means there plainly a knowledge which is con-
cerned not with Christ and God, but with spiritual curiosities, which
may be known, or at least sought, without Divine life and love. The
knowledge here in view is the recognition, from the first insight eter-
nally onward, of the "knowledge-surpassing" (Eph. iii. 19) reality and
glory of the Person and Work of the Son of the Father, as Saviour,
Lord, and Life ; a knowledge inseparable from love. See further on
ver. 10.
Observe the implicit witness of such language as that before us to
the Godhead of Christ. Cp. Eph. iii. 19, and notes in this Series.
of Christ Jesus jny Lord] Note the solemnity and fulness of the
designation. The glorious Object shines anew before him as he thinks
out the words. Observe too the characteristic "my Lord" (see note
on i. 3 above). There is a Divine individuaiisfn in the Gospel, in deep
harmony with its truths of community and communion, but not to be
merged in them. "One by one" is the law of the great ingathering
and incorporation (Joh. vi. 35, 37, 40, 44, 47, 51 &c.) ; the believing
individual, as well as the believing Church, has Christ for "Head"
(i Cor. xi. 3), and lives by faith in Him who has loved the individual
and given Himself for him (Gal. ii. 20; cp. Eph. v. 25).
for whom] Lit. and better, on account of whom; in view of the
discovery of whom.
/ have suffered &c.] Better, I suffered &c. ; a reference to the crisis
of his renunciation of the old reliance, and also of the stern rejection
with which the Synagogue would treat him as a renegade. This one
passing allusion to the tremendous cost at which he became a Christian
is, by its very passingness, deeply impressive and pathetic ; and it has
of course a powerful bearing on the nature and solidity of the reasons
for his change, and so on the evidences of the Faith. See on this last
V. 8.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 91
things, and do count them bid dung, that I may win Christ,
subject, Observafions on the Character &fc. of St Paid, by George, first
Lord Lyttelton {1747).
The verb rendered '■'■ T suffered loss" "I v/cis Ji/ied, mulcted" is akin
to the noun "■loss" used just above, and takes it up. There is a certain
verbal "play" in this; he reckoned his old privileges and position loss,
from a spiritual point of view, and he was made by others to feel the
loss of them, in a temporal respect.
«// things] The Gr. suggests the paraphrase, my all.
dun^l Better, refuse, as R.V. margin. The Greek word is used in
secular writers in both senses. Its j^robably true derivation favours
the former, but the derivation popularly accepted by the Greeks ("a
thing cast to the dogs") the latter. And this fact leans to the inference
that in common parlance it meant the leavings of a meal, or the like.
See Lightfoot here.
that I may tvtn] Better, with R.V., that I may gain; the verb
echoes the noun of ver. 7. There was no t/ier/t in his coming to a true
conviction about "confidence in the flesh"; but that conviction was so
vital an antecedent to his possession and fruition of Christ that it was
as it were the price paid in order to " gain" Ilim. Cp. the imagery of
Rev. iii. 17, 18.
"That I may": — practically, we may paraphrase, "that I might";
with a reference to \\\& past. The main bearing of the passage is obvi-
ously on the crisis of his conversion ; on what he then lost and then
gained, but he speaks as if he were in the crisis now. Not unfrequently
in N.T. Greek the past is thus projected into the present and future,
where certainly in English we should say ''might" not "may." Cp.
e.g. (in the Greek) Matt. xix. 13; Acts v. 26; i Tim. i. 16; i John
iii. 5. It is true that the Apostle here uses the present, not the past,
in the adjoining main verb ("/ count"). But this may well be an
exceptional case of projection of the whole statement about the past,
instead of part of it, into the present. — Or may not the words '' aiui do
coimt them refuse" be parenthetic? In that case he would in effect
say, what would be a most vivid antithesis, "I suffered the loss of my
all, (and a worthless 'all' I noxv see it to be,) that I might jtz/w Christ."
He thus "gained" nothing less than Christ; not merely subsidiary
and derived benefits, but the Source and Secret of all benefits. The
glorious Person, "who is made unto us of God wisdom, even righteous-
ness, and sanctification, and redemption" (i Cor. i. 30), was now his
own, in a mysterious but real possession.
9. be found in hini'\ at any moment of scrutiny or test; alike in life,
in death, and before the judgment-seat. The truth of the believer's
deep incorporation in his Lord and Head, and identification with Him
for acceptance and life, is here full in view. In the surrender of faith
(Eph. ii. 8 — 10; cp. John iii. 36) he becomes, in the deep laws of spi-
ritual life, a true "limb" of the sacred Head; interested in His merits,
penetrated with His exalted Life. In the Epistles to ColosscC and
92 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. 9.
9 and be found in him, not having mine, own righteousness,
Ephesus, written from the same chamber as this, we have the large
development of this truth ; and cp. John xv. i — 8 ; i Cor. xii. 12.
Lightfoot remarks (on Gal. ii. 17, and here) that the verb "■ to Jiud"
is very frequent in Aramaized Greek, and has somewhat lost its dis-
tinctive meaning. Still, it is seldom if ever used in the N.T. where
that meaning has not some place.
mine own righfeonsness'l Rather more precisely, with R.V. , a right-
eousness of mine own. The word ^'■7-igkieoiisness" is highly charac-
teristic, and of special meaning, in St Paul. In very numerous pas-
sages (examine Rom. iii. 5 — 26, iv. 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, vi. 16, x. 3;
I Cor. i. 30 ; 2 Cor. iii. 9 ; and cp. Tit. iii. 5) its leading idea evi-
dently is that of acceptance, satisfactoriness, however secured, to law ;
whether to special or to general law as the case may be. (See Grimm's
Greek-Eng. Lexicon of the N.T., Thayer's edition, on t'ne word St/cai-
offvvTj, for a good statement of the matter from the purely critical point
of view.) "A righteousness of mine own" is thus a title to accept-
ance, a claim on Divine justice, due to my own doings and merits, sup-
posed to satisfy a legal standard.
■which is of the /aw] Literally, again " 0/ law." But R.V. retains
the definite article, as practically right in translation, as it was in
ver. 6. — How shall we define the word "Zrtw" here? Is it the
Mosaic law from the Pharisee's point of view, as in ver. 6? Or
is it the far larger fact of the Divine preceptive moral code, taken
as a covenant of life, in which the terms are, " Do this, truly and
perfectly, and live; do this, and claim acceptance as of right"?
We take the answer to be that it means here this latter as an exten-
sion of the former ; that the thought rises, or developes itself, in this
passage, from the idea of special ordinance to the idea of universal
covenanting precept. And our reasons lie, partly in this context,
partly in the great parallel passages in the Epistles to the Romans,
Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians. In the present context the ideas
immediately contrasted or opposed to that of "the law" are ideas not
of "work," in any meaning of that word, but of "faith." And for ex-
position of this we turn to the argument of Rom. i. — v., and of Galatians
ii. iii., and of Eph. ii. i — 10, and (a passage closely parallel to this;
see notes in this Series) 13 — 17; and of Col. ii. 8 — 14. In this whole
range of teaching it is apparent that the idea of Law, as a whole,
cannot possibly be satisfied by explaining it to mean merely a Divine
code of observances, though that is one of its lower and subsidiary
meanings. It means the whole system of Divine precept, moral as
well as ceremonial, eternal as well as temporal, ta^en as a covenant to
be fulfilled ifi order to acceptance of the person before God. The im-
plicit or explicit contrary is that such acceptance is procured for us by
the merits of the Redeeming Lord, appropriated to the sinner by the
single profound means of faith, that is to say, acceptance of Him as
Sacrifice, Saviour, Lord, on the warrant of God's word. Such faith,
in the spiritual order of things, unites to Christ, and in that union the
V. 9j PHILIPPIANS, III. 93
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
"member" receives the merit of the "Head" for his acceptance, and
the life and power of the Head for obedience. That obedience (see
esp. Eph. ii. 8 — lo) is now rendered not in fulfilment of a covenant for
acceptance, but in tlie life, and for the love, given to the believer vmder
the covenant in which he is accepted, from first to last, for the sake of
his meritorious Lord and Head. Cp. further, Heb. x., esp. 15 — 18;
with Jerem. xxxi. 33, 34.
Such is the general Pauline doctrine of acceptance, a doctrine such
as to give its opponents or perverters, from the very first, a superficial
excuse to make it out to be antinomian (Rom. iii. 8, vi. i); a fact of
the utmost weight in the estimate of its true bearing.
Such a general doctrine assists us in interpreting this great incidental
passage. And we infer here accordingly that the primary idea is that
of acceptance for Christ's sake, as against acceptance on the score of
any sort of personal merit. The spiritual development of the regene-
rate being comes in nobly here, as in the other and larger passages
referred to ; but it comes in upon the basis, and as the sequel, of a
gratuitous acceptance for Christ's sake alone. See notes on ver. 10.
that which is through the faith of Christ^ So lit., but better, in
regard of English idiom, that which is through faith in Christ.
For the Greek construction (''faith of" meaning ''faith in") cp. e.g.
Mark xi. 22; Acts iii. 16; Gal. ii. 16, 20; Eph. iii. 12; 2 Thess. ii. 13.
Here again, as with the words "law" and "righteousness," St Paul's
writings are a full commentary. See especially Rom. iii. 22 — 28, a
passage most important as a parallel here. It brings out the fact that
" faith," in the case in question, has special regard to Christ as the
shedder of His sacred blood in propitiation, and that the blessing
immediately received by faith thus acting is the acceptance, the jus-
tification, of the sinner before the holy Lawgiver and Judge, solely
for the Propitiator's sake. See further Rom. iv., v., viii. 33, 34, ix. 33,
X. 4, 9, 10; Gal. ii. 16, iii. i — 14, 21 — 24; Eph. ii. 8, 9.
Much discussion has been raised over the true meaning of "faith"
in Scripture doctrine. It may suffice to point out that at least the
leading and characteristic idea of the word is personal trtist, not of
course without grounds, but on grounds other than "sight." It is cer-
tainly not mere assent to testimony, a mental act perfectly separable
from the act of personal reliance. Setting aside Jas. ii. 14 — 26, where
the argument takes up and uses designedly an inadequate idea of
faith (see Commentary on the Romans in this Series, p. 261), the
word "faith" consistently conveys in Scripture the thought of per-
sonal reliance, trustful acceptance of Divine truth, of Divine work,
of the Divine Worker and Lord^. And if we venture to ask why
such reliance takes this unique place in the process of salvation,
we may reply with reverence that, so far as we can see into the
mysterious fact, it is because the essence of such reliance is a going
1 Fides est fidncia (Luther). See this admirably developed and illustrated by
J. C. Hare, Victory oj Faitli, pp. 15 — 22 (ed. 1847).
94 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. lo.
lo Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith : that /
forth from self to God, a bringing of nothing in order to receive every-
thing. There is thus a moral fitness in faith to be the saving contact
and recipient, while yet all ideas of moral ivorthiness and deserv-
ingness are decisively banished from it. It is fit to receive the Divine
gift, just as a hand, not clean perhaps but empty, is fit to receive a mate-
rial gift. Certainly in the reasonings of St Paul every effort is made
to bring out the thought that salvation by faith means in effect salva-
tion by Christ only and wholly, received by sinful man, as sinful
man, simply and directly in and by personal reliance on God's word.
The sinner is led off, in a happy oblivion of himself, to simple and
entire rest in his Saviour.
the righteousness -which is of God'\ On the word "righteousness" see
above, note 2 on this verse. Here, practically, it means acceptance,
welcome, as a child and saint, in Christ and for Christ's sake.
" Of God": — lit., '■'■out of God," originating wholly in Him, uncaused
by anything in man. Its origin is the Father's love, its reason and
security, the Son's merits, its conveyance, the Holy Spirit uniting the
sinner in faith to the Son.
For some good remarks, of caution as well as assertion, on justifying
righteousness, see G. S. Faber's Primitive Doctrine of 'Justification, ch.
i., pp. 25 — 32, with footnotes (ed. 1839).
by faith'] Lit., upon faith ; in view of, under circumstances of,
faith. We may render, "on condition of faith." But faith, in the
Pauline view, is not a mere condition ; it is the recipient act and state.
It is a condition, not as paying for a meal is a condition to getting good
from it, but as eating it is a condition.
On the doctrine of this verse cp. the Sermon of Salvation (being the
third in the First Book of Homilies), referred to in Art. xi. as "the
Homily of Justification"; and the short treatise of Bp Hopkins, of
Londonderry (cent. 17), The Doctrine of the Two Covenants. See
further Appendix F; and cp. at large O'Brien, Nature and Effects of
Faith, and Hooker's Discourse of Justification, esp. §§ 3 — 6, 31 — 34.
10. That I 7nay kmnv him] In order to know Him. For the con-
struction, cp. e.g. I Cor. X. 13. — Observe the sequence of thought.
He embraces "the righteousness which is of God on terms of faith,"
and renounces " a righteousness of his own" as a means to the end here
stated — the spiritual knowledge of Christ and of His power to sanc-
tify and glorify by assimilation to Himself. In order to that end, he
thankfully "submits Himself to the righteousness of God" (Rom. x. 3;
cp. 1 Pet. i. 2) ; accepts the Divine justification for the merit's sake of
Jesus Christ alone; knowing, with the intuition of a soul enlightened
by grace, that in such submission lies the secret of such assimilation.
Welcoming Christ as his one ground of peace with God, he not only
enters at the same time on spiritual contact with Christ as Life from
God, but also gets such a view of himself and his Redeemer as to
affect profoundly his whole intercourse with Christ, and the eftects of
that intercourse on his being.
V. lo.l PHILIFPIANS, III. 95
may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
Ver. lo is thus by no means a restatement of ver. 9. It gives an-
other range of thought and truth, in deep and strong connexion. To
use a convenient classification, ver. 9 deals with Justification, ver. 10
with Sanctification in relation to it.
" That I 7uay know Him ": — the Greek seems to imply a decisive act
of knowledge rather than a process. A lifelong process is sure to result
from the act; for the Object of the act " passeth knowledge" (Eph.
iii. 19). But the act, the decisive getting acquaifited with what Christ
is, is in immediate view. A far-reaching insight into flim in His
glory of grace has a natural connexion with the spiritual act of sub-
missive faith in Him as our Sacrifice and Righteousness. Cp. Joh.
vi. 56.
On this "knowledge" of recognition and intuition, cp. ver. 8, and
notes.
the power of his resurrection'] A phrase difficult to exhaust in expo-
sition. The Lord's Resurrection is spiritually powerful as {a) eviden-
cing the justification of believers (Rom. iv. 24, 25, and by all means cp.
I Cor. XV. 14, 17, 18); as {b) assuring them of their own bodily resur-
rection (i Cor. XV. 20, &c. ; i Thess. iv. 14); and yet more as {c)
lieing that which constituted Him actually the life-giving Second Adam,
the Giver of the Spirit who unites the members to Him the Vital Head
(Joh. vii. 39, XX. 22; Acts ii. 33; cp. Eph. iv. 4 — 16). This latter
aspect of truth is prominent in the Epistles to Ephesus and Colossce,
written at nearly the same period of St Paul's apostolic work ; and we
have here, very probably, a passing hint of what is unfolded there.
The thought of the Lord's Resurrection is suggested here to his mind
by the thought, not expressed but implied in the previous context, of
the Atoning Death on which it followed as the Divine result.
This passage indicates the great truth that while our acceptance in
Christ is always based upon His propitiatory work for us, our power
for service and endurance in His name is vitally connected with His
life as the Risen One, made ours by the Holy Spirit.
Cp. further Rom. v. 10, vi. 4 — 11, vii. 4, viii. 11; 2 Cor. iv. 10;
Eph. ii. 6; Col. iii. i — 4; Heb. xiii. 20, 21.
the fellowship of his sufferings] Entrance, in measure, into His
experience as the Sufferer. The thought recurs to the Cross, but in
connexion now with Example, not with Atonement. St Paul deals
with the fact that the Lord who has redeemed him has done it at the
severest cost of pain ; and that a moral and spiritual necessity calls His
redeemed ones, who are united vitally to Him, to "carry the cross,"
in their measure, for His sake, in His track, and by His Spirit's power.
And he implies that this cross- bearing, whatever is its special form,
this acceptance of affiiction of any sort as for and from Him, is a deep
secret of entrance into spiritual intimacy with Christ ; into "knowledge
of Him." Cp. further Rom. viii. 17, 37; 2 Cor. i. 5, iv. 11, xii. 9, to;
Col. i. 24; 2 Tim. ii. 12; i Pet. iv. 13; Rev. iii. 10.
96 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. lo.
fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
beitig made conformable'] Better, with R.V., becoming conformed.
Tlie Greek construction is free, but clear. — The Lord's Death as the
supreme expression of His love and of His holiness, and the supreme
act of His surrender to the Father's will, draws the soul of the Apostle
with spiritual magnetic force to desire, and to experience, assimilation
of character to Him who endured it. The holy Atonement wrought
by it is not here in direct view ; he is full of the thought of the revela-
tion of the Saviour through His Passion, and of the bliss of harmony
in will with Him so revealed. No doubt the Atonement is not for-
gotten ; for the inner glory of the Lord's Death as Example is never
fully seen apart from a sight of its propitiatory purpose. But the im-
mediate thought is that of spiritual harmony with the dying Lord's
state of will. Cp. 2 Cor. iv. 10.
11. if by any means] For the strong language of contingency
here cp. i Cor. ix. 27. Taken along with such expressions of
exulting assurance as Rom. viii. 31 — 39; 2 Tim. i. 12; and indeed
with the whole tone of "joy and peace in believing" (Rom. xv. 13)
which pervades the Scriptures, we may fairly say that it does not
imply the uncertainty of the final glory of the true saint. It is
language which views vividly, in isolation, one aspect of the "Pilgrim's
Progress " towards heaven ; the aspect of our need of continual
watching, self-surrender, and prayer, in order to the development
of that likeness without which heaven would not be heaven. The
other side of the matter is the efficacy and perseverance of the grace
which comes out in our watching ; without which we should not
watch; which "predestinates" us "to be conformed to the image of
the Son of God" (Rom. viii. 29). The mystery lies, as it were,
between two apparently parallel lines ; the reality of an omnipotent
grace, and the reality of the believer's duty. As this line or that is
regarded, in its entire reality, the language of assurance or of contin-
gency is appropriate. But the parallel lines, as they seem now, prove
at last to converge in glory (Joh. vi. 39, 40, 44, 54, x. 27 — 29 ; Rom.
viii. 30; I Thess. v. 23, 24).
See Hooker's Sermon Of the Certainty and Perpetuity of Faith in
the Elect, especially the closing paragraphs.
I might] Lit., and here better, with R.V., I may.
the resurrection of the dead] The better supported reading gives, as
R.V., tbe resurrection from the dead. The phrase implies a certain
leaving behind of "the dead"; and this is further emphasized in the
Greek, where the noun rendered "resurrection" is the rare word exan-
astasis, i.e. the common word [anastdsis] for resurrection, strengthened
by the preposition meaning "from." This must not, however, be pressed
far; later Greek has a tendency towards compounding words without
necessarily strengthening the meaning. It is the setting of the word
here which makes an emphasis in it likely. — It has been inferred that St
Paul here refers to a special and select resurrection, so to speak, and
that this is "the first resurrection" of Rev. xx. 5, 6, interpreted as a
vv. II, 12.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 97
his death ; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrec- n
tion of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, 12
literal resurrection of either all saints or specially privileged saints, be-
fore that of the mass of mankind. (Such an interpretation of Rev. xx.
appears as early as Tertullian, cent. 2, de MotiogayniA, c. x.). But
against this explanation here lies the fact that St Paul nowhere else
makes any itnmistakable reference to such a prospect (i Cor. xv. 23,
24 is not decisive, and certainly not i Thess. iv. 16); and that this
makes it unlikely that he should refer to it here, where he manifestly
is dealing with a grand and ruling article of his hope. We explain it
accordingly of the glorious prospect of the Resurrection of the saints
in general. And we account for the special phrase by taking him to
be tilled with the thought of the Lord's I-lesurrection as the pledge and,
so to speak, tlie summary of that of His people ; and His Resurrection
was emphatically "from the dead."— Or it may be that we have here
to explain '"the dead" as a term of abstract reference, meaning prac-
tically "the state of the dead," the world of death. — In any case, the
phrase refers to "the resurrection of life" (Dan. xii. 2; Joh. v. 29);
"the resurrection of the just" (Luke xiv. 14) ; differenced from that of
"the unjust" (Acts xxiv. 15), whether or no in time, certainly in an
awful distinction of conditions and results. The blessed resurrection is
here called '■^ the resurrection" as the l^le.ssed life is called "///c life" (e.g.
I John v. 12). The antithesis is not non-resurrection, and non-exist-
ence, but such resurrection, and such existence, as are ruin and woe. —
It is observable that the Apostle here implies his expectation of death,
to be followed by resurrection ; not of survival till the Lord's Return.
Cp. 2 Cor. iv. 1 4.
12 — 16. On the other hand, his spiritual condition is
one of progress, not perfection.
12. Not as though &c.] This reserve, so emphatic and solemn,
appears to be suggested by the fact, brouglit out more fully below
(vv. 18, 19), of the presence of a false teaching which represented the
Christian as already in such a sense arrived at his goal as to be lifted
beyond responsibility, duty, and progress. No, says St Paul ; he has in-
deed "gained Christ," and is "found in Him, having the righteousness
of God"; he "knows" his Lord, and His power ; but none the less he
is still called to humble himself, to recollect that the process of grace is
never complete below, and that from otie point of view its coming com-
pletion is always linked with the saint's faithful watching and prayer,
the keeping open of the "eyes ever toward the Lord" (Psal. xxv. 15).
attained'\ Better, received, or, with R.V., obtained; for the verb
is not the same as that in ver. 11. (It is the same as that in Rev. iii. ii.)
The thought of "///f croivn" is probably to be supplied. See below,
on ver. 14. — R.V. renders, rather more lit., " Not that I have already
attained.'''' But the construction of A.V. well represents the Greek. —
Some documents here add "or have been already justified'" ; but the
evidence is decisive against this insertion.
PHILIPPIANS. 7
98 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. 13.
either were already perfect : but I follow after, if that I
may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
13 Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have ap-
were already perfect] Better, have toeen already perfected. The
process was incomplete which was to develope his being for tlie life of
glory, in which "we shall be like Him" (i Joh, iii. 3; cp. Rom. viii.
29); a promise implying that we are never so here, completely. Cp.
the Greek of Rom. xii. 2; 2 Cor. iii. 18; in which the holy "transfor-
mation" is presented as a process, advancing to its ideal, not yet arrived
there. And see further below, on ver. 15.
The Greek verb, and its kindred noun, were used technically in later
ecclesiastical Greek of the death of martyrs (and of monks, in a remark-
able passage of Chrysostom, Horn. xiv. on i Tim.), viewed as spe-
cially glorious and glorified saints. But no such limitation appears in
Scripture. In Heb. xii. 23 the reference plainly is to the whole com-
pany of the holy departed : who have entered, as they left the body, on
the heavenly rest, the eternal close of the state of discipline. Cp.
Wisdom iv. 13; "he [the just man], in short {st3S,on) perfected, fulfilled
long times."
I follow after] R. V., I press on. The thought of the race, with its
goal and crown, is before him. Cp. i Cor. ix. 24 — 27; Gal. ii. 2, v. 7;
2 Tim. ii. 5, iv. 7; Heb. xii. i.
if that I may] Better, if indeed I may. On this language of con-
tingency, see note above on ver. 11.
apprehend] i.e., grasp. Cp. i Cor. ix. 24. All the English ver-
sions before 161 1 have ^''comprehend'''' here. Both verbs now bear
meanings which tend to mislead the reader here. The Greek verb
is that rendered '■^receive" or '■'■obtain," just above, only in a stronger
(compound) form. He thinks of the promised crown, till in thought
he not merely "receives" but "grasps" it, with astonished joy.
that for zvhich also &c.] The Greek may be rendered grammatically
either (a) thus, or {b) ^'inasmuch as I tvas even &c." Usage in St Paul
(Rom. V. 12; 2 Cor. v. 4) is in favour of (1^); context is rather for (a),
which is adopted by Ellicott, and Alford, and in R.V. (text ; margin
gives {b)). Lightfoot does not speak decidedly. We recommend {a) for
reasons difficult to explain without fuller discussion of the Greek than
can be offered here. — The meaning will thus be that he presses on to
grasp the crown, with the animating thought that Christ, in the hour
of conversion, grasped him with the express purpose in view that he,
through the path of faith and obedience, might be glorified at last.
Cp. Rom. viii. 30; where we see the "call" as the sure antecedent not
to justification only but to glory ; but antecedent in such a way as
powerfully to cheer and strengthen the suffering saint in the path of
the cross, not to leave him for a moment to fatalistic inaction. The
rendering (b) gives a meaning not far distant from this, though less
distinctly.
Christ yes!ts] Read, with the documentary evidence, Christ.
vv. 14, 15.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 99
prehended : but this one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things
which are before, I press toward tlie mark for the prize of 14
the high caUing of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, is
13. Brethren] A direct loving appeal, to restate and enforce wliat
he has just said.
/ count not myself] "I" and "myself" are both emphatic in the
Greek. Whatever others may think of themselves, this is his deliberate
estimate of himself. He has in view the false teachers more clearly
indicated below, vv. 18, 19.
but this one thing I do] " One thing" is perhaps in antithesis to the
implied opposite idea of the '■'■ mmiy things," of experience or attain-
ment, contemplated by the teacher of antinomian perfection.
forgetting] Avoiding all complacent, as against grateful, reflection.
behind] He does not say "around" or "present." The unwearied
runner is already beyond any given point just reached.
reachittg forth] The Greek (one compound verb) gives the double
thought of the runner stretching out his head and body towards his
goal. Lightfoot remarks that the imagery might apply to the racing
charioteer, bending, lash in hand, over his horses (Virgil, Georg. in.
106) ; but that the charioteer, unlike the runner, would need often to
look back, and that this, with the habitual use by St Paul of the simile
of the foot-race, assures us that the runner is meant here.
those... before] "more and more, unto the perfect day" (Prov. iv. 18).
Each new occasion, small or great, for duty or suffering, would be a new
"lap" (to translate technically St Chrysostom's word here) of the
course; would give opportunity for "growth in the grace and know-
ledge of the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. iii. 18). "To increase more
and more" (i Thess. iv. 10) was his idea of the life of grace for others;
but above all, for himself.
14. the mark] R.V., ''the goal:' But the Greek word is, like
"mark," a general rather than a special one, and used in the classics
rather of archery than of racing. The verse might be roughly but
closely rendered, "mark-wards I haste, towards the prize &c."; I run
with a definite aim, and that aim is to win the prize. Cp. i Cor. ix.
26 ; "I so run, not as uncertaitily."
the prize] The same word occurs i Cor. ix. 24, and not elsewhere
in N.T. It is very rare in secular Greek, but is connected with the
common word for the arbiter or umpire who awarded the athletic prize.
In Christian Latin (e.g. in the Latin versions here) it appears trans-
literated, as bravium (or brabiwti). The "prize" is "the crown,"
glory everlasting as the blessed result and triumph of the work of
grace, of the life of faith. Cp. Rev. ii. 10; and esp. 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.
the high calling] Lit., "■ the 2ipivard, or tipper calling:'' The Latin
versions have superior vocatio, superna vocatio. The word rendered
"■high" is the same as that rendered Gal. iv. 26 as "Jerusalem which
is above": and cp. Joh. viii. 23, "I am from {the things') ohoz'c:' — The
7—2
loo PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. IS.
as many as he perfect, be thus minded : and if in any thing
ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto
"calling" in St Paul's case was doubtless to be an Apostle (Alford),
but it was first and most to be a Christian, and the whole tone of this
great passage is in favour of this latter thought. He is dealing with
his own spiritual experience as a general model. — This "calling" is
"celestial," at once in origin, operation, and final issue. Cp. Col. iii.
I, 2; 2 Thess. ii. 14. In the Epistles the words "call," "calling,"
denote not merel)' the external invitation but the internal and effectual
drawing of the soul by grace. See in illustration i Cor. i. 23, 24.
It corresponds nearly to the common use of the word "conversion."
— Contrast the use of "call" in the Gospels; Matt. xx. 16, xxii. 14.
of God in Christ Jesus'\ The Father is the Caller (as Rom. viii. 29,
30; Gal. i. 15 ; 2 Tim. i. 9; i Pet. v. 10 &c.), and the call is "in"
the Son ; it is conveyed through the Son, and takes effect in union
with Him, in embodiment in Him. For the pregnant construction cp.
I Cor. vii. 22.
15. perfect^ An adjective^ not a perfect participle, as was the kin-
dred word ("perfected'') in ver. 12. — Is there a contradiction between
this place and that? On the surface, but not really. The Apostle
appears to be taking up the favourite word of teachers who upheld
some phase of "perfectionism," and using it, with loving irony, on the
side of truth; as if to say, "Are you, are we, ideal Chx'\si\a.ns, perfect
Christians, all that Christians should be? Then among the things that
should be in our character is a holy discontent with, and criticism of,
our own present attainment. The man in this sense 'perfect^ will be
sure to think himself not perfected." — And it is important to remember
that the Greek word rendered "perfect" is an elastic word. It may
mean "adult," "mature," as against infantine; cp. Heb. v. 13, 14.
A "perfect" Christian in this respect may have spiritual y(?«^//jj/ well
developed, and yet be very far from "perfected" in spiritual character.
— Such considerations, in the light of this whole passage, will do any-
thing for such a Christian rather than teach him to tolerate sin in
himself; they will at once keep him humble and contrite, and animate
him to ever fresh developments in and by Christ.
be...7ninded\ The same word as that in i. 7, ii. 2, 5, where see notes.
God shall reveaf] by the action of His Holy Spirit on heart, mind,
and will, amidst the discipline of life. There need not be any new
verbal revelation, but there would be a new inward revelation of the
correspondence of the inspired Word with the facts of the soul, and
so a fresh light on those facts.— Such language implies the Apostle's
certainty of his commission as the inspired messenger of Christ; it
would otherwise be the language of undue assumption. Cp. Gal. i.
6 — 12.
16. Nevertheless] Better, with R.V., only; a word, like the Greek,
of less contrast and easier transition.
attained] Not the same Greek verb as that in ver. 12, though R.V.
(with A.V.) gives the same English. The verb here is properly used,
vv. i6, 17.] PHILIPPIANS, III. loi
you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let 16
us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same tiling.
Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them 17
in classical Greek, of anticipation (so i Thess. iv. 15), arrival before-
hand, rapid arrival. Later, and so ordinarily in N.T., it loses much
at least of this speciality, and means little besides "to reach," "to
arrive." Still, a shadow of the first meaning may be traced in most
places; a suggestion of an arrival which is either sudden, or achieved
in spite of obstacles. The latter idea would be in place here, where
the metaphor of the race with its difficulties is still present; as if to
say, " whereunto we have succecdt'd in arriving." — The verb is in the
aorist, but the English perfect is obviously right.
let us -walk by the same &c.] The Greek verb is in the infinitive, "to
walk"; a frequent idiomatic substitute for the mood of command or
appeal. Apparently this construction is always used in address to
others (see Alford here), and thus we should render ''walk ye &c. " —
The verb here rendered "walk" means not only movement on the feet
in general, but orderly and guided walking, stepping along a line. The
appeal is to take care of Christian consistency in detail, up to the full
present light, on the unchanging principles of the Gospel, which are
essentially "the same" for all. And there is a reference, doubtless,
in the words "the same," to the Philippians' tendency to differences of
opinion and feeling.
The words after ''by the same^'' are an excellent explanation, but not
part of the text. Read, in tlie same [path or principle].
17--21. Application of the thought of progress: warning
AGAINST ANTINOMIAN DISTORTION OF THE TRUTH OF GRACE :
THE COMING GLORY OF THE BODY, A MOTIVE TO HOLY
PURITY.
17. Brethreit] A renewed earnest address, introducing a special
message. See above, ver. 13.
be followers together of me'\ More lit., become my united imitators.
For his appeals to his disciples to copy his example, see iv. 9 ; r Cor.
iv. 16 (a passage closely kindred in reference to this), x. 33 — xi. i ; and
cp. I Thess. ii. 7, 9; 2 Thess. iii. 7 — 9 ; and Acts xx. 18 — 21, 30 — 35.
Such appeals imply not egotism or self confidence, but absolute confi-
dence in his message and its principles, and the consciousness that his
life, by the grace of God, was moulded on those principles. In the
present case, he begs them to "join in imitating" him, in his renun-
ciation of self-confidence and spiritual pride, with their terrible risks.
mark'] Watch, for imitation. The verb usually means the watching
of caution and avoidance (Rom. xvi. 17), but context here decides the
other way. The Philippians knew Paul's principles, but to see them
they must look at the faithful disciples of the Pauline Gospel among
themselves; such as Epaphroditus, on his return, the "true yokefellow"
(iv. 3), Clement, and others.
I02 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. i8.
18 which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many
walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you
walk] The common verb, not that noticed just above. It is a very
favourite word with St Paul for life in its action and intercourse. See
e.g. Rom. xiii. 13, xiv. 15 ; 2 Cor. iv. 2 ; Eph. ii. 10, iv. i; Col. i. 10,
iv. S; I Thess. iv. i, 12; 2 Thess. iii. 6. Cp. i Joh. i. 7, ii. 6; 2 Joh.
4; Rev. xxi. 24.
" IValk so as &c.": — more lit., with R.V., so walk even as &c.
US'] "Shrinking from the egotism of dwelling on his own personal
experience, St Paul passes at once from the singular to the plural"
(Lightfoot). Timothy and his other best known fellow-workers, Silas
certainly (Acts xvi.), if still alive, would be included.
ensample] An "Old French" and "Middle English" derivative of
the Latin exeniplum (Skeat, Etyni. Did.). The word occurs in A.V.
elsewhere, i Cor. x. 11 ; i Thess. i. 7 ; 2 Thess. iii. 9 ; i Pet. v. 3; 2 Pet.
ii. 6 ; and in the Prayer Book (Collect for 2nd Sunday after Easter).
18. tnany] Evidently holders of an antinomian parody of the Gospel
of grace; see on ver. 12. That there were such in the primeval Church
appears also from Rom. xvi. 17 — 18 (a warning to Rome, as \\{\% from
Rome); i Cor. v., vi. To them Rom. iii. 31, vi. i, refer, and
Eph. v. 6.
There may have been varieties under a common moral likeness ;
some perhaps taking the view afterwards prominent in -Gnosticism —
that matter is essentially evil, and that the body therefore is no better
for moral control ; some (and in the Roman Epistle these surely are in
view), pushing the truth of Justification into an isolation which per-
verted it into deadly error, and teaching that the believer is so accepted
in Christ that his personal actions are indifferent in the sight of God.
Such growths of error, at once subtle and outrageous, appear to cha-
racterize, as by a mysterious law, every great period of spiritual
advance and illumination. Compare the phenomena (cent. 16) of the
Libertines at Geneva and the Prophets of Zwickau in Germany. Indeed
few periods of Christian history have escaped such trials.
The false teachers in view here were no doubt broadly divided from
the Judaists, and in most cases honestly and keenly opposed to them.
But it is quite possible that in some cases the "the extremes met" in
such a way as to account for the mention here of both in one context,
in this chapter. The sternest formal legalism has a fatal tendency to
slight "the weightier matters of the law," and heart-purity among
them ; and history has shewn cases in which it has tolerated a social
libertinism of the worst kind, irrevocably condemned by the true
Gospel of free grace. Still, the persons referred to in this section were
those who positively "■gloried in their shame"; and this points to an
avowed and dogmatic antinomianism.
The "■many'" of this verse is an instructive reminder of the formid-
able internal difficulties of the apostolic Church.
/ have told you] Lit. and better, I used to tell you, in the old
days of personal intercourse. This makes it the more likely that the
V. 19.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 103
even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of
Christ : whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, 19
and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. )
antinomians were not of the gnostic type of the later Epistles, but
of that of the Ep. to the Romans, perverters of the doctrine of free
grace.
weeping\ Yeai-s had only given him new and bitter experience of the
deadly results.— For St Paul's tears, cp. Acts xx. 19, 31; 2 Cor. ii. 4.
We are reminded of the tears of his Lord, Luke xix. 41 ; tears which
like these indicate at once the tenderness of the mourner and the
awfulness and certainty of the coming ruin. See a noble sermon by
A. Monod (in his series on St Paul), Son Christianisme, ou ses Larmes.
An extract is given. Appendix G.
the enemies of the cross'X As deluding their followers and themselves
into the horrible belief that its purpose was to give the reins to sin,
and as thus disgracing it in the eyes of unbelieving observers. " The
cross" here, undoubtedly, means the holy propitiation of the Lord's
Death. For the Divine connexion of it as such with holiness of heart
and life see the argument of Rom. iii. — vi. ; Gal. v.
19. end'\ A word of awful and hopeless import. Cp. Rom. vi. 21;
1 Cor. xi. 15; Heb. vi. 8; 1 Pet. iv. 17.
destruction^ R.V., perdition. See on i. 28.
their belly\ Lit. and better, the belly. Cp. Rom. xvi. i8 for the
same word in the same connexion. See too i Cor. vi. 13. The word
obviously indicates here the sensual appetites generally, not only glut-
tony in food. Venter in Latin has the same reference. See Lightfoot.
The Antinomian boasted, very possibly, of an exalted spiritual liberty
and special intimacy with God.
whose glory is in their shamed It is implied that they claimed a
"glory"; probably in such " liberty" as we have just indicated. They
set up for the true Christian philosophers, and advanced dogmatists.
(Cp. Rom. xvi. quoted above.) But in fact their vaunted system was
exactly their deepest disgrace.
who mind earthly things)] For a closely kindred phrase, in the nega-
tive, see Col. iii. 2 ; and observe the context, ver. 5 &c. And for the
meaning of "mind" here see notes on i. 7, ii. 2, above.
The Antinomian claimed to live in an upper region, to be so conver-
sant with celestial principles as to be rid of terrestrial restraints of
letter, and precept, and custom. As a fact, his fine-spun theory was
a transparent robe over the corporeal lusts which were his real
interests.
The Greek construction of this clause is abrupt, but clear.
20. For'\ The A.V., by marking vv. 18, 19 as a parenthesis, con-
nects this " for" with ver. 17. But there is no need for this. A sup-
pressed link of thought is easily seen and expressed between vv. 19, 20;
somewhat thus: "such principles and practices are wholly alien to
ours; for &c. " In a grave oral address or dialogue such links have
I04 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. 20.
For our conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we
often to be supplied, and the Apostle's written style is a very near
approach to the oral.
A reading "■ But,'^ or "iVow," has much support in early quota-
tions, but none in MSS. See Lightfoot here.
om-\ He refers to the "ensamples" mentioned ver. 17, as distin-
guished from their opponents. Or perhaps we should say, from their
false friends. For very possibly these antinomians claimed to be the
true disciples of Pauline truth, the true exponents of free grace as
against legalism.
conversation'] R.V. '■'■citizenship'''; margin, '•commonwealth." The
A.V. is the rendering also of all our older versions, except Wyclif's,
which has "lyuyng." It represents the conversatio of the Latin ver-
sions, a word which means not "mutual speech" but "the intercourse
of life" (see on i. 27); and the meaning is thus, in effect, that "w^ live
on earth as those whose home is in heaven" — The same English is
found (in A.V.) Psalm 1. 23 ; 2 Cor. i. 12 ; Gal. i. 13 ; Eph. ii. 3, iv. 22 ;
above i. 27 (where see note); &c. But the Greek in all these places
is quite different from the Greek here, where the word is politeuma
(connected with polls, city, polites, citizen), a word which occurs no-
where else in N.T., nor in LXX., nor in the Apocrypha. In classical
Greek it denotes (a) a "■measure," or '^policy," of state; {b) the
governing body of a state, its "government" ; [c) the constitution of
a state, including the rights of its citizens. On the whole, this last
meaning best suits the present context, or at least approaches it most
nearly. What the Apostle means is that Christians are citizens of
the heavenly City, enrolled on its register, free of its privileges, and,
on the other hand, "obliged by the nobility" of such a position to live,
whether in the City or not as yet, as those who belong to it and repre-
sent it. "Our citizenship, our civic status, is in heaven," fairly gives
this thought. In the anonymous Epistle to Diognetus, a Christian
writing of cent. 2 (printed with the works of St Justin), a sentence
occurs (c. 5) which well illustrates this passage, and perhaps refers to
it, and is in itself nobly true: "Christians, as dwellers, are on earth,
as citizens, in heaven." — The verb cognate to the noun here is used
there; see, on the verb, note on i. 27 above.
w] More strictly and fully, subsists. See second note on ii. 6
above', where the same word occurs. The thought is that the " citizen-
shii>" is at any moment an antecedent and abiding fact, on which the
citizen may fall back.
in heaven'] Lit., in (the) heavens; as often in N.T. On this plural
see note on Eph. ii. 10, in this Series. — Cp. Gal. iv. 26; Heb. xii. 22;
Rev. iii. 12 (where see Abp Trench's full note, Epistles to the Seven
Churches, pp. 183 — 187), xxi., xxii., for the revealed conception of the
heavenly City, the Ourdnopolis, as it is finely called by St Clement
of Alexandria (cent. 2), and Eusebius of Cassarea (cent. 4); and
other Greek Fathers use the word oiiranopolites of the Christian. — The
great treatise of St Augustine (cent. 4 — 5), On the City {Civitas)
t>
V. 21.] PHILIPPIANS, 111. 105
look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ : who shall 21
of God, contains a wealth of illustration of the idea of this verse. To
Augustine, writing amidst the wreck of Old Rome (about A.D. 420),
the Christian appears as citizen of a State which is the antithesis not
of human order, which is of God, and which is promoted by the true
citizens of heaven, but of "the world," which is at enmity with Him.
This State, or City, is now existing and operating, through its members,
but not to be consummated and fully revealed till the eternity of glory
shall come in (see Smith's Diet, of Chrislian Biography, I., p. 221).
The thought of the Holy City was dear to St Augustine. The noble
medieval lines.
Me receptet Syon ilia,
Urbs bcata, urhs tranquil/a,
(quoted at the close of Longfellow's Golden Legend), are taken almost
verbally from Augustine, de Spiritu et Anima, c. Ix. See Trench,
Sacred Latin Poetry, p. 332 (and cp. pp. 312 — 320).
from whence'] Lit., ''out of which (place).'''' The pronoun is singu-
lar, and so cannot refer directly to the plural noun, ''the heavens."
The construction must be either [a) a merely adverbial one, an equiva-
lent for the adverb "whence''^; or (b) the pronoun must refer back to
the noun politcuma (on which see above). In the latter case, we must
suppose that the idea of citizenship suggests, and passes into, that of
city, the local home of the citizens, and the word denoting citizenship is
treated as if it denoted city^. The solution (a) is no doubt simpler,
but clear evidence for the usage (where ideas oi place are in view), is
not apparent, though the fact is asserted (e.g. by Winer, Grammar of
N. T. Greek, Moulton's Ed., p. 177). Happily the grammatical pro-
blem leaves the essential meaning of the clause quite clear.
7ve look for] Better, with R.V., we wait for. Tlie form of the verb
implies a waiting full of attention, perseverance, and desire. The verb
occurs elsewhere, Rom. viii. 19, 23, 25; i Cor. i. 7; Gal. v. 5; Heb.
ix. 28; I Pet. iii. 20. Of these passages all but Gal. (?) and i Pet. refer
to the longed for Return of the Lord, the blessed goal of the believer's
hope. Cp. Luke xii. 35 — 38; Acts i. 11, iii. 20, 21; Rom. viii. [8, 23
— 25, xiii. II, 12 ; I Cor. xi. 26, xv. 23, &c.; Col. iii. 4; i Thess. i.
10, ii. 19, iii. 13, iv. 14 — v. 10, 23; 2 Thess. i. 7 — 10; i Tim. vi. 14;
2 Tiro., ii. II, 12, iv. 8 ; Tit. ii. 13; Heb. x. 25, 37; Jas. v. 7, 8; i Pet.
i_. 7, 13, iv. 13, V. 4 ; 2 Pet. iii. 4, 9, 13 ; r John ii. 28, iii. 2, 3 ; Rev.
ii. 25, xxii. 20.
the Saviour &c.] There is no article in the Greek ; and therefore
render, perhaps, as our Saviour, the Lord &c. The A.V. is by no
means untenable grammatically, but the word "Saviour" is so placed
as to suggest not only emphasis but predicative force. And the deep
connexion in the N.T. between the Lord's Return and the full and
final "salvation" of the believer's being (cp. esp. Rom. xiii. n) gives
a natural fitness to this use of the holy Title here.
I We might thus perhaps render, or explain, politciona by " seat of citizenship."
io6 PHILIPPIANS, III. [v. 21.
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned Uke unto
"7%^ Lo7-d Jesus Christ'": — this full designation of the Blessed
Person suits the tone of solemn hope and joy in the passage.
21. chattge] The Greek verb is cognate to the word schema, on
which see second note on ii. 8. It occurs also i Cor. xi. 13, 14, 15,
and, with a different reference of thought, 1 Cor. iv. 6. Its use here
implies that, in a sense, the change would be superficial. Already, in
the "new creation" (2 Cor. v. 17; Gal. vi. 15) of the saint the essen-
tials of the glorified being are present. Even for the body the pledge
and reason of its glory is present where the Holy indwelling Spirit is,
(Rom. viii. 11). And thus the final transfiguration will be, so to speak,
a change of "accidents," not of "essence." "Now are we the sons of
God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be" (i John iii. 2).
our vile body'] Lit., and far better, tLe l)Ody of oxir humiliation.
Wyclif has " whiche schal refourme the bodi of oure mekenesse";
the Rhemish version, "the body of our humilitie"; Beza's Latin
version, corpus nostrum humile ; Luther, tinserti nichtigen Leib. All
paraphrases here involve loss or mistake. The body transfigured by
the returning Lord is the body "of our humiliation" as being, in
its present conditions, inseparably connected with the burthens and
limitations of earth; demanding, for its sustenance and comfort, a
large share of the energies of the spirit, and otherwise hindering the
spirit's action in many directions. Not because it is material, for the
glorified body, tliough "spiritual" (i Cor. xv. 44), will not be spirit ;
but because of the mysterious effect of man's having fallen as an em-
bodied spirit. The body is thus seen here, in its present condition, to
be rather the "humbling" body than "vile" (Lat., vilis, '■'cheap''''),
"humble."
Observe meanwhile that peculiar mystery and glory of the Gospel,
a promise of eternal being and blessedness for the body of the saint.
To the ancient philosopher, the body was merely the prison of the
spirit; to the Apostle, it is its counterpart, destined to share with it, in
profound harmony, the coming heaven. Not its essential nature, but
its distorted condition in the Fall, makes it now the clog of the
renewed spirit; it shall hereafter be its wings. This is to take place,
as the N.T. consistently reveals, not at death, but at the Return of
Christ.
The bearing of this passage on the error of the libertine, who "sinned
against his own body" (i Cor. vi. 18), is manifest.
that it may be fashioned like] One word, an adjective, in the Greek ;
we may render, nearly with R.V., (to be) conformed. The word is
akin to morphS, ii. 6, where see note. It is implied that the coming
conformity to our Blessed Lord's Body shall be in appearance because
in reality ; not a mere superficial reflection, but a likeness of consti-
tution, of nature.
unto his glorious body] Lit. and better, the body of His glory;
His sacred human body, as He resumed it in Resurrection, and carried
V. 21.] PHILIPPIANS, III. 107
his glorious body, according to the working whereby he
is able even to subdue, all things unto himself.
#
it up in Ascension^ and is manifested in it to the Blessed. — "Of His
glory"" ; because perfectly answering in its conditions to His personal
Exaltation, and, so far as He pleases, the vehicle of its display. A
foresight of what it now is was given at the Transfiguration (Matt.
xvii. 2, and parallels); and St Paul had had a moment's glimpse of it
as it is, at his Conversion (Acts ix. 3, 17, xxii. 14; i Cor. ix. i, xv. 8).
Our future likeness in body to His body is alone foretold here, without
allusion to its basis in the spiritual union and resemblance, wrought in us
now by the Holy Spirit (e.g. 2 Cor. iii. 18), and to be consummated then
(i John iii. 2). But this latter is of course deeply implied here. The
sensual heresies which the Apostle is dealing with lead him to this
exclusive view of the glorious future of the saint's body.
It is plain from this passage, as from others (see esp. i Cor. xv. 42 — 44,
53), that the saint's body of glory is continuous with that of his humilia-
tion; not altogether a "new departure" in subsistence. But when we
have said this, our certainties in the question cease, lost in the mysterious
problems of the nature of matter. The Blessed will be "the same,"
body as well as spirit; truly continuous, in their whole being, in full
identity, with the pilgrims of time. But no one can say that to this
identity will be necessary the presence in the glorified body of any
given particle, or particles, of the body of humiliation, any more than
in the mortal body it is necessary to its identity (as far as we know)
that any particle, or particles, present in youth should be also present
in old age. However, in the light of the next words this question may
be left in peace. Be the process and conditions what they may, in
God's will, somehow
" Before the judgment seat,
Though changed and glorified each face.
Not unremembered [we shall] meet,
For endless ages to embrace."
{Christian Year, St Andrew's Day.)
accordim^ to the ivorking whereby &c.] More lit., according to
the working of His being able. The word ''mighty'' in the A.V.
(not given in the other English versions) is intended to represent the
special force of the Greek word energeia (see note on the kindred verb,
ii. 12); but it is too strong. '■'Active,''' or even "actual," would be
more exact; but these are not really needed. The "working" is the
positive putting forth of the always present '■'ability."
even to subdue all things unto himself\ '■'Even" precedes and in-
tensifies the whole following thought.
Elsewhere the Father appears as "subduing all enemies," "all
'. '^'^^. Ascension may well have been, as many theologians have held, a further
glorification, the crown of mysterious processes carried on through the Forty Days.
We see hints of the present majesty of the Lord's celestial Body in the mystical
language of Rev. i. 14 — 16.
io8 PHILIPPIANS, IV. Iv. u
4 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for,
my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly
things," to the Son. Cp. i Cor. xv. 25 (and Ps. ex. 1), 27 (and
Ps. viii. 6). But the Father "hath given to the Son to have life
in Himself" (John v. 26—29), ^'^'^ therefore power. The will of the
Father takes effect through the will of the Son, One -with Him.
^'' All things'" : — and therefore all conditions or obstacles, impersonal
or personal, that oppose the prospect of the glorification of His saints.
Cp. Rom. viii. 38, 39; i Cor. iii. 21 — 23.
" Unto Himself" : — so that they shall not only not obstruct His
action, but subserve it. His very enemies shall be — " His footstool, ^^
and He shall "be glorified in His saints" (2 Thess. i. 10). And
through this great victory of the Son, the Father will be supremely
glorified. See i Cor. xv. 28 ; a prediction beyond our full understand-
ing, but which on the one hand does not mean that in the eternal
Future the Throne will cease to be "the throne of God and of the Lamb"
(Rev. xxii. i, 3), and on the other points to an infinitely developed
manifestation in eternity of the glory of the Father in the Son. Mean-
while, the immediate thought of this passage is the almightiness, the
coming triumph, and the present manhood, of the Christian's Saviour.
Ch. IV. 1 — 7. With such a rRosPECX, and such a Saviour,
LET THEM BE STEADFAST, UNITED, JOYFUL, SELF-FORGETFUL,
RESTFUL, PRAYERFUL, AND THE PEACE OF GOD SHALL BE
THEIRS.
1. Thereforel In view of such a hope, and such a Lord,
dearly beloved] Omit ^^ dearly f which is not in the Greek; though
assuredly in the tone of the passage. The word "beloved " is a favourite
with all the apostolic writers ; a characteristic word of the Gospel of
holy love. St Paul uses it 27 times of his converts and friends.
longed for\ The word occurs here only in N.T., but the cognate
verb occurs i. 6, ii. 26, and cognate nouns Rom. xv. 23; 2 Cor. vii. 7,
II. The address here is full of deep personal tenderness, and of
longing desire to revisit Philippi.
my joy and crown] Cp. the like words to the sister Church in
Macedonia, i Thess. ii. 19, 20, iii. 9; and see 2 Cor. i. 14. The
thought of the Day of glory brings up the thought of his recognition of
his converts then, and rejoicing over them before the Lord. Mani-
festly he expects to know the Philippians, to remember Philippi.
so] In such faith, and with such practice, as I have now again
enjoined on you.
stand fast] The same verb as that i. 27, where see note. And here
cp. especially i Cor. xvi. 13; Gal. v. i ; i Thess. iii. 8 (a close
parallel, in both word and tone). The Christian is never to stand
still, as to growth and service; ever to stand fast, as to faith, hope,
and love.
in the Lord] In recollection and realization of your vital union vidth
vv. 2, 3-] PHILIPPIANS, IV. 109
beloved. I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that 2
they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee 3
also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured
Him who is your peace, life, hope, and King. Cp. Eph. vi. 10, and
note in this Series.
my dearly beloved^ Lit., simply, beloved. His heart overflows,
as he turns from the sad view of sin and misbelief to these faithful
and loving followers of the holy truth. He can hardly say the last
word of love.
2. I beseecli] R.V., I exhort. But the tenderer English word well
represents the general tone here, and the Greek fully admits it as a
rendering. See e.g. 2 Cor. xii. 8. Observe the repetition of the word.
Euodias .. .Syniyche\ Read certainly Euddia, a feminine name. In
the versions of Tyndale and Cranmer the second name appears as
" SinticAes," intended (like Euodias) to be a masculine name. But
such a name is nowhere found in Greek inscriptions, nor is Euodias,
though this might be contracted from the known name Euodianus.
Both Euodia and Syntyche are 'known feminine names, and the persons
here are evidently referred to as women, ver. 3. — Of these two Christians
we know nothing but from this mention. They may have been
"deaconesses," like Pha_'be (Rom. xvi. i); they were certainly (see
ver. 3) active helpers of the Missionary in his days of labour at Philippi.
Perhaps their activity, and the reputation it won, had occasioned a
temptation to self-esteem and mutual jealousy ; a phenomenon unhappily
not rare in the modern Church. — Bp Lightfoot (on this verse, and
p. 55 of his edition) remarks on the prominence of women in the
narrative of the evangelisation of Macedonia; Acts xvi. 13 — 15, 40,
xvii. 4, 12. He gives proof that the social position and influence of
Macedonian women was higher than in most ancient communities. See
above, Introduction, p. 13. The mention here of two women as import-
ant persons in the Philippian Church is certainly an interesting coinci-
dence with the Acts. — As a curiosity of interpretation, Ellicott (see also
Lightfoot, p. 170) mentions the conjecture of Schwegler that Euodia and
Syntyche are really designations of Church-parties, the names being
devised and significant. This theory, of course, regards our Epistle
as a fabrication of a later generation, intended as an eirenicon. " What
will not men affirm?"
of the same mind in the Lord'\ They must lay aside pique and
prejudice, in the power and peace of their common union with Christ.
3. And I entreat^ Better, Yea, I request, or beg (as in our polite
use of that word).
also\ Paul was doing what he could to "help" his two converts; his
friend at Philippi must "help" too.
true yokefelloi.v\ This person can only be conjecturally identified.
He may have been a leading episcopus (i. i) at Philippi. He may
have been Epaphroditus, as Bp Lightfoot well suggests; charged with
this commission by St Paul not only orally, but thus in writing, as a
no PHILIPPIANS, IV. [v. 3.
with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other
sort of credential. One curious conjecture, as old as St Clement of
Alexandria (cent. 2) is that it was St Paul's wife^; and it is curious
that the older Latin version has diledissime conjux, '■'■ dearest pa7-*-ner."
But the word conjux, like "partner," is elastic and ambiguous, and the
adjective is masculine. Both the form of the Greek adjective here, and
the plain statement in i Cor. vii. of St Paul's celibacy a few years
before, not to speak of the unlikelihood, had he been married, of his
wife's residence at Philippi, are fatal to this explanation. Another
guess is that the word rendered "yokefellow," syzygus, or synzygus
is a proper name, and that we should render '■'Syzygus, truly so called."
But this, though possible, is unlikely; no such name is found in
inscriptions or elsewhere.
Wyclif's rendering, "the german felowe," looks strange to modem
eyes; it means "thee, germane (genuine) comrade."
help those women] Lit., help them (feminine). '■'■Them" means
Euodia and Syntyche. The help would come in the way of personal
conference and exhortation, with prayer.
which'] The Greek is well represented in R.V., for they.
laboured with me] Lit., "'strove along zvith 7ne." The verb is the
same as that i. 27, where see note. Euodia and Syntyche had aided
devotedly in the missionaiy work in their town, perhaps as sharers of
special "gifts" (see Acts xxi. 9), or simply as exhorters and instructors
of their female neighbours, probably also in loving labours of mercy
for the temporal needs of poor converts. Like Phoebe of Cenchreae
(Rom. xvi. i) they were perhaps deaconesses. See Appendix C.
in the gospel] Cp. i. 5, ii. 22; and below, on ver. 15.
with Clement] Does this mean, "Help them, and let Clement and
others help also," or, "They strove along with me in the gospel, and
Clement and others strove also"? The grammar is neutral in the ques-
tion. On the whole, the first explanation seems best to suit the context,
for it keeps the subject of the difference between Euodia and Syntyche
still in view, which the second explanation scarcely does; and that
difference was evidently an important and anxious fact, not to be lightly
dismissed.
'■^Cletnent" Greek, Clemes: — we have no certain knowledge of his
identity. The name was common. It is asserted by Origen (cent. 3)
that he is the Clement who was at a later time bishop of Rome, and
author of an Epistle to the Corinthians, probably the earliest of extant
patristic writings. Eusebius (cent. 4) implies the same belief. There
is nothing impossible in this, for a Philippian Christian, migrating to
the all-receiving Capital, might very possibly become Chief Pastor there
in course of time. But the chronology of the life and work of Clement
of Rome is obscure in detail, and some evidence makes him survive till
quite A. D. 120, more than half a century later than this: a length of
labour likely to be noticed by church historians, if it were the fact. In
' Renan translates the words here (Saint Paul, p. 14S), ma chetc r/>ouse. See
Salmon, Introduction to N. T., p. 465, note.
vv. 4, 5-] PHILIPPIANS, IV. in
my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of
life.
Rejoice in the Lord alway : and again I say, Rejoice. 4
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord s
his Epistle (c. xlvii.) he makes special and reverent mention of St Paul;
and this is perhaps the strongest point in favour of the identity ; but
certainly not decisive. See Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 168.
the book of life] Cp. Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8, xvii. 8, xx, 12, 15, xxi. 27; and
Luke X. 10. And see Exod. xxxii. 32, 33; Ps. Ixix. 28, Ixxxvii. 6 ; Isai.
iv. 3; Ezek. xiii. 9; Dan. xii. i. The result of comparison of these
passages with this seems to be that St Paul here refers to the Lord's
"knovkfledge of them that are His" (2 Tim. ii. 19; cp. Joh. x. 27, 28),
for time and eternity. All the passages in the Revelation, save iii. 5,
are clearly in favour of a reference of the phrase to the certainty of the
ultimate salvation of true saints ; particularly xiii. 8, xvii. 8 ; and so too
Dan. xii. i, and Luke x. 20. Rev. iii. 5 appears to point in another
direction (see Trench on that passage). But in view of the other
mentions of the "Book" in the Revelation, the language of iii. 5 may
well be only a vivid assertion that the name in question shall be found
in an indelible register. Exod. xxxii. and Ps. Ixix. are of course definite
witnesses for a possible blotting out from "a book written" by God.
But it is at least uncertain whether the book there in view is not the
register of life temporal, not eternal. — Practically, the Apostle here
speaks of Clement and the rest as having given illustrious proof of their
part and lot in that "life eternal" which is "to know the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent" (Joh. xvii. 3).— The word
''names" powerfully suggests the individuality and speciality of Divine
love.
4. Rejoice in the Lord] Cp. iii. i, and note.
alway] This word is a strong argument against the rendering "Fare-
well" instead of ''Rejoice" "Always" would read strange and un-
natural in such a connexion. And cp. i Thess. v. 16.
He leads them here above all uncertain and fluctuating reasons for
joy, to Him Who is the supreme and unalterable gladness of the be-
lieving soul, beneath and above all changes of circumstances and sen-
sation.
5. tnoderation] 'R.Y.," forbearance"; mdiXgm," gentleness" -yWycMl,
"patience"; Tyndale and Cranmer, "softenes"; Geneva, "patient
mynde"; Rheims, "fnodestie"; Lat. versions, modestia; Beza, irquitas;
Luther, Lindigkeit. The word is full of interest and significance, and is
very difficult of translation. Perhaps forbearance, though inadequate,
is a fair rendering. It means in effect considerateness, the attitude of
thought and will which in remembrance of others forgets self, and wil-
lingly yields up the purely personal claims of self. The "self -less" man
is the "moderate" man of this passage; the man who is yielding as
air in respect of personal feeling or interest, though firm as a rock
in respect of moral principle. See an excellent discussion. Trench,
112 PHILIPPIANS, IV. [v. 6.
6 is at hand. Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by
prayer and suppUcation with thanksgiving let your requests
Sytionyms, § xliii. — The editor may be allowed to refer to a small book
of his own in further illustration, Thoughts on the Spiritual Life, ch. iii.f"'^''<T
be known, &c.] Trench (quoted above) shews that the quality here
commended is essentially, by usage as well as etymology, a thing having
to do with life, action, intercourse. For its existence, so to speak,
society is necessary. ''Men" must be met and dealt with, and so must
"know" it by its practical fruits.
^^ The Lord is at hand": — in the sense oi presence, not o{ coining.
Cp. Psal. cxix. (LXX. cxviii.) 151, ''Thou art near, O Lord"; where
the Greek is the same. And for the spiritual principle, see Psal. xxxi.
19, 20, cxxi. 5. Not that the deeply calming expectation of the Lord's
approaching Return is excluded from thought here ; but Psal. cxix.
decides for the other as the leading truth.
6. Be careful for 7iothing\ Better, in modem English, In nothing be
anxious (R.V.). Wyclif, "be ye no thing bisie"; all the other older
English versions are substantially as A.V.; Luther, Sorget nichts; Latin
versions. Nihil solliciti sitis [fueritis). On the etymology of the Greek
verb, and on the thought here, see note above, ii. 20. There the mental
action here blamed is commended ; a discrepancy fully harmonized by a
view of different conditions. Here, the saints are enjoined to deal with
every trying circumstance of life as those who know, and act upon, the
fact that "the Lord thinketh on me" (Psal. xl. 17). Cp. Mark iv. 19;
Luke viii. 14, x. 41, xxi. 34; i Cor. vii. 32; i Pet. v. 7.
The English word "care" is akin to older Teutonic words meaning
lamentation, murmur, sorrow, and is not connected with the Lat. cnra
(Skeat, Etym. Diet.). English literature, from "Piers Plowman"
(cent. 14) to Shakspeare and the A.V., abounds in illustrations of
the meaning of the word here. E.g., Vision of Piers Ploiuman, V. 76 :
"carefullich niea culpa he comsed to shewe"; i.e. "he anxiously com-
menced to unfold " his sins in the confessional. So, in the same
writer, a mournful song is "a careful noX^."
in every thing] An all-inclusive positive, to justify the all-inclusive
negative just before. — Observe here, as so often, the tendency of Chris-
tian precepts to a holy universality of scope. Cp. Eph. iv. 29, 31, v. 3,
and notes in this Series.
by prayer and supplication'] We might almost paraphrase the Greek,
where each noun has an article, "by your prayer &c."; by the prayer
which of course you offer.
"Prayer" is the larger word, often including all kinds and parts of
"worship"; "supplication" is the more definite. Cp. Eph. vi. 18, and
note in this Series. The two words thus linked together are meant, how-
ever, less to be distinguished than to mclude and enforce the fullest and
freest "speaking unto the Lord."
with thanksgiving] " The temper of the Christian should always be
one of thanksgiving. Nearly every Psalm, however deep the sorrow
and contrition, escapes into the happy atmosphere of praise and grati-
V. 7-] PHILIPPIANS, IV.
ir
be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which 7
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
tude. The Psalms, in Hebrew, are the Praises. All prayer ought to
include the element of thanksgiving, for mercies temporal and spiritual"
: (Note by the Dean of Peterborough).— 77;;^ /^/w/^f^ of prayer is in
■ itself an abiding theme for grateful praise.
be made knoivn\ Exactly as if He needed information. True faith
will accept and act upon such a precept with very little questioning or
discussion of its rationale. Scripture is full of illustrations of it in prac-
tice, from the prayers of Abraham (Gen. xv., xvii., xviii.) and of Abra-
ham's servant (Gen. xxiv.) onward. It is for the Eternal, not for us,
to reconcile such humble but most real statements and requests on our
part with His infinity.
This verse is a caution against the view of prayer taken by some
Mystic Christian thinkers, in which all articulate petition is merged in
the soul's perpetual "-Thy zvill be done.''' See Mme. Guyon, May en
Court de faire Oraisott, ch. xvii. Such a doctrine has in it a sacred
element of truth, but as a whole it is out of harmony with the divinely
balanced precepts of Scripture.
7. And'\ An important link. The coming promise of the Peace of
God is not isolated, but in deep connexion.
the peace of God] The chastened but glad tranquillity, caused^ by
knowledge of the God of peace, and given by His Spirit to our spirit.
Cp. Col. iii. 15 (where read, "the peace of Christ"); Joh. xiv. 27. The
long and full previous context all leads up to this; the view of our ac-
ceptance in and for Christ alone (iii. 3—9) ; the deepening knowledge of
the living Lord and His power (10); the expectation, in the path of
spiritual obedience, of a blessed future (11 — 21); watchful care over
communion with Christ, and over a temper befitting the Gospel, and
over the practice of prayer (iv. i — 6).
Here is the true "Quietism" of the Scriptures.
all understanding] ''AW ffiind," "all thin hing pozaei'.'" Our truest
reason recognizes that this peace exists, because God exists ; our articu-
late reasoning cannot overtake its experiences ; they are always above,
below, beyond. Cp. Eph. iii. 19.
shall keep] Observe the definite promise ; not merely an aspiration,
or even an invocation. Cp. Isai. xxvi. 3. The Latin versions, mis-
takenly, read custodiat.
R.V., shall guard. This is better, except as it breaks in on the im-
memorial music of the Benediction. All the older English versions
have "■keep,'' except the Genevan, which has "defind." "Guard" (or
"defend") represents correctly the Greek verb, which is connected with
nouns meaning "garrison," "fort," and the like, and also prevents the
mistake of explaining the sentence — " shzW keep you in Christ, prevent
you from going out of Christ." What it means is that, "m Christ
Jesus," who is the one true spiritual Region of blessing, the peace of
God shall protect the soul against its foes.
PHILIPPIANS. 8
114 PHILIPPIANS, IV. [v.S.
8 through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever tJwigs are lionest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever thirigs are of good report ; if there be any
hearts] The word in Scripture includes the whole "inner man";
understanding, affections, will.
7nitids\ Lit. and better, thoughts, acts of mind. The holy serenity
of the believer's spirit, in Christ Jesus, shall be the immediate means
of shielding even the details of mental action from the tempter's power.
Cp. Eph. vi. i6, where the "faith" which accepts and embraces the
promise occupies nearly the place given here to the peace which is the
substance of the promise.
through Christ Jesus'] Lit. and better, in. — See last note but two.
8 — 9. As A LAST SPIRITUAL ENTREATY, LET THEIR REGENERATE
MINDS BE TRUE-THOUGHTFUL: LET THEM REMEMBER PaUL'S
WORD AND PRACTICE.
8. Finally'] A phrase introducing a precept, or precepts, more or
less based on what has gone before. See above, on iii. i.
He begs them to give to their minds, thus "safeguarded" by the
peace of God, all possible pure and healthful material to work upon,
of course with a view to practice. Let them reflect on, take account of,
estimate aright, (see note below on '■'■think on these things''), all that
was true and good ; perhaps specially in contrast to the subtle perver-
sions of moral principle favoured by the persons described above (iii.
1 8, 19), who dreamed of making an impossible divorce between the
spiritual and the moral.
true] Both in the sense of ixMth-speaking and truth-/'^/«^. Truthful-
ness of vi'ord, and sincerity of character, are absolutely indispensable to
holiness. Nothing is more unsanctilied than a double meaning, or a
double purpose, however "pious" the " fraud."
honest] Margin, ^'venerable"; R.V., honourable. The adjective is
rendered '"'■grave,'" i Tim. iii. 8, 11; Titus ii. 2. It points to serious
purposes, and to self-respect ; no small matter in Christianity. In older
English '■''honest'" bore this meaning more than at present.
just] Right, as between man and man; scrupulous attention to all
relative duties.
pure] Perhaps in the special respect of holy chastity of thought and
act as regards the body. There may be more in the word : see 2 Cor.
vii. 1 1 ; and cp. i Joh. iii. 3. But most surely this is in it. See Trench,
Synonyms, ii. § xxxviii.
lovely] Pleasing, amiable. Cp. for the English in this meaning, 2 Sam.
i. 23. It is a meaning rare now, if not obsolete, but it was still common
a century ago. — The Christian is here reminded that his Master would
have him attend to manner as well as matter in his life. Grace should
V. 9] PHILIPPIANS, IV. 115
virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these thitigs.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, 9
and heard, and seen in me, do : and the God of peace
shall be with you.
make gracious. Cp. i Pel. iii. 8. — The Rhemish version has "amiable'"
here.
of good report\ Better, probably, sweet-spoken; "loveliness" in the
special respect of kindly and winning speecli. So Lightfoot. Ellicott
explains the word, however, in a different direction ; " fair sounding,"
"high-toned"; with a special reference to elevated \.x\x\.\\% and principles.
R.V. retains the rendering of A.V., with margin '■'■gracioits."
jy there he atty vii-ttte'] " Whatever virtue there is." To complete
his meaning, he bids them exercise thought on whatever is rightly
called "virtue," even if not expressly described in the previous words.
The word rendered "virtue" (are/e) occurs here only in St Paul, and
elsewhere in N.T. only i Pet. ii. 9 (of God, and in the sense of
"praise," as always in LXX.) ; 2 Pet. i. 3 (of God, as rightly read), and
5 (twice), of an element in Christian character. It is remarkable that a
favourite word of Greek ethics should be thus avoided ; but the reason
is not far to seek. By derivation and in usage it is connected with
ideas of manhood, courage, and so self-reliance. The basis of good-
ness in the Gospel is self-renunciation, in order to the reception of
GRACE, the undeserved gift of God.
Here however the Apostle concedes a place to the word, so to speak,
as if to extend in every direction the view of what is right in action.
In 2 Pet. i. 5 it is used with the quite special meaning of vigour in the
life of grace.
any praise\ "Whatever praise there is," justly given by the general
human conscience. Here again he is, as it were, conceding a place to
an idea not quite of the highest, yet not at discord with the high-
est. It is not good to do right for the sake of the selfish pleasure of
praise; but it is right to praise what is rightly done, and such praise
has a moral beauty, and may give to its recipient a moral pleasure not
spoiled by selfishness. St Paul appeals to the existence of such a
desert of praise, to illustrate again what he means when he seeks to
attract their thoughts towards things recognized as good, "There is
such a thing as right praise ; make it an index of the things on which
you should think."
tkink 07i\ Literally, ''^reckon, calculate'''' ; see above, first note on
this verse.
9. Those things &c.] On the apparent egotism of this appeal, see
on iii. 17. R.V. renders, somewhat better. The things &c.
have both learned &c.] Better, both learned &c. The verbs are
aorists, and the reference is to his long-past residence at Philippi.
received'^ Cp. i Cor. xi. 23, xv. i, 3; Gal. i. 9; Col. ii. 6; i Thess.
ii. 13, iv. I. In all these cases the verb is used of learning a truth
passed on by another.
seen] Saw. See note i on this verse.
8—2
Ii6 PHILIPPIANS, IV. [v. lo.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last
your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were
in me\ As specimen and model. See note on i. ■26. Strictly
speaking, the '■'■in me" refers only to the " sazv."
do] Practise, as a holy habit.
and] See first note on ver. 7.
i/ie God of peace] Author and giver of the peace of God. Cp. for
the phrase Rom. xv. 33, xvi. 20; 2 Cor. xiii. 11; i Thess. v. 23;
Heb. xiii. 20. And see 2 Thess. iii. 16. In i Cor. xiv. 33 we have,
"God is not the author of confusion, but of peace"; and there the
"peace" is evidently Christian social peace, rather than that which
resides in the spirit of the saint, or has to do with his personal relations
with God (and cp. 2 Cor. xiii. 11). But the two are closely connected;
the Divine peace in the individual tends always, in its right development
and action, to the peace of the community, for it means the dethrone-
ment of the spirit of self. St Paul may thus have had in view here the
need of more harmony among the Philippians, and of a nobler moral
and spiritual tone (ver. 8) as an aid towards it. But the whole context
is so full of the highest aspects of Christian experience that we take the
present phrase to refer primarily, at least, to God as at peace with His
people, and making peace within their hearts; the "Lord of the
sabbath" of the soul.
10—20. He renders loving thanks for their Alms,
BROUGHT HIM BY EPAPHRODITUS.
10. But] The directly didactic message of the Epistle is now over,
and he turns to the personal topic of the alms, for himself and his
work, received through Epaphroditus from Philippi.
I rejoiced] R.V., I rejoice; taking the Greek aorist as "epistolary."
See on ii. 25. The aorist may refer, however, to the joy felt when the
gift arrived, the first thankful surprise; and if so, A.V. represents
it rightly.
in the Lord] See last note on i. 8. — The whole circumstance, as
well as the persons, was in deep connexion with Him.
at the last] Better, with R.V., at length; a phrase of milder
emphasis. — "■ At the last" (cp. Gen. xHx. 19) is "■at last" in an older
form. The Philippians had sent St Paul a subsidy, or subsidies,
before ; but for reasons beyond their control there had been a rather
long interval before this last.
your care of me hath flourished] Better, you have shot forth thought
(as a branch or bud) for me; or, less lit., you have burgeoned into
thought for me. — The verb, only intransitive in the classics, is also
transitive in LXX. (see Ezek. xvii. 24) and Apocrypha (see Ecclus.
1. 14). The poetic boldness of the phrase is noticeable; our second
alternative translation fairly represents it. Perhaps the courteous kind-
liness of the Apostle's thought comes out in it ; an almost pleasantry
of expression.
wherein] Or, "whereon; "with a view to which" ; i. e., as the pre-
vious words imply, with a view to an effort to aid him.
vv. II, 12.] PHILIPPIANS, IV. 117
also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak
in respect of want : for I have learned, in whatsoever state
I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be
abased, and I know how to abound : every where and in
all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
ye were carcful'\ Ye took thought. The verb {phronetn) is quite
different from that in ver. 6. It bears here (and just above, where
its infinitive is represented by the English noun ''thought") the unusual
meaning of definite thinking, not, as usual, that of being in a vicntal
state. See on i. 7.
The gracious, sympathetic recognition of good intentions is indeed
Christian.
lacked opportunity\ Particularly, a suitable bearer had not been
forthcoming.
11. wantX Better, perhaps, need, as less extreme in meaning. The
Greek vi^ord occurs elsewhere only Mark xii. 44 ; of the great poverty of
the Widow.
/] Slightly emphatic. He implies an appeal to them to learn
his secret for themselves.
have learnedl Lit., "<//(/ learn"; but probably the A.V. (and
R.V.) rightly represent the Greek. It is possible, however, that he
refers to the time of waiting for their aid as his learning time; "I
learned, in that interval, a lesson of content."
He implies in any case that the pause in their assistance had been a
time of some privation, though not from the higher point of view.
contetif\ Lit., '■^self-sufficient" \ in the sense oi omnia mca mecuin
porto. He did not depend upon circumstances for satisfaction. Such
"sufficiency," but on very different principles, was a favourite Stoic
virtue.
12. to be abased'\ "To be low," in resources and comforts. The word
is used in classical Greek of a river running low.
to abound'\ as now, in the plenty the Philippians had provided.
This experience, as well as the opposite, called for the skill of grace.
every where and in all things] Lit., in everything and in all
things ; in the details and total of experience.
/ am instructed^ I have heen initiated ; " / have learned the secret "
(R.V.). The Greek verb is akin to the words, mystes, mystenon, and
means to initiate a candidate into the hidden tenets and worship of the
" Mysteries " ; systems of religion in the Hellenic world derived
perhaps from prehistoric times, and jealously guarded by their votaries.
Admission to their arcana, as into Freemasonry now, was sought even
by the most cultured ; with the special hope, apparently, of a peculiar
immunity from evil in this life and the next. See Smith's Diet, of
Greek and Roman Antiquities. It is evident that St Paul's adoption
of such a word for the discovery of the "open secrets" of the Gospel
is beautifully suggestive. Lightfoot remarks that we have the same
sort of adoption in his frequent use (and our Lord's, Matt xiii. 1 1 ;
ii8 PHILIPPIANS, IV. [vv. 13, 14.
13 both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things
14 through Christ which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding
ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my afflic-
Mark iv. 11 ; Luke viii. 10 ; and see Rev. i. 10, x. 7, xvii. 5, 7) of the
word '■^ iitysfery" for a revealed secret of doctrine or prophecy.
to be fillip R.V., to be filled. The Greek verb is the same as e.g.
Matt. V. 6, xiv. 20. St Paul uses it only here. Its first meaning was
"to give fodder to cattle," but it lost this lower reference in later
Greek (Lightfoot).
hungry\ No doubt often in stern reality. Cp. i Cor. iv. 11.
13. / can do all things] More exactly, I have strength for all
things; whether to do or to bear. The Latin versions, beautifully,
render, omnia possum. The "all things" are, of course, not all things
absolutely; he is not the Omnipotent. They are "all things" with
which he has to do, as the will of God brings them to him ; not
the boundless field of possibilities, but a straight line across it, the
actual path of duty and suffering, chosen not by himself but by his Lord
and Master. The reference is thus limited and practical ; but ivithin
that reference it is, observe, not ''^some" but ^^ all" things that he can
meet in peace and strength. Cp. i Cor. x. 13; Eph. ii. 12.
through Christ which strengtheneth me'\ With the best attested
reading, and more exactly, in Him who enableth me. The verb
occurs elsewhere in the active, i Tim. i. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 17. It occurs
in the middle or passive, Acts ix. 22; Rom. iv. 20; Eph. vi. 10;
2 Tim. ii. i ; Heb. xi. 34. It imports the supply on the one hand and
reception and realization on the other of a supernatural ability
{dynamis), coming out in action.
Observe the phrase, " /« Him." It is in vital union with his Head
that the "member" is thus able for "all things," and in no other way
(cp. Joh. XV. 4, 5; 2 Cor. ix. 8, xii. 9, 10). But this way is open
to the submissive faith of every true Christian, not of Apostles and
Martyrs only.
The word "-Christ" is not in the true text, but is manifestly a
true "gloss."
14. Notwithstanding^ "Again the Apostle's nervous anxiety to
clear himself interposes" (Lightfoot). We would rather call it loving
care than nervous anxiety. He is tender over their feelings, as he
thinks how "their deep poverty has abounded to the riches of their
liberality" (2 Cor. viii. i, 2), in love to him and to the Lord; and not
even his testimony to the power of Christ shall make him seem to slight
their collection.
ye have well done} Better, perhaps, ye did well ; when you gave and
sent your alms.
communicate 7vith] Better, as more intelligible to modern readers,
take a share in. For the thought, cp. on i. 7. Their sympathy, coming
out in self-denial, dlent their experience with that of the imprisoned and
impoverished Apostle.
vv. 15—17.] FHILIPPIANS, IV. 119
tion. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning 15
of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church
communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving,
but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and 16
again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift : but 17
15. Noiv\ Better, But. He suggests, with the same delicacy of
love, that their previous gifts would have sufficed, without tliis gift, to
witness and seal their hearts' cooperation with him. "You have done
well in such participation; btit indeed you had assured its existence
before."
ye Philippians knoxv also] Better, ye yourselves too know, Philip-
pians; ye, as well as I. — ^'' Philippians'' : — the form used by St Paul is
^^ Philippesians'\ one of several forms of the civic adjective. The same
appears in the ancient "Title" (see above) and in the "Subscription"
below. See Lightfoot here.
the gospel} I.e. his evangelization (of their region). For this mean-
ing of "the Gospel" cp. 2 Cor. x. 14 (and perhaps viii. 18); Gal. ii. 7;
I Thess. iii. 2; and above, i. 5, 7, 12, iv. 3.
wheti I departed from Macedonia'] He refers to about the time of his
advance into "Achaia," Roman Southern Greece; just before and just
after he actually crossed the border. For the narrative, cp. Acts xvii.
I — 15. This is a reminiscence after an interval of about ten years.
communicated with me] Better, took its share with me. See last
note on ver. 14.
as concerning] Better, with R.V., in the matter of.
giving and receiving] I.e., their giving a subsidy to him, and his re-
ceiving it from them. The Greek phrase is a recognized formula, like our
"credit and debit." See Lightfoot here. To bring in the thought of
their "giving temporal things" and "receiving spiritual things" (i Cor.
ix. 11) is to complicate and confuse the passage.
ye only] No blame of other Churches is necessarily implied. The
thought is occupied with the fact of a sure and early proof of Philippian
sympathy.
16. even in Thessahmica] "Even r£'//«^ /wai- there." — Thessalonica
was just 100 Roman miles (about 92 English) from Philippi, on the
Via Egnatia. Amphipolis and Apollonia were the two intermediate
road-stations, about 30 miles from each other, and apparently Paul and
Silas passed only a night at each, hastening to Thessalonica, where
probably they spent some weeks, or even months (Acts xvii. i — 9; and
cp. Conybeareand Howson, Life atid Epistles &.(!., ch. ix.; Lewin, L.and
E. &c., vol. I. chap. xi.). Thus Thessalonica was practically the
Apostle's first pause after leaving Philippi ; and it was in Macedonia.
once and again] Within a short stay at the longest. In Acts xvii.
only "three sabbaths" are mentioned; but the Epistles to Thessalonica
seem to imply that he stayed somewliat longer", by their allusions to the
impression made at Thessalonica by his and his companions' life and
example. See i Thess. ii. \ — 12; 2 Thess. iii. 7, 8.
I20 PHILIPPIANS, IV. [v. i8.
1 8 I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I
have all, and abound : I am full, having received of Epa-
phroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of
a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.
my necessity\ The profits of his hard manual labour at Thessalonica
(see I and 2 Thess. just quoted) evidently left him still very poor. He
wrould take nothing of the Thessalonians, while still actually introdncmg
the Gospel to them.
17. Not &c.] Here again see the sensitive delicacy of love. This
allusion to the cherished past, begun with the wish to shew that he
needed no present proof of sympathy, might after all be taken to be
"thanks for future" liberality. It shall not be so.
desire\ Better, with R.V., seek. The verb occurs e.g. Matt. xii. 39;
Rom. xi. 7. Both its form and usage suggest here the appropriate
meaning of an active, restless search; a "hunting for" the object.
a gift] Lit. and much better, the gift ; the ??iere money of the col-
lection.
dcsire\ Again, seek : the same idea, with a beautiful change of refer-
ence,
fruit that may abound] Lit. and better, tlie fruit &c. — St Chrysos-
tom's comment here, in which he uses the Greek verb akin to the noun
(tokos) meaning interest on money, seems to imply that he, a Greek, un-
derstood the phrase to be borrowed from the money-market. If so, we
may translate, the interest that is accruing to your credit. The
imagery, by its very paradox, would be appropriate in this passage of
ingenious kindness. The only objection to the rendering is that the
precise Greek words are not actually found in special pecuniary con-
nexions, though they would easily fit into them.
" That may''' : — that does is certainly right, and in point. He regards
it as as a present certainty that "God is well pleased" (Heb. xiii. 16)
with their gift of love, and that the blessed "profit" of His "well done,
good and faithful" (Matt. xxv. ai) is secure for them.
18. Buf] He carries on the correction, begun in ver. 17, of a pos-
sible misunderstanding of his warm words. He must not be thought
to "spell" for future gifts, least of all now, so amply supplied as he is.
/ have all] The Greek verb is one used in connexions of payment, to
express a full receipt. We might almost paraphrase, "you have paid
me i7ifull in all respects."
and abotmd] It is enough, and more than enough; I "run over"
with your bounty. See ver. 12, above.
Epaphroditus] See on ii. 25, 30. We leam definitely here that he
was the bringer of the collection.
the things] He seems to avoid the word ^^money." It was more
than money ; the coin was the symbol of priceless love.
an odour of a sweet smell] See Eph. v. 2, for the same Greek
phrase. It is common in LXX. as the translation of the Heb. riach
nichoach, a savour of rest; the fume of the altar, smelt by the Deity,
vv.
19, 20.] PHILIPPIANS, IV. 121
But my God shall supply all your need according to his 19
riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our 20
Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(in the picture language of typical sacrifices), and recognized as a token
of welcome allegiance or propitiation. See note in this Series on Eph.
V. 2.— Here the fragrance is that of either the "burnt-offering" of self-
dedication (see Lev. i. 9), or the "meal offering," or "peace offering,"
of thanksgiving (see Lev. ii. 2, iii. 5), or of both combmed, as they are
combined in our Liturgy of the Holy Communion.
a sacrifice acceptable &c.] Cp. last note, and Heb. xiii. 16. See also
Eph. vi. 8, and note in this Series.
19. But\ R.V., ''And." But surely there is a slight contrast
meant, to an implied v/ish that he could send back some material requital
of his own to alleviate their "deep poverty" (2 Cor. viii. 2).
my God] Words deeply characteristic of St Paul. See on i. 3 above.
Bp Lightfoot well remarks that the phrase is specially in point here ;
the Apostle is thinking of what God on his behalf zhall do for others.
shall supply] Promise, not only aspiration. He is sure of His faith-
fuhiess.— "6'«///y".-— lit., "///," pouring His bounty into the void of
the "need."
all your need] R.V., somewhat better, every need of yours. See
again, 2 Cor. viii. 2, where the exceptional poverty of the converts of
Northern Greece is referred to. The prominent thought here is, surely,
that of temporal poverty. Cp. particularly 2 Cor. ix. 8, where the
first reference seems to be to God's ability to supply to His self-
denying servants always more from which they may still spare and give.
But neither here nor in 2 Cor. are we for a moment to shut out the
widest and deepest applications of the truth stated.
his riches in glory] His resources, consisting in, and so lodged in,
His own "glory" of Divine power and love. Cp. Rom. vi. 4, and note
in this Series, for a similar use of the word "glory."— Bp Lightfoot
prefers to connect '■'■shall supply, in glory, your need, according
to His riches," and he explains the thought to be, "shall supply
your need by placing yoti in glory.'" But we venture to think this
construction needlessly difficult. —Anything in which God is "glorified"
(see e. g. Gal. i. 24) is, as it were, a reflection of His holy glory, and a
result of it. Tender providential goodness to the poor Philippians would
be such a result.
On St Paul's love of the word "riches" in Divine connexions,
cp. Eph. i. 7, and note in this Series.
in Christ Jesus] "in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the God-
head," "in whom" the saints are "filled," as regards all their needs
(Col. ii. 9, 10). The "glory" of both grace and providence is lodged,
for His people, in Him.
20. Godandotir Father] Better, our God and Father; the ultimate
Source of all faith, love, and hope in the brethren and members of His
Son.— "0«r".— "It is iro longer ['my'], for the reference is now
122 PHILIPPIANS, IV. [VV. 21, 22.
21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which
22 are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly
not to himself as distinguished from the Philippians, but as united
to them" (Lightfoot).
g/ory] Lit. and better, the glory; the adoring praise due in view of
this their act of love, and of the certainty of a full supply of all their
need.
/or ever and eve?-] Lit., "/£> t/ie ages of the agesy The A.V. (and
R.V.) are a true paraphrase. On the word aion (age) see notes in this
Series, on Rom. xvi. 25; Eph. i. 21. The idea conveyed by the phrase
here is of circles of duration consisting of, embracing, other circles
ad infinitum.
Amen] Probably, but not quite certainly, to be retained in the text.
The word is properly a Hebrew adverb {'^sitreij"), repeatedly used as
here in O. T. See e.g. Deut. xxvii. 15; Psal. Ixxii. 19; Jer. xi. 5
(marg. A. V.).
21—23. Salutations and Farewell.
21. Saiute] Cp. Rom. xvi. 3 — 16.
saint] See on i. i.
ift Christ Jesus] See on i. i. — The words may grammatically be
connected with either "■salute" to which Lightfoot inclines, or "■saint.'''
In view of i. i , we recommend the latter. See on the other side (with
Lightfoot) Rom. xvi. 22; i Cor. xvi. 19.
the brethren which are with fne] " Apparently the Apostle's personal
companions... as distinguished from the Christians resident in Rome,
who are described in the following verse" (Lightfoot).
^reet] Better, wiih R.V., salute. The verb is the same as that just
above.
22. chiefyi] More exactly, but chiefly. There was something
marked and emphatic about this message.
they of Cesar s household] "Probably slaves and freedmen attached
to the palace" (Lightfoot). It has been sometimes assumed that these
persons, on the other hand, were members of the imperial family, and
this has been used either to prove the remarkable advance of the
Gospel in the highest Roman society during St Paul's first captivity,
and incidentally to evidence a late date in that captivity for the Epistle,
or to support a theory of the spuriousness of the Epistle. Bp Lightfoot,
in an "additional note," or rather essay {Philippians, pp. 171 — 178),
has shewn with great fulness of proof that the "household of Cesar"
was a term embracing a vast number of persons, not only in Rome but
in the provinces, all of whom were either actual or former slaves of the
Emperor, filling every possible description of office more or less domestic.
The Bishop illustrates his statements from the very numerous burial
inscriptions of members of the " Household " found within the last 1 70
years near Rome, most of them of the period of the Julian and Claudian
Emperors. And the names of persons in these inscriptions afford a
V. 23.] PHILIPPIANS, IV. 123
they that are of Cesar's household. The grace of our Lord aj
Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
It was written to the Philippians from Rome by Epaphroditus.
curiously large number of coincidences with the list in Rom. xvi. ;
among them being Amplias, Urbanus, Apelles, Tryphaena, Tiyphosa,
Patrobas, Philologus. And it appears by the way to be very probable
that both Aristobulus' and Narcissus' "households" (Rom. xvi. 10,
11) were in fact the slave-establishments of the son of Herod the
Great, and of the favourite of Claudius, respectively, transferred to the
possession of the Emperor. Bp Lightfoot infers from this whole
evidence the great probability that the "saints" greeted in Rom. xvi.
were, on the whole, the same "saints" who send greeting here from
Rome. Various as no doubt were their occupations, and their native
lands, the members of the Household of Cesar as such must have had
an esprit de corps, and, for their rank in society, a prestige, which made
it humanly speaking likely that a powerful influence, like that of the
Gospel, if felt among them at all, would be felt widely, and that they
would be in the way to make a distinctive expression of their faith and
love, when occasion offered.
The view thus given of the saints here mentioned, their associations
and functions, not only in the age of Nero but in the precincts of
his court, and probably for many of them within the chambers of his
palace, gives a noble view in passing of the power of grace to triumph
over circumstances, and to transfigure life where it seems most impos-
sible.
A certain parallel to the Household of Cesar appears in the vast
Maison du Koy of the later French monarchy. But the Alaison was
for the noblesse alone.
23. The grace'X So every Epistle of St Paul's closes, or almost
closes. In the Ep. to the Romans this benediction occurs twice ; xvi.
20, 24. The exact form found here occurs also Gal. vi. iS; Philem. 25.
— Observe the deeply implied testimony to the Divine glory of the
Saviour, who is mentioned here alone, and in conclusion, as the
Fountain of grace.
zvith your spirit] The inmost basis of the life and will of man, and
here of regenerate man. That "spirit" is not annulled, or absorbed,
by the Divine power; the "grace" is to be "-with" it (cp. i Cor. xv. 10).
But it is also to be "z«" it (see ii. \i above), possessing, assimilating,
transforming, into the likeness of Him whose presence and power is
grace.
Avien\ The word is probably to be omitted from the text. But
though the Apostle did not write it, the reader can supply it as his
own response.
The Subscription.
It was written .. .by Epaphroditus\ ''^Written by'''' is, of course,
'■'■sent by means of, by the hand ofy — The words obviously give' the
facts of the case correctly. It is equally obvious that they were not in
124 PHILIPPIANS, IV. [v. 23.
the original copies. Of the many varying "Subscriptions" in extant
MSS., the shortest appears to be the oldest; To the Philippians
(Philippesians; see on iv. 15 above). Others are, It was written
FROM Rome; It was written &c. by Epaphroditus, or, in one
case, by Epaphroditus and Timotheus. In one MS. appears
[The Epistle] to the Philippians is fulfilled, in another, is
finished.
On the Subscriptions to St Paul's Epistles, see Scrivener's Introduc-
tion to the Criticism of the N. T. (Ed. 1883, p. 62). They are ascribed
(in their longer form) to Euthalius, a bishop of the fifth century. See
further, note in this Series on the Subscription to the Epistle to the
Ephesians.
APPENDICES.
PAGE PAGE
A. St Paul's Residence at Rome F. Robert Hall on Phil. ii. 5—8.
(Introd. p. 20) 125 —Baur's theory (Ch. ii. 6) ... 132
B. " Saints and faithful brethren " G. Ad. Monod on St Paul's Tears
(Ch. i. i) 128 (Ch. iii. 18) 133
C. Bishops and Deacons (Ch. i. i) 128 H. Family Affection of Christi-
D. EbioniteChristology(Ch. i. 15) 131 anity (Ch. iv. i) 134
E. Christology and Christianity I. Philippi and the Epistle (Ch. iv.
(Ch. ii. 5) 132 18) 134
A. ST PAUL'S RESIDENCE AT ROME.
(Introduction, p. 20.)
"St Paul arrived in Rome, from Melita, in the spring of a.d. 61,
probably early in March. There he spent 'two full years' (Acts
xxviii. 30), at the close of which, as we have good reason to believe, he
was released.
"In the long delay before his triaP he was of course in custody;
but this was comparatively lenient. He occupied lodgings of his own
(Acts xxviii. 16, 23, 30), probably a storey or flat in one of the lofty
houses common in Rome. It is impossible to determine for certain
where in the City this lodging was, lout it is likely that it was either
in or near the great Camp of the Praetorians, or Imperial Guard, out-
side the Colline Gate, just N.E. of the city^. In this abode the
Apostle was attached day and night by a light coupling-chain to a
Prjetorian sentinel, but was as free, apparently, to invite and maintain
general intercourse as if he had been merely confined by illness.
"The company actually found in his rooms at different times was
very various. His first visitors (indeed they must have been the
providers of his lodging) would be the Roman Christians, including
1 Due probably to procrastination in the prosecution and to the caprice of the
Emperor. See Lewin, vol. 11. p. 236, for a parallel case.
2 See Bp Lightfoot, Philippians, pp. 9 &c., 99 &c. ; [and our note on Phil. i. 13].
126 APPENDICES.
all, or many, of the saints named in a passage (Rom. xvi.) written only
a very few years before. Then came the representatives of the Jewish
community (Acts xxviii. 17, 23), but apparently never to return,
as such, after the long day of discussion to which they were tirst
invited. Then from time to time would come Christian brethren,
envoys from distant Churches, or personal friends ; Epaphroditus from
Philippi, Aristarchus from Thessalonica, Tychicus from Ephesus,
Epaphras from Colossse, John Mark, Demas, Jesus Justus. Luke,
the beloved physician, was present perhaps always, and Timotheus,
the Apostle's spiritual son, very frequently. One other memorable
name occurs, Onesimus, the fugitive Colossian slave, whose story,
indicated in the Epistle to Philemon, is at once a striking evidence
of the perfect liberty of access to the prisoner granted to anyone
and everyone, and a beautiful illustration both of the character of
St Paul and the transfiguring power and righteous principles of the
Gospel.
"No doubt the visitors to this obscure but holy lodging were far more
miscellaneous than even this list suggests. Through the successive
Praetorian sentinels some knowledge of the character and message
of the prisoner would be always passing out. The right interpretation
of Phil. i. 13^ is, beyond reasonable doubt, that the true account of
Paul's imprisonment came to be ' known in the Praetorian regiments,
and generally among people around ' ; and Phil. iv. 11 indicates
that a body of earnest and affectionate converts had arisen among the
population of slaves and freedmen attached to the Palace of Nero.
And the wording of that passage suggests that such Christians found a
welcome meeting place in the rooms of the Apostle ; doubtless for
frequent worship, doubtless also for direct instruction, and for the
blessed enjoyments of the family affection of the Gospel. Meanwhile
(Phil. i. 15, 16) there was a section of the Roman Christian community,
probably the disciples infected with the prejudices of the Pharisaic
party (see Acts xv., &c.), who, with very few exceptions (see Col.
iv. 1 1 and notes), took sooner or later a position of trying antagonism
to St Paul ; a trial over which he triumphed in the deep peace of
Christ.
"It is an interesting possibility, not to say probability, that from time
to time the lodging was visited by inquirers of intellectual fame or
distinguished rank. Ancient Christian tradition^ actually makes the
renowned Stoic writer, L. Annceus Seneca, tutor and counsellor of
Nero, a convert of St Paul's ; and one phase of the legend was the
fabrication, within the first four centuries, of a correspondence between
the two. It is quite certain that Seneca was never a Christian, though
his language is full of startling superficial parallels to that of the
N.T., and most full in his latest writings. But it is at least very likely
that he heard, through his many channels of information, of St Paul's
existence and presence, and that he was intellectually interested in
his teaching ; and it is quite possible that he cared to visit him. It
' See Bp Lightfoot, Philippia7is, pp. 99 &c., [and our notes on Phil. i. 13].
' The first hint appears in Tertullian, cent. 2 — 3.
APPENDICES. 127
is not improbable, surely, that Seneca's brother Gallic (Acts xviii. 12)
may have described St Paul, however passingly, in a letter ; for
Gallio's religious indifference may quite well have consisted with a
strong personal impression made on him by St Paul's bearing. Feslus
himself was little interested in the Gospel, or at least took care to seem
so, and yet was deeply impressed by the personnel of the Apostle. And,
again, the Prefect of the Imperial Guard, A.D. 61, was Afranius Burras,
Seneca's intimate colleague as counsellor to Nero, and it is at least
possible that he had received from Festus a moi^e than commonplace
description of the prisoner consigned to him^.
"Bp Lightfoot, in his Essay, 'St Paul and Seneca' {PhilippiaJis,
pp. 270, &c.), thinks it possible to trace in some of the Epistles of the
Captivity a Christian adaptation of Stoic ideas. The Stoic, for
example, made much of the individual's membership in the great Body
of the Universe, and citizenship in its great City. The connexion
suggested is interesting, and it falls quite within the methods of Divine
inspiration that materials of Scripture imagery should be collected from
a secular region. But the language of St Paul about the Mystical
Body, in the Ephesian Epistle particularly, reads far more like a
direct revelation than like an adaptation; and it evidently deals with
a truth which is already, in its substance, perfectly familiar to the
readers*.
"Other conspicuous personages of Roman society at the time have
been reckoned by tradition among the chamber-converts of St Paul,
among them the poet Lucan and the Stoic philosopher Epictetus^.
But there is absolutely no evidence for these assertions. It is in-
teresting and suggestive, on the other hand, to recall one almost certain
case of conversion about this time within the highest Roman aristo-
cracy. Pomponia Graecina, wife of Plautius the conqueror of Britain,
was accused (A.D. 57, probably), of 'foreign superstition,' and tried by
her husband as domestic judge. He acquitted her. But the deep
and solemn seclusion of her life (a seclusion begun A.D. 44, when her
friend the princess Julia was put to death, and continued unbroken till
her own death, about A.D. 84), taken in connexion with the charge, as
in all likelihood it was, of Christianity, 'suggests that, shunning
society, she sought consolation in the duties and hopes of the Gospel''*,
leaving for ever the splendour and temptations of the world of Rome.
She was not a convert, obviously, of St Paul's; but her case suggests
the possibility of other similar cases."
Commentary on the Epistle to Ephesians (in this Series), Intro-
duction, pp. 16 — 19.
' We cannot but think that Bp Lightfoot {_Phil{ppianSy p. 301) somewhat under-
rates the probability that Galho and Burrus should have given Seneca an interest in
St Paul.
^ It appears in the First Ep. to the Corinthians, written a few years before the Ep.
to the Ephesians. See i Cor. xii.
'^ For the curiously Christian tone of Epictetus' writings here and there, see
Bp Lightfoot, Pkiiififiians, pp. 313 &c. The Manual of Epictetus is a book of gold
in its own way, but still that way is not Christian.
■• Bp Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 21.
128 APPENDICES.
B. "SAINTS AND FAITHFUL BRETHREN." (Ch. I. i.)
"It is universally admitted. ..that Scripture makes use of presump-
tive or hypothetical language.... It is generally allowed that M'hen all
Christians are addressed in the New Testament as 'saints,' 'dead to
sin,' 'alive unto God,' 'risen with Christ,' 'having their conversation
in heaven,' and in other like modes, they are addressed so hypotheti-
cally, and not to express the literal fact that all the individuals so
addressed were of this character; which would not have been true....
Some divines have indeed preferred as a theological arrangement a
secondary sense of [such terms] to the hypothetical application of it in
its true sense. But what is this secondary sense when we examine it?
It is itself no more than the true sense hypothetically applied....
Divines have... maintained a Scriptural secondary sense of the term
'■saint,' as 'saint by outward vocation and charitable presumption'
(Pearson on the Creed, Art. ix.) ; but this is in very terms only the real
sense of the term applied hypothetically."
J. B. MozLEY : Review of Baptismal Controversy, p. 74 (ed. 1862).
C. BISHOPS AND DEACONS. (Ch. I. i.)
These words have suggested to Bp Lightfoot an Essay on the rise,
development, and character, of the Christian Ministry, appended to his
Commentary on the Epistle (pp. 189—269). The Essay is in fact a
treatise, of the greatest value, calling for the careful and repeated study
of every reader to whom it is accessible. Along with it may be use-
fully studied a paper on the Christian Ministry in The Expositor for
July, 1887, by the Rev, G. Salmon, D.D., now Provost of Trinity
College, Dublin.
All we do here is to discuss briefly the two official titles of the
Philippian ministry, and to add a few words on the Christian Ministry
in general.
Bishops, Episcopi, i.e. Overseers. The word occvrs here, and Acts
XX. 28; I Tim. iii. 2; Tit. i. 7; besides i Pet. ii. 25, where it is used
of our Lord. The cognate noun, episcope, occurs Acts i. 20 (in a
quotation from the O.T.); i Tim. iii. i ; and in three other placesnot
in point. The cognate verb, episcopein, occurs Heb. xii. 15 (in a
connexion not in point); i Pet. v. 2.
On examination of these passages it appears that within the lifetime
of SS. Peter and Paul there existed, at least very widely, a normal
order of Church-officers called Episcopi, Superintendents. They were
charged no doubt with many varied duties, some probably semi-secular.
But above all they had spiritual oversight of the flock. They were
appointed not by mere popular vote, certainly not by self-designation.
APPENDICES. 129
but in some special sense "by the Holy Ghost" (Acts xx. 28). This
phrase may perhaps be illustrated by the mode of appointment of the
first "deacons" (Acts vi. 3), who were presented by the Church to the
Apostles, for confirmatory ordination, as men already (among other
marks of fitness) "full of the Holy Ghost."
The episcopus was evidently not an official comparatively rare; there
were more episcopi than one in the not very large community of
Philippi.
Meanwhile we find another designation of Church-officers who are
evidently in the same way shepherds and leaders of the flock; Prcshyta-i,
Elders. They are mentioned first, without comment, at the time of the
martyrdom of James the Great. See Acts xi. 30, xiv. 23, xv. 2, 4, 6,
22, 23, xvi. 4, XX. 17, xxi. 18; I Tim. v. i, 17, 19; Tit. i. 5; Jas.
V. 14; I Pet. V. I (and perhaps 5). See also 2 John i; 3 John r.
These elders appear Acts xiv. 23; Tit. i. 5; as "constituted" in local
congregations by an Apostle, or by his immediate delegate.
It is clear that the N.T. episcopus and preshy terns are in fact
the same official under differing designations ; episcopus, a term
borrowed mainly from the Gentiles, with whom it signified a super-
intending commissioner; preshyterus, from the "Eldership" of the
Jews. This appears from Acts xx. 17, 28, where St Paul, addressing
the Ephesian "elders," says that they have been appointed "bishops"
of the flock. In the Pastoral Epistles it is similarly plain that the
titles coincide. See also i Pet. v. i, 2, in the Greek.
Whether both titles were from the first in use everywhere we cannot
be sure. But it is not improbable. In the very earliest post-apostolic
writings we find "presbyters" at Corinth {Clem. Rom. to the Corinth-
ians, i. cc. 42, 44), and "bishops" {xuith '^deacons," as in Phil. i. i)
in the further East [Teaching of the Tivelve Apostles, c. 15).
We trace the same spiritual officials under more general desig-
nations, I Thess. V. 12, 13; Heb. xiii. 17; and perhaps i Cor. xii. 28
{^'governments"), and Eph. iv. 11 {'^pastors and teachers'").
Deacons, Diaconi, i.e.. Workers. The title does not occur in the
Acts, nor anywhere earlier than this Epistle, except Rom. xvi. i,
where Plmhe is called a diaconiis of the church at Cenchreas^.
Here only and in i Tim. iii. 8, 12, is the word plainly used
of a whole ministerial order. But in Acts vi. we find described
the institution of an office which in all likelihood was the dia-
conate. The functions of the Seven are just those which have
been ever since in history, even till now, assigned to deacons. And
tradition, from cent. 2 onwards, is quite unanimous in calling the
Seven by that title.
Deacons are very possibly indicated by the word '' helps'''' in i Cor.
xii. 28.
The deacon thus appears to have been primarily the officer ordained
* There is evidence of the existence in apostolic times of an organized class of
female helpers in sacred work (see i Tim. v. 3 — 16). A little later the famous letter
of Pliny to Trajan shews that such helpers (>itt'Hisim)v/eTe known in the Churches of
Asia Minor. The order was abolished before cent. 12.
PHILIPPIANS.
9
n,o APPENDICES.
to deal with the temporal needs of the congregation. But he was
assumed to be a "spiritual man," and he was capable of direct com-
missioned spiritual work.
It thus appears then that during the lifetime of SS. Peter and Paul
the word episcopus did not yet desigiiate a minister presiding over and
ruling other ministers; a "bishop" in the later and present sense. The
episcopjts was an "overseer" of not the shepherds but simply the flock,
and might be (as at Philippi) one of several such in the same place.
This fact, however, leaves quite open the question whether such _a
presiding ministry, however designated at first, did exist in apostolic
times and under apostolic sanction. That it did so may be inferred from
the following evidence, very briefly stated.
It is certain that by the close of cent. 2 a definite presidential
"episcopacy" (to which the word episcopus was then already appro-
priated, seemingly without the knowledge that it had once been other-
wise) appears everywhere in the Church. As early probably as A.D.
no we find it, in the Epistles of St Ignatius, a prominent and im-
portant fact of Church life, at least in the large circle of Churches
with which Ignatius corresponded ^ Later Church history presents us
with the same constitution, though occasionally details of system vary-,
and the conceptions of function and power were highly developed, not
always legitimately. Now between Ignatius and St John, and even
St Paul, the interval is not great; 30 or 50 years at the most. It
seems, to say the least, unlikely that so large a Church institution, over
whose 7'ise we have no clear trace of coiilroversy or opposition, should
have arisen quite out of connexion with apostolic precedent. Such
precedent we find in the N.T., (a) in the presidency of Apostles during
their lifetime, though strictly speaking their unique office had no
"successors"; {b) in the presidency of their immediate delegates or
commissioners (perhaps appointed only p7-o tempore), as Timothy and
Titus; (c) in the presidency of St James the Less in the mother-church
of Christendom ; a presidency more akin to later episcopacy than any-
thing else in the N.T.
We find further that all early history points to Asia Minor as the
scene of the fullest development of primitive episcopacy, and it con-
sistently indicates St John, at Ephesus, as in a sense its fountain-head.
It is at least possible that St John, when he finally took up his abode in
Asia, originated or developed there the regime he had known so well at
Jerusalem.
Meanwhile there is every reason to think that the episcopate, in this
latter sense, rather grew out of the presbyterate than otherwise. The
primeval bishop was primus inter pares. He was not so much one
of another order as the first of his order, for special purposes of
1 He does not mention the bishop in writing to the Roman Church. But there
is other good evidence for the then presence of a bishop at Rome.
- At Alexandria, till at least A D. 260, the bishop was chosen and ordained by the
presbyters. In the Church of Patrick (cent. 5) in Ireland and Columba (cent. 6) in
Scotland, the bishop was an ordainer, but not a diocesan ruler. See Boultbee, Hist.
0/ the Church o/Ejigland, p. 25.
APPENDICES. 131
government and ministration. Such, even cent. 5, is St Jerome's
statement of the theory. And St Jerome regards the bishop as being
v^fhat he is not by direct Divine institution, but by custom of the Church.
Not till late cent. 2 do we find the sacerdotal^ idea familiarly attached
to the Christian ministry, and not till cent. 3, the age of Cyprian,
do we find the formidable theory developed that the bishop is the
channel of grace to the lower clergy and to the people.
On the whole, the indications of the N. T. and of the next earliest
records confirm the statement of the Preface to the English Ordinal that
"from the Apostles' time there have been these orders of ministers in
Christ's Church, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." On the other hand,
having regard to the essentially and sublimely spiritual character of the
Church in its true idea, and to the revealed immediate union of each
member with the Head, by faith, we are not authorized to regard even
apostolic organization as a matter of the first order in such a sense as
that we should look on a duly ordained ministry as the indispensable
channel of grace, or should venture to unchurch Christian communities,
holding the apostolic faith concerning God in Christ, but differently
organized from what we believe to be on the whole the apostolic modeP.
On the other liand, no thoughtful Christian will wish to forget the sacred
obligations and benefits of external harmony and unity of organization,
things meant to yield only to the yet greater claims of the highest spiri-
tual truth.
D. EBIONITE CHRISTOLOGY. (Ch. I. 15.)
The allusion in our note to "lowered and distorted views" of the
Person of our Lord on the part of later Judaizers more or less Christian,
has regard mainly to Ebionis/n, a heresy first named by Irena^us (cent.
2) but which seems to have been the direct descendant of the school
which specially opposed St Paul. It lingered on till cent. 5.
It appears to have had two phases; the Pharisaic and the Essene.
As regards the doctrine of Christ's Person, the Pharisaic Ebionites held
that Jesus was born in the ordinary course of nature, but that at His
Baptism He was "anointed by election, and became Christ" (Justin
Martyr, Dial., c. xlix.); receiving power to fulfil His mission as
Messiah, but still remaining man. He had neither pre-existence nor
Divinity. The Essene Ebionites, who were in fact Gnostics, held (at
least in many instances) that Christ was a super-angelic created Spirit,
incarnate at many successive periods in various men (for instance, in
Adam), and finally in Jesus. At what point in the existence of Jesus
the Christ entered into union with Him was not defined.
See Smith's Diet, of Christian Biography, dr., art. Ehionisni.
i_It will be remembeted that the word tep«ir?, sacerdos, is never in N.T. a
designation of the Christian minister.
- This was fully owned by the great Anglican writers of cent. 17. See Bp Andrewes
writing to Du Moulin; Bp Cosin to Basire; and Bp Hall's Peace Maimer, J 6. Cp.
J. J. S. Perowne, D.D , C/uirck, Ministry, and Sacraments, pp. 6, 7.
APPENDICES.
E. CHRISTOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY. (Ch. II. 5.)
"A Christianity without Christ is no Christianity; and a Christ
not Divine is one other than the Christ on whom the souls of Christians
have habitually fed. What virtue, what piety, have existed outside
of Christianity, is a question totally distinct. But to hold that, since
the great controversy of the early time was wound up at Chalcedon,
the question of our Lord's Divinity has generated all the storms of the
Christian atmosphere, would be simply an historical untruth.
"Christianity. ..produced a type of character wholly new to the Roman
world, and it fundamentally altered the laws and institutions, the tone,
temper and tradition of that world. For example, it changed profoundly
the relation of the poor to the rich.. It abolished slavery, and a
multitude of other horrors. It restored the position of woman in society.
It made peace, instead of war, the normal and presumed relation
between human societies. It exhibited life as a discipline... in all its
parts, and changed essentially the place and function of suffering in
human experience... All this has been done not by eclectic and arbitrary
fancies, but by the creed of the Homoousion, in which the philosophy
of modern times sometimes appears to find a favourite theme of ridicule.
The whole fabric, social as well as personal, rests on the new type of
character which the Gospel brought into life and action."
W. E. Gladstone {"■ Nineteeitth C^nhay,'
May 1888; pp. 780—784).
F. ROBERT HALL ON PHIL. IT. 5-S.
EAUR'S THEORY.
The Rev. Robert Hall (1764 — 1831), one of the greatest of Christian
preachers, was in early life much influenced by the Socinian theology.
His later testimony to a true Christology is the more remarkable. The
following extract is from a sermon "preached at the (Baptist) Chapel in
Dean Street, Southwark, June 27, 1813" {Works, ed. 1833; vol. vi.,
p. 112):
"He was found in fashion as a man : it was a wonderful discovery,
an astonishing spectacle in the view of angels, that He who was in the
form of God, and adored from eternity, should be made in fashion as a
man. But w^iy is it not said that He was a man? For the same
reason that the Apostle wishes to dwell upon the appearance of our
Saviour, not as excluding the reality, but as exemplifying His con-
descension. His being in the form of God did not prove that He
was not God, but rather that He was God, and entitled to supreme
honour. So, His assuming the form of a servant and being in the
likeness of man, dees not prove that He was not man, but, on the
APPENDICES. 13j
contrary, includes it; at the same time including a manifestation of
Himself, agreeably to His design of purchasing the salvation of His
people, and dying for the sins of the world, by sacrificing Himself upon
the Cross."
Baur {Patilits, pp. 458 — 464) goes at length into the Christological
passage, and actually contends for the view that it is written by one who
had before him the developed Gnosticism of cent, i, and was not
uninfluenced by it. In the words of ver. 6, a consciousness of the
Gnostic teaching about the /Eon Sophia^ striving for an absolute union
with the absolute being of the Unknowable Supreme ; and again about
the ^ons in general, striving similarly to "grasp" the pleroiiia of
Absolute Being and discovering only the more deeply in their effort
this kmoma of their own relativity and dependence.
The best refutation of such expositions is the repeated perusal of the
Epistle itself, with its noon-day practicality of precept and purity of
affections, and not least its high language (ch. iii.) about the sanctity
of the body — an idea wholly foreign to the Gnostic sphere of thought.
It is true that Schrader, a critic earlier than Baur (see Alford, N.T.
III. p. 27), supposed the passage iii. i — iv. 9 to be an interpolation.
But, not to speak of the total absence of any historical or docu-
mentary support for such a theory, the careful reader will find in that
section just those minute touches of harmony with the rest of the
Epistle, e.g. in the indicated need of internal union at Philippi, which
are the surest signs of homogeneity.
G. AD. MONOD ON ST PAUL'S TEARS. (Cn. III. 18.)
"What is the Gospel of St Paul? Is it but a refined deism, an-
nouncing as its whole doctrine the existence of God and the immortality
of the soul, as its whole revelation the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of man, as its only mediator Jesus Christ living as prophet
and dying as martyr? Or is this Gospel a religion unlike all others
(uiie religion tout a /</;-/). ..proclaiming a God unknown, promising
an indescribable deliverance, demanding a radical change, compassion-
ate and terrible at once, ...high as heaven, deep as hell? You need
not, for your answer, consult the writings of the Apostle; you have
but to see him weeping at your feet."
Saint Paul, Cinq Discours (ed. 1859), p. 62.
134 APPENDICES.
H. FAMILY AFFECTION OF CHRISTIANITY. (Ch. IV. i.)
"While the great motives of the Gospel reduce the muhipHcity
and confusion of the passions by their commanding force, they do,
by the very same energy, expand all sensibilities ; or, if we might
so speak, send the pulse of life with vigour through the finer vessels of
the moral system : there is far less apathy, and a far more equable
consciousness in the mind, after it has admitted Christianity, than
before ; and, by necessary consequence, there is more individuality,
because more life. Christians, therefore, while they understand each
other better than other men do, possess a greater stock of sentiment to
make the subject of converse, than others. The comparison of heart
to heart knits heart to heart, and communicates to friendship very
much that is sweet and intense....
" So far as Christians truly exhibit the characteristics of their Lord,
in spirit and conduct, a vivid emotion is enkindled in other Christian
bosoms, as if the bright Original of all perfection stood dimly revealed.
...The conclusion comes upon the mind... that this family resem-
blance... springs from a common centre, and that there exists, as its
archetype, an invisible Personage, of whose glory all are, in a measure,
partaking."
Isaac Taylor, of Ongar; Saturday Evening, ch. xix.
I. PHILIPPI AND THE EPISTLE. (Ch. IV. i8.) From an
essay by Prof. J. Agar Beet, in The Expositor (January, 1889), I
extract the closing sentences : —
"With this reply [the Epistle], a gift infinitely more precious than
that he brought from Philippi, Epaphroditus starts on his homeward
journey. The joy caused by his return, and the effect of this wonderful
letter when first read in the Church at Philippi, are hidden from us.
And we may almost say that with this letter the Church itself passes
from our view. To-day, in silent meadows quiet cattle browse among
the ruins which mark the site of what was once the flourishing Roman
colony of Philippi, the home of the most attractive Church of the
apostolic age. But the name and fame and spiritual influence of that
Church will never pass. To myriads of men and women in every age
and nation, the letter written in a dungeon at Rome and carried
along the Egnatian Way by an obscure Christian messenger, has been a
light Divine, and a cheerful guide along the most rugged paths in life.
As I watch, and myself rejoice in, the brightness of that far- shining
light, and glance at those silent ruins, I see fulfilled an ancient
prophecy : The grass ivithereth, the flower fadeth : but the word of our
Cod shall stand for ez'tr, "
INDEX
TO INTRODUCTION, NOTES, AND APPENDICES.
*t* From this Index (to subject-matter, and to names of Authors) are omitted
for the most part such references as are obviously indicated by chapter and verse of
the Text.
yEschylus, 42
affection, Christian, 134
Alford, Dean, 14, 22, 49, 50, 64, 68, 70,
82, 98, 100, loi, 103, 133
Andrewes, Bp, 131
antinomianisni, 48, 102
Arius, 65
assurance, 72, 73
Augustine, St, 104, 105
Baur, 21, 22, 133
Beet, Professor, 134
Bengel, 43
bishops, 38, 80, 12S — 131
body, destiny of the, ico
bondservice. Christian, 38
Boultbee, Dr, 130
bravimit, 99
Burrus, 16, 127
Camerarius, 54
Chalcedon, "Definition" of, 71
Christ, eternal reign of, loS
Godhead of, 65, 70, 71, 90, 123
Christ ycsiis, 38
Christiati Year, 107
Chrysostom, St, 54, 64, 71, 72, 81,98, 99,
I20
Cicero, 68
Clement, St, of Alexandria, 20, 104, no
Rome, no, 129
colonies, Roman, 10
Columba, St, 130
commerce, metaphors from, 120
Conybeare and Howson, 58, 88, 119
Cosin, Bp, 131
Cyprian, St, 131
Dante, 70
Day of Christ, 41
deacons, 38, 129
deaconesses, no, 129
Dickson, 87
Diciiona>y of the Bible, 88
— Christia}iBiography,\o^,
— Classical Antiqitittcs, 117
Diognetus, Epistle to, 104
doctrine and practice, 63, 71, 132
Ebionism, 131
Edersheim, 22
EUicott, Bp, 47, 49, 50, 53, 65, 67, 68,
98, 109, 115
Elzevir, 37
Epictetus, 127
episcopacy, 130, 131
Euripides, 84
Eusebius, 21, 104
Euthalius, 124
Expositor, The, 38, 128, 134
Faber, G. S., 94
Fatherhood, Divine, 74
faith, nature of, 93
Festus, 127
flesh, 87
Gallio, 127
Gibbon, 68
Gladstone, W. E., 132
gnosticism. 133
God the Father, 123
grace, 39, 73
— and will, 73
Grimm's Lexicon 0/ N. T., 92
Guyon, Mme, 113
Hall, Bp, 131
— Robert, 132
136
INDEX.
Hare, J. C, 93
Hilgenfeld, 22
Homilies, 94
Hooker, 94, 96
Hopkins, Bp, 94
Ignatius, St, 13, 21, 27, 28, 62, 76, 130
indwelling, 73
Irenseus, St, 20, 70
individualism of the Gospel, 90
joy, spiritual, 50
Josephus, 87
Judaists, 48, 85, 126
justification, 18, 45, 69, 72, 92 — 94, 102
Justin, St, 42, 131
kenosis, 65, 66
knowledge, 90
Leathes, Dr, 36
Lewin, 10, 11, 46, 119
Liddon, Dr, 69
Lightfoot, Bp, II, 14, 16 — 18, 21, 22, 24,
27. 28. 39> 44. 46, 47. 49. 5°. 64—66,
68, 69, 76, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 87, 91, 99,
103, 109, III, 115, 117 — 119, 121, 122,
125 — 128
Longfellow, 105
lost, state of the, 70
Lucan, 121
Luther, 93
Lydia, 11
Lyons and Vienne, Epistles from, zi
Lyttelton, Lord, 91
Macedonia, 11
Macedonian characteristics, 13
M'Cosh, 73
Maison dn Roy, 123
Melanchthon, 54
Menander, 84
Merivale, Dean, 46
metrical N.T. quotations, 84
Monod, Adolphe, 54, 103, 133
Mozley, J. B , 128
Nineteejith Century, The, 132
O'Brien, Bp, 94
Parabolani, 82
Patrick, St, 130
Paul, St, at Rome, 125—127
Pembroke Hall, 135
perfectionism, 100
Perowne, Dean (of Peterborough), 113,
131
perseverance of the saints, 96, 97, m
Pfieiderer, 22
Philip of Macedon, 11
Philippi, 9—14, 134
battle of, 10
party spirit in Church of, ig, 39,
92, 63, 74, Si, 82, loi
Philippians, Epistle to the,
its date, 14
— occasion, ig
— authenticity, 20
- — doctrinal affinities, 18,
19, 23, 24
— -^ — argument, 28 — 35
— spiritual power, 134
Philippians, Epistle of Pulycarp to, 13,
21, 24—28, 57, 76
Phoebe, 129
Piers Ptoivman, \\2
play, verbal, 85
Plutarch, 64
Pomponia Graecina, 127
Praetorian camp, 46 — 7, 125
Polycarp, St, 13, 21, 24 — 28, 57, 76
Renan, 22, no
Ridley, Bp, 135
righteousness, 92
sacerdotal language, 76
sacerdotalism, 131
Salmon, Dr, 12, 22, no, 128
Schrader, 133
Schwegler, log
Scott, I'homas, 62, 72
Scrivener, Dr, 124
self-abnegation, 62, 115
Seneca, 126
Skeat, Professor, 53, 102, n2
sonship, spiritual, 74
soul and spirit, 58
"Spirit," "the Spirit," 61
Stoicism, 127
Suicer, 54
Taylor, Isaac, 54, 134
Teaching 0/ tlie Twelve Apostles, 129
Tertullian, 20, 42, 97
Tigellinus, 16, 18
Trench, Abp, 64, 87, 105, io5, 112, 114
Trent, Council of, 73
union with Christ, 42, 91, 118
Unitas Fratrum, Church of the, 84
Valentinians, 70
Virgil, 99
Westcott, Professor, 75
Winer, 105
Wittichen, 22
woman, at Philippi, 16, 109
Cambridge: printed bv c. j. clay, m.a. and sons, at the university press.
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use. " — Academy.
The Book of Job. "Able and scholarly as the Introduction is, it is
far surpassed by the detailed exegesis of the book. In this Dr Davidson's
strength is at its greatest. His linguistic knowledge, his artistic habit,
his scientific insight, and his literaiy power have full scope when he
comes to exegesis Thebookis worthy of the reputation of Dr Davidson;
it represents the results of many years of labour, and it will greatly help
to the right understanding of one of the greatest works in the literature
of the world." — The Spectator.
" In the course of a long introduction, Dr Davidson has presented
us with a very able and very interesting criticism of this wonderful
book. Its contents, the nature of its composition, its idea and purpose,
its integrity, and its age are all exhaustively treated of.... We have not
space to examine fully the text and notes before us, but we can, and do
heartily, recommend the book, not only for the upper forms in schools,
but to Bible students and teachers generally. As we wrote of a previous
volume in the same series, this one leaves nothing to be desired. The
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
notes are full and suggestive, without being too long, and, in itself, the
introduction forms a valuable addition to modern Bible literature." — The
Educational Times.
"Already we have frequently called attention to this exceedingly
valuable work as its volumes have successively appeared. But we have
never done so with greater pleasure, very seldom with so great pleasure,
as we now refer to the last published volume, that on the Book of Job,
by Dr Davidson, of Edinburgh.... We cordially commend the volume to
all our readers. The least instructed will understand and enjoy it ;
and mature scholars will learn from it." — Aletliodist Recorder.
Job — Hosea. " It is difficult to commend too highly this excellent
series, the volumes of which are now becoming numerous. The two
books before us, small as they are in size, comprise almost everything
that the young student can reasonably expect to find in the way of helps
towards such general knowledge of their 'Subjects as may be gained
without an attempt to grapple with the Hebrew ; and even the learned
scholar can hardly read without interest and benefit the very able intro-
ductory matter which both these ccmmentators have prefixed to their
volumes. It is not too much to say that these works have brought
within the reach of the ordinary reader resources which were until
lately quite unknown for understanding some of the most difficult and
obscure portions of Old Testament literature." — Guardian.
Ecclesiastes ; or, the Preaclier. — "Of the Notes, it is sufficient to
say that they are in every respect worthy of Dr Plumptre's high repu-
tation as a scholar and a critic, being at once learned, sensible, and
practical. . . . An appendix, in which it is clearly proved that the
author of Ecclesiastes anticipated Shakspeare and Tennyson in some
of their finest thoughts and reflections, will be read with interest by
students both of Hebrew and of English literature. Commentaries are
seldom attractive reading. This little volume is a notable exception." —
The Scotsman.
"In short, this little book is of far greater value than most of the
larger and more elaborate commentaries on this Scripture. Indispens-
able to the scholar, it will render real and laige help to all who have to
expound the dramatic utterances of The Preacher whether in the Church
or in the School." — The Expositor.
"The ^ ideal biography' of the author is one of the most exquisite
and fascinating pieces of writing we have met with, and, granting its
starting-point, throws wonderful light on many problems connected with
the book. The notes illustrating the text are full of delicate criticism,
fine glowing insight, and apt historical allusion. An abler volume
than Professor Plumptre's we could not desire." — Baptist Magazine.
Jeremiah, by A. W. Streane. "The arrangement of the book is
well treated on pp. xxx., 396, and the question of Baruch's relations
with its composition on pp. xxvii., xxxiv., 317. The illustrations from
English literature, history, monuments, works on botany, topography,
etc., are good and plentiful, as indeed they are in other volumes of this
series." — Church Quarterly Review, April, 1881.
" Mr Streane's Jeremiah consists of a series of admirable and well-
nigh exhaustive notes on the text, with introduction and ap])endices,
drawing the life, times, and character of the prophet, the style, contents,
4 CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS & COLLEGES.
and arrangement of his prophecies, the traditions relating to Jeremiah,
meant as a type of Christ (a most remarkable chapter), and other
j-.rophecies relating to Jeremiah." — The English Churchman and Clerical
yournal.
Obadiah and Jonah. " This number of the admirable series of
Scriptural expositions issued by the Syndics of the Cambridge Uni-
versity Press is well up to the mark. The numerous notes are
excellent. No difficulty is shirked, and much light is thrown on the
contents both of Obadiah and Jonah. Scholars and students of to-day
are to be congratulated on having so large an amount of information on
Biblical subjects, so clearly and ably put together, placed within their
reach in such small bulk. To all Biblical students the series will be
acceptable, and for the use of Sabbath-school teachers will prove
invaluable." — North British Daily Mail.
" It is a very useful and sensible exposition of these two Minor
Prophets, and deals very tlioroughly and honestly with the immense
difficulties of the later-named of the two, from the orthodox point of
view.' ' — Expositor.
" Haggai and Zechaiiali. This interesting little volume is of great
value. It is one of the best books in that well-known series of
scholarly and popular commentaries, 'the Cambridge Bible for Schools
and Colleges' of which Dean Perowne is the General Editor. In the
expositions of Archdeacon Perowne we are always sure to notice
learning, ability, judgment and reverence .... The notes are terse
and pointed, but fidl and reliable." — Churchman.
" Tne Gospel according to St Mattliew, by the Rev. A. Carr. The
introduction is able, scholarly, and eminently practical, as it bears
on the authorship and contents of the Gospel, and the original form
in which it is supposed to have been written. It is well illustrated by
two excellent maps of the Holy Land and of the Sea of Galilee." —
English Churchman.
"St Mattliew, edited by A. Carr, M.A. The Book of Joshua,
edited by G. F. Maclear, D.D. The General Epistle of St James,
edited by E. H. Plumi'TRE, D.D. The introductions and notes are
scholarly, and generally such as young readers need and can appre-
ciate. The maps in both Joshua and Matthew are very good, and all
matters of editing are faultless. Professor Plumptre's notes on 'The
Epistle of St James' are models of terse, exact, and elegant renderings
of the original, which is too often obscured in the authorised version." —
Nonconformist.
"St Mark, with Notes by the Rev. G. F. Maclear, D.D. Into
this small volume Dr ALiclear, besides a clear and able Introduc-
tion to the Gospel, and the text of St Mark, has compressed many
hundreds of valuable and helpful notes. In short, he has given us
a capital manual of the kind required — containing all that is needed to
illustrate the text, i. e. all that can be drawn from the history, geography,
customs, and manners of the time. But as a handbook, giving in a
clear and succinct form the information which a lad requires in order
to stand an examination in the Gospel, it is admirable I can very
heartily commend it, not only to the senior boys and girls in our High
Schools, but also to Sunday-school teachers, who may get from it the
very kind of knowledge they often find it hardest to get. " — Expositor.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
"With the help of a book like this, an intelligent teacher may make
'Divinity' as interesting a lesson as any in the school course. The
notes are of a kind that will be, for the most part, intelligible to boys
of the lower forms of our public schools ; but they may be read with
greater profit by the fifth and sixth, in conjunction with the original
text." — The Academy.
"St Luke. Canon Farrar has supplied students of the Gospel
with an admiral>le manual in this volume. It has all that copious
variety of illustration, ingenuity of suggestion, and general soundness ot
interpretation which readers are accustomed to expect from the learned
and eloquent editor. Any one who has been accustomed to associate
tlie idea of 'dryness' with a commentary, should go to Canon Farrar's
St Luke for a more correct impression. He will find that a commen-
tary may be made interesting in the highest degree, and that without
losing anything of its solid value, . . . But, so to speak, it is too good
for some of the readers for whom it is intended." — The Spectator.
"Canon Farrar's contribution to The Cambridge School Bible
is one of the most valuable yet made. His annotations on Tlie Gospel
according to St Luke, while they display a scholarship at least as sound,
and an erudition at least as wide and varied as those of the editors ot
St Matthew and St Mark, are rendered telling and attractive by a
more lively imagination, a keener intellectual and spiritual insight, a
more incisive and picturesque style. His St Luke is worthy to be ranked
with Professor Plumptre's St James, than which no higher commend-
ation can well be given." — The Expositor.
"St Luke. Edited by Canon Farrar, D.D. We have received with
pleasure this edition of the Gospel by St Luke, by Canon Farrar. It is
another instalment of the best school commentary of the Bible we pos-
sess. Of the expository part of the work we cannot speak too highly.
It is admirable in every way, and contains just the sort of informa-
tion needed for Students of the English text unable to make use of the
original Greek for themselves." — Tlie N'onconformist and Jndependetit.
"As a handbook to the third gospel, this small work is invaluable.
The author has compressed into little space a vast mass of scholarly in-
formation. . • The notes are pithy, vigorous, and suggestive, abounding
in pertinent illustrations from general literature, and aiding the youngest
reader to an intelligent appreciation of the text. A finer contribution to
'The Cambridge Bible for Schools' has not yet been made." — Baptist
magazine.
"We were quite prepared to find in Canon Farrar's St Luke a
masterpiece of Biblical criticism and comment, and we are not dis-
appointed by our examination of the volume before us. It reflects very
faithfully the learning and critical insight of the Canon's greatest works,
his 'Life of Christ' and his 'Life of St Paul', but differs widely from
both in the terseness and condensation of its style. What Canon Farrar
has evidently aimed at is to place before students as much information
as possible within the limits of the smallest possible space, and
in this airn he has hit the mark to perfection." — The Examiner.
6 CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS & COLLEGES.
The Gospel according to St John. " Of the notes we can say with
confidence that they are useful, necessary, learned, and brief. To
Divinity students, to teachers, and for private use, this compact
Commentary will be found a valuable aid to the better understanding
of the Sacred Text. " — School Guardiaii.
"The new volume of the 'Cambridge Bible for Schools' — the
Gospel according to St John, by the Rev. A. Plummer— shows as
careful and thorough work as either of its predecessors. The intro-
duction concisely yet fully describes the life of St John, the authenticity
of the Gospel, its characteristics, its relation to the Synoptic Gospels,
and to the Apostle's First Epistle, and the usual subjects referred to in
an 'introduction'." — The Christian Church.
"The notes are extremely scholarly and valuable, and in most cases
exhaustive, bringing to the elucidation of the text all that is best in
commentaries, ancient and modern." — The English Churchman and
Clerical Journal.
"(i) The Acts of the Apostles. By J. Rawson Lumby, D.D,
(-2) The Second Epistle of the Corinthians, edited by Professor Lias.
The introduction is pithy, and contains a mass of carefully-selected
information on the authorship of the Acts, its designs, and its sources.
The Second Epistle of the Corinthians is a manual beyond all praise,
for the excellence of its pithy and pointed annotations, its analysis of the
contents, and the fulness and value of its introduction." — Exa7niner.
"The concluding portion of the Acts of the Apostles, under the very
competent editorship of Dr Lumby, is a valuable addition to our
school-books on that subject. Detailed criticism is impossible within
the space at our command, but we may say that the ample notes touch
with much exactness the very points on which most readers of the text
desire information. Due reference is made, where necessary, to the
Revised Version; the maps are excellent; and we do not know of any
other volume where so much help is given to the complete understand-
ing of one of the most important and, in many respects, difficult books
of the New Testament." — School GuardioM.
"The Rev. H. C. G. Moule, M.A., has made a valuable addition
to The Cambridge Bible for Schools in his brief commentary on
the Epistle to the Romans. The "Notes" are very good, and lean,
as the notes of a School Bible should, to the most commonly ac-
cepted and orthodox view of the inspired author's meaning; while the
Introduction, and especially the Sketch of the Life of St Paul, is a model
of condensation. It is as lively and pleasant to read as if two or three
facts had not been crowded into well-nigh every sentence." — Expositor.
"The Epistle to the Romans. It is seldom we have met with a
work so remarkable for the compression and condensation of all that
is valuable in the smallest possible space as in the volume before us.
Within its limited pages we have 'a sketch of the Life of St Paul,'
we have further a critical account of the date of the Epistle to the
Romans, of its language, and of its genuineness. The notes are
numerous, full of matter, to the point, and leave no real difficulty
or obscurity unexplained." — The Exami7ier.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
"The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Edited by Professor Lias.
Every fresh instalment of this annotated edition of the Bible for Schools
confirms the favourable opinion we formed of its value from the exami-
nation of its first number. The origin and plan of the Epistle are
discussed with its character and gtx\\xmQn(t%s."—The Nonconfor?Hist.
"The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. By Professor Lias. The
General Epistles of St Peter and St Jude. By E. II. Plumptre, D. D.
We welcome these additions to the valuable series of the Cambridge
Bible. We have nothing to add to the commendation which we
have from the first publication given to this edition of the Bible. It is
enough to say that Professor Lias has completed his work on the two
Epistles to the Corinthians in the same admirable manner as at first.
Dr Plumptre has also completed the Catholic 'E.^is.ilits."— Nonconformist.
The Epistle to the Ephesians. By Rev. H. C. G. Moule, M.A.
" It seems to us the model of a School and College Commentary-
comprehensive, but not cumbersome; scholarly, but not pedantic." —
Baptist Magazine.
Hebrews. " Like his (Canon Farrar's) commentary on Luke it
possesses all the best characteristics of his writing. It is a work not
only of an accomplished scholar, but of a skilled teacher." — Baptist
Alagaziue.
•'We heartily commend this volume of this excellent work." —
Sunday School Chronicle.
"The General Epistle of St James, by Professor Plumptre, D.D.
Nevertheless it is, so far as I know, by far the best exposition of the
Epistle of St James in the English language. Not Schoolboys or
Students going in for an examination alone, but Ministers and Preachers
of the Word, may get more real help from it than from the most costly
and elaborate commentaries." — Expositor.
The Epistles of St John. By the Rev. A. Plummer, M.A., D.D.
"This forms an admirable companion to the 'Commentary on the
Gospel according to St John,' which was reviewed in The Churchman
as soon as it appeared. Dr Plummer has some of the highest qualifica-
tions for such a task ; and these two volumes, their size being considered,
will bear comparison with the best Commentaries of the time." — The
Churchmaji.
" His small volume is, for all practical purposes, complete, both in
the Introduction and Notes. He is an accomplished scholar, a keen
dialectician, a sound critic, and a judicious expositor, in full sympathy,
also, with the utterances of the great Apostle of Love. Our space does
not admit us to enter into details, but the estimate we have expressed
is the result of a full and minute acquaintance with this delightful
little book." — The Baptist Magazine.
" Dr Plummer's edition of the Epistles of St John is worthy of its
companions in the 'Cambridge Bible for Schools' Series. The
subject, though not apparently extensive, is really one not easy to
treat, and requiring to be treated at length, owing to the constant
reference to obscure heresies in the Johannine writings. Dr Plummer
has done his exegetical task well." — The Saturday Rcvic'v.
GREEK TESTAMENT.
THE CAMBRIDGE GREEK TESTAMENT
FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
with a Revised Text, based on the most recent critical authorities, and
English Notes, prepared under the direction of the General Editor,
The Very Reverend J. J. S. PEROWNE, D.D.
St Matthew. " Copious illustrations, gathered from a great variety
of sources, make his notes a very valuable aid to the student. They
are indeed remarkably interesting, while all explanations on meanings,
applications, and the like are distinguished by their lucidity and good
sense."— /'a// Mall Gazette.
St Mark. "The Cambridge Greek Testament of which Dr Maclear's
edition of the Gospel according to St Mark is a volume, certainly
supplies a want. Without pretending to compete with the leading
commentaries, or to embody very much original research, it forms a
most satisfactory introduction to the study of the New Testament in
the original. ...Dr Maclear's introduction contains all that is known of
St Mark's life; an account of the circumstances in which the Gospel
was composed, with an estimate of the influence of St Peter's teaching
upon St Mark ; an excellent sketch of the special characteristics of this
Gospel ; an analysis, and a chapter on the text of the New Testament
generally. " — Haturday /Kevinv.
St Luke. "Of this second series we have a new volume by
Archdeacon Farrar on St Luke, completing the four Gospels.... It
gives us in clear and beautiful language the best results of modern
scholarship. We have a most attractive Introduction. Then follows
a sort of composite Greek text, representing fairly and in very beautiful
type the consensus of modem textual critics. At the beginning of the
exposition of each chapter of the Gospel are a (evr short critical notes
giving the manuscript evidence for such various readings as seem to
deserve mention. The expository notes are short, but clear and helpful.
For young students and those who are not disposed to buy or to study
the much more cosily work of Godet, this seems to us to be the best
book on the Greek Text of the Third Gos^tl."— Methodist Recorder.
St John. " We take this opportunity of recommending to ministers
on probation, the very excellent volume of the same series on this part
of the New Testament. We hope that most or all of our young ministers
will prefer to study the volume in the Cambridge Greek Testament fv>
Schools. " — Methodist Recorder.
The Acts of the Apostles. "Professor Lumby has performed his
laborious task well, and supplied us with a commentary the fulness and
freshness of which Bible students will not be slow to appreciate. The
volume is enriched with the usual copious indexes and four coloured
maps." — Glasgow Herald.
I. Corinthians. "Mr Lias is no novice in New Testament exposi-
tion, and the present series of essays and notes is an able and helpful
addition to the existing books." — Guardian.
The Epistles of St John. "In the very useful and well annotated
series of the Cambridge Greek Testament the volume on the Epistles
of St John must hold a high position ... The notes are brief, well
informed and intelligent." — Scotsman.
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