l.'.l,',l.'.l,l,UUIill,'.l.».l.ll,'.IAI,tl.',l.'.I.IJ,'.I.M.I.I,',l,'.l.'.l,M,'.lil.l,M,'il,l,l,!,IJ,l

YALE UNIVERSITY
Xibrarg of the ©foinitg School
GIFT OF
I Douglas Qlgde JWacintosh
DWIGHT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY
I DWIGHT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AND
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
1916-1942
flTTI'lTiTi'iri-1"™  ¦  |ViriVllill1,HT'l""l"'",""""i'l»"'wivn'iw.x^

THE APOSTOLIC AGE
A Study of the Early Church
and Its Achievements

BY
WILLIAM BANCROFT HILL, D.D.
Frederick Weyerhaeuser Professor of Biblical Literature in
Vassar College

New York Chicago
Fleming H. Revell Company
London and Edinburgh

Copyright, 1922, by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY

praz tfSSlfiCL

New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.
London: 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street

To the Noble Band of
Foreign Missionaries
in many lands to-day who reproduce
the Apostolic Age

PREFACE
IN undertaking to present the history of the Apos
tolic Age in a volume of moderate size, I have
had to limit myself strictly as regards descrip
tion and discussion. The restriction upon descriptive
writing I do not regret. To picture the view from the
Areopagus or to describe the monuments of ancient
Athens, sheds little light upon Paul's labours in that
city. But. I wish it had been possible to discuss more
fully the mooted points in apostolic history, which are
many. The temptation to do so, in footnotes if not in
the text, was strong; but I have kept to the rule of
simply stating my conclusions without going into all
that might be said against them. Lest this should
make me seem at times dogmatic, I wish to say that I
have ever recognized the authority of the great schol
ars, and shaped my statements after careful considera
tion of what they set forth.
While I have been indebted constantly to those who
have written before me, I have rarely made acknowl
edgment of that debt. Often it would be impossible
to do so; for after a quarter of a century spent in
studying and teaching the Apostolic Age, one is puz
zled to trace the source of many of his most helpful
ideas. Indeed, every writer upon a Biblical subject
" is like unto a man that is a householder, who bring-
eth out of his treasure things new and old" (Matt
13:52). The Apostolic Age was the great missionary age of
the church, and should be studied as such. For this

8 PREFACE
reason I have found my own somewhat intimate ac
quaintance with foreign missions a constant aid in
realizing the work and problems of the apostles and
their churches. Much that to the scholar in his study
seems inexplicable, becomes clear and almost a matter
of course to the missionary who labours in a field where
heathen life and thought similar to that of the first
century surround him. I am convinced that the most
illuminating book on the Apostolic Age remains to be
written by some one who combines the ripest scholar
ship with the widest knowledge of foreign missions
to-day.
W. B. H.
Vassak College,
poughkeepsie, n. y.

Contents
Introduction  13
1. Importance of the Apostolic Age. 2. Historical
Sources. 3. Luke and the Book of Acts.
I. The Days of Preparation and Pentecost 23
1. The Forty Days with Jesus. 2. Birth of the
Church. 3. The Baptism of the Church.
II . The Growth of the Church in Jerusalem 36
1. Outward Growth. 2. Inward Development.
3. The First Testings. 4. Martyrdom of Stephen.
III. The Entrance Into the Larger Field . 53
1. The Scattering by Persecution. 2. The Jews
of the Dispersion. 3. The Gospel in Samaria.
4. The Eunuch from Ethiopia. 5. The Case of
Cornelius.
IV. The Early Life of Paul .... 67
1. The Boy in Tarsus. 2. The Young Man in
Jerusalem. _ 3. From Persecutor to Penitent.
4. The Disciple at Damascus.
V. Paul Preaching the Faith ... 83
1. In Damascus and Arabia. 2. In Jerusalem and
Judea. 3. In Syria and Cilicia. 4. With Bar
nabas at Antioch. 5. The Case of Titus.
VI. Paul's First Missionary Journey . . 98
1. The Roman World. 2. The Call and the Tour
Through Cyprus. 3. In Pisidian Antioch. 4. In
Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. 5. The Return to
Antioch in Syria.
VII. The Battle for Christian Unity . 116
1. Christians and the Law. 2. Peter at Antioch.
3. The Council at Jerusalem.
VIII. The Second Missionary Journey . 131
1. From Antioch to Troas. 2. Through Macedonia.
3. In Athens. 4. In Corinth. 5. The Two
Letters to the Thessalonians. 6. The Return to
Antioch. 9

10 CONTENTS
IX. The Battle for Christian Equality . 159
1. James, the Brother of Jesus. 2. The Epistle
of James. 3. The Trouble in Galatia. 4. The
Letter to the Galatians.
X. Paul's Years at Ephesus .... 175
1. Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis. 2. Apollos
and His Disciples. 3. The Conquest of Asia.
4. The Close of the Work.
XI. The Letters to the Corinthians . . 188
1. The First Letter, now II Cor. 6:14-7:1. 2. The
Second Letter, now I Corinthians. 3. The Third
Letter, now II Cor. 10-13. 4. The Fourth
Letter, now II Cor. 1-9.
XII. Paul's Preparation for Spain . . . 205
1. The Collection for the Poor in Jerusalem.
2. The Letter to the Romans. 3. The Journey to
Jerusalem.
XIII. Paul a Prisoner of Rome .... 221
1. In Custody of Lysias. 2. In Custody of Felix.
3. In Custody of Festus. 4. In Custody of
Julius. 5. In Custody of Nero.
XIV. The Letters of Paul in Prison . . 233
1. The Note to Philemon. 2. The Letter to the
Colossians. 3. The Letter to the Ephesians.
4. The Letter to the Philippians.
XV. The Passing of Paul  248
1. Problems of the Pastorals. 2. The First Letter
to Timothy. 2. The Letter to Titus. 3. The
Second Letter to Timothy. 4. Paul's Services to
Christianity.
XVI The Later Church in Palestine . . 266
1. Rome and Palestine. 2. The Jews and the
Christians. 3. The Epistle to the Hebrews.
4. The Epistle of Jude.
XVII The Synoptic Gospels .... 284
1. The Oral Gospel. 2. The Sayings of Jesus.
3. The Gospel of Mark. 4. The Gospel of Mat
thew. 5. The Gospel of Luke.

CONTENTS 11
XVIII. Christianity and the Roman Govern
ment .  300
1. The Persecution by Nero. 2. The Later Per
secutions. 3. The Later Years of Peter. 4. The
First Epistle of Peter. 5. The Second Epistle of
Peter.
XIX. The Revelation of John .... 314
1. The Problems of the Book. 2. The Nature of
an Apocalypse. 3. The Occasion of Writing.
4. The Contents of the Book.
XX. The Apostle John  331
1. TheLabours of John. 2. What Did John Write?
3. The First Epistle of John. 4. The Second and
Third Epistles of John. 5. The Gospel of John.
XXI. Church Membership and Government . 350
1. Admission Into the Church. 2. Church Fel
lowship. 3. Church Officers. 4. Church Dis
cipline.
XXII. Christian Worship  367
1. Sacred Days. 2. Sacred Places. 3. The Pub
lic Religious Service. 4. Women and Public Wor
ship. 5. The Private Religious Service.
Chronology ....... 381
Index  383

INTRODUCTION
THE Apostolic Age began when Jesus entrusted
to His disciples the work of proclaiming His
gospel and building His church; this was in
the year 29 or possibly 30 a.d. But when did it end ?
If we define it as the period when the apostles were
still alive, its close was when the last one' died, — a date
we do not know. James, the brother of John, was
martyred in 44 a.d., and was probably the first of the
Twelve to die; but we have no certain information
about the death of the others. If the Apostolic Age is
defined more broadly as the period in which the church
assumed an established form and creed through the
influence of the apostles, still there is question as to
the proper date for its termination. Many scholars
would select 70 a.d., the year when Judaism received
what promised to be a mortal blow by the burning of
the temple, the destruction of the holy city, and the
suppression of the Sanhedrin. For the Jewish portion
of the apostolic church that date certainly marks an
epoch; but for the Gentile portion, which was then
much the larger, it has far less significance. A more
favourite date, which we shall adopt, is 100 a.d., not
mainly because tradition says that John, as the last of
the apostles, died about that time, but because at the
end of the century the freshness and force of apostolic
initiative had ceased, and the spirit that produced the
13

14 INTRODUCTION
Old Catholic Church of the second century was becom
ing dominant.
1. The Importance of the Apostolic Age.
The Apostolic Age is often held up for admiration
and imitation as the time — and the only time — when
Christianity existed in purity and perfection, and when
church life and institutions were ideal. This is a
serious mistake. If we bear in mind the environment
in which the Church had to live, and from which it
gained its members, — the narrow and bigoted Jewish
world, the depraved, superstitious, idolatrous Gentile
world, — we cannot expect to find it free from defects.
The apostle of old, like the missionary of to-day, had
to build with the material he found at hand ; and much
of it was wood, hay, stubble. Moreover, to select any
period in the past as a pattern and seek simply to re
produce it, is to check all healthy growth and develop
ment, thereby making Christianity as stereotyped and
unprogressive as Islam. The Golden Age lies ever in
future, not in the past.
Nevertheless, the Apostolic Age is for every student
the most important period of church history except his
own. All we know about the life and teachings of
Jesus and the origin of the Christian religion is gained
from this period in which the New Testament, that
precious text-book of our faith, came into existence.
Without a knowledge of the beginnings, the later move
ments of Christianity are as mysterious as were the
rise and fall of the Nile when its sources were un
known. Again, these early years were a time of fresh
ness and enthusiasm, when the Church displayed a
force and consecration that have never been surpassed
and form an ever-inspiring example. The Apostolic

INTRODUCTION 15
Age was the great missionary age of the Church. The
apostles were, as the name signifies, missionaries; and
the whole Church was aflame with missionary zeal.
The record of those days, given in the New Testament,
is a record of mission work, at first among the Jews,
home missions, but soon and mainly among the Gen
tiles, foreign missions. The experiences and problems,
the trials and triumphs of the Apostolic Church are
repeated to-day on mission fields; so that the Book of
Acts and the epistles of Paul remain the best manual
for mission workers ; while, on the other hand, an inti
mate acquaintance with present-day missions is an al
most indispensable preparation for a full understand
ing of the first Christian century. Above all, the Apos
tolic Age was a day of mighty personalities, of men
whose minds were illumined by the Holy Spirit and
whose words have been recognized and treasured as
inspired utterances. We look up to these men as our
authoritative teachers. But to interpret their teach
ings we must know not only what they said, but when
and to whom and why they said it. The text of the
New Testament is not complete until we add the con
text of the circumstances that called it forth.
2. The Historical Sources.
For our knowledge of the Apostolic Age we have to
rely almost wholly upon the New Testament. Its
various books were all or nearly all written during the
first century; so a student has the unusual advantage
of direct access to contemporaneous documents. The
historical value of each will be considered as we take
them up later on. Other Christian sources are few.
A book that nearly gained a place in the New Testa
ment is the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians,

16 INTRODUCTION
written in 95 a.d. by a bishop of Rome to rebuke cer
tain disorders in the church at Corinth. Its special
value is the light it throws upon church organization
at that time. A little book recently discovered is the
Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written
not long after 100 a.d. and incorporating an earlier
manual of Christian instruction known as The Two
Ways. Considering its size we are surprised at the
amount of information it gives concerning the rites
and the life of the church. The only Jewish historian
of the period is Josephus ; from him we gain a full his
tory of Palestine down to the close of the Jewish War,
70 a.d., but only an item or two about Christianity.
Roman historians of the first century are few in num
ber, and there was little to make them notice the
obscure and despised sect of Christians. Tacitus
graphically describes how they were persecuted by
Nero, and in this connection gives the following ac
count of the origin of Christianity : " The name
[Christians] was derived from Christ who in the reign
of Tiberius had suffered under Pontius Pilate.
Though repressed for a time, the deadly superstition
broke out again not only through Judea, the source of
this evil, but through the city [Rome] whither all hor
rible and shameful things from every quarter flow to
gether and are practiced." Suetonius seems to tell of
a clash between the Jews and the Christians in Rome,
resulting in the expulsion of both by Claudius (Acts
18:2). And Pliny the Younger gives a most inter
esting account, which will be quoted later, of his ex
periences with the Christians when he was governor
of Bythynia in 112 a.d. Archaeological research has
found practically nothing that can be pronounced a
Christian work of the first century; the church was

INTRODUCTION 17
too poor and feeble and persecuted to build monuments
or construct edifices. But archaeology has done much
to strengthen our confidence in the Book of Acts by
showing its accuracy concerning the complex details of
the life of the times.
3. Luke and the Book of Acts.
The one historical book in the New Testament, apart
from the Gospels, is the Book of Acts ; and we have to
depend largely upon it for our knowledge of the first
half of the Apostolic Age. Its trustworthiness has
been constantly assailed by writers who reject miracles
and the supernatural origin of Christianity, both of
which are clearly set forth in the book, and also by
writers whose theories about the early development of
the church do not agree with the account in Acts.
Some critics maintain that it is wholly a second-cen
tury piece of fiction; while others, recognizing that it
contains much authentic history, try to prove that it is
a patchwork of first-century fragments- put together in
the second century by some unknown editor or red
actor who added' whatever portions the individual
critic does not wish to accept. Since Acts is such an
important source, we must consider carefully who the
author was and what grounds we have for trusting his
statements. Certain portions of Acts, namely, 16 : 10-17 ; 20 : 5-
15 ; 21 : 1-18 ; 27 : 1-28 : 16,— written in the first person
plural, and therefore known as the " we " passages, —
are evidently by an eyewitness. Their minute and
graphic details and mention of matters of purely per
sonal interest reveal this. Some scholars assert that
they are portions of a journal kept by one of Paul's
travel companions, which came down to the late and

18 INTRODUCTION
unknown author of Acts and were incorporated by him
in his book. What became of the rest of the precious
document, they do not attempt to tell us. But in style
and vocabulary these portions are one with the rest of
Acts; and certainly if the compiler rewrote the frag
ments to make them harmonize with his own composi
tion, he would not have left them thus awkwardly in
the first person when the rest is in the third. The sim
plest and most natural explanation of the change in
persons is that the writer uses " we " whenever he him
self was present in the scenes he describes. If, then,
the author of the " we " passages is the author of the
whole book, he must be some companion of Paul who
is not mentioned by name in Acts, but who, being with
Paul at Rome (28:16), would naturally be named in
some one of his letters written from Rome. Luke is
such a companion; and tradition assigns the book to
him. Apart from what we may gather from the " we "
passages, we know only that he was a Gentile, a co-
labourer with Paul in Rome, and his " beloved physi
cian" (Gol. 4:14; Phile. 24; II Tim. 4:11). It is
claimed that his authorship of the Third Gospel and
Acts is indicated by their accurate use of medical
terms and their frequent accounts of healings; but all
that can fairly be said is that these show the author to
have had a deep interest in medical matters, such as
would befit a physician.
If Luke or whoever wrote Acts was Paul's com
panion at the times indicated by the " we " passages,
he had abundant opportunity to learn the facts he nar
rates not only from his own observation and from Paul,
but also from Peter and other apostolic workers whom
he must have met repeatedly. Moreover, there are
clear indications that when writing the early part of

INTRODUCTION 19
the book he made use of an Aramaic document, a
record of the first years of the church in Jerusalem,
as his main source. His narrative covers a wide
field, — Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, —
at a time when in social, political and religious condi
tions these lands differed much from one another, and
were undergoing frequent changes. Had the author
lived in a later century or been a careless historian, he
could not have avoided errors and anachronisms. His
freedom from these, as increasingly shown by arch
aeological and historical research, is a strong proof of
his trustworthiness. Another proof of the same is the
agreement of his statements with those in Paul's let
ters. There are discrepancies, such as always arise
when two persons independently describe the same
event, and which in this instance prove that the author
of Acts could not have been a second-century Christian,
writing with Paul's epistles at hand for consultation;
yet the two accounts not only are in general agreement,
but have many coincidences that could not be designed
because they do not become evident until Acts is care
fully studied along with the epistles. These facts col
lectively have led the majority of scholars to-day to
conclude both that Luke wrote Acts and that he was an
historian of high order. The conclusion is of great
importance since it bears upon more than our knowl
edge of the Apostolic Age. The author of Acts was
unquestionably the author of the Third Gospel; in
dedication, style, vocabulary, and arrangement of mate
rial the two books are alike, and the writer himself
links them together (Acts 1:1). Therefore, if his
history of the apostles is a careful and trustworthy nar
rative, we can accept with confidence his record of the
life of Jesus.

20 INTRODUCTION
In the thought of Luke the Book of Acts was a
natural continuation of the gospel narrative. His first
book told what Jesus " began both to do and to teach
until the day in which He was received up " (Acts
1 : 1-2) ; this second book tells what Jesus continued
to do and to teach through the apostles after His
ascension. He writes as before for Theophilus, —
either some special friend or, as the name signifies,
any " lover of God." There was need of his book ; for
many of the Christians in his day must have had very
little idea of how the church started in Jerusalem, or
how the gospel came by stages to them. He shows
clearly the instincts of an historian; but he does not
undertake to give a history of the whole church, or of
all the apostles, or even of Peter and Paul. What he
does set forth is how Christianity burst the bonds of
Judaism and developed from a little sect into a uni
versal religion; how it spread from Jerusalem to the
center of the Roman world (note that the various sec
tions of the book each end with a statement of the
growth of the church, 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5;
19 : 20) ; and what an important part Paul took in its
development. The book is a record of the fulfilment
of the Lord's farewell words, " Ye shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall
be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea
and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth "
(1:8). There seems to be, also, a purpose to set
forth the fact that in the early days of the church the
Roman government was friendly and, whenever oppor
tunity for investigation was given, pronounced the
charges against Christians to be false and malicious
(13:12; 16:39; 17:9; 18:14; 23:29; 28:31).
The record brings Paul to Rome^ and closes abruptly

INTRODUCTION 21
with the statement that he was there two years in cap
tivity, though allowed to preach and teach. Why did
Luke stop just at this point? The old answer, which
some still give, was that he had brought his story down
to date; if so, and if Paul reached Rome in 59 a.d.,
the time of writing was 61 a.d. Other answers are
that, having traced the spread of Christianity to the
center of the Roman world, he had completed his ap
pointed task, or that he had reached the point where
the Roman government began to be unfriendly, and
therefore preferred to keep silent about Paul's severer
imprisonment and death. The simplest answer is that
he stopped because his roll of papyrus had grown as
large as was usable, — as large as that of his Gospel;
and he closed this volume, as he did the Gospel, with
a brief summary of events to be described more fully
in the next (28: 30-31; cf. Luke 24: 50-53). A hint
of his purpose to write a third volume may lie in his
opening words where he speaks of the Gospel not as
" the former treatise," which would limit his books to
two, but as " the first treatise " which implies still
others to come. Alas ! a third volume was never writ
ten, — why, we do not know.
Acts was written, of course, after the Gospel of
Luke, whose date is usually thought to be not long after
the fall of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. ,Tjo^isJiejtime-ef
¦yarrb^rro^frTnTm fiya<^"'lR'^TrrrrnTmrf1:i1e. The writer's de
sire to set forth the former friendliness of the Roman
government, would indicate a period when govern
mental persecution was threatened, say the early years
of TJomitian, who reigned 81-96 a.d. Some scholars
find indications that Luke" was acquainted with the
Jewish Antiquities of Josephus, which was written
9jyi4— AstrTjl this could be~proved, the date of Acts

22 INTRODUCTION
would have to be placed still later. If the authorship
by Luke is established, the exact time when he wrote
is not greatly important.
The two principal Greek texts of Acts are repro
duced for the English reader in the two versions with
which he is familiar. The Authorized or King James
.Version translates the text generally used and officially
accepted in the fourth century; and the Revised Ver
sion follows an earlier text which modern scholarship
pronounces most nearly the original. A third text, not
reproduced in any version but often referred to and
important in the study of Acts, is that of Codex Bezae
or D, — a sixth century manuscript now in the library
of Cambridge University. It differs from the other
texts by slight additions and interpolations, e.g., Peter
and the angel when leaving the prison " went out and
descended the seven steps" (12:10), and Paul at
Ephesus was reasoning daily in the school of Tyran-
nus "from the fifth to the tenth hour" (19: 9). If
Codex Bezae stood alone, we might disregard it, but it
is the chief representative of a group of manuscripts
whose text, called the Western Text and showing the
same sort of variations, was prevalent in the second
century. How valuable these bits of extra information
are, it is hard to tell. Probably they came down by
tradition, and were added by copyists who wished to
preserve them. Some seem to be historic, and all de
serve consideration. Any good commentary will give
the most important ones.

THE DAYS OF PREPARATION AND
PENTECOST
THE Apostolic Age cannot be separated from
the life of Jesus. Even those who see in
Him only a remarkable Galilean peasant,
recognize that His influence formed and His teachings
illuminated the little band of men and women who
were the nucleus of the Christian church, — the tiny
seed from which was to spring an innumerable com
pany of believers. And those who worship Him as the
Saviour of the world gladly confess that the works of
the apostles were wrought through faith in Him, and
the truths they taught were a part of " the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ." Accordingly, a study of what Jesus said and
did, involving a study also of the life, thought and Mes
sianic expectations of those among whom He lived and
to whom He offered Himself as Messiah, is an indis
pensable preparation for a study of the Apostolic Age.
But the subject is so large and important that I have
given it a volume by itself, and shall not attempt even
to outline it in the opening chapter of this book. On
the other hand, no view of Christ is complete without
a careful survey of the labours and teachings of His
disciples; for in them we may see Him still working
and teaching, even as Paul declares when he says, " It
is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me " (Gal.
2:20). For this reason the student of the life of
Jesus, like the writer of the Book of Acts, is conscious
of no break or new beginning when he passes from the
23

24 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
gospel story to the history of the early Christian
church. He is still pursuing the record of the world's
redemption by divine love incarnate.
1. The Forty Days with Jesus.
The period between the resurrection and the ascen
sion is usually studied as a part of the life of Jesus,
attention being centered upon the empty tomb, the
number and character of His appearances to His dis
ciples, the nature of His body, and whatever proves
that He was " declared to be the Son of God with
power by the resurrection from the dead " (Rom. 1:4).
In this case little is noted concerning the disciples
themselves except the way in which their despair was
changed to joyful assurance, — a change without which
there never could have been the Christian church.
But if the period is studied as a part of the training
of the disciples for future service, we soon recognize
that no other days were so important and fruitful.
They must have been more full of personal instruction
by the risen Lord than is usually realized. His meet
ings with His followers may have been greater in num
ber than what are reported; and certainly they were
not brief, fugitive manifestations of Himself. The
long afternoon walk to Emmaus, the breakfast and sub
sequent conversation at the Lake, the evening reunions
in the upper room, these were not of short duration;
and there is no reason to suppose that the others were.
And all these many hours of closest intercourse were
devoted to the instruction of the disciples, as, truly,
there was great need that they should be.
When the little band fairly grasped the stupendous
fact that their Lord had triumphed over death, they
were filled with joy and courage; but they were far

DAYS OF PREPARATION AND PENTECOST 25
from being prepared to go forth and proclaim His
gospel. They lacked knowledge, organization and
power. They had not fully gained the message they
were to carry to a waiting world ; they had not learned
to work as one body in proclaiming it ; and the inward
impelling force, the " we cannot but speak " (Acts
4: 20), had not yet been felt. They could tell the story
of the cross, but with feeble comprehension of its
meaning; they were severally members of Christ, but
not yet unitedly the body of Christ; and their labours
without the Holy Spirit would be lifeless and fruitless.
{Therefore, for them, as for all missionaries, there had
to be a period of special preparation before they could
go forth to make disciples. In their case the period
was very brief, but the training was intense.
Up to the time of His death Jesus had laboured
against insuperable obstacles when He tried to impart
His gospel to His followers. Their preoccupation with
old, erroneous ideas, their interest in the marvellous
rather than in the important, their lack of spiritual
understanding, tried Him sorely (Mark 8:17; 9:19;
14: 37) ; but what hindered most was the fact that not
until the cross had been actually before their eyes,
could He make clear to them its wondrous meaning.
The pressure of these limitations upon His spirit is
revealed in His cry, " I have a baptism to be baptized
with, and how am I straitened till it be accom
plished " (Luke 12:50). After the resurrection the
hindrances were removed; and henceforth He could
speak, no more in dark sayings but plainly (John
16:25), and to disciples no longer indifferent and
stupid but stirred to the depths and ready to profit by
every word of a Teacher who had come back after they
thought they had lost Him forever.

26 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
There was, indeed, much for the disciples to learn
which hitherto could not be taught them, — the person
of the Messiah, the true nature of His Kingdom, the
meaning of the cross, the mission of the Comforter, the
purpose and significance of the sacraments, the charac
ter of their own future work. Concerning some of
these we are explicitly told that they were subjects
upon which Jesus discoursed after His resurrection
(Luke 24:27, 44-49; Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:21-
23 ; Acts 1 : 3-8) ; concerning others we may be sure
He would not leave His disciples in ignorance when
they had need to know and ability to comprehend.
There were, of course, questions of idle curiosity which
should not be answered. And there was much that
only future experience in mission work and future
growth into the mind of the Master could make plain.
With the divine teacher, even as with human teachers,
the limitations of the pupil form the limitations of the
pedagogue. Nevertheless, these precious hours of in
tercourse must have been profitable beyond measure for
those to whom they were granted.
Possibly some of the words of Jesus spoken after
the resurrection have been preserved among sayings as
signed to His public ministry. For example, portions
of the instructions to the Twelve, recorded by Matthew
as having been given when He sent them forth for a
little, independent tour in Galilee (10: 17 f.), are not
at all appropriate for that mission, but are most fitting
for the final sending into the great world ; and some of
the words concerning the sacramental meal would be
enigmatic at the Last Supper but full of meaning when
He ate and drank with His disciples after He rose
from the dead (Acts 10: 41). But for the main part
of what Jesus now taught, we turn to the teachings of

DAYS OF PREPARATION AND PENTECOST 27
the apostles. Their work was not to invent a gospel,
but to proclaim the one their Master entrusted to them ;
and those portions of it that were not given in the days
before the crucifixion, must have been gained after
wards from further words by Jesus as well as from
fresh light shed by the Holy Spirit upon His former
words. Everything indicates that the disciples on the
Day of Pentecost were prepared to place before their
hearers a well ordered statement of Christian faith and
practice, not so full, indeed, as it became later, but
more than what the Gospels indicate Jesus had taught
them before His death. Where could they gain it or
how could they develop it without their Great Teacher ?
Sceptics have been forced to admit that the disciples
really believed that Jesus had risen from the dead and
appeared unto them, because it is evident that without
such a belief there never would have been a sermon
on the Day of Pentecost: — they could not have recov
ered so promptly and fully from the overwhelming con
sternation and despair of Good Friday. But the
favourite sceptical explanation of this belief is that it
was created by certain visions, real or fancied, which
brought the conviction that Jesus had triumphed over
death. 'Such an explanation, though it may account
for the confidence with which the sermon at Pentecost
was preached, fails wholly to account for the contents
of that sermon. Paul, the trained theologian, needed
months of meditation, after Jesus appeared to him, be
fore he could grasp the gospel he was to proclaim ; how
could the unlettered Galilean fishermen do this in only
seven crowded weeks ? If in the days after His resur
rection Jesus had been teaching them the many things
He had yet to say (John 16 : 12), the answer is evi
dent. Otherwise, there seems to be no sufficient answer.

28 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
2. The Birth of the Church.
When Jesus parted from His disciples on Mt. Olivet,
they returned to Jerusalem with great joy (Luke
24: 52). They could rejoice because He had gone to
His Father (John 14: 28), and also because some day
He would surely eome again (Acts 1: 11). Until that
day they were ready to give themselves, with all the
force of the spiritual life He had imparted, to spread
ing the faith in Him which was the inspiration of their
whole existence. No thought of their own feebleness
and ignorance dismayed them; no dread of sacrifice
and suffering held them back. Rather, a sense of the
glory of their high calling made them eager to enter
upon it. The program of their future work, as it
shaped itself in their thought, was a simple one. The
Jews must, if possible, be persuaded to accept Jesus
as the long expected Messiah. This was the immediate
and urgent task. Beyond it lay a world-wide mission ;
but the hope was that Israel as a nation, having ac
cepted Christ, would become the missionary to all
nations, even as the prophets had foretold. The Mes
sianic Kingdom had not been established because the
Jews were not prepared to receive the Messiah. John
the Baptist had tried to prepare them, and had failed.
Jesus Himself had tried and, also, had failed. Now
His disciples were to try, — preaching the same old mes
sage of repentance from sins and faith in Jesus as the
Messiah, but with the new tidings of His cross and His
triumph over death, which added immensely to its
power and to which especially they were to be witnesses
(1:8; 22). When the people were ready to receive
Him, He would come to reign over them; until that
time He must wait in heaven (3: 19 f.). Nevertheless

DAYS OF PREPARATION AND PENTECOST 29
His followers would not be left as orphans (John
14:18); through the Holy Spirit whom He would
send, He Himself would be with them, giving them
power and guidance in their work, and granting unto
them a foretaste of the joys of His Kingdom.
If the disciples were to offer Jesus as Messiah to
their countrymen, the place to begin at was Jerusalem.
There was where Jesus Himself had begun, and from
which the preaching of John the Baptist had first
called forth hearers (John 2: 13 f. ; Matt. 3:5). Ac
cordingly, before His ascension Jesus brought the
apostles back to the city, and charged them to wait the
baptism of the Holy Spirit and to begin their witness-
bearing there. The mother and brothers of Jesus and
the band of faithful women who had been His follow
ers came with them; and enough other disciples gath
ered to make the whole number about one hundred and
twenty (Acts 1 : 15), if not more. A few of these were
residents of Jerusalem or Judea, but so few that the
term Galileans was applied to the whole body (2:7).
An upper chamber, probably where the Last Supper
was eatem and in the house of Mark, served as an abid
ing place for the apostles and a meeting-place for the
others. Grouped thus together, sharing one common
life and hope, hidden as yet from the world, the little
band of believers at once began to develop a real unity.
In their relation to" Jesus they had been disciples; in
their relation to one another they now became brethren.
There was no need of a membership roll; they knew
each other with increasing intimacy. And in that
upper chamber they joined with one accord in religious
services, such as the worship in the synagogue sug
gested and their own spiritual needs prompted. Prayer
was the chief feature of these meetings, — the example

30 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
of their Master and the cravings of their hearts would
make it so ; but naturally there was eager searching of
the Old Testament, especially of the psalms and
prophets, for teachings about the Messiah and His
Kingdom. Jesus had laid open the meaning of these
scriptures (Luke 24: 32, 45) ; and in the coming days
they were to be a source of guidance and confidence to
all disciples, and a strong weapon in conflicts with un
believers. Also, we may infer, there was the celebra
tion of the Lord's Supper in connection with a com
mon meal. Such was the practice immediately after
Pentecost; and it is difficult to understand how the
change from an annual celebration of this sacrament
at Passover time to a daily celebration could have come
about, unless Our Lord before His ascension had
taught it both by word and, as the record hints, by
example (Acts 1:4, R. V. margin).
The apostasy of Judas must have been a thing of
horror to the other apostles. True, they themselves
had failed their Master in His hour of darkness, but
through a lack of courage for which there was some
excuse and much forgiveness. Judas had sold Him
treacherously and heartlessly, — an act incredible, were
it not undeniable. And if one so highly trusted had
fallen so low, who could be sure of even his own loy
alty, or ask without trepidation, " Lord, is it I ? " The
departure of the traitor " to his own place " (1 : 25) —
significant phrase! — left a vacancy in the apostolic
circle which they felt should be filled, if the work was
to be carried on as Jesus had planned. Since that work
was primarily to bear witness to the resurrection
(1:22), a necessary qualification, for it was a pre
vious acquaintance with Jesus " beginning from the
baptism of John," i.e., ifrom the Galilean ministry (cf.

DAYS OF PREPARATION AND PENTECOST 31
10:39-42). Note that however broad we make the
apostolic task of witnessing to the resurrection, it can
not include church government; the apostles were lead
ers, of course, but they did not feel themselves to be
rulers. All the brethren shared in this matter of selecting a
successor to Judas, but Peter with characteristic energy
and confidence took the initiative. Christ's special ap
pearance to him (Luke 24: 34; I Cor. 15: 5) and spe
cial commission for him (John 21: 15 f.) had restored
him to his old place of natural leadership among his
fellows. Two disciples were found who had been with
Jesus from the beginning, though their names do not
appear in the gospel narrative (a revelation of its in
completeness) ; and with prayer to Jesus the lot was
oast that decided between them in favour of Matthias.
This use of the lot has been unjustly criticized as
mechanical or an appeal to chance. As a matter of
fact the brethren had reached the limit of their ability
when they selected two men both of whom fully met
the outward requirements; the choice between these
two could be made only by Him who can read the
heart. And that they believed this final choice was
made by Jesus Himself, is shown not only in the
prayer before casting the lot, but also in the fact that
Matthias without any human induction or consecration
was at once " numbered among the apostles." It is
well to note, however, that though the use of the lot is
frequent in the Old Testament, there is no other in
stance of it in the New. Christian men have rightly
used it since, but only on rare occasions when all other
means of intelligent choice were lacking, and only with
unconditional acceptance of its decision as the divine
answer to a prayer for guidance. The selection of

32 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Judas' successor has been criticized, also, as a prema
ture action. The vacant place in the apostolate, it is
said, belonged to Paul, as is shown by the fact that we
hear no more of Matthias. But Luke, who was with
Paul so much, gives no hint of this; and if Matthias
never again is mentioned by name, neither are any
others of the Twelve save Peter, James and John.
Paul was an apostle; but we feel that he stood outside
the Twelve, — a new leader for a new work.
3. The Baptism of the Church.
Pentecost, " the fiftieth," is so named because it
comes on the fiftieth day after the second day of the
Passover. If the Passover this year began on Friday
evening, as John's account indicates, Pentecost fell on
Sunday; and the events of the day would be among
those that made the first day of the week peculiarly
" the Lord's day." The feast was not as important as
the Passover; but because it came at a better season
for travel on land and sea, it was more largely attended
by those who lived at a distance from Jerusalem. The
day was free from work, and was observed with special
offerings and services in the temple and with feasting
at the homes.
The disciples on the morning of Pentecost " were all
together in one place," probably in the upper chamber,
and engaged in prayer (cf. 1: 14), when suddenly they
experienced the fulfilment of their Lord's promise,
" Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many
days hence" (1:5). The signs preceding this, — the
sound as of a mighty wind and the tongues of fire
above each head, — were necessary and appropriate: —
necessary because the baptism was a new and purely
spiritual experience which they might not recognize

DAYS OF PREPARATION AND PENTECOST 33
unless some outward indications of it were granted;
appropriate since from the words of John the Baptist
and of Jesus they had learned to associate the Holy
Spirit with the fire and the wind (Luke 3 : 17, John
3:8). The speaking with other tongues, which was
the immediate sequence of the entrance of the Holy
Spirit, has given rise to much discussion, — more than
its importance deserves. At first inspection Luke's
narrative seems to imply that these tongues were for
eign languages ; in which case the gift was only a tem
porary one, for there is no evidence that later on the
apostles had any supernatural command of languages
(cf. Acts 14: 11). But the speaking with tongues that
Paul fully describes as it was manifested in the church
at Corinth, is evidently the well-known and not un
usual phenomenon of ecstatic utterance, — the incoher
ent words and inarticulate cries of overpowering spir
itual excitement; and we notice that Paul's account
agrees with this of Luke in that scoffers attribute such
utterances to madness or drunkenness while those who
listen sympathetically find a meaning in them (I Cor.
14:23, 27; Acts 2:13, 8). Moreover, sympathetic
hearers at Pentecost gained no special message from
the utterances, which seemed to them a voice (2:6
Greek) rather than words, and were aware only that
the disciples were declaring "the wonderful works of
God," — an explanation of ecstatic utterances most
natural for an Oriental. Each hearer did, indeed,
think he recognized his native language, but this was
because the voice spoke to the heart where all languages
are one. Speaking with tongues is mentioned in Acts
twice later on as an indication of the reception of the
Holy Spirit (10:46; 19:6); and Paul puts it with
the interpretation of tongues in his list of spiritual

34 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
gifts (I Cor. 12: 10) ; but he puts it at the very bot
tom of the list, and declares, " In the church I had
rather speak five words with my understanding that I
might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in
a tongue" (I Cor. 14:19).
As we meditate upon the Pentecostal baptism we
cannot fail to recall the baptism of Jesus by John. In
many ways the two are the same ; naturally they would
be so since the church is another body of Christ, — His
reincarnation, in which He goes forth to win the
world. The church before Pentecost was waiting the
summons to begin its appointed work, even as was
Jesus at Nazareth. The baptism of the Holy Ghost in
both instances was this summons, and in both was indi
cated by outward signs appropriately significant. And
as Jesus was " anointed with the Holy Ghost and with
power" (Acts 10: 38), so the anointing with the Holy
Ghost brought to the church power, — power for wit
ness-bearing (1:8), displayed in a new boldness and
confidence, a new consciousness of divine direction, a
new imperative of duty, a new and holy joy. It was
the church as a whole that received the Holy Spirit;
though, as the division of fire into separate tongues
indicates, special gifts were granted to individual mem
bers ; for it is the church as a whole that constitutes the
body of Christ (Eph. 4: 4 f.).
When the voice of the disciples reached passersby
in the street, it at once drew an increasingly large
throng who marvelled at what they heard, and dis
cussed loudly the state of the occupants of that upper
room. Here was an audience and an opportunity
which Peter was prompt to use. We have merely an
outline of his speech, enough to show its. main thought
and its adaptation to the hearers. He uses the Old

DAYS OF PREPARATION AND PENTECOST 35
Testament to clinch all his arguments, as he proceeds
to prove that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the
prelude to the coming of the Messianic Age, and that
Jesus, — crucified, risen, by the hand of God exalted,
and pouring forth this which they saw and heard, — is
the long foretold Messiah. The teaching of Peter is
taken up and spread abroad by his companions, all
aflame with the new evangelistic zeal ; and the fruit of
their labour is three thousand converts. The account
says these were added " in that day," which probably
means, not in those few hours of the day of the feast,
but in that whole first Pentecostal period. Still, if we
take the word in its narrower sense, the account is not
incredible. Pentecostal experiences within our own
times confirm the possibility of such a great ingather
ing. There were, as we shall see, many reasons why
the Messianic message would reach the hearts of these
hearers; and, as Jesus had promised, the preachers
were " clothed with power from on high " (Luke
24:49).

II
THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN
JERUSALEM
THE converts at Pentecost were mostly visitors
to the feast (2 : 8-11) ; and while some could
remain indefinitely in Jerusalem, waiting
the return of the Messiah, the majority must soon re
turn home. They might carry to their Jewish neigh
bours in foreign lands what they had grasped of the
gospel, — which was little more than that Jesus, the
Messiah, would soon come again, and that men should
forsake their sins in preparation for His coming; but
they could win few to accept such an imperfect mes
sage, and would themselves soon cease to feel its force.
For the development of an intelligent, zealous Chris
tian life there must be the teaching of the apostles and
the fellowship of other disciples; and these at present
were to be found only in Jerusalem. That city, there
fore, became the nursery and schoolroom of the church.
Luke, following his usual method, first gives a gen
eral outline of this opening period of the church
(2:41-47), and then takes it up more in detail
(3: 1-8: 1). How long it was, we can only conjecture;
it ended with the martyrdom of Stephen, but some
scholars would put this event as late as Pilate's recall
to Rome (36 a.d.), while others would put it as early
as 30 a.b. Two or three years would seem enough and
not too much for all its events ; so, if the period began
in 29 a.d., we may reckon that it ended in 31 or 32 a.d.
36

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 37
1. The Outward Growth.
The growth of the church in membership at first was
rapid. Beginning with three thousand at Pentecost
(2: 41), there was daily increase (2: 47), the number
of men rose soon to five thousand (4:4), multitudes
both of men and of women were added (5 : 14), Jeru
salem was filled with the teaching (5:28), disciples
were multiplied exceedingly, including a great com
pany of priests (6:7). No wonder the brethren
thought that all the people would soon be prepared to
welcome the Messiah, so that His return could take
place in the near future, especially as His own words
had created the impression that the interval of separa
tion would not be long. Possibly one reason why they
were so constantly in the temple during this period
(2: 46; 3: 1; 5: 12, 25, 42) was that, like Simeon and
Anna, they looked for His first manifestation there
(Mai. 3:1).
How shall we account for such rapid growth? We
must begin by realizing that the acceptance of the new
teaching was not felt to involve any break with the old
Jewish faith and life. Jesus had scandalized the
Pharisees by His neglect of some of their laws, espe
cially their rigourous rules of Sunday observance ; but
He had sought, not to destroy but to fulfil the Law and
the prophets. And His followers seemed to differ from
other and orthodox Jews simply in their recognition
of Him as the promised Messiah. Such recognition
was not difficult now that the stumbling-block of the
cross had been removed by the glory of the resurrec
tion and, also, by the discovery that His death was
foretold in the Scriptures as divinely ordered. True,
the Messianic kingdom had not been established ac-

38 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
cording to their expectations, but the belief was confi
dent that it would be thus established when Jesus re
turned. The task of gaining converts, therefore, was
not a difficult one; and the apostles applied themselves
to it with unceasing zeal (5:42). Their preaching,
like that of John the Baptist, was with great power
(4: 33), both because of their earnestness and evident
sincerity, and because their message, — the Messiah is
at hand, prepare to receive Him, — was one that could
not but thrill every Jewish heart. Invitation and
warning, the attractiveness of the Messianic promises,
and the terror of " Save yourselves from this crooked
generation," were mingled in their addresses. Such
preachers with such a message always gain a hearing
and a following.
According to Luke the period was full of miracles
(2:43; 5:12; 6:8; 4:30), though the only one of
which he gives an explicit account is that of the beggar
at the Beautiful Gate; for the deaths of Ananias and
Sapphira were not miraculous, and the messenger of
the Lord who released the apostles from prison at night
(5: 19) may have been a fellow Christian. Shall we
accept Luke's record ? That depends upon our atti
tude towards miracles in general, which, in turn, de
pends upon our conception of God and His relations
to the universe and man. If there is no God, or if He
has no control over the world, or if He takes no special
interest in man, or if man has need of nothing more
than His ordinary operations to know Him and love
Him, then miracles are idle or impossible; and Luke
was weakly credulous in accepting the report of them.
But if there is the God whom Jesus claimed to know
and reveal, and if certain unusual acts on His part are
necessary for the highest welfare of His children, then

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 39
miracles not only are possible but are a natural expres
sion of a Heavenly Father's love. They have been
brought into disrepute by treating the merely marvel
lous as miraculous; they have been cheapened by ex
pecting each foolish and selfish wish to be gratified
supernaturally ; they have been unduly exalted as the
main proof of the Christian religion, and unjustly de
cried as the product of ignorance and superstition : yet
still they remain credible and precious to all who have
learned to know the heart of God through the Son of
His love. But belief in miracles does not involve an
unquestioning acceptance of every reputed one; it is
our right and duty to test the evidence and find, if pos
sible, a natural explanation, — bearing in mind, how
ever, that an event by which beholders were made to
recognize God's presence and operation might have for
them the value of a miracle, though we can discover
its natural cause.
The story of the lame man who begged at the temple
gate (3:1 f.) — from whomever Luke gained it — bears
evidence in the vividness and minuteness of its details
that it came from an eyewitness; and the healing in
the name of Jesus was a miracle for Peter and the be
holders, even if it should be explained to-day as the
effect of mental suggestion. To the apostles its su
preme value lay in its confirmation of the assurance
that Jesus would work with them and through them.
He had healed by a word in the old days when they
walked with Him; now in His name, i.e., acting as
His representatives, they could do the same. They
needed such strengthening of their faith for the labours
and trials before them. Indeed, belief in the constant
presence and power of an ever-living Lord, which was
the very nerve of apostolic activities, might have grown

40 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
feeble and perished in the heathen darkness had it not
been nourished by the testimony of miracles. But
what about the effect of miracles upon the unconverted
beholders? This one awakened wonder and amaze
ment, and gained an audience for Peter; yet hearing
the word, not marvelling at the miracle, was what
caused belief (3:10; 4:4). And there is no indica
tion that at any later time the miracles were of special
aid in winning acceptance of the gospel. The one at
Iconium made the beholders ready for the moment to
worship Paul as a god, but did not restrain them a
little later from stoning him until they supposed he
was dead (14: 8 f.). The one at Paphos overwhelmed
an imposter; but the proconsul, before whom it was
wrought, believed because he was " astonished at the
teaching of the Lord " (13 : 6 f.). We must remember
that the age was one when every teacher who gave him
self out to be some great one was expected to work
miracles; and their power to convince was proportion
ately weakened. A man who for other reasons believed,
would have his faith increased by them; but a man
who did not wish to believe, would remain unconvinced.
Is not the same true even in this age of greater scien
tific knowledge?
Another cause of the rapid growth of the church
was the attractive life of its members. Their religious
zeal stirred them up to stricter faithfulness in observ
ing all the ordinances of the Jewish Law, thereby
winning for themselves the approval of even the Phari
sees, those censorious guardians of the Law. And their
practice of the precepts of Jesus and exhibition of His
spirit in daily living gained them favour with all the
people (2:47). One striking manifestation of the
new law and life of love was in their own circle. Dur-

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 41
ing the days with Jesus His disciples had lived as a
family, having all things in common; and now that
they were waiting His speedy return it was natural for
them to continue the same way of living. And it was
also necessary; since support must be found, both for
the apostles who were devoting themselves wholly to
the work of preaching and teaching, and for those con
verts whose homes were in foreign lands but who now
remained in Jerusalem to welcome Jesus on His re
turn. Accordingly, the brethren who had possessions
sold them as need required, and put the proceeds in the
common purse (2 : 45 ; 4 : 32 f.) . Evidently the church
began its social life with an experiment in commun
ism. Yet we must note that this communism was not
compulsory (5:4); nor was it complete, e.g., the
mother of Mark continued to hold her own house
(12:12); and probably it was not as extensive as
Luke's statement suggests, for the generosity of Bar
nabas in selling a field and giving the proceeds to the
apostles, is deemed worthy of special mention, and
seems to have received such praise, as to create envy in
the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira (4 : 36 f.). We dis
cover no traces of this communism elsewhere than in
Jerusalem; and it did not work well even here. Al
most at the outset murmurings arose over the distribu
tion of the common funds (6:1); and the Jerusalem
church ever remained poor and eager to receive charity
(Gal. 2 : 10 ; Rom. 15 : 25 f.). Whether it also became
filled with men who were attracted by the earthly bread
rather than the heavenly, we cannot say; but this
danger is evident.
2. The Inward Development.
Those early years at Jerusalem, when the brethren

42 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
lived in daily and closest intercourse, were greatly
effective in shaping and developing the inner life of
the church. First of all was the growth in knowledge.
The converts, having been received into full member
ship with little knowledge of the new Way, needed
much instruction in Christian facts and doctrine. The
apostles took the lead in giving this, since they had been
with Jesus and could tell the others what they had
learned at His feet. Absence of anything like Chris
tian Scriptures made their " ministry of the word "
specially necessary; and the importance they attached
to it is shown by their refusal to be drawn away into
administrative work (6:2). They would constantly
be asked to tell the story of Jesus' life, which few of
the believers knew; and thus it was that during this
period there came into existence what scholars call the
Oral Gospel, i.e., the form of the gospel narrative that
lies behind our first written Gospel. Such increasing
acquaintance with the earthly years of Jesus would
work a great change in the infant church; for the
gospel story has transforming power in hearts that re
ceive it gladly. Also, those who pondered upon the
teachings of Jesus would be guided by the Holy Spirit
(John 16 : 13) into further truths which are to His
teachings what the fruit is to the seed.
One inevitable though gradual result of progress in
knowledge would be the recognition that Christianity
is not merely a form of Judaism but something new
and different. Though the fact was not willingly ac
cepted by men who had been taught that the Law and
the prophets are the full and final word of God, it was
forced upon them in many ways. The popular idea of
the Kingdom of God, — earthly, political, sensuous,
selfish, — did not harmonize with the teachings of

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 43
Jesus, aud could not be imagined with Him as its
ruler. And as believers meditated upon His nature
and mission, it became increasingly clear that He was
far more than a Jewish Messiah. Also, the old dis
tinctions which made Judeans consider themselves bet
ter than Galileans, and both unite in looking down
upon their brethren living outside the Holy Land, and
all alike abhor the Gentiles, — distinctions which had
been carried over into the church (6 : 1), — could not
be maintained if believers were really brethren in one
divine family. As for the Jewish law, the keeping of
which was held to be the chief end of man, Jesus Him
self had subordinated it to the higher law of mercy and
love; and from His example quite as much as from
His teachings, the disciples were learning that life is
higher and more imperative than legalism. All this
was leading them on to a broader and truer conception
of Christianity, which some day must force a separa
tion from Judaism. At present they were trying to
keep the new wine in the old wineskins; and the rup
ture, as we shall see, did not come until the preaching
of Stephen forced it. Had it come earlier, or had
Jesus Himself taught the disciples to throw off Jewish
forms, the church must speedily have perished through
hatred and persecution.
Another natural and inevitable development of the
church was in its organization. The choice of the
Seven (6:1-6) illustrates how this would be brought
about. In all Oriental lands the woman who has lost
her husband and has no son or brother to care for her,
is a helpless subject for charity. There had come to be
among the church members a group of such women,
perhaps forming a special body (cf. 9 : 39 ; I Tim.
5:3), who received their food at the daily common

44 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
meal; and the Hellenists, i.e., the Jewish brethren
from foreign lands, complained that their widows did
not receive as generous treatment as those of the
Hebrews, — the brethren belonging in Palestine. Pos
sibly the complaint was not well-founded; but evi
dently funds were not coming in as rapidly as appli
cants for them, and the daily ministration must be
more carefully supervised. Following the recommenda
tion of the apostles, the whole church selected seven
men of reputation, spirituality and practical wisdom;
and they were appointed to this new work with prayer
and laying on of hands by the apostles. Because they
were to " serve tables " we usually call them deacons
(serving men), though there is no evidence that they
were directly connected with the deacons of the later
organization of the church (I Tim. 3:8 f.), or that
their office continued after the end of this period. But
here is an excellent example of how the regular church
offices were created later on : — a new need demands at
tention; the right man is found for it, and set apart;
and the beneficial results, as in this instance (6:7),
are sufficient proof that the office is of divine appoint
ment. Church worship, too, must have been in process of
steady development. The daily meetings of the breth
ren for " the breaking of bread and the prayers," at
first might be most informal, but as the days went by
would take on a prescribed form. The synagogue ser
vice, still dear to all these brethren, consisted of prayer,
singing of psalms, reading from the Scriptures, teach
ing and something like the recital of a creed and a
benediction. Naturally all these except the creed
would be reproduced at the gathering of Christians for
worship. And in addition there would be, as special

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 45
features, reminiscences of what Jesus did and said, — •
told by those who had known Him in His public min
istry, and listened to with keenest interest by those
who had not, — and the celebration of the Lord's Sup
per in connection with the common meal. Later on,
this common meal was separated from the rest because
it gave rise to disorders such as marred the worship at
Corinth (I Cor. 11: 20 f.) ; but the other parts of the
service remain in the Christian church to this day with
no essential change.
The characteristic feature of these opening years was
a holy joy, which no sufferings could disturb (2:46;
5:41), and which arose from assurance of a place in
the Kingdom of God with its present privileges and
future blessings. Mingled with this was a feeling of
awe (2:43; 5:11) caused by recognition of the
presence of God and the operations of the Holy Spirit.
And each believer felt himself entrusted with a divine
commission of immeasurable importance. " At no
time in its history has the church been possessed with
so lofty a sense of its calling as in those days of small
beginnings. It held the belief that the world was face
to face with a mighty crisis in which the whole present
order of things would come to an end, and a new age
set in. The people of Christ were to reign with Him
in this new age, * * * already they belonged to the
new order, and had their share in the powers and priv
ileges of the Kingdom of God" (Scott).
3. The First Testings.
It may seem strange that the rulers who had put to
death the Shepherd should leave the sheep unharmed.
But the very fact that Jesus was dead, caused them to
let His disciples alone; without their prophet, it was

46 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
believed, these Galileans would soon lose heart. Mean
while they were peaceful, popular, strict in religious
observances ; and their peculiar doctrines did not seem
inconsistent with good Judaism. Little hostility would
arise so long as the Christians were not too numerous
nor too prominent. Nevertheless, there was constant
possibility of collisions which might bring on serious
conflicts. The first opposition came from the chief priests.
These, as Luke notes (5 : 17), were of the sect of Sad
ducees, — a sect that seems to us more like a political
party, for it had little interest in Judaism except in
the temple worship as a source of great income to the
chief priests ; it scoffed at the fervour of the Pharisees
and their doctrine of a future life; and it aimed by
every means to keep in favour with the Romans.
When Peter healed the lame man at the Beautiful
Gate and preached in Solomon's porch his second re
corded sermon, these chief priests had the captain of
the temple take him and his companion, John, into
custody, and on the morrow bring them before the San
hedrin. Luke says they were roused to this action be
cause the apostles " taught the people and proclaimed
in Jesus the resurrection from the dead " (4:2). This
does not set forth the reason adequately. What the
Sadducees ever feared and sought to suppress was any
popular movement that might disturb their harmony
with the Romans, and result in the loss of wealth and
position; their attitude towards Jesus illustrates this
(John 11:48). That the apostles should teach the
people was unobjectionable, though that " ignorant and
unlearned men " (i.e., men not taught by the rabbis
and holding no official position) should presume to teach
was marvellous (4: 13); and that the apostles should

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 47
teach the resurrection as a doctrine was no more than
what the Pharisees were ever doing, while the Sad
ducees simply laughed at them. But proclaiming in
Jesus a Messiah risen from the dead and soon to come
again, was incendiary ; it might stir up an insurrection
against the Romans, or bring down popular wrath upon
the heads of those who had taken the lead in the cruci
fixion (5:28). The Sadducees wanted it severely
punished; but they could not secure the adoption of
harsh measures because the miracle was undeniable,
and the Pharisees, who dominated the Sanhedrin, were
not willing to move against these preachers, and —
chiefest of obstacles — the people were on their side
(4: 14, 21; 5: 26). All that the Sanhedrin did when
Peter and John were brought before it, was to order
that teaching and preaching in the name of Jesus must
cease. This order the apostles boldly disregarded, — ¦
no human authority might overrule the divine. And
their decision to obey God, even at the risk of the
wrath of rulers, brought them a new influx of the Holy
Spirit which gave new power to their witness-bearing
(4:31, 33).
A second time the Sadducees were roused; and now
all the apostles were thrown into prison ; but by an aid
recognized as divinely given, they were released at
night, and at daybreak were back in the temple-porch
teaching the people again (5: 17 f.). Brought before
the Sanhedrin once more, their fearless accusations
made the Sadducees eager to slay them ; but Gamaliel,
speaking for the Pharisees, recommended a laissez-
faire policy; and as a compromise they were let off
with a beating, which the previous disobedience seemed
to deserve, and with a fresh command to refrain from
preaching, which again they proceeded to disobey.

48 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Though the advice of Gamaliel was favourable to the
church, it cannot be commended; the duty of the San
hedrin was to accept or else reject the gospel set before
them; indeed, as they found later, it could not be let
alone. After the failure of these two attempts to silence the
apostles, their work seems to have gone forward for a
season without opposition and with increasing success
(5: 41; 6:7). The attacks upon it by the Sadducees,
who were not popular, would be a recommendation of
it to most of the Jews. But while enemies without the
church were striving vainly to check its growth, more
subtle enemies within were threatening its spiritual
life. That life demanded constant recognition of the
Holy Spirit and obedience to His promptings; and
these high requirements were as yet imperfectly
realized; the very existence of the Holy Spirit was a
new teaching (cf. 19:2). Two prominent members
of the church, Ananias and Sapphira, thought they
could succeed without detection in an attempt to serve
both God and mammon, and might gain the credit of
complete consecration at the cost of a lie to the apos
tles. Envious of the reputation Barnabas had won by
his generosity, they too sold a field and brought the
money to the apostles, — hut only a part of it, though
they professed to bring the whole. The deceit was
quickly discovered, and was denounced by Peter
sternly as a lie to the Holy Spirit and not merely to
men. In this day of beginnings, when the dispensa
tion of the Spirit was still new to all, there must be
no relaxing of ethics, and no encouragement to believe
that emotion may serve as a substitute for holiness.
The words of Peter were given terrible emphasis by
the immediate death of the guilty pair, in which — ¦

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 49
whatever its natural cause — the church recognized a
divine endorsement of the apostle's utterance. It
caused a searching of every heart, a fear which puri
fied the church from hypocrites, an increase of rever
ence for the apostles, and a greater manifestation of
the power of God working through them (5: 11 f.).
4. The Martyrdom of Stephen.
The pe'riod of peace could not continue indefinitely.
The Pharisees, who were leaders of the people and
guardians of the Law, would be roused by the rapid
increase of the Christians, and begin to fear that the
apostles might presently have more power than them
selves. Also, they would have good grounds for sus
pecting that this new sect was something other than
orthodox Judaism. Its founder had been condemned
for blasphemy; could those who cherished His
memory and followed His teachings be true sons of
Israel? The present leaders were Galilean fishermen
who knew not the Law; what right had they to teach,
and could they be safe guides? These daily meetings
for worship, why were they held apart from the syna
gogue and the temple? This putting a proselyte into
prominence (6:5), was this the spirit of strict Juda
ism ? How far the brethren themselves recognized that
they were slowly but steadily growing away from the
faith of their childhood, we cannot tell. That they
must become separate or else ultimately be lost in
Judaism, is clear to us; but reared as they had been
under the Law, and proud of their privileges as Jews,
it was difficult for them to see this.
Stephen, a server of tables and not an apostle, and
probably a Hellenist and not a Hebrew, was the first
to grasp the difference between Jewish exclusiveness

50 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
and legalism and Christian inclusiveness and liberty;
yet how far he fully apprehended it, we are puzzled
to say. He had been selected as leader of the Seven
because he was " a man full of faith and of the Holy
Spirit," and had proved to be not only a wise adminis
trator but also an able and convincing preacher, " full
of grace and power." There were in Jerusalem special
synagogues for Jews from different foreign lands, just
as in our large cities there are special churches for
foreigners of various nationalities. And in these syna
gogues (whether the text indicates one, two or five, is
an unsolved and unimportant problem, 6:9) Stephen
defended the new faith so ably that his antagonists,
beaten in argument, spread the slander that he spoke
" blasphemous words against Moses and God " ; and
when he was arrested and brought before the San
hedrin, they made the more precise accusation that he
was constantly speaking against the temple and the
Law, — indeed, that they had heard him say Jesus
would destroy the temple and change the customs that
Moses had handed down. The witnesses were false,
yet doubtless there was a degree of truth in the charge,
even as in the similar one brought against Jesus (Mk.
14:58; John 2:19). Stephen's words had been dis
torted and torn from their context, thus making a half
truth which is ever more difficult to refute than an
outright lie.
The speech of Stephen before the Sanhedrin is re
ported at fuller length than any other in Acts. Doubt
less Luke got his account from Paul, who never could
forget Stephen's words or his face which, as he burned
with the flame of the Spirit, was " as it had been the
face of an angel." The speech is a long review of
Jewish history from the call of Abraham to the build-

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 51
ing of the temple, and in certain details it follows the
popular traditional account rather than the Old Testa
ment. But just what was Stephen trying to show in
it? Some scholars hold that he was setting forth the
broader Christianity, as Paul did later, by pointing
out that God's favour is not confined to the Jews and
Palestine and the Law and the temple. But such
catholicity, while true to the spirit of Jesus, had not
yet been grasped by the church, and even in Paul's day
was abhorrent to the Hebrew Christians. If Stephen
had proclaimed that the barriers between Jew and
Gentile no longer existed for followers of Jesus, he
would have raised a storm of protest in the church
itself. Other scholars see in the speech an attempt to
prove that all through their history the Jews had re
sisted the Holy Spirit, even as they did when dealing
with Jesus : — they had rejected Moses, they had turned
from the tabernacle to the golden calf and the host of
heaven, and they had emphasized the temple, though
they had been taught that the Most High dwelleth not
in houses made with hands. This would not be a direct
answer to the charges against Stephen, but it is an in
direct answer; and — what was of more importance to
him — it gave a chance to preach Jesus, through the
parallelism between those ancient deeds and the present
treatment of the Messiah and His spiritual lessons.
The speech was never finished. As its application
became cuttingly close, the Sanhedrin grew wild with
rage; and when Stephen, rapt in spirit, cried that. he
saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, they
rushed on him with one accord and dragged him away.
He had uttered blasphemy in the hearing of all, and
should be stoned to death outside the city (Heb.
13:13 f.). The lawi that a death sentence must be

52 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
passed by a procurator was disregarded; there was no
wish to throw upon the Romans the responsibility for
this death, as there was in the case of Jesus ; and Pilate
was now finding it so difficult to control the Jews that
he would prefer to ignore this act of their leaders.
Stephen died at the hands of a mob ; and yet — as some
times in the action of mobs — the prescribed forms of
justice were not wholly abandoned ; the witnesses were
made to cast the first stones (Deut. 13: 9). And the
narrator adds one item, which only Paul would re
member, " They laid down their garments at the feet
of a young man named Saul." As they stoned Stephen
he sank to his knees, and with a prayer which echoed
that of Jesus when being nailed to the cross, he passed
to meet the Lord whom he had seen risen to His feet
to welcome him. Thus the church received its first
baptism of blood, and the long line of martyrs began.

Ill
THE ENTRANCE INTO THE LARGER FIELD
THE church had been so comfortable and flour
ishing in Jerusalem, and so confident that
Jesus would soon return thither, that it had
undertaken no work elsewhere. True, there were
Christians in Damascus (9:2) and other foreign
cities (26:11), — men who had returned home after
accepting the gospel at Jerusalem ; but all of these were
Jews or proselytes (the door had not yet been opened
to Gentiles) ; and, lacking knowledge and leadership,
they seem to have made little effort to win even their
Jewish neighbours. Though the apostles had been
commanded to go into all the world and preach the
gospel, beginning from Jerusalem, they showed no
desire to take more than the initial step. Possibly
they waited for Jesus to be their leader on His return ;
more probably they felt that there was abundant work
at home, — a very common excuse for refusing to
undertake foreign missions. Had they persisted in
staying in Jerusalem and succeeded in converting
Palestine, though such success was most improbable,
the whole later history of Christianity would have been
changed. There would have been no disastrous revolt
against the Romans, Jerusalem would have remained
the dominant city of Christendom with the head of the
church residing there, the temple would have become
the most sacred Christian sanctuary, and the narrow
Jewish type of Christianity might have continued in-
53

54 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
definitely. There was need that the church should be
stirred up and forced to enter the larger field.
1. The Scattering by Persecution.
The murder of Stephen let loose imm&diately all the
accumulated hatred against the Christians. Saul
seems to have led the mob on that same day from
house to house, dragging the terrified inmates — women
as well as men — to prison, and ravaging the church as
a wild boar would a vineyard (8:3, cf. Ps. 80: 13).
The only safety for those assailed was in flight or hid
ing. But Luke's statement that all the church except
the apostles were scattered abroad must not be taken
too literally. Even in the first fury of the storm there
were strong and willing friends to shelter the Chris
tians, — friends like the devout Jews who carried
Stephen's body to the grave with great lamentation.
The Hellenists had begun the persecution and, with
Saul at their head, would direct it mainly against be
lievers whom they knew personally, i.e., against the
Hellenistic Christians who worshipped in their syna
gogues. These would flee from Jerusaiem to their
former homes; the others, hidden by friends in the
city or near at hand, would wait the stilling of the
tempest. There seem to have been other martyrs
(26:10); but the madness of the persecution abated
quickly, as such sudden outbursts usually do. When
Saul had departed for Damascus, sober second thought
and the counsel of such men as Gamaliel would soon
calm the others; the Roman authorities would be on
guard against further riot; the prisoners would be re
leased with little punishment, for really there was no
charge upon which to hold them; and life would re
sume its normal course. Yet it never again could be

THE ENTRANCE INTO THE LARGER FIELD 55
quite the old peaceful, favoured life. Henceforth the
Christians would be viewed with suspicion, if not with
hostility; and the church would make slower progress
in the Holy City.
In many ways the persecution was a blessing to the
church, as persecutions often prove to be. It purged
out false and half-hearted members; it ended the too
comfortable communistic living ; and it spread far and
wide the Christian teaching (8:4; 11: 19). The men
who were forced into the outer world were earnest in
spirit and instructed in the faith, and they became
good missionaries. Few of them could do itinerant
work, — they had families and must establish homes
and earn their daily bread; but every Christian home
was a witness to the gospel, and every group of such
homes — for believers would love to keep together —
formed a little Christian community. One effect of the
persecution, however, was deplorable: — it gave the
initial impulse towards a split in the church. The
believers who belonged to Jerusalem would resume life
there as soon as it was safe to do so; the rest would
remain permanently elsewhere. Thus the Jerusalem
church was henceforth composed almost wholly of
Hebrews who clung to the legalistic, Jewish form of
Christianity, and were unable to sympathize and
scarcely to fellowship with their Hellenistic brethren
who made their homes amid the influences of the great
Graeco-Roman world. We shall see the trouble this
caused later on. And yet we must recognize that if
the Christians in Jerusalem had not lived in obedience
to the Law, a fresh persecution would have driven
them from the sacred city forever; and this would have
been a sad loss to the whole church'.

56 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
2. The Jews of the Dispersion.
Most of the Christians who fled from Jerusalem re
mained among their countrymen in Samaria and Judea
(8:1); and those who went outside the Holy Land
offered the gospel at first to none but " the Dispersion "
(11:19), i.e., to those Jews who lived outside of
Palestine, and in Acts are called Hellenists (Grecians)
because they spoke Greek. The majority of Jews were
now of this number. The ancestors of some had never
returned from the exile, of others had been carried off
by later conquerors or coaxed to leave by attractive
offers from founders of cities who knew that Jews make
good citizens. They were to be found all around the
Mediterranean, in Mesopatamia and perhaps farther
East ; indeed, the old geographer, Strabo, says, " It is
not easy to find a place in the world that has not re
ceived this race " (cf. Acts 15 : 21). They lived mostly
in the cities, forming distinct communities, and enjoy
ing special privileges gained in various ways. With
their financial genius some of them gained great
wealth, and with their native ability others rose to posi
tions of much influence. Though Rome put Oriental
religions under a ban, she made Judaism an exception,
allowing its adherents to gain proselytes and to admin
ister their sacred Law, which was at once a religious,
a civil, and a criminal code. This explains why Saul
could be given authority by the Sanhedrin to arrest any
Christian Jews in Damascus and bring them to Jeru
salem for trial (9:2), and why, after he himself be
came a Christian, he could be five times scourged by
Jewish officials (II Cor. 11: 24), though other officials
would not dare to scourge him because he was a Roman
citizen (Acts 22: 25). The Jews did not have to wor-

THE ENTRANCE INTO THE LARGER FIELD 57
ship the emperor, though mad Caligula once tried to
make them; and they were exempt from military ser
vice, because their religion forbade them to fight on the
Sabbath. We have already remarked that the Hellenists were
more liberal than the Hebrews. Many causes com
bined to broaden their religious ideas:
(a) Since the most zealous and narrow Jews re
fused to live elsewhere than in the Holy Land, the
leaders of the Dispersion were chosen from the more
tolerant ; and they laid less stress on the oral law which
the scribes and rabbis of Jerusalem constantly de
veloped and deemed even more important than the Law
recorded in the Old Testament.
(Z>) Dwelling among heathen neighbours they found
it impossible to follow out minutely all the many regu
lations concerning meats and drinks and sacrifices and
ceremonial purity ; so they came to recognize the spirit
of the Law as more important than the letter.
(c) Because they could visit the temple only at long
intervals, the synagogue became the center of their re
ligious life; and its services were more instructive and
elevating than the sacrifices at Jerusalem. A syna
gogue or, at least, " a place of prayer " (16 : 13) was
to be found wherever there were not less than ten pious
male Jews with leisure to carry on its services.
(d) The conceit caused by provincialism, which
made the Hebrews look with disdain upon the intel
lectual life of other nations, was not as great in the
Hellenists. Though the more scrupulous might hold
back from studying Greek literature, they could not but
gain some Greek culture by daily contact with a world
full of it; and in Greek thought they found much that
influenced their interpretation of the Old Testament,

58 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
and expanded their views of life and duty. We may
sum up the effect of all these causes by saying that the
Jew of the Dispersion differed from the Jew of Jeru
salem somewhat as the man who spends his life in a
great metropolis differs from his brother who has never
left the secluded mountain hamlet which was their
common home in childhood.
When among Gentile neighbours the Jew had an un
fortunate knack of incurring dislike, caused in part by
envy of his successful rivalry. He was ridiculed for
the peculiarities of his religion, especially for Sabbath-
keeping, rejection of idols, and refusal to eat pork;
and he was slandered and hated because he persisted in
standing aloof from the rest of mankind. Neverthe
less, in an age when thoughtful men were turning with
increasing disgust from the sensuality and superstition
of heathen cults, there was much to attract them to
the Jewish religion. It set forth one God, supreme,
spiritual, holy, whose worship is free from immoral
ity; it promised forgiveness of sins here and eternal
life hereafter; it had a high standard of ethics, an
admirable home life, and an honourable position for
woman. And the Jew cordially welcomed those who
were drawn to it. They might read his Scripture's
which had been translated into Greek (the Septua
gint) ; they might on certain conditions attend the ser
vices in his synagogue ; and, if willing to take the step,
they might be received into the Jewish fold. Some
were willing; and after submitting to baptism and
circumcision and offering a sacrifice, they were placed
upon nearly, though not quite, the same footing as
native-born Jews. In Acts these converts are called
"proselytes" (2:10; 6:5). A much larger number
of Gentiles accepted the great truths of the Jewish re-

THE ENTRANCE INTO THE LARGER FIELD 59
ligion, but refused to take on the bondage of the Law
with its constant restraints and inevitable isolation.
In Acts these are called " the devout " or " those that
fear God " (10 : 2 ; 17 : 17). They loved to attend the
synagogue and mingle with Jewish friends; and they
were allowed to do this if in turn they abstained from
certain foods and practices that were abhorrent to Jews.
Probably the restrictions were practically the same as
those laid down in the Old Testament for the stranger
who sojourned among the children of Israel (Lev.
XVII-XVIII). It was among these God-fearing Gen
tiles that Christianity, as it freed itself from Judaism,
found its most receptive hearers, since it offered all
that had drawn them towards the Jewish religion with
out the restraints that had repelled.
3. The Gospel in Samaria.
The Samaritans sprang from a mingling of heathen
colonists with the remnant of the Ten Tribes left in
Samaria after the overthrow of Israel in 721 b.c. (II
Kings 17:24 f.). They accepted the Pentateuch but
not the rest of the Old Testament; they kept the
Law, — very imperfectly, the Jews thought; they had
a temple on Mt. Gerizim until the Jews destroyed it
in 128 b.c. ; and they were looking for the Messiah,
though with expectations less political than those of
the Jews. Between the Samaritans and the Jews was
a long-continued strife which had all the bitterness of
a family quarrel; yet prejudice against work in
Samaria would not be as great as against work in a
land of the uncircumcised, and Jesus had expressly
commanded it (1:8).
Philip, one of the Seven and known later as " the
evangelist" (21: 8), was the pioneer missionary to the

60 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Samaritans. Fleeing from the persecution, he went
down from Jerusalem to the capital city, Sebaste, and
there preached Christ (8:5); and his message, accom
panied with acts of healing, was received with much
joy, and bore fruit in the baptism of a large number of
men and women. When news of this work in Samaria
reached the apostles at Jerusalem, they were deeply in
terested, because it was the entrance of the gospel into
a new and only semi- Jewish field ; and they sent Peter
and John to get into touch with it. For the leaders of
the church to do this, was a simple and most natural
act; to construe it as a formal, episcopal visitation is
to put the clothes of a man upon a creeping infant. The
coming of the two apostles brought a further blessing.
Philip had preached only the gospel of the Kingdom
of God and Jesus the Messiah; now Peter and John
gave the converts instruction about the Holy Spirit,
and prayed that His gifts might be granted them. And
when they laid their hands on those who had been bap
tized, some outward sign, probably the familiar one of
speaking with tongues, gave assurance that the prayer
was answered (8:17). Thus the infant church of
Samaria had its Pentecost, and took its place beside
the church in Jerusalem with evident divine endorse
ment. Christianity had no sooner entered the outer world
than it encountered in Simon Magus a representative
of one of its great future foes. The magi, — of whom
Elymas, also, was one (13:6), — must not be lightly
regarded as mere imposters like our modern fortune
tellers; they were more like Cornelius Agrippa and
other famous magicians of the Middle Ages, or like
certain sorcerers in heathen lands to-day. They were
the men of science of their time as well as masters of

THE ENTRANCE INTO THE LARGER FIELD 61
black art, and they had gained certain secrets of
Nature which they used along with much chicanery.
Dealing with ignorant, credulous people they resorted
to an inextricable mixture of science and superstition,
drugs, herbs, charms, astrology, alchemy, hypnotism,
mental suggestion and deliberate imposture, all in
spired by conceit and selfishness. When we recall how
kings as well as common people even in recent days
have believed that such men possess more than mortal
powers, we must agree with Ramsay that the magi
" represented the strongest influence upon the human
will that existed in the Roman world, an influence
which must destroy or be destroyed by Christianity, if
the latter tried to conquer the Roman world." Simon
was doubtless a renegade Jew ; and, if we are to judge
from his claims and the name given him, " that Power
of God which is called Great," he had accepted some
form of that strange and multiform mixture of mysti
cism and perverted theology which we call gnosticism,
— another future foe of the church. The preaching of
Philip created in Simon a degree of belief which led
him to be baptized; and the miracles of Philip were
so much beyond his own magic as to fill him with
amazement. But it was the mysterious descent of the
Holy Spirit, when the apostles laid on their hands, that
aroused his cupidity, and made him offer to purchase
the secret for his own use. Here was a sin against the
Holy Spirit of another type than that of Ananias, — a
grasping after spiritual gifts and leadership in the
church to gratify ambition and avarice. The scathing
words with which Peter denounced it frightened
Simon ; but though he was urged to repent, there is no
hint that he did, and later legends picture him as a
bitter enemy of the church and as the father of

62 ,THE APOSTOLIC AGE
heresies. Indeed, out . of these legends came the
mediaeval story of Faust, the man who sold his soul
to the devil.
4. The Eunuch From Ethiopia.
Ethiopia was a general term for the region south of
Egypt; and the queens who ruled in Meroe, above the
second cataract of the Nile, were all called Candace,
just as the rulers of Egypt were all called Pharaoh.
The Jewish religion had been brought to Ethiopia long
before this time (Jeremiah's friend, Ebed-Melech, was
an Ethiopian eunuch, Jere. 38: 7 f.) ; and the present
treasurer of the queen, a man of great authority, was
a convert to it. Being a eunuch he could not gain ad
mission into the Jewish fold (Deut. 23 : 1) ; but he
could worship at the temple in the court of the Gen
tiles, and for this purpose he made the long journey
to Jerusalem. It seems probable that there he became
acquainted with Christians; for on his way home he
was studying the passage in Isaiah most used by them
to teach a crucified Messiah, and he was anxious to
know who was described in it. He had journeyed as
far as the deserted city, Old Gaza, and the hour was
high noon, when Philip met him and volunteered the
instruction he craved. Taking the Scripture passage as
a text, the evangelist preached Jesus with such con
vincing power that, when they came to a pool of water,
the eunuch put the question " What doth hinder me to
be baptized ? " He was not a Jew, and he could not
become a Jew: — these for the brethren at Jerusalem
were hindrances insurmountable. But Philip had seen
the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Samaritans, and knew
that the Spirit had guided him to this man; so with
out hesitation he broke through the barriers and bap-

THE ENTRANCE INTO THE LARGER FIELD 63
tized him; and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing.
Just how much of the supernatural was involved in
Philip's coming to this seeker after truth, is a ques
tion hardly worth debating. Angels, i.e., messengers,
of the Lord and promptings of the Spirit come in many
ways to the true evangelist, and the recognition of them
as such is made clear by obedience; but certainly noth
ing less than a most unusual experience could make
Philip recognize that the eunuch might be baptized, so
unprecedented was the act. Indeed, he seems to have
kept what he had done a sacred secret until years later,
perhaps until Paul and Luke were his guests at Cae
sarea (21:8). Tradition very naturally makes this
eunuch to be the founder of the Christian church in
Abyssinia; but we know nothing more about him, and
we do know that missionary work in Ethiopia was not
begun until the fourth century. The story of his con
version and baptism furnishes precedents of great value
to present-day mission workers, but throws little light
upon the history of the church. And for Philip it was
merely an interlude in his extended work among the
cities of Samaria (8:40).
5. The Case of Cornelius.
Peter and John not only had assisted Stephen in his
work at Sebaste but had preached in many villages in
Samaria on their way back to Jerusalem (8:25).
Such interest in the Samaritans explains why presently
we find Peter visiting the churches along the coast,
founded possibly by Philip in his evangelistic tour
from Azotus to Caesarea (8 : 40). At Lydda he healed
a palsied man, Aeneas, and at Joppa he raised from
her death-bed a prominent church worker, Tabitha, —
two miracles closely resembling those of Jesus (Mk.

64 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
2 : 3 f. ; 5 : 35 f.) and producing increase of faith among
believers and a spread of the church in those regions.
The work was so great that he abode in Joppa many
days, making his home with Simon, a tanner. It is
often pointed out that since the tanner's occupation
involved ceremonial uncleanness and was much de
spised, Peter's choice of lodgings shows that he was
learning to disregard Jewish restrictions. This might
be true, had Peter originally been a Pharisee, but a
Galilean fisherman would not be scrupulous about his
quarters and companions. The statement that this
Simon was a tanner serves in 10 : 5-6 to distinguish
him from Simon Peter himself; perhaps that is all it
is meant to do in 9 : 43.
All this time Christian work was slowly spreading
in other regions, — in Galilee (9:31), Damascus
(9: 10), Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (11: 19), and
probably elsewhere (26:11); but it was confined to
the circumcised. Nevertheless, each advance made
more impossible the ignoring of the question, What, if
anything, can Gentiles do to obtain a share in the Mes
sianic blessings? Upon the answer depended the
future of Christianity, — whether it could develop into
a universal religion or must remain an insignificant
Jewish sect. Luke perceives that the case of Cornelius
contains the answer; so he narrates it at great length.
Here at Caesarea is a Roman centurion, well-known
and highly respected (10 : 22), "a devout man and one
that feared God," i.e., a half-way proselyte, who has
not only accepted the great truths of Judaism himself
but has won over to them his household, kinsmen and
near friends (10:2, 7, 24). He has gone as far as
Judaism will permit unless he becomes a full prose
lyte ; will Christianity allow him to go further ? Prob-

THE ENTRANCE INTO THE LARGER FIELD 65
ably Cornelius had heard of the Christians and even
of Peter's miracles in two places only some thirty miles
away; possibly, also, Philip was now preaching in
Caesarea. But Cornelius would be prejudiced against
the new sect by what he learned in the synagogue ; and
it required a vision to make him send for the apostle.
Peter, too, was full of prejudice, wrought into him
from childhood, against all Gentiles; and before he
would go to Cornelius, nothing doubting, he likewise
had to learn by a vision that what God has cleansed
man must not pronounce unclean. But though he went
without doubting, he did not go without the precaution
of taking six brethren with him as witnesses of what
might befall; evidently he felt that the step he was
taking was an important one which might bring on him
grave censure, as in fact it did. The open-minded wel
come of Cornelius and the story of his vision impressed
Peter most favourably, though his words (10:34-5)
cannot be construed to mean that godly fear and
righteous living .are religion enough for any man — else
why did he at once proceed to tell the story of the
cross ? What he recognized was that the grace of God
is not confined to one special nation, and, therefore,
the gospel may be preached to God-fearing Gentiles as
well as to Jews. Peter's discourse to the group gath
ered by Cornelius contains a full story of the life of
Jesus, a brief allusion to the prophets (Cornelius
would know these from the synagogue service but
would not regard them with Jewish reverence), and a
promise of forgiveness of sins. It was not finished
because, at this point, speaking with tongues gave evi
dence that the little assembly of Gentiles had received
the gift of the Holy Spirit. The thought of the apostle
went back to his own Day of Pentecost ; and with such

66 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
clear indication that God had accepted these men, he
commanded that they be baptized. This was done by
the brethren who came with him, — was it because
Peter wished them to become responsible for this new
church, or did he — like Paul (I Cor. 1 : 17) — feel that
baptism was a work for laymen, while the mission of
apostles was to evangelize?
A report of what had taken place in Caesarea soon
reached Jerusalem ; and when Peter returned he found
the stricter party of the church, " they that were of the
circumcision," waiting to censure him; but after hear
ing the story from his own lips, " they held their peace,
and glorified God," saying, " Then to the Gentiles also
hath God granted repentance unto life" (11:2, 18).
Nevertheless, the acquiescence and rejoicing were
superficial and transient; no work among the Gentiles
was undertaken by the Jerusalem church ; and the whole
battle over admitting the uncircumcised generally
into the church was still in the future, when we shall
find Peter himself uncertain which side to take in it.
The general feeling now must have been that the case
of Cornelius was exceptional, and its logical implica
tions need not be considered. No one could foresee
that before many years the Gentile Christians would
bid fair to outnumber the Jewish ; and it was not until
they did begin to see this, that the party of circum
cision roused to a protracted struggle against granting
to Gentile believers freedom from the obligations of
the Law, unrestricted intercourse with themselves, and
a place of equal privilege and honour in the Kingdom.
In other words, the battle was yet in the future, and
with Paul instead of Peter as leader of the Gentile
forces, by which they would gain liberty, fraternity
and equality.

IV,
THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL
IN the group of apostles Paul stands forth as the
central figure. This might be because we know
most about him. Several of his letters have come
down to us, and Luke devotes the larger half of Acts
to his deeds; while little of the journeys, sufferings,
and achievements of the other apostles has been re
corded, and few of their writings remain. But Paul
himself, when forced to boast, declares that he sur
passed all the rest in labours, in prisons, in stripes, in
deaths (II Cor. 11:23). His burning zeal, which
showed itself when he persecuted the Christians as well
as when he preached the faith of which he once made
havoc (Gal. 1:23), would kindle self-reproach if any
fellow-worker outdid him. And Paul had the advan
tage of education ; his was the highest Jerusalem could
offer, while the Twelve, being sons of humble folk, had
been restricted to what the simple synagogue schools
provided. Of course, this advantage should not be
overestimated. Apollos was equally or more learned)
but did not approach Paul in influence ; and Paul tells
us that his own speaking and message " were not in
persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of
the Spirit and of power" (I Cor. 2:4). Nevertheless,
a trained mind and a polished wit are mighty weapons
when consecrated to Christ. Other endowments and
acquirements also were his, as we shall see later, that
would make him a leader wherever he might be; and
67

68 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the great Gentile world, his chosen field, gave oppor
tunity for successful work to the very limit of his
ability. From the time he fairly enters it, the history
of the Apostolic Age becomes in large measure the his
tory of the Apostle Paul.
1. The Boy in Tarsus.
Paul was born in Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia; and
with justifiable pride he calls himself " a Tarsian "
(22:3) and his birthplace "no mean city" (21:39).
Situated on the main highway from Rome to the East,
and accessible by the river Cydnus for Mediterranean
boats, it was truly cosmopolitan; and, having schools
that rivalled those of Athens and Alexandria, it was
one of the famous cities of learning. The boy who
grew up in such a place would have an outlook upon
the world very different from that of a boy reared
among the secluded hills of Palestine. In all his later
thought and action Paul shows his city training. His
letters reveal little of that love of nature and skill in
drawing lessons from the fields and flocks which char
acterize the teachings of Jesus: he finds his illustra
tions rather in the great houses, the courts, the amphi
theaters, the imperial guards, the triumphal proces
sions and like features of city life. And in his jour
neys he ever seeks the cities, and loves to mingle with
men in the crowded streets and market-places. There
were many Jews in Tarsus, as in most large cities of
Asia Minor; and Paul's ancestors, who were of the
tribe of Benjamin (Rom. 11: 1), had lived there long,
and had been given citizenship, perhaps as an induce
ment to settle there originally. In some unknown way,
by distinguished service or by the payment of a great
sum, they had gained Roman citizenship also (Acts

THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL 69
22 : 27), — a much higher distinction, prized and jeal
ously guarded in the first century. In addition to
honour and influence it brought three privileges of
much use to Paul later, namely, trial by Roman courts,
exemption from degrading punishments such as scourg
ing (though a Jew could not claim this when before a
Jewish tribunal), and under certain circumstances ap
peal to Caesar. A family thus distinguished and in
fluential was probably wealthy. To be sure, Paul
learned a trade in boyhood, but this was almost com
pulsory upon Jewish boys ; the rabbis used to say, " If
a man does not teach his son a trade, it is the same as
if he did teach him to steal." When he became a Chris
tian, Paul's family would cut him off; and then his
trade, which was weaving cloth of coarse goats' hair for
tents, proved a means of support for himself and some
times for his companions (18: 3; 20: 34). As a Jew
the boy was given a Jewish name, Saul, once borne by
the king who was of his tribe ; and as a Roman citizen
he had also a Roman name of which we know only
what seems to be the cognomen, Paul. Professor Ram
say suggestively remarks, " If we could think of him
sometimes as Gaius Julius Paulus, — to give him a pos
sible and even not improbable name, — how completely
would our view of him be transformed ! " He used
his Roman name only when he was among the Gen
tiles ; but, as it is more familiar to us, we shall use it
in the whole story of his life.
Paul's parents were Pharisees, and the boy from the
first lived as such (23:6; 26:5). A Pharisee in a
Gentile city could not observe the Law as strictly as in
Jerusalem, — the standards must be lowered somewhat;
but of two facts in Paul's boyhood we may be sure.
First, as the son of a Pharisee he was carefully

70 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
shielded from heathen life and influences. Boys came
from a distance to attend the university at Tarsus, but
he would not be allowed to enter any except a Jewish
school. Yet, as a part of his preparation for life in a
Gentile land, he did learn to use Greek, and doubtless
as a Roman citizen knew some Latin, though Hebrew
was the language of his home. And he could not but
absorb somewhat of the Greek culture which sur
rounded him. Tarsus was a center of Stoic philoso
phy; and parallels between the thought of Paul and
of the famous Stoic, Seneca, have often been pointed
out. Second, as a Pharisee Paul would devote his
days, even in childhood, to memorizing and putting
into practice the Law, both the written and the oral,
even to minutest details. It was an exacting and seem
ingly dreary occupation ; but the zeal and devotion with
which, as he repeatedly testifies, he pursued it, changed
it to a delight and carried him forward beyond many
of his own age (Gal. 1:14). Jewish home life sur
passed that of all other nations in the loving compan
ionship of husband and wife and the tender care of
parents for children; yet we cannot but wonder if
something of his own experience in childhood prompted
Paul to enjoin, " Husbands, love your wives, and be
not bitter against them. * * * Fathers, provoke
not your children that they be not discouraged " (Col.
3:19, 21). Did the rigid demands of Pharisaism
with its emphasis of constant self-discipline so check
his father's manifestation of affection as to cast a
shadow over the household?
2. The Young Man in Jerusalem.
At the age of fifteen, or whenever he had advanced
as far as the Jewish teachers in Tarsus could take him,

THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL 71
Paul was sent to Jerusalem, where a sister lived (at
least, her son did later, 23: 16), 'to sit as a pupil at
the feet of Gamaliel (22:3). This grandson of the
famous Hillel was " had in honour of all the people "
(5: 34) as one of the best and broadest-minded of the
great rabbis. His attitude toward the Christians
(5: 34-40) has already been noticed; and his liberality
in other matters, such as approving the study of Greek
literature, scandalized his stricter brethren. Possibly
Paul's father selected him for his son, recognizing that
the lad needed a teacher who would restrain rather
than increase a tendency towards narrowness and
bigotry; certainly we may see divine guidance in plac
ing the future apostle to Gentiles under such a rabbi.
Here Paul lived and studied for several years, being,
as he says, " instructed according to the strict manner
of the law of our fathers " (22 : 3), and becoming most
thoroughly a Hebrew (II Cor. 11: 22). The influence
of his rabbinical training is evident in his letters. A
rabbi guided his pupils in an exhaustive study of the
Jewish scriptures, searching for hidden meanings, em
phasizing minute differences, using allegory and legend
in illustration. So Paul is teaching like a rabbi when
he finds a significant difference between " seed " and
"seeds" (Gal. 3:16), or makes Mount Sinai typify
Jerusalem (Gal. 4: 25), or uses the legend of the rock
that followed the Israelites in the desert furnishing
water (I Cor. 10:4).
Absurd as some of the rabbinical instruction seems
to us, the teaching of such a man as Gamaliel with
such a text-book as the Old Testament must have been
inspiring and profitable. It made Paul intimately
familiar with the high visions of prophets, the spir
itual experiences of psalmists, and the wonderful priv-

72 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ileges of his people, "whose is the adoption and the
glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and
the service of God and the promises, whose are the
fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh "
(Rom. 9:4 f.). Though his life-work was among the
Gentiles and he was increasingly hated by the Jews,
his love for his own nation never ceased ; and his pride
in their past lent intensity to his desire for their
present salvation. There is no stronger expression in
all his writings than his cry, " I could pray that I
myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's
sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh " (Rom. 9 : 3).
If we judge from his later years, Paul was not only a
diligent learner, he was also an independent and orig
inal thinker. And with him to know was to do; his
will was set on perfect obedience to the Law; and his
success was such that, when reviewing these years long
afterwards, he could pronounce himself " as touching
the righteousness which is in the Law, found blame
less " (Phil. 3:6). Also, there burned within him the
desire to bring others to like acceptance and obedience.
" Even before his conversion," says McGiffert, " he de
sired to be not merely a rabbi but a missionary," to
prepare his own nation for the coming of the Messiah,
and to win other nations to acceptance of the Jewish
faith. In this he was a true son of the Pharisees, con
cerning whom Jesus said, " Ye compass sea and land
to make one proselyte" (Matt. 23: 15).
Paul remained in Jerusalem until he had completed
his studies under Gamaliel, — three years, at least, and
probably several more; then naturally he returned to
Tarsus, there to live and teach as a rabbi, though he
would not be allowed to head a rabbinical school until
he was forty years old. As a citizen of Tarsus he

THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL 73
must have felt the responsibilities and exercised the
duties that belonged to citizenship, and have acquired
the knowledge of civic life which lies behind his com
mand, " Render to all their dues : tribute to whom
tribute is due ; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom
fear; honour to whom honour" (Rom. 13:7). And
as a Roman citizen he could not but exult in the great
ness and power and discipline of his empire, and gain
from Rome that conception of a unity of all life under
one great head which later on he transferred to the
empire of Christ. Though he knew it not, Paul even in
Tarsus, was being trained for world-wide evangelism.
" Modern life," says Robertson, " is chiefly a blend of
the Jewish contribution to religion, the Greek contribu
tion to culture, and the Roman contribution to govern
ment ; " and in Paul these three were combined. His
advice about marriage and woman's obedience to her
husband and her part in church services, has made some
readers curious as to just what his experiences with the
other sex had been. That he had no wife when he wrote
I Cor. 7 : 8 seems evident, but that he had never been
married is highly improbable; marriage was a sacred
duty for a Jew, and no young rabbi would neglect it.
We may be fairly certain that Paul in his apostolic days
was a widower ; but whether we go further and, as some
have done, surmise that his matrimonial experience had
been distasteful or distressing, depends upon how much
bitterness we seem to find in his words concerning
women and marriage. \
Though attendance at the annual feasts in the temple
was not obligatory upon Jews living at a distance,
probably Paul went up to Jerusalem often, for he was
zealous in keeping the law; but he seems to have met
neither John the Baptist nor Jesus during their brief

74 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
public ministries. What he learned from others about
the Christians would come from hostile sources ; and his
first direct encounter with them probably was when,
having come to Jerusalem for worship or on business,
he listened to Stephen speaking in the synagogue of the
Cilicians. Aroused by what he heard this follower of
Jesus teach, the zealous young rabbi engaged in disputa
tion with him; and when worsted in this, did his ut
most to stir up persecution, thinking that verily he did
God service (26: 9). In the fierce scenes that followed
he was the fanatical leader; he took the whole blame
upon himself afterwards (Gal. 1:13; I Cor. 15:9),
and Luke seems to indicate that as soon as he was con
verted the persecution ceased (9 : 31). If this be a cor
rect reconstruction of his history, it settles that he was
not a member of the Sanhedrin; for as such he would
have resided in Jerusalem or its vicinity, and must
have known the counsel of Gamaliel and the law-abiding
life of the Christians, both of which would moderate his
rage. Moreover, though the term " a young man " is
indefinite, Paul could hardly have been old enough at
Stephen's death to hold a place in that most honoured
assembly of the elders of Israel. His statement con
cerning the martyrs, " When they were put to death, I
gave my vote against them " (26 : 10), means only that
he heartily endorsed the action, as was shown in his
conduct at the stoning of Stephen, where indeed there
seems to have been no formal vote but only frenzied
popular acclamation. After the persecution started he
was given some official appointment for its prosecution
(9: 1 f.), and in this way was connected with the San
hedrin; and we may be sure that his learning, ability
and tireless labours would some day have been rewarded
by election to full membership, had he not become a

THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL 75
Christian. This brilliant future was one of the gains
he counted loss for Christ (Phil. 3:7).
3. From Persecutor to Penitent.
The conversion of Paul has been set forth by some as
a proof of the supernatural, second only to the resurrec
tion of Jesus ; others explain it as a most natural change
in an emotional and excited person. The first group
of writers picture Paul firm in his convictions, unre
lenting in his rage against Christians, then suddenly
turned about and completely transformed by meeting
the risen Lord. The second group maintain that Paul,
though outwardly firm against Christianity, was in
wardly troubled and almost persuaded to accept it ; and
in this spiritual state of unstable equilibrium some
purely natural event, — a thunderstorm, a sunstroke, or
a fancy of his heated brain, — was enough to make him
think he saw Jesus and to cause his conversion. It is,
therefore, important to consider carefully just what did
take place as the heresy-hunter drew nigh to Damascus.
Fortunately, besides several references to it in Paul's
writings, we have three accounts in Acts, — one by Luke
writing as an historian, one by Paul propitiating a
Jewish mob who thought him a religious renegade, and*
the third by Paul addressing a Roman ruler and a
grandson of Herod the Great, two educated sceptics.
The three accounts differ in emphasis according to their
purpose, and also in certain minor details which by a
little ingenuity can be harmonized, and which so care
ful an historian as Luke would not have left unex
plained, had he regarded them as discrepancies.
Paul, the persecutor, bound for Damascus with au
thority to arrest and bring to Jerusalem all men or
women who were " of the Way," was — according to his

76 THE APOSTOLIC 'AGE
own statement — a most strict Pharisee who was laying
waste the church in all good conscience but in ignorance
and unbelief. There was no doubt in his mind that he
" ought to do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus " (26 : 9), — in other words, that in every possible
way he ought to assail those who proclaimed as Mes
siah one against whom the wrath of God had been
clearly shown by His crucifixion. Did not the Scrip
ture expressly state, " He that is hanged is accursed of
God" (Deut. 21:23, cf. Gal. 3:13)? And if the
curse of God was upon this false Messiah, it must like
wise be upon all who accepted him, no matter how seem
ingly blameless their lives and attractive their teach
ings. But though Paul had no qualms about persecut
ing the Christians, he tells us in Romans 7 : 7-25, which
is taken as a record of his own spiritual state at this
very time, that he was wretched, restless, almost in
despair because, while as a Pharisee he believed that
righteousness could be gained only by perfect obedience
to the Law, experience was increasingly proving that
such obedience was utterly beyond human ability. Even
if by intense and constant effort he should meet all the
outward demands of the Law, there still remained the
inward demands, such as that of the commandment,
" Thou shalt not covet," impossible for sinful human
nature. He says, " To will is present with me, but to
work that which is good is not ; " and this hopeless
contradiction creates a despair that makes him cry,
" Wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me out
of this body of death ? " Perhaps it was the goad of
this spiritual unrest that drove him to persecute the
Christians so fiercely, hoping thereby to find peace of
mind. To one tormented as Paul was, there must have been

THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL 77
something wonderfully attractive in the declaration of
the Christians that through their Prince and Saviour
past sins might be blotted out, and the Holy Spirit be
given for aid in righteous living (2:38; 3 : 19 ;
5 : 31-32). This had been stated powerfully by Stephen
in those unforgetable disputations, and proclaimed even
more effectively in the peace, joy and assurance of
God's favour which he and other Christians evidently
enjoyed, and which Paul so lacked and craved. And
when Stephen was put to the final test, there was no re
traction : — he stood before his accusers with a ' face
radiant as that of an angel; he looked up with rejoicing
from their fury to the welcome of his Lord; and he
died with a prayer that his murderers might be for
given. Though Paul could not recognize it until later,
Stephen was his spiritual father ; the mantle of the first
martyr fell upon his shoulders, even as the garments of
the witnesses were laid at his feet. Probably the jour
ney from Jerusalem to Damascus, which took nearly a
week, was the first opportunity since the persecution
began, for him to think quietly upon these things. Yet
mere meditation could not change his purpose, nor any
process of logic bring him to the truth, because every
line of thought about Christianity ended with a cruci
fied Messiah, — an absurd, monstrous, revolting fact.
The pride of the Jew — and Jews were the proudest race
on earth — rested on the expectation of a Messiah who
would be monarch of the whole world, and bring to dust
the arrogant Roman rulers. To accept instead a Gali
lean carpenter whose short life had ended most igno-
miniously, was humiliation unspeakable. To be sure,
the Christians removed this stumbling-block by declar
ing that Jesus had returned to them triumphant over
death, had walked and talked and eaten and drunk with

78 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
them, and then like Enoch and Elijah had been taken
deathless to heaven whence He would return to reign
in triumph. But this story seemed to Paul utterly in
credible, most preposterous. Yet Stephen had set his
life as a seal to the truth of it ! And if it were true,
what then?
Only as we understand Paul's mental and spiritual
attitude, can we determine what happened as he drew
nigh to Damascus. That which suddenly confronted
him was not the fancy of a heated brain, for it was
unexpected, undesired, unimaginable. Nor was it
wholly an inward vision, such as Paul beheld more than
once in later years (18: 9; 22: 18, et al.). His state
ment that it was the good pleasure of God " to reveal
His Son in me" (Gal. 1: 16) is often quoted to prove
the contrary; but Paul there is speaking of the revela
tion of Christ, not to him inwardly, but in him to others
during the years that followed, when he could truly
say of his life, " It is no longer I that live but Christ
liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20). Paul needed something
that would remove his utter unbelief in the apostles'
testimony that Jesus had come back to them from the
grave by a resurrection which declared Him to be the
Son of God. An inward vision would not do this; it
would only prove that Jesus lived in the spirit world;
and Paul as a Pharisee already believed in life after
death. To accept the story of the apostles he, like
Thomas, must have some sort of physical proof. Jesus,
glorious as Stephen had seen Him, yet truly in the flesh
and bearing marks of the crucifixion as the apostles had
testified, — this was the manifestation Paul needed ; and,
wonderful and hard to realize though the fact may be,
it was granted him. His companions were aware only
of a light brighter than the midday sun, but to Paul'

THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL 79
i
was given a brief but overwhelming and blinding vision
of the divine form; and while the others heard only a
meaningless sound, Paul's ear caught the words, spoken
in the language of his childhood, " Saul, Saul, why per
secutest thou me ? " The question, " Who art thou,
Lord ? " is his last struggle of unbelief ; with the answer
to it, doubt and opposition vanish ; and in full surren
der, yet with the old Pharisaic emphasis upon deeds,
Paul asks, " What shall I do, Lord ? " The reply is
brief, — Paul is in no condition to grasp more than the
next step, — "Arise and go into Damascus, and there it
shall be told thee." And when the bright light has van
ished, his companions lift the fallen, blinded man to his
feet, and lead him by the hand into the city, — no longer
a persecutor but a bewildered penitent. " The power
of His resurrection " (Phil. 3 : 10) has swept away his
unbelief, and left forever clear and firm his faith that
Jesus is indeed the Son of God (Rom. 1:4).
In later years Paul placed his sight of Jesus in the
list of resurrection appearances (I Cor. 15:8); he
never doubted its reality, and he pointed to it in proof
of his claim to be an apostle (Id. 9:1; cf. Gal. 1:1),
able as the others to bear witness to the resurrection.
Yet he felt that he had come into the apostolic circle as
one prematurely born comes into the world (Id. 15: 8).
The Twelve had slowly but normally developed in
Christian knowledge, at first under the teachings of
Jesus and afterwards under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit ; despite many things for which they reproached
themselves, they recalled with pleasure and ever-increas
ing gratitude the wondrous days of loving companion
ship with Jesus and the lessons learned at His feet;
they had begun with a Master whom they knew to be
human, and had ended with a Lord whom they recog-

80 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
nized to be divine. In Paul all this process was exactly
reversed: — he had been suddenly translated out of the
bitter bondage of the Law into the glorious liberty of
the children of God ; his past had a record he longed to
forget but found facing him again and again as he met
those who had cruelly suffered at his hands in the old,
sad days of persecution ; and his first revelation was of
the risen Lord who reigns in glory, — later years were
to bring a knowledge of the Master who taught in Pales
tine. The theology of any man, if vital enough to be
called " my gospel," is that portion of the immeasurable
expanse of divine truth which his own experience fits
him to behold. Can we wonder, then, that Paul in his
teaching gives the central place to certain truths that
are only on the horizon of the thought of the Twelve ?
Indeed, his whole theology, as he sets it forth in his
epistles, is only a full statement of what was involved
in his conversion.
4. The Disciple at Damascus.
For three days, the longest in his life, Paul sat in
darkness overwhelmed with self-reproach and bewilder
ment. The persecution of the Christians, which he had
proudly believed to be his supremest service to God, now
weighed upon him as hideous mistake and irreparable
injury. The path he had so confidently trodden was
completely blocked, and he waited in blindness to learn
his future course. Even the barrier between himself
and the other believers had not been broken through;
he was living in the house of a Jew called Judas in the
street called Straight, whither his companions had
brought him, and the little band of disciples, who knew
that he was on the way or had already arrived, were
dseading his next movement. As in the case of Cor-

THE EARLY LIFE OF PAUL 81
nelius, it required a double message given in divine
visions to break the barrier down. Ananias, a leading
disciple and " a devout man according to the Law, well
reported of by all the Jews who dwelt there," was sent
to bear to Paul both physical and spiritual sight; and
the gift of the Holy Spirit and baptism followed his
words. Doubtless Ananias gave him some instruction
in Christian truth, though Paul indignantly denies the
charge that he received his gospel from him (Gal.
1:12). Just how far his future mission as apostle to Gentiles
was now made clear to Paul is an interesting question.
In his speech to Agrippa he seems to put his apostolic
commission in the lips of Jesus at the time of his con
version; but by comparing the other accounts we see
that he is assigning to that hour of conversion all the
light upon his future course which he slowly gained
afterwards. Certainly one so devoted to the Law as
Ananias could not conceive that salvation without the
Law would be preached by Paul, even if it was revealed
to him that Paul was selected by the Lord to proclaim
the Messiah before Gentiles and kings (9:15). As
for Paul himself the difference between a Jewish Mes
siah and a Saviour of the world was too great for one
trained as a rabbi to grasp at first ; and it took the vision
in the temple (22 : 17 f .) to force him away from his
work among the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea. Never
theless, his conversion led logically to his becoming a
missionary to the Gentiles. His previous view of
Christ as accursed, would help him to realize that the
realm of Christ is outside that of the Law. His own
salvation, granted when he was " a blasphemer and a
persecutor and injurious" (I Tim. 1: 13) was clearly
of grace and not of works ; and grace sufficient to save

82 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
him was sufficient to save Gentile as well as Jew.
Henceforth when the world asked what Christ could do
for sinners, he could point to what He had done for
him, the greatest sinner of all (I Tim. 1: 15). More
than this, Paul in later years, when looking back over
his course, could see that from his very infancy he was
being divinely fitted for his life-work. The inheritance
of Hebrew blood and Roman citizenship, the childhood
training in a great and cosmopolitan heathen city, the
teaching of such a rabbi as Gamaliel, the intense per
sonal experience of the power and weakness of the
Law, — all these were a preparation for the task to which
he was called by God who set him apart, even before
his birth, that he might preach Christ among the Gen
tiles (Gal. 1:15-16).

V
PAUL PREACHING THE' FAITH
DAMASCUS, a city old when Abraham was
young, lay on the very border of the Roman
empire, and was at times ruled by the Arab
kings of Petra. If Paul came there in 31 or 32 a.d.,
it was then under the Romans, — so the coins of the eity
indicate. Its relations with Jerusalem were so inti
mate that many Jews made it their home ; and Josephus
says the Gentile women of the city were greatly inter
ested in the Jewish religion, — a credible statement since
Judaism attracted Gentile women by its freedom from
licentiousness and its exaltation of the sex ; and if they
became proselytes the burden of the Law was less heavy
upon them than upon men. Into the synagogue in any
foreign city they came as devout worshippers; and
through their influence over husbands and friends they
often gained favours for the Jews (13: 50). In Da
mascus a group of Jews and proselytes were now Chris
tians; some possibly had met Jesus during His public
ministry (Matt. 4: 24), some may have heard Peter at
Pentecost, and some perhaps had fled from Jerusalem
after Stephen's death (Acts 9:13). It is easy to see
how a Christian church sprang up here; but nothing
reveals its size or its development in doctrine.
Luke tells us that as soon as Paul was baptized,
" straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus,
that He is the Son of God " (9 : 20). We could expect
this. Paul was too energetic to remain quiet, and peni
tence would spur him on. The synagogues were open
83

84 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
to him, for the relations between Jews and Christians
in Damascus were still friendly ; and his fame as a per
secutor, when joined with the startling story of his con
version, would make men curious to hear him. But
Paul was hastening as a herald before he had fully
gained his message, — a not uncommon mistake. The
sight of the glorious, risen Lord had convinced him that
Jesus was the Messiah, and he could proclaim this
truth with power, but nothing more, since he had
grasped nothing more, — the creed of a new convert is
always a very short one. And so his preaching bore
little fruit except amazement in those who listened to
him. Indeed, it was not easy for Paul to lay hold on
the gospel he was to preach. He could not, like Peter,
simply add faith in Jesus to his former religious belief,
for that proud structure of Pharisaism had been smitten
to the dust. Now what should be reared in its place ?
What could he answer concerning the work of Christ,
when his hearers hurled objections, or his own heart
whispered difficulties ? Though his preaching in the
synagogues went on for " certain days " (9 : 19-20), we
are not surprised to find that, when telling what fol
lowed his conversion, he counts this period of so little
value as to say, " Straightway I conferred not with
flesh and blood, but I went away into Arabia " (Gal.
1 : 16 f.). Jesus sought the wilderness of Judea to pre
pare in solitude for His public ministry; and for the
same purpose Paul went out into the loneliness of the
Arabian desert, — not necessarily far from Damascus,
however, for the desert came up almost to the city gates.
How long he stayed there, how he lived, what spiritual
struggles and ecstasies were his, he does not disclose.
He points back to this sacred chapter of his life to prove
only " as touching the gospel which was preached by

PAUL PREACHING THE FAITH 85
me, that it is not after man, for neither did I receive
it from a man nor was I taught it; but it came to me
through revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1:11-12).
In these months of deepest meditation Jesus was unveil
ing Himself to the man who had asked " Who art thou,
Lord ? " ; and Paul was slowly gaining the truths that
he calls " my gospel," of which the very central one is,
" I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer
I that live but Christ liveth in me ; and that life which
I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which
is in the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself
up for me " (Gal. 2: 20). Paul in the desert was not
a student of divinity fashioning a creed dry as the sands
themselves; he was a mystic, communing with the
divine, hearing words unspeakable, and merging his life
in the life of the Crucified.
After Arabia Paul returned again to Damascus.
And the effect of the desert days is revealed in Luke's
statement (Acts 9 : 22) that he increased the more in
strength, and was now able not only to proclaim Jesus
as the Son of God but to prove that He is the Christ,
and instead of merely amazing the Jews, to confound
them even as Stephen once had confounded him. This
second period of preaching in Damascus continued
"many days" (9: 23) until three years in all (31-34
a.d.) had passed since Paul's conversion (Gal. 1: 18).
The new force in his preaching at last aroused the hos
tility of the Jews to the point of seeking to kill him.
They had special opportunity to accomplish this when
the city in 34 a.d. was transferred to the control of the
Arab king, Aretas, because his representative would be
desirous to hold the favour of its numerous Jewish
population. If Paul were brought before the ethnarch
on any charge trumped up by them, his condemnation

86 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
was certain. That a charge had been made, and an
order for his arrest issued, is shown by the statement
that the gates of the city were watched day and night
to prevent his escape (Acts 9 : 20-25 ; II Cor. 11 : 32 f.).
Terrified by his danger, Paul's disciples forced him to
flee ; and he was lowered in a basket through a window
over the wall at night, and then made his way back to
Jerusalem. In later years he reckoned this flight, or
else this way of fleeing, a weakness (II Cor. 11 : 30) ;
though why, it is hard to say.
2. In Jerusalem and Judea.
Up to this time Paul could have known very little
about the earthly ministry of his Lord ; and he tells us
(Gal. 1: 18) that his object in now going to Jerusalem
was to see, i.e., to interview, Peter, the apostle who was
the recognized leader of the Twelve, and who best of
all could tell him what Jesus had said and done. But
an evil reputation dies slowly; and when Paul reached
Jerusalem, the disciples feared he was hiding some
scheme of persecution under a pretended conversion,
and would have barred him from their circle had it not
been for Barnabas, one of the noblest figures in the
Apostolic Age, " a good man, and full of the Holy
Spirit and of faith" (11: 24), generous in his sympa
thies and well meriting his name, " son of consolation."
Tradition says he like Paul had been a pupil of Gama
liel; so, as a lad from Cyprus, he may have known the
lad from Tarsus, and felt sure that deception by him
was impossible. At any rate, he now came forward
as sponsor and gained for Paul a kindly reception from
Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, the only heads
of the church just then in the city. For fifteen days
Paul was the guest of Peter, with eager desire and

PAUL PREACHING THE FAITH 87
abundant opportunity to become well-informed about
the life and teachings, of Jesus, — a fact strangely over
looked by those who picture him as wholly ignorant of
the real Jesus because he never met Him in His earthly
years. Such ignorance is incredible when we realize
that not only now but again and again in his later years
Paul was in closest contact with men who had shared
the earthly life of his Lord, and could tell him far more
than what is recorded in our gospels. This full fort
night of companionship must also have created an inti
macy and confidence between Peter and Paul that
should not be forgotten when we consider their later
relations. Peter seems to have been called away at the
close of the fifteen days; but Paul stayed on, deter
mined most characteristically to bear witness to Christ
where once he had persecuted His disciples both in
Jerusalem and in all Judea (9:28;26:20). He strove
specially to break down the unbelief of his fellow Hel
lenists ; but his disputations with them, — perhaps in the
same synagogue where once he had disputed with
Stephen, — only stirred their wrath until they were
ready to bring Stephen's fate upon him. The brethren
recognized his danger ; but Paul would not believe that
his testimony for Christ could be rejected by those who
knew so well his former deeds as a persecutor; and he
was determined not to be coaxed or driven into fleeing
from enemies a second time. Just at this critical hour,
however, he fell into a trance when praying in the tem
ple, and received from his Lord the revelation that fur
ther work in Jerusalem would be fruitless, and also the
direct command, "Depart; for I will send thee far
hence unto the Gentiles " (22 : 17 f.). With duty thus
made clear, he hastened to leave Judea; and the
brethren took him to Caesarea whence he sailed to his

88 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
old home, Tarsus. What sort of welcome awaited him
there from his stern old Pharisaic father, "we can easily
imagine !
3. In Syria and Cilicia.
We come now to a great gap in the record of Paul's
life. If his two visits to Jerusalem, mentioned in Gala
tians, are both dated from his conversion, as seems
likely, it extends over about nine years (fourteen years
less the three in Damascus and Arabia, the months in
Jerusalem, and the later year or more in Antioch,
11 : 26) ; but all we know about it is his brief statement
that he came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and
that the churches in Judea, though they never saw him
during this period, kept hearing with joy that their
former persecutor was now preaching the faith he once
persecuted (Gal. 1:21-23). Even if he had not told
us, we might be sure that Paul was working for Christ ;
he would not and could not be idle. Probably many of
the hardships and perils catalogued in II Cor. 11 : 23,
were undergone during this period; and he assigns to
it one (or were there two ?) of his most wonderful and
incommunicable spiritual experiences (II Cor. 12: 1-4).
Also, there was the beginning of some physical infirm
ity, — the " thorn in the flesh," — which henceforth hum
bled but did not hinder him. These unrecorded years
must have been so rich in thought and experience that
when he went forth with Barnabas on what we call his
first missionary journey, — a misleading term, — he was
not a novice but a trained and tried worker in the mis
sion field. How fruitful his work was, we can only con
jecture; the churches in Syria and Cilicia, mentioned
in Acts 15 : 23, 41, were probably founded by him
during this time.

PAUL PREACHING THE FAITH 89
It is thought by some that this period in Paul's life
was left a blank because he had not yet realized the
liberty of believers, and was still acting " as if the door
of the synagogue was the portal through which the
nations must find their way into the church " (Ram
say) . But Paul had been sent to Gentiles by Jesus in
the temple vision ; his churches in Syria and Cilicia, if
they were his, contained Gentiles (15 : 23) ; and Barna
bas found him ready to work in the largely Gentile
church of Antioch. We may be sure, however, that he
preached to Jews as well as to Gentiles, — he always did,
if they would listen ; indeed, it is probable that his Gen
tile preaching now was confined to the devout fearers of
God who worshipped in the synagogues. Paul's per
ception of the freedom in Christ from all bondage to
the Law would be gained by degrees; truths great and
revolutionary are not grasped in a moment. The
emphasis that Luke puts upon the day in Pisidian
Antioch when Paul and Barnabas said " We turn
to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46), indicates that then
was the beginning of Gentile work independent of
the synagogue and of the Jewish restrictions that
Gentiles must accept if they would worship in the
synagogue. Even so, the Jews, who did not admit
devout Gentiles into full membership unless they
were circumcised, would be roused to hostility if they
heard Paul offer the gospel to any Gentiles on the same
terms as to themselves ; and doubtless during this period
he was more than once brought before the court of some
synagogue, and after due trial sentenced to forty stripes
less one (II Cor. 11 : 24). But how about the brethren
in Jerusalem, — wedded as they were to the Law, would
they find in him occasion for praising God (Gal. 1 : 24),
if they knew he was offering Christ without the Law to

90 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Gentiles, even if only to the devout ? Possibly they did
not know what he was preaching, having received only
general reports of his activity in the gospel ; or possibly
the effect of Peter's experience with Cornelius had not
wholly died away: — the Jewish Christians grew more
bitter against Gentiles as years went on and Roman
procurators were increasingly oppressive. And after
all, Paul's work would not receive much attention: —
though he had pushed out into the larger field, he had
not yet become the leader in it, nor entered upon his
great struggle against those who would place the yoke
of the Law upon all Gentile believers,
4. Paul at Antioch.
At the northeast corner of the Mediterranean where
the great caravans from the East met the merchant ves
sels from the West, stood Antioch, the third largest city
in the Roman world, a capital of the province of Syria,
cosmopolitan in the highest degree, wealthy, luxury-
loving and licentious. It was full of Jews, for its
founder had offered them special inducements to settle
there ; pid Josephus says that many of the Greeks had
been won over to Judaism. Nicolaus, one of the Seven
(6:5), we remember, was a proselyte of Antioch.
Such intimacy between Jew and Gentile paved the way
for the gospel to pass from the one to the other. Jeru
salem, Antioch, Rome, — these three cities are the step
ping stones along which Christianity went forward
from its Jewish cradle to Gentile missions and thence
to world dominion.
Christian teachers, driven from Jerusalem when
Stephen was martyred, travelled northward along the
coast to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch speaking
the word to Jews only ; but later there came to Antioch

PAUL PREACHING THE FAITH 91
certain evangelists who made bold to offer the gospel
of the Lord Jesus to — whom ? The answer to this ques
tion is important because on it rests the whole point of
the narrative. Many manuscripts, followed by the
King James version, say Hellenists, i.e., Greek-speaking
Jews; but this is absurd, for the church was already
full of Hellenists, and the evangelists themselves, being
from Cyprus and Cyrene, were doubtless Hellenists.
Other manuscripts and the Revised Version say Greeks ;
this seems correct, but who are meant by Greeks ? Ap
parently those God-fearing Gentiles to whom the syna
gogues were open; Luke seems in general to use the
term Greeks for them, and the term Gentiles for the
other heathen (e.g., 14:1-2; 18:4; 13:46; 14:27).
The Jews would not admit these Greeks into full mem
bership of the synagogue unless they were circumcised ;
but the evangelists at Antioch dared to offer them
Christ without the Law. Peter had done this with Cor
nelius ; and Luke puts the preaching at Antioch immedi
ately after his account of the conversion of Cornelius
because the one followed the other logically as well as
chronologically. Out of the labours of these two bands
of missionaries grew a church in Antioch made up of
both Jews and Greeks, and gradually it grew to such a
size as to attract the attention of the church at Jeru
salem and make them send Barnabas to it. Their selec
tion of him shows that they were not disposed to cen
sure this new phase of Christian work, since by char
acter as well as by birth (4: 36) he might be expected
to sympathize with it ; and he seems to have been sent
as a helper rather than as an inspector, for he did not
return to Jerusalem to make a report. His coming was
truly a great help, and under his hearty approval and
exhortation the church increased until another helper

92 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
was needed. Then, feeling sure from what he had seen
of Paul in Jerusalem and heard about him since, that
he was the fit man, Barnabas went to Tarsus to learn
his whereabouts, and having sought and found him,
brought him to Antioch. There for fully a year they
laboured together most successfully, and thus developed
that mutual understanding and sympathy which fitted
them to be yoke-fellows in a future mission tour.
Luke notes that the disciples were called Christians
first in Antioch. The outsiders gave them this name;
and the invention of it shows that the new movement
was being talked about, and its distinctness from Juda
ism noticed. These men, so the Antiochans reasoned,
who call themselves disciples, brethren, believers, the
elect, saints, cannot be a Jewish sect because they admit
uncircumcised Gentiles into their communion ; and they
cannot be a Gentile sect, else Jews would not join
them : — what then are they ? They profess to be fol
lowers of a certain Jesus whom they call the Christ;
very good, since they are forever preaching about this
Christ, let us call them Christians. It was a name ap
plied in ridicule (cf. 26:28; I Pet. 4:16), like
Quaker, Puritan, Methodist; and like these was borne
by men who glorified God in that name until the name
itself became glorious. At the outset it seems to have
been specially a name for Gentile converts, and not ap
plied to Jewish believers until later ; an early fragment
speaks of " Christians and Jews confessing Christ "
(Harnack). During the reign of Claudius (a.d. 41-54) there were
scanty harvests and severe famines in various parts of
the Roman empire. Josephus tells that Palestine was
famine-stricken about a.d. 45, and that Helena, a queen
and proselyte who came to Jerusalem for worship, sent

PAUL PREACHING THE FAITH 93
to Egpyt for food and distributed it among the suffer
ing. A similar work of relief was put through by the
church at Antioch. Having been warned of the im
pending famine by Agabus, a prophet who came with
others from Jerusalem, they raised a fund — perhaps at
the suggestion of Barnabas whose generosity had been
shown earlier (Acts 4: 36 f.), — and, in accordance with
this "revelation" (Gal. 2:2), when the cry of hunger
came, sent food by Barnabas and Paul to the stricken
brethren in Judea. This generous expression of sym
pathy was doubly helpful to the church in Jerusalem be
cause just before the famine they had passed through an
hour of anguish. In 44 a.d. Herod Agrippa, grandson
of Herod the Great and now entrusted by the Romans
with all his domain, put to death James, the brother
of John. On what grounds he did this, we do not know ;
but he was enough of a Jew to hate the Christians, and
enough of a diplomat to wish to please the Pharisees
who were now in high power. Next he imprisoned
Peter, intending to put him to death after the Passover ;
but the apostle was released from prison by a miracle,
and saved his life by flight. The speedy death of Herod
(12:20-23) stopped the persecution; Peter was able
to return, and the church resumed its normal life; yet
the death of James remained a source of perplexity and
consternation as well as of sorrow. Until this tragedy
they had taken for granted that Jesus would soon come,
and the apostles would care for the flock until He came ;
but now that one of the Twelve was dead, what should
they think about the future? Their whole scheme of
time and work before the coming of the Lord must be
reconstructed, — who could say how?

94 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
5. The Case of Titus.
At the famine visit we place an important episode,
told by Paul in his letter to the Galatians (2: 1-10), —
the controversy over Titus. That it was at this time
and not during the later council visit (Acts 15:2 f.)
seems evident when we consider the purpose for which
Paul tells it. His enemies in Galatia had declared that
his gospel was an imperfect one, gained at second hand
from the apostles and not directly from Jesus; so to
refute this slander he recounts his visits to Jerusalem
before he preached to the Galatians, and tells what he
received from the apostles at each visit. He needs to
say nothing about the council visit, because that took
place after he had first visited Galatia; but to keep
silent about the famine visit would have been a fatal
omission, for his enemies would certainly point it out
against him. On the other hand, Luke says nothing
about the case of Titus because the case of Cornelius,
which he reports so fully, covers the same ground.
Indeed, for some inexplicable reason Luke nowhere in
his narrative mentions Titus.
When Barnabas and Paul came with food for the
famishing brethren they delivered it to the elders, but
naturally remained to aid in its distribution (11: 30;
12:25). From Antioch they had brought with them
Titus, one of Paul's Gentile converts (Titus 1: 4) who,
judging from glimpses of his later career (II Cor.
7 : 6 f. ; 8 : 16 f. ; Titus 1:5), was an able assistant and
a fine representative of Gentile Christians. While the
majority of the church received him without question,
certain influential members (" false brethren," Paul
calls them because they lacked the spirit of Christ), the
same or of the same party who assailed Peter for eating

PAUL PREACHING THE FAITH 95
with Cornelius (11:2), abhorred him because he was
a Gentile. They seem to have resorted to sly and con
temptible ways of discovering whether Paul and Bar
nabas treated him as a brother, and then to have gone
to the apostles demanding that if he were to be admitted
into the Christian brotherhood, he must first become a
Jew by submitting to circumcision. The apostles agreed
to this, as the easiest way to preserve harmony, and
with a show of authority insisted that Barnabas and
Paul agree to it. For the moment it looked as if a few
narrow-minded men would put an end to " our liberty
which we have in Christ Jesus " (Gal. 2 : 4), — a tragedy
repeated many times since apostolic days. The treach
ery of these sneaking brethren and the truckling of the
apostles made Paul thoroughly indignant; — he cannot
write about the matter years afterwards without being
stirred afresh. And the case of Titus involved the
whole work among the Gentiles and the truth of the
gospel itself ; for, if the apostles and the church in Jeru
salem insisted that to become a Christian a Gentile must
first become a Jew, the message that through faith all
men may become sons of God in Christ Jesus would be
discredited, and the conversion of the Gentiles hindered
so much that Paul might well fear he would be running
or had run in vain (Id. 2:2).
Promptly rousing to the defence of his convert, Paul
gave, possibly in some public meeting, a statement of
the gospel he preached among the Gentiles, and then
took up the case of Titus in a private conference with
the three leaders of the church,- James, the brother of
Jesus, Peter and John. The discussion must have
been long, anxious and perhaps heated ; but the call of
Paul to go to the Gentiles and the grace that had been
given him, both in his own spiritual experiences and in

96 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the fruits already reaped in Gentile lands, could not be
denied (Id. 2:9); and the lessons Peter had learned in
the case of Cornelius were not forgotten. Accordingly
it was agreed that Titus need not be circumcised, — in
other words, since his was really a test case, that Gen
tiles could be Christians without shouldering the burden
of the Law. The decision was momentous, — so im
portant that some declare that, had it not been reached,
the Christians would never have been more than a small
Jewish sect. This is too strong a statement. The
gospel seed had now been planted in Gentile soil, and
had a power of life and growth independent of the
church at Jerusalem. But certainly the immediate
progress of Christianity and its whole future course
hinged on the decision, though doubtless the apostles
and probably Paul himself could not yet clearly see this.
The decision in the case of Titus was a triumph for
Paul. But it was not accepted by the whole church;
the " false brethren " and their party still refused to
admit that uncircumcised Gentiles could be true Chris
tians, and sought opportunity to bring them under the
Law. Moreover, as in the case of Cornelius, some most
important questions were left unanswered. If Gentile
Christians need not keep the Law, must Jewish Chris
tians keep it ? The church at Jerusalem would not raise
this question ; they took for granted that a Jew was not
released from obedience to the Law when he accepted
Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Paul did not care to
raise it ; he was concerned only for his Gentile converts ;
though had he been asked, his answer would have been,
" In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any
thing nor uncircumcision: let each man abide in that
calling wherein he was called " (Gal. 5:6; I Cor.
7:18-20). Again, if Gentiles are received into the

PAUL PREACHING THE FAITH 97
church without circumcision, how can a Jewish Chris
tian associate with them? This question was ignored
because the Gentile field seemed far away, and Barna
bas and Paul were restricted to it. Once more, though
a Gentile Christian need not keep the Law, is he as
good a Christian as if he did keep it? If he is not,
then the Law may be enjoined upon him as a means of
perfection, though not as an essential of salvation.
Evidently the decision concerning Titus had by no
means ended all possible dispute, nor fully determined
the status of the Gentile Christians; by it Paul had
gained for them liberty, but not yet fraternity or
equality. The struggle for these was yet to come.
The discussion that arose over Titus resulted in an
other important decision. Paul and Barnabas had
clearly been called of God to work among Gentiles.
They should be given the right hands of fellowship.
But since their presence and teachings might irritate
many Jewish brethren, and would certainly prejudice
all unconverted Jews against Christianity, they must
refrain from work in Palestine. The division was of
territory rather than of race ; for they preached to Jews
as well to Gentiles outside the Holy Land. And it
was of only transient duration; for while they never
again, so far as we know, undertook evangelistic work
in Palestine, Peter and John, on the other hand, spent
their last years as missionaries in foreign lands. It is
amusing to notice that while thus shutting out Paul
and Barnabas from future work in Jerusalem, the
apostles were anxious not to shut out any future gifts
they might bring to the parent church. The wish was
plainly stated, almost as a condition of future fellow
ship, that they continue to remember the poor (Gal.
2 : 10). A collection plate is seldom willingly exclusive.

VI
PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY
CHRISTIANITY had been quietly spreading
beyond the borders of Palestine until doubtless
it had reached Rome itself ; but that which we
call Paul's first missionary journey, because his pre
vious journeys are unrecorded, is our introduction to its
activities in the Gentile world. From now on we shall
be occupied mainly in watching its battles and cam
paigns in this larger domain. To the early Christians
the Roman empire seemed to be the whole of the habit
able world; the regions that lay beyond it were too
vaguely known to awaken their interest. Its magnifi
cence and power deeply impressed them ; and that these
should perish before the end of the earth itself was al
most unthinkable. Thus its dominion and glory and
everlastingness made it a fit symbol of the spiritual em
pire of Christ; and to win it for Him was the goal of
their ambition. Even the most meager description of
this world of Paul's day requires more space than can
be here given it ; let us consider simply certain features
and facts that directly influenced the spread of Chris
tianity. 1. The Roman World
In many ways the Roman empire was much divided
and heterogeneous. There was the great division into
East and West, arising from character and history, and
made evident later by the splitting of the empire. We
speak of the Graeco-Roman world; really it was Ori-
98

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 99
ental, Greek and Roman, even as the inscription on the
cross was in Aramaic, Greek and Latin. Then there
was the subdivision into many provinces, distinct in
forms of local government, dialects, customs and re
ligions. Rome purposely left the individuality of these
provinces unchanged, and — save for her common rule
over all — they were as distinct as the different states
of Europe to-day. This made mission work difficult;
a journey of a few hours might be for the worker a
change as great as passing from France into Spain.
Yet there were -strong unifying elements. The emperor
was the universal head, the senate being increasingly a
mere puppet; and Roman law and privileges were at
the service of Roman citizens everywhere. Greek was
spoken by all educated persons save in the extreme West
where Latin took its place ; and by this first century it
had been simplified and suited to commercial and social
life, though still retaining its marvellous flexibility and
power to express delicate shades of thought. The mis
sionary who spoke Greek could preach in any city; but
he was dumb in the illiterate country regions unless he
knew the local dialect. This is one reason why Chris
tianity kept to the cities so long that the word country
man (paganus) came to mean a heathen. Magnificent
highways starting from Rome stretched to the farthest
borders; and travel on them was easy, incessant and
comparatively safe. Though they were built for mili
tary purposes, they formed the great channels along
which the gospel flowed; indeed, the smaller roads to
the right or the left were almost impassable, — another
reason why country regions did not at first receive the
gospel. Except in the winter season there was, also, a
well organized sea service for travellers all around the
Mediterranean.

100 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Society was divided into three classes : — the nobles, —
wealthy, powerful and usually corrupt; the common
people, — ignorant but generally virtuous and contented ;
and the slaves, — most numerous, wretched and a source
of corruption and danger. In the provinces, however,
life was far more sane and conditions more wholesome
than in the city of Rome and its immediate vicinity.
Everywhere books were plenty, easily multiplied by
trained copyists, and therefore cheap; yet the period
was one of intellectual decline. The Roman policy
failed in popular education; schools were supported
only by fees or endowments, and the state provided little
for the masses except amusements, which often were
brutalizing. The work of our modern charities was
done by associations for mutual benefit, the commonest
of which were burial societies; Christianity sometimes
sheltered itself under these, since the government in
its fear of independent organizations forbade all others.
Though Rome allowed the races and regions to follow
their own religions, it knew nothing of our modern idea
of religious freedom. It maintained supervision and
control of all worship, save when the frenzied votaries
of some Oriental goddess defied all restraints; and to
a degree it assimilated the foreign deities. The old
religions were still active, strong in priests and rich in
temples; but they had largely lost their hold on the
educated people, who had now advanced to a point
where they regarded the stories about the gods as intel
lectually absurd and ethically revolting. Loss of faith
had its usual effect of increasing superstition and
strange cults; yet that the world was hungering for a
higher and a universal religion was shown by its inter
est in Judaism, and by the spread of the mystery re
ligions. It longed for a clearer revelation of one su-

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 101
preme God, for relief from the despair of conscious sin
and failure, for a purer morality based on divine com
mands, and for assurance of immortality with appro
priate rewards and punishments. Judaism offered
these, and gained many proselytes; but Judaism was
in spirit exclusive and in outward forms repelling. The
mystery religions were more liberal and attractive.
Those of Eleusis, Isis, Mithra and Cybele-Attis were
the most popular, and were the strongest rivals of Chris
tianity. Their ceremony of initiation included some
form of baptism with water or blood by which the im
purities of the past life were washed away; and the
oaths taken by the initiate were promises to live a purer,
higher life. By such initiation he was made a partner
of the god, and in this partnership was his assurance of
immortality. But the mystery religions were popular
in proportion as they appealed to the senses and the pas
sions. The worshippers indulged in frenzied worship
of their god, and sought by dances or drink or emo
tional excitement to produce a consciousness of his or
her presence. In many respects these religions were
pernicious, and were often under the ban. Educated
men turned to philosophy, finding there — especially in
the teachings of Plato and the Stoics — a foundation for
belief in one supreme God and the probability of life
beyond the grave. But philosophy was cold, uninspir
ing and uncertain; it served for the study but not for
the home and the shops. Christianity came into the
midst of these seekers after God and light on the life
beyond. " The appeal of philosophy to the intellect, the
charm of the mystery religions for the senses, the eth
ical demands of Judaism upon the will, were all found
in the highest and purest form combined in the Chris
tian religion." And wherever it was offered, sin-

102 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
burdened men and women eagerly stretched out their
hands for it.
Nevertheless, there were many hindrances to the
spread of the new religion. Emperor worship was en
joined upon all except the Jews; and because it was
patriotic as well as religious, refusal by Gentile Chris
tians and later on by any Christian to join in it was
treasonable. All social engagements and all business
transactions were accompanied with religious rites in
which a Christian could not join; this shut him out
from the life of his neighbours, and caused the frequent
charge that Christians were " morose " and " haters of
mankind." The heathen religions were turned into a
means of money-making; men would attempt to do the
same with Christianity, as did Simon Magus, or would
bitterly assail those who interfered with their heathen
profits, — as Paul experienced in Philippi and Ephesus.
These moneyed interests of pagan religions reached out
in most unexpected directions : — Pliny notes that since
his persecution of the Christians there has been a great
increase in the demand for fodder for the cattle of the
sacrifices ! Religion was deemed a thing apart from
morals ; hence, as Paul's letters constantly reveal, a man
might suppose that he could be a good Christian and
still indulge in theft, adultery and the like. Also, men
adopted new religions in addition to their old ones, and
would be disposed to accept Christianity without giv
ing up heathen ideas and practices. The Eastern cults
which were pressing into the West were the most active
and dangerous rivals of Christianity. On the one
hand, they were ready to annex certain Christian
features to their own motley teachings, and then offer
the whole as a higher, esoteric form of Christianity;
and on the other hand, the ban which the government

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 103
with good reason placed on these Oriental cults fell
upon Christianity also, as soon as its distinctness from
Judaism was seen. This distinctness became evident
slowly; but after the fall of Jerusalem (a.d. 70) it
was unmistakable, and the Jews themselves were
vindictive in calling attention to it. Henceforth, the
privileges granted to Christianity as supposedly a
Jewish sect were withdrawn; and Roman rulers in
proportion to their laudable energy in enforcing the
laws were active in persecuting the Christians.
2. The Call and the Tour Through Cyprus.
When Barnabas and Paul returned from their min
istration in Jerusalem, they took with them John
Mark, a cousin of Barnabas (12:25; Col. 4:10).
This indicates that already they were planning a work
in which he could assist them; and we may be sure it
was the work among Gentiles, handed over to them by
the apostles. We are not surprised, therefore, to find
that soon after they reached Antioch and reported what
had been done in Jerusalem, they started forth on a
journey through the neighbouring Gentile lands. With
this journey begins a new chapter in the history of
Christianity, — that of deliberate, organized work in
foreign missions. Whatever had been done hitherto,
save in the instance of Cornelius, had originated in
persecution, and been carried on unsystematically ; but
now the church, guided by the Holy Spirit appoints
missionaries and sends them forth. Luke shows his
feeling of the importance of this new step by the
formal way in which he introduces his account of the
journey. We need not suppose there was anything
miraculous in the call of these two men to go forth as
missionaries. Like all such calls it came when oppor-

104 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
tunity and ability combined to create duty ; and it was
voiced by the whisper of the Holy Spirit and by the
Lord speaking through the church.
Antioch was the gateway by land or sea to the
regions of the West; among its Christians were men
of prominence like Manaen, the foster-brother of
Herod the tetrarch; there was financial ability to sup
port mission workers, as was shown by the contribu
tion to famine relief. No wonder, then, that when the
five prophets and teachers of the church were engaged
in the regular services or in some special, solemn gath
ering for light upon their duty towards the Gentile
lands, it was divinely borne in upon them that Barna
bas and Paul should be released from all other occupa
tions and sent forth as foreign missionaries. To send
them was a sacrificial act, for Barnabas was the be
loved head of the church and Paul was the ablest of
them all; and it was a solemn act, for they knew the
perils these two men might encounter. Naturally the
whole church fasted and prayed before they laid hands
upon them and sent them away, entrusting them to the
grace of God (14:26). Whether the laying on of
blinds was ordination or benediction is one of those de
lightful questions over which discussion can go on, if
good-natured, interminably. They went forth as mis
sionaries of the Antiochian church : — we know this be
cause, not only do they make a full report to that
church upon their return (14:27), but in this jour
ney, and only in this, Luke calls both of them apostles
(14: 4, 14), a title that could not be given to Barnabas
unless he was the apostle, i.e., the missionary, of the
church in Antioch (cf. II Cor. 8:23). Doubtless the
expenses of the journey were borne by the church, and
generously according to the spirit shown in the famine

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 105
gift. On his next journey Paul was not sent by the
church, and had to labour for his bread or accept gifts
from friends. Whether at this time he reckoned him
self an apostle of the same rank as the Twelve is doubt
ful. Nothing indicates that he had been so reckoned
by them in the discussion over Titus or at any later
period. Indeed, they would find it hard to believe that
their peculiar position and privileges could be shared
by anyone who had not been formally appointed, as
was Matthias, or that their number could be greater
than that originally fixed by the Lord. And Paul him
self, though later on he stoutly maintained his equality
with Peter and the rest, probably came slowly to recog
nize it and claim it, as the greatness of the Gentile
work and his unique position in it dawned upon him.
It was at the opening of navigation in the spring of
46 a.d. — if we may fix a date where dates are so un
certain — that Barnabas and Paul, taking with them
John Mark as their assistant, went down to the sea
port, Seleucia, and sailed to Cyprus. Barnabas was
the leader, Cyprus was his native island, and it was
a stronghold of the Jews; hence the decision to begin
work there. Landing at Salamis and using the syna
gogues as their preaching-places, they made a sys
tematic tour of the island clear to its capital and
westernmost city, Paphos, — in all at least one hundred
miles. Luke's silence as to results indicates that the
preaching met with little response, not even arousing
hostility. It would be done mainly by Barnabas as
leader; and either he lacked experience in pioneer
work, or his kindly nature drew back from controversy
such as Paul was ever ready to engage in. Neverthe
less, there was enough promise in the work to make
Barnabas choose this field again some two years later.

106 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
At Paphos Paul came to the front. The proconsul
residing there, Sergius Paulus, was a man of varied
interests, who had already attached to his court a Jew,
Bar-Jesus, calling himself Elymas, i.e., a magus, and
like Simon Magus making his living by a mixture of
real knowledge and arrant imposture ; and when the
two itinerant preachers reached his capital, he sum
moned them to tell him about the religion they were
proclaiming. As the Roman ruler listened with evi
dent approval to the words of Barnabas and Saul, the
magus feared that he might be supplanted in favour
by these new teachers, and began to interrupt and con
tradict, doubtless setting the Jewish ideas of the Mes
siah against the Christian. Paul best knew how to
deal with such an opponent. Silencing him with a
look, he denounced his craft and villainy in strongest
terms, and with prophetic insight declared, " The hand
of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not
seeing the sun for a season." At once upon the eyes
of the magus there fell a mist increasing to utter dark
ness; and as all bystanders shrank away in horror, he
groped about seeking a hand to lead him. To main
tain, as some do, that the blindness of Elymas was
simply spiritual is to forget that spiritual blindness
was too -universal to be impressive, and, also, that a
false prophet and worker of pretended miracles could
best be exposed by true prophecy and a real miracle.
There was mercy as well as judgment in Paul's sen
tence, — the blindness was to last only until the time
when penitence and faith should remove it. Paul's
own experience of blinded eyes made him merciful.
The teaching and the miracle caused the proconsul to
believe; but apparently it did not lead him to open
confession of faith and baptism. That step would have

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 107
forced him to resign his office; for the duties of a
Eoman official included participation in heathen rites
and sacrifices. The house of Rimmon is a very an
cient and also very present hindrance to would-be
Christians. At this point in his narrative Luke without any ex
planation makes two important changes: — henceforth
he uses the Roman name, Paul, instead of the Jewish
Saul, and he speaks of Paul and Barnabas or, in one
instance, " Paul and his company " instead of Bar
nabas and Saul. This is his quiet way of indicating
that from this time on Paul was the leader, and the
work was mainly among Gentiles where his Roman
name would be used.
3. In Pisidian Antioch.
From Paphos the missionaries crossed to the main
land, arriving at Perga in Pamphylia. Here John
Mark deserted them and returned to his home in Jeru
salem, possibly because he did not like Paul as leader
and the new emphasis on Gentile work, possibly be
cause he feared the hardships that lay before them.
For, instead of preaching in Pamphylia, as might be
expected and as did take place later, Paul and Barna
bas hurried northward over the Taurus mountains by
wretched cross-country roads with " perils of rivers
and perils of robbers " (II Cor. 11 : 26) fully a hun
dred miles until they reached Pisidian Antioch. A
reason for this most unusual journey, so out of the
ordinary routes of travel, has been much sought; that
advanced by Professor Ramsay is most probable. He
supposes that in the hot, marshy plains of Pamphylia
Paul was stricken with malaria, and sought the high
lands of Galatia for relief. Antioch was in Galatia,

108 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
and Paul says in his letter to the Galatians, " Ye know
that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the
gospel to you the first time." Also, one feature of the
disease is a blinding headache "like a red hot bar
thrust through the forehead," and Paul reminds the
Galatians that when he first came among them " If
possible ye would have plucked out your own eyes and
given them to me" (Gal. 4:14 f.). If this was his
disease, and if, as is likely, it recurred from time to
time, we may believe that these blinding, disabling
headaches were the " thorn in the flesh," which he
prayed might depart, and through which he learned by
experience that God's power is made perfect in weak
ness (II Cor. 12:7 f.)\
The Antioch that Paul and Barnabas had now
reached was one of several cities bearing the name, and
was known as the Pisidian Antioch because, though in
Phrygia, it lay close to the borders of Pisidia. These
old national lines, however, had been disregarded by
the Romans when they divided Asia Minor into prov
inces; and Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe — all
on the highway from Ephesus to Antioch in Syria —
were at this time included in the great Roman province
of Galatia. Pisidian Antioch had been founded about
300 b.c. as a Greek city with the usual welcome to
Jews ; and about 6 b.c. Augustus had made it a Roman
colony and settled veteran soldiers there. A Roman
colony was considered to be a part of the city of Rome,
enjoying the same constitution, citizenship and use of
Latin in its official business as the imperial city. Its
purpose was to aid in Roman control of the country
and in Latinizing the people, and its privileges were
highly prized. Such a city would be a good center for

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 109
missionary work because of its liberal thought and its
influence upon the surrounding region.
The two apostles, while pausing for some days in
Antioch for rest and recovery from illness, became
known to their numerous Jewish neighbours; so, when
they were able to attend the synagogue, they were in
vited to address the congregation, — an invitation which
Paul, the more ready speaker, accepted. The fullness
of the report of his speech, and the various marks of
an eye-witness (e.g., that he stood instead of sitting
as he spoke, beckoned with his hand to command atten
tion, withdrew before the close of the service) form a
good argument that Luke was in the audience, — pos
sibly he had previously been called as a physician to
attend Paul. In his address Paul followed much the
same lines as Peter at Pentecost and Stephen before
the Sanhedrin, but advanced to a broad offer of salva
tion and a statement of his favourite doctrine of justifi
cation by faith. The warning with which he closed
may indicate that his words were not received wholly
with favour; but as he went out from the synagogue
after speaking, because still weak from recent illness,
he was asked to speak again the next Sabbath; and
when the service closed, many Jews and devout Gen
tiles followed the apostles to their lodgings where fur
ther explanation of the gospel was given them. Before
the next Sabbath all the Antiochans were discussing
the new teaching, and they thronged the synagogue for
Paul's second address. Such eagerness of the Gentiles
to learn about the salvation that is in Christ filled the
Jews with jealousy and suspicion ; and they interrupted
the address with contradictions and jeers until Paul
and Barnabas, after declaring that they had done their
duty in offering the word of God to the Jews, said with

110 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
a touch of sarcasm, " Seeing ye thrust it from you and
judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn
to the Gentiles."
" This incident," says Dr. Hort, " is the true turn
ing point at which a Gentile Christianity formally and
definitely begins." Before this the gospel had been
offered to those Gentiles only who had come so far
toward Judaism as to worship in the synagogue; but
now Paul offered it directly to those who stood without
and with whom no Jew would associate. From this
time on, as we shall see, his method of work in any
city was to begin in the synagogue, if there was one,
and continue there as long as the Jews would allow;
then when its doors were closed against him, as usually
happened soon, to preach in Gentile homes and public
places until he was forced to depart. Here in Antioch
the Gentiles received him as an angel of God (Gal.
4: 14), and listened with gladness when he portrayed
to them the crucified Saviour (Acts 13: 48; Gal. 3: 1).
The gift of the Holy Ghost and the working of mira
cles in their midst set the seal of divine approval on
their faith (Gal. 3:5). They recognized that they
were specially blessed, and in gratitude to Paul would
have taken upon themselves his physical suffering
(Gal. 4: 14 f.). Despite the hostility of the Jews, the
work went on until the gospel message had been car
ried throughout the Phrygian region, of which Antioch
was the administrative center. But the Jews had
powerful allies in certain Gentile women, probably
Romans, of high standing who worshipped with them
and who now at their instigation persuaded the chief
men of the city to expel the apostles. The expulsion
would be after due trial for disturbing the peace, and
with punishment by scourging. Paul states (II Cor.

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 111
11 : 25) that notwithstanding his Roman citizenship,
he was thrice beaten with rods, — a form of punishment
that the magistrates of this Roman colony would fol
low. Why he did not claim exemption we cannot tell.
4. In Iconium, Lystra and Derbe.
Iconium was a less important but prosperous city of
this same Phrygian district of Galatia, some eighty
miles east of Antioch. Hither Paul and Barnabas
made their way, and here they began work in the syna
gogue after the same manner as in Antioch. Many
Jews as well as Gentiles became believers ; but the un
believing Jews were active in stirring up opposition
until the whole city was divided into two parties over
them. (Acts 14 : 3 seems to be a late and untrust
worthy addition: — it comes in awkwardly; it states
that the apostles worked a long time after the opposi
tion arose, which is improbable ; and its vague mention
of signs and wonders is unlike Luke's definite descrip
tion of miracles in this journey.) The magistrates of
the city, though unwilling to take action when public
sentiment was thus divided, would be glad to get rid
of these troublesome strangers ; so the hostile Jews and
Gentiles dared to lead a mob assault upon the apostles,
and forced them to flee across the border to Lystra,
eighteen miles from Iconium and somewhat off the
main road, in the Lyeaonian district of Galatia. An
early apocryphal book, The Acts of Paul and Thekla,
tells the story of a young woman who was converted
by Paul in Iconium. Its historical value is slight, but
it illustrates the way in which Christianity incurred
hatred through the inevitable rupture of family ties.
Also, it gives the earliest and most trustworthy descrip
tion of Paul's person as follows, " small in size,, bald-

112 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
headed, bow-legged, strongly built, with eyebrows meet
ing, full of grace, sometimes seeming like a man and
sometimes having the countenance of an angel."
At Lystra, lived Eunice, a devout Jewess married to
a prominent Gentile, together with her son, Timothy,
and her mother, Lois; in their home Paul and Barna
bas may have found shelter, and through Paul's teach
ing they became Christians (16: 1; I Cor. 4: 17; II
Tim. 1:5). There seem to have been few other Jews
in Lystra ; and, as there was no synagogue, the apostles
preached in the market-place and elsewhere. One day
while thus engaged, Paul noticed on the ground near
him a lifelong cripple, listening with a faith that was
evidently sufficient for an act of healing. The apostle
fastened his eyes upon him, and speaking with a loud
voice suddenly said, " Stand upright upon thy feet ; "
and the man sprang up, able to walk. The watching
crowd at once concluded that these two strangers were
gods in human guise, as in the familiar Phrygian story
of Baucis and Philemon, and proclaimed this with
shouts, identifying the dignified, stately Barnabas with
Zeus and the little, lively, loquacious Paul with
Hermes. The apostles did not understand the outcries
because the uneducated population used only the native
dialect; and it was not until later in the day, when the
priest of the temple of Zeus outside the city brought
oxen and garlands for a sacrifice to them at the gates —
probably of the house where they were lodging, — that
they realized the situation. Then, rending their
clothes to express their horror and rushing in among
the crowd with cries of remonstrance, they finally suc
ceeded in stopping the sacrifice, and in the pause which
followed explained their mission as messengers of the
living God by whom all things were made. In the

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 113
natural reaction from their adoration, the Lystrans
were ready later on to listen to the slanders of Jews
who came from Antioch and Iconium; and, striving
to surpass these larger cities in their treatment of
Paul, they stoned him until they thought him dead, and
then disposed of his body by dragging it outside the
city. Did Stephen's death come back to Paul as the
stones were hurled? He proved to be only stunned;
and while his mourning friends stood around him, he
rose to his feet and was able to return to his lodgings
and the next day to leave the city, — a recovery so rapid
and complete as to seem a miracle. Derbe, the next
preaching-place, thirty miles on, was small and free
from enemies; and the apostles made many converts
here, — so many that Luke says they evangelized the
city, — perhaps " Gaius of Derbe " (20 : 4) was one.
5. The Return to Antioch in Syria.
More than a year had gone since the two apostles
set out on their journey; the church at home was wait
ing their return; and the great highway east from
Derbe was the direct route homeward. But instead of
going forward they retraced their steps, and at the risk
of meeting former foes and fresh persecution visited
again Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch. The
impelling force was a desire to see and further help
the disciples in those cities, and the visit is one of many
manifestations of Paul's devotion to his churches and
friends. There was no public preaching, — it was too
dangerous; but there were private reunions with
brethren who joyed to see them yet trembled at their
hazard; there were words of cheer and consolation in
the tribulations that abounded ; and there was aid, such
as only a parent missionary can give, in organizing the

114 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
churches. Just how full and formal an organization
should be read into the statement they " appointed for
them elders in every church" (14: 23), must wait dis
cussion. After this, leaving Antioch and going south
through Pisidia, they crossed once more the Taurus
range and came down into Pamphylia. In Perga they
gave the gospel message which Paul's illness had pre
vented them from giving the year before ; and then, as
apparently there was little response and as the naviga
tion season of 47 a.d. was about to close, they sought
the seaport, Attalia, and sailed to Antioch where in
the presence of the assembled church they told the
thrilling story of what they had wrought with God's
help, and especially of how the Gentiles were throng
ing into the fold through the open door, not of circum
cision but of faith. The scene is memorable as the
first great welcome to returning missionaries. And we
notice that there was no questioning or murmuring
over the opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Whatever the church at Jerusalem might hold, these
Christians of Antioch believed that the Gentiles should
be given the gospel.
This first missionary journey had occupied at least
a year and a half, and had covered some fourteen hun
dred miles by land and water. It had revealed "that
the gospel could find a ready hearing in the commercial
towns of the West, and that the Greek world contained
thousands of persons ready and eager for what Chris
tianity had to offer" (Ropes), — a fact deeply affect
ing the whole question of the relation of Christianity
to Judaism. It had brought Paul to the front as a
strong leader, peculiarly fitted for Gentile work. And
doubtless in it had been developed the plan of work
that he always followed later, namely, to strike for the

PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 115
great centres, to begin in the synagogue, if there was
one, leaving it only when forced to leave, to adapt his
words and life to the people among whom he laboured,
to establish churches before he passed on, and to watch
over them afterwards as a father over his children.

VII
THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
WE come now to a section of apostolic history,
recorded in Acts XV and Gal. II, concern
ing which there has been an endless amount
of discussion. When and to whom was Galatians writ
ten ? Is the Jerusalem visit of Gal. 2 : 1-10 recorded
anywhere in Acts ? When did Peter visit Antioch ?
What stirred up the trouble there ? Exactly what was
settled by the decree of Acts 15 : 23 f . ? Pages might
be given to discussing these problems without settling
them; it seems better, therefore, to present with little
discussion the conclusions that are most satisfactory to
the present writer, believing that the presentation itself
will be their best defence. This has already been done
in part when the visit of Gal. 2 : 1-10 was identified
with the famine visit of Acts.
1. The Christians and the Law.
By the Law is meant, of course, that great body of
legislation concerning morals, forms and times of wor
ship, foods, purifications, etc., written out in the Old
Testament, and the still greater mass of further legis
lation, created by the desire to secure perfect obedi
ence to the written code, and handed down orally until
after the Apostolic Age. In our thought of the Law
we are inclined to distinguish between that part which
relates to ethics, — the moral law, — and that part which
relates to special Jewish observances, — the ceremonial
116

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 117
law. No such distinction existed in the thought of
the Jews: — to steal and to eat the flesh of swine, to
blaspheme and to pick up sticks on the Sabbath, were
all and equally transgressions of the Law. All was
binding upon the Chosen People, who in solace for
their loss of political liberty kept increasing the strict
ness of their religious bondage. We may marvel that
they gloried in the Law ; but it was their special herit
age, it made them a distinct people, it created a sense
of secure possession of God's favour, and it harmon
ized with a natural tendency in the human heart to lay
down exact rules and ordinances and to. count the ob
servance of them highest merit. The man who has
been reared in legalism finds it hard indeed to recog
nize that an act gains value only from its motive, and
that to be must ever precede to do.
So long as Christianity remained in its Jewish
cradle, all believers agreed that the Law was binding
upon them; they thought of themselves as a Jewish
sec,t, more liberal than the Pharisees but equally loyal
to the national religion. Afterwards, by various steps
which we have traced, — Stephen, Samaria, Cornelius,
Paul, Antioch, Titus, — the decision was reached that
the Gentiles might accept Christ without undergoing
circumcision and placing themselves under the Law;
but many in the parent church refused to accept this
decision, even with the agreement that the leaders in
the Gentile work should keep at a distance so as not
to offend the Jews. From this time on there were in
the church three distinct views and various inter
mediate shades of opinion concerning the obligations
of the Law.
At one extreme stood the party of the circumcision,
made up largely of Pharisees (15:5), who held that

118 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the Law is binding upon all Christians, and that only
in connection with keeping it can salvation be gained.
Jesus, they argued, was the promised Jewish Messiah;
and those who have a place in His kingdom must be
Jews either by birth or by adoption, and must obey
the laws and ordinances God of old laid down for His
people. They pointed to the example of Jesus Him
self in keeping the Law, to the danger of gross license
without it, and to the many prophecies of a final,
world-wide Jewish Kingdom. They had to admit that
occasionally a man might be accepted of God apart
from the Law; there were instances of this recorded
in the Scriptures; but such salvation is merely as
crumbs from the children's table.
At the other extreme was the party of Paul, who
held that salvation comes solely through union with
Christ, and that the life of His followers is one of
perfect liberty. The Jewish Law was for Jews alone,
preparing the way for Christ, and is of no value now
that He has come. And even the law of conscience
under which the Gentiles lived, has ceased to be bind
ing upon those who are in Christ. For the Christian
life is not one of obedience to a set of rules, but a joy
ful reproduction of the life of Christ, in which the
things that are pure and just and holy are to be done
not of compulsion but of free choice, not to gain
righteousness but because through Him righteousness
has already been gained. Jesus is the universal Sav
iour since faith in Him is open to all; and whosoever
believes on Him is no longer a Jew or a Gentile but
a new creature.
A third party held that the Law is binding upon
Jewish Christians only. They are not freed from it
by accepting Jesus as Messiah; but the Gentiles need

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 119
not assume its obligations when they become believers.
This apparently was the view of James, and tacitly
adopted by the leaders of the church in the conference
over Titus. It seemed a harmonizing compromise
which ought to suit everybody; as a matter of fact it
suited neither of the parties and, like most com
promises, gave rise to further troubles. Still, Paul did
not oppose it, because it gave him a free hand in the
Gentile work; and "they that were of circumcision"
(11:2) acquiesced in it, so long as they thought the
Gentile work would amount to little and would be
kept far away. Certainly it was an illogical posi
tion: — either Christianity is a new religion whose fol
lowers are free from any Jewish obligations; or else
it is only one form of Judaism, in which case the Law
in some form is binding upon all its adherents. Later
on, as we shall see, the latter alternative prevailed, and
the Law in a spiritualized form was generally felt to
be binding; but this solution of the problem was not
at present in the mind of any.
2. Peter at Antioch.
The missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas as
we have seen, bore two unexpected fruits both im
portant: — one was the rise of Paul to leadership, and
the other was the discovery that a multitude of Gen
tile men and women were longing for the message of
the gospel and willing to accept it even at the price of
breaking with friends or family and undergoing perse
cution. Evidently Paul henceforth must be reckoned
with in all apostolic plans, and the Gentile church was
going to be far larger than any had dreamed. Whether
the church in Jerusalem awoke to these two facts, and
therefore sent Peter to Antioch in the spring of 48 a.d.

120 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
to investigate the Gentile work, or whether he came
of his own initiative to see how his brethren fared,
we will not attempt to decide. The former view com
mends itself to those who hold that the apostles were
truly bishops; the latter to those who regard them as
solely the first great foreign missionaries. Whatever
his purpose in visiting the church of Antioch, Peter
was pleased with what he found there ; and we are told
that he ate with the Gentile Christians just as the other
Jewish Christians were doing. This need not mean
that these Jewish Christians were eating food forbid
den by the Law ; there was no necessity for their doing
so, and very little temptation, since food that from
childhood they had considered unclean would still be
revolting if no longer forbidden. Nor does it probably
mean that Jews and Gentiles were sharing their ordi
nary meals; the home life of each race would go on
after conversion as before, and there would be little
occasion for admitting each other to it. The one place
where all the members of the church would come to
gether was the room, probably in the house of some
wealthy member, where they met for worship; and the
one meal that all would share came in connection with
the Eucharistic service. For this they met in the
evening because most of them, being labouring men or
slaves, were not free to meet in working hours; and
the meal, eaten before the sacrament, was simply a sub
stitute for a supper at home; though when the sacra
ment in later days was separated from the meal, the
latter was still continued as an expression of Christian
brotherhood, a "love feast" (Jude 12). For the sup
per each brought his own food, and shared it with
others or not as he chose (I Cor. 11: 21) ; so even at

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 121
this table a Jewish Christian need not eat Gentile food,
though he would be eating with Gentiles.
The coming of Peter to Antioch and his cordial
participation in the life of the brethren must, like the
coming of Barnabas, have been an inspiration and
blessing to the church. But harmony was presently
changed to discord by further visitors from Jerusalem,
belonging to the party that had stirred up trouble over
Titus, and flaming with the same zeal for the Law.
Paul says they came from James (Gal. 2:12), and
Luke tells us they taught, " Except ye be circumcised
after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved " (Acts
15: 1). James, who was himself a strict observer of
the Law, may have sent them because he had heard of
laxity among the Jewish Christians in Antioch; but
as he had already agreed that Titus need not be cir
cumcised, he could not have authorized their statement
of the terms of salvation, — indeed, later on he ex
pressly states the contrary (15: 24). Possibly Luke's
most brief summary of what they taught is incomplete ;
certainly it must be interpreted in the light of what
followed. The first triumph of these new teachers was
that Peter, followed by the other Jews and even Bar
nabas, gradually " drew back and separated himself "
from eating with the Gentile brethren, doing so
through fear of " them that were of the circumcision,"
i.e., the party these men from James represented
(Gal. 2:12-13). That Peter should act thus is not
surprising, — he was ever sensitive to criticism, and he
may have been guarding his future usefulness among
Jews ; but that Barnabas after working so long for the
Gentiles should refuse to share their communion meal,
shows that the pressure must have been strong indeed.
What was it that these men from James urged with

122 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
such force? If they were insisting that no person is
a Christian until circumcised, Peter and Barnabas cer
tainly could not agree with them. Gentile believers,
though they had not become Jews, had ceased to be
heathen, — they confessed Christ, loved Him, served
Him, and through their loyalty were the first to bear
His name ; to deem them not His followers was impos
sible. And if they were His followers, then in Him,
as Peter himself had proclaimed (4:12), they had
salvation; and as to keeping the Law, the leaders of
the church at Jerusalem had declared they need not
keep it. Granting all this, the question still re
mained, Are they so free from Gentile impurities that
a Jew would not be contaminated if he ate with them ?
Here was a possible stumbling-block which had been
ignored until these mischief-makers from Judea
pushed it to the front. To understand the difficulty
we must bear in mind that the Jewish idea of impurity
was the same as that which goes with all systems of
tabu, — in the forbidden article or act is a mysterious
force, an impurity, which communicates itself to the
person who breaks the tabu, and not only renders him
impure but makes him in turn a possible source of im
purity to others (Num. 19 : 22 ; Hag. 2:13; I Cor.
10:20). A Gentile was thought to be in a constant
state of impurity from food and acts upon which the
Law had placed a tabu ; therefore, any contact with
him would make a Jew impure. To avoid all contact,
especially in Gentile lands, was evidently impossible;
so it was held that impurity was conveyed only by inti
mate forms of contact, among which eating together
was specially polluting: — the Old Testament Apoc
rypha and the charges against Jesus (Mk. 2: 16) and
Peter (Acts 11:3) reveal this.

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 123
The church at Antioch had taken for granted that
when a Gentile became a Christian his impurity was
removed, and therefore no reason remained why Jew
ish Christians might not eat with him. The men from
James were shocked to find them doing this, and said
in protest, " No : a Gentile is not so cleansed from pol
lution that we Jews can eat with him until he is cir
cumcised ! " There must have been much dispute over
^the matter, for Peter and the others were slow to ac
cept this opinion ; but accept it they did, and began to
hold their love-feast and sacramental service apart from
the Gentile believers. Henceforth — so the prospect
was — there would be in the church two distinct bodies
who could not commune together. Modern defenders
of denominational exclusiveness at home and of re
fusal to co-operate on mission fields, may not deplore
such a division in the church; but Paul was mightily
aroused against it. He seems to have been absent
when the discussion began, or he would have taken part
in it at once ; and he did not return until the split had
come, and the Jewish Christians with Peter as their
leader were eating the communion meal in a separate
corner of the church room. At once before them all
he rebuked the great apostle to his face (Gal. 2:14,
11) ; this was not a matter for delay or suppressed
complaint or private conference; Peter was in the
wrong and must be withstood. Paul's account of what
he said to Peter (Gal. 2 : 14 f.) ends we know not just
where, because he passes without a break to a full dis
cussion of justification by faith; nor does he give all
that he said, since his main purpose in relating the
incident is to show the Galatians his full and inde
pendent apostleship. Undoubtedly he began by insist
ing that in no way must the body of Christ be

124 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
divided : — this is a theme he dwells on in his epistles,
and an end he ever kept before him in his later labours.
And then he went on to say, in substance, " You,
Peter, are forcing such a division by treating these
men as sinners of the Gentiles. You are doubly in
consistent: — you refuse to eat with them because
they do not keep the Law; yet you are convinced that
it is not necessary for anyone to keep the Law; for
you agree with me that a man is accepted of God, not
because he keeps the Law, which truly no man can
keep, but because of faith in Christ. Faith makes
these men pure; why then disobey the command you
received at Joppa, — ' What God hath cleansed, make
not thou common ' ? We who are in Christ have died
to the Law that we may live unto God through Him
whose life is our life ; how dare we hold ourselves apart
from these Gentiles whose equal share in that divine
life makes them one with us ? " Paul's remonstrance
and argument prevailed with Peter. This is not stated
in the letter to the Galatians, simply because it is self-
evident, — the incident otherwise would have no value
in proving his authority as an apostle; and we know
that when the matter came up in Jerusalem, Peter not
only gave his hearty support to Paul's position, but
even used Paul's arguments in defending it.
3. The Council at Jerusalem.
Though Peter and Barnabas resumed their former
brotherly relations with Gentile Christians, the trouble
stirred up by the men from James did not disappear
but rather spread to the other churches in the province
of Syria-Cilicia, all of whom looked to Antioch as the
metropolitan church. Undoubtedly the assertion was
constantly and confidently made that the church in

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 125
Jerusalem would not sanction the communion of Jews
with Gentiles; and certainly the dispute could not be
settled until the church that was the acknowledged
mother and guide of all, should pass upon it. With
good reason, therefore, Paul and Barnabas and certain
others were appointed to take the question to the apos
tles and elders in Jerusalem. On their way thither
they were heard with great joy by the brethren in
Phoenicia and Samaria as they told of the conversion
of the Gentiles; but when they reached Judea the
agreement made at their former visit (Gal. 2:9) kept
them silent until they were in the sacred city. Here
they were kindly received, and at a meeting of the
church "rehearsed all things that God had done with
them" (15:4), — their whole ministry for the Gen
tiles, including the formation of churches in which
these worshipped with their Jewish brethren. There
upon, certain Pharisees who had accepted Christ with
out abandoning their old idea of separateness, declared
that to circumcise the Gentiles and charge thenr-to
keep the Law was "needful" (15:5). Needful for
what? Not for their reception into the church, — the
discussion over Cornelius and Titus had settled that —
but for any communion of Jews with them. It was
the same old attempt to impose the burden of the Law
as necessary, not this time for salvation but for Chris
tian unity.
A special meeting was called to discuss and settle
this matter ; and in it Peter was the prominent spokes
man, claiming this position because he first had been
called of God to preach the gospel to Gentiles. The
difference between his present argument and that with
which he defended himself for eating with the little
group in Caesarea (11:5 f.) shows how far he had

126 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
advanced in Christian truths since that earlier day.
He said, " The gift of the Holy Spirit to Cornelius
and the others proves that in the sight of God they
are as clean as Jewish Christians. He has made no
distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts
by faith even as He cleansed ours. To insist that they
are not pure unless they bear the burden of the Law,
is to question the work of God, and require them to do
the impossible. We ourselves are conscious that we
fail in keeping the Law, and we believe that we are
saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, exactly as
they are. If we pronounce them unclean, what are
we ? " Silence followed ; the Pharisees had no answer
ready. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke, making no
argument or appeal but simply adding weight to
Peter's words by telling of repeated instances in their
own labours where God had shown by miracles His
acceptance of the Gentiles. Finally, James, the
brother of Jesus and the recognized head of the church,
whom the emissaries at Antioch had professed to repre
sent, gave his own judgment based on what he had
heard and on what the prophets had foretold. It was
unanimously accepted, and put into a letter which was
sent to the troubled Gentile churches. " The Gen
tiles," so James declared, " are our brother Christians,
and should be treated as such. The mischievous, soul-
ravaging words of the unauthorized representatives
should be denounced, and Barnabas and Paul should
be given heartiest endorsement as men who have haz
arded their lives for the sake of Christ. Nevertheless,
these Gentile believers ought to shape their lives in
such a way as not to block the spread of Christianity
among the unbelieving Jews who are their neighbours.
In every city there are synagogues filled with Jews

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 127
most scrupulous in keeping the Law; if once there
spreads abroad the idea that Christians are impure,
no synagogue will admit us, and no Jew will listen to
us. Let Gentile Christians, therefore, do at least as
much as Gentiles would have to do if they sought per
mission to worship in the synagogue, or as Moses de
creed that they must do if they would make their home
in the land of the Jews; — let them abstain from food
that has been offered as a sacrifice to idols, from blood,
from things strangled and from fornication; if they
keep themselves from these, their state will be satis
factory." Evidently these four restrictions were of things spe
cially revolting to Jews ; and it is easy to see why. A
pious Jew shrank from contact with the Gentile world
because it seemed to him everywhere foul with pollu
tions of idols, disgusting foods and licentiousness : care
must be taken, therefore, to convince him that Gentile
Christians no longer gave themselves over to these
things. Food offered to idols whether eaten in a tem
ple or at home, was held to be a communion with
demons (Deut. 32 : 17 ; I Cor. 10 : 20) ; blood was the
life element and therefore sacred to God (Deut.
12 : 23) ; things strangled and not bled still retained
the blood and should not be eaten; all this is obvious.
But the fourth restriction comes with a shock of sur
prise because we had not imagined that any Chris
tian, — Jew or Gentile, — would consider fornication
allowable. For this reason many understand fornica
tion here to mean incestuous marriages, such as the
one that Paul calls by this name and sharply condemns
(I Cor. 5:1); and they point out that this interpreta
tion makes all four restrictions correspond to those
laid down for the stranger sojourning among the

128 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Israelites (Lev. 17:1-18:30). Others would retain
the usual meaning of the word, because sins of un
chastity were lightly regarded in the Gentile world,
many temples were religious brothels, and Paul had
constantly to warn his converts against sexual im
purity. Possibly there is no need to choose between
the two meanings of the word, since both may have
been in the mind of the Jerusalem church.
Barnabas and Paul were given the letter; and two
leading men in the church, Judas Barsabbas and Silas,
were selected to return with them and carry fraternal
greetings. Thus the church at Jerusalem expressed
most strongly its willingness to treat the Gentile Chris
tians as brethren. And the believers at Antioch, on
the other hand, gladly accepted the restrictions urged
upon them ; when the epistle was read, " they rejoiced
for the exhortation," i.e., the implied God-speed for
their work; and when Judas and Silas had fulfilled
their mission, they dismissed them in peace. Such was
the satisfactory ending of a dispute which threatened
either to impose upon the Gentiles the burden of the
Law or to split the church. The settlement reached
is sometimes represented as involving a partial subjec
tion of the Gentiles to the Law; but if Paul had re
garded it as such, he would have fought against it as
bitterly as against compelling Titus to be circumcised.
The battle for liberty had been won, and he would not
allow any of its fruits to be stolen in this way. But
to comply with these four restrictions, if compliance
would promote access to Jewish unbelievers or bind
the Jewish Christians more closely to their Gentile
brethren, was exactly in agreement with two leading
principles of Paul's life, — " All things are lawful for
me, but all things are not expedient," and " Give no

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 129
occasion of stumbling, either to Jews or to Greeks or
to the church of God" (I Cor. 6:12; 10:32). And
though he accepted the restrictions, he did not feel
himself under compulsion to observe them when ob
servance would not further the purpose for which they
were given. We shall see this illustrated repeatedly
later on. Evidently he did not look upon the letter
from Jerusalem as a decree, which must be implicitly
obeyed, but rather as " a strong expression of opinion,
more than advice and less than a command " (Hort)
which left him at liberty to use ultimately his own
judgment. Note finally that while the Gentiles were
thus cordially recognized as Christians and brethren,
there still was room for the opinion that they would
be better Christians if they kept the Law. Though
the question of liberty and of fraternity had been set
tled, the question of equality was yet to be discussed,
and the discussion when it did arise was a heated one.
This was not the only time when Paul laboured hard
to hold the church together as one body of Christ; we
shall find him ever striving to prevent a rupture.
There was grave danger that the Gentile brethren, con
stantly treated with suspicion or contempt by the
Jewish, might break away entirely and refuse to recog
nize any connection with Jerusalem. Had they done
so, the result would have been disastrous. There would
have been increasing hostility to anything that bore
marks of Jewish origin ; the Old Testament would have
ceased to be held sacred; Jewish ethics would have
been cast aside: the teachings of the Twelve would
have lost authority ; and even the figure of Jesus might
have been changed into something nearer the Greek
ideals. And could the Gentile church, thus severing
itself from the historic past and becoming an inde-

130 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
pendent organization, have survived amid the perils
and pressure of the many and seductive forms of Greek
religious thought in that and the next century ? Would
it not have sought more and more from Greek sources
the material for an independent religion, and suc
cumbed more and more to the moral miasma and spir
itual delirium in which it had to live ? Certainly Paul
was " a wise master-builder " when he insisted that the
whole church should be " built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being
the chief corner-stone" (Eph. 2: 20).

VIII
THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY
THE second missionary journey had as its im
mediate incentive Paul's desire to see again
the converts of the first journey (15:36).
If the time now was, as we suppose, the spring of 49
a.d., a year and a half had passed since he parted
from them ; and, though tidings of their welfare would
be brought to Antioch repeatedly, he would long to
know more exactly just how they were progressing in
Christian faith and life. Behind this desire may have
been, also, a longing to preach the gospel in the great
Greek cities further west still unevangelized. Barna
bas was invited to go with him and was ready to do
so when a sharp dispute over taking Mark again as
their assistant ended in separation and a division of
the territory. Barnabas sailed with Mark to Cyprus,
and Paul took the overland route to Galatia
(15: 37 f.). Naturally we sympathize with Barnabas
in his insistence that Mark, despite his failing them
once, be given a second trial, especially as we know
that by so doing he saved Mark for the church, even
as he had once saved Paul ; but the brethren at Antioch
seem to have sympathized with Paul, for unlike Bar
nabas he had their benediction when he went forth
(15:40). We hear no more of Barnabas in Acts;
tradition says that his later field was Egypt. From
Paul's letters we infer that friendly relations were
later on renewed, and that, if he never again worked
131

132 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
with Paul, he was known in Corinth and Colosse, two
of Paul's churches (I Cor. 9:6; Col. 4: 10). Indeed,
we may well suppose that Luke is recording Paul's
high estimate of Barnabas when he describes him as
" a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith "
(Acts 11:24). As for Mark, we find that in later
years he became one of Paul's most useful and trusted
assistants (Col. 4:10; Phile. 24; II Tim. 4:11),
thereby proving that the faith of Barnabas in him
despite his hour of failure was well founded, and that
Paul's condemnation was too severe. To journey with
himself now Paul selected Silas, whose ability and
sympathy with the Gentiles, together with the fact that
he was a Roman citizen, were strong recommendations.
Whether he still was tarrying in Antioch or had to be
summoned to Jerusalem, is an unimportant question
arising from differing texts of Acts 15 : 33-34.
1. From Antioch to Troas.
The great western highway led first through those
regions of Syria and Cilicia where Paul had preached
in earlier days. Doubtless the Jerusalem letter had
already been received by the brethren here, since it was
addressed to them as well as to Antioch (15: 23) ; and
Paul needed simply to express his approval of its con
tents. But when he reached Galatia, he delivered the
decrees to each church and urged the keeping of them.
They were gladly accepted; and the effect of Paul's
visit and of the knowledge that the Jerusalem church
welcomed Gentiles as brethren is shown in the state
ment that " so the churches were strengthened in faith
and increased in numbers daily" (16:5).
Paul still lacked a "fellow-worker" (Rom. 16:21)
in place of Barnabas, as Luke indicates by using the

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 133
singular person in 15:41-16:3; but at Lystra the
vacant place was filled by Timothy, a young man of
high reputation and special promise, Paul's convert on
the previous journey (16:1 f.; I Tim. 1:2). The
emphatic " Behold," with which Luke introduces Tim
othy, and the reference in I Tim. 1 : 18 to " the
prophecies that led the way" to him, indicate some
remarkable spiritual guidance in the selection of the
man who was to fill such an important position and be
so much to Paul henceforth. And he was set apart
for the work, as Paul and Barnabas had been at An
tioch, by the laying on of hands by the Lystran elders
and Paul himself (I Tim. 4:14; II Tim. 1:6).
Though as a child Timothy had been thoroughly in
structed in the Old Testament by his mother and
grandmother, who were then devout Jewesses (II Tim.
3:15; 1:5), he had not been circumcised, since his
father, probably now dead, was a Gentile; therefore,
Paul himself circumcised him. This act can be de
fended by pointing out that it was done, not because
Jewish Christians demanded it, as they did in the case
of Titus, but because it would facilitate work among
unbelieving Jews who might refuse to receive an un
circumcised man in their homes ; yet, as Ramsay says,
no act in Paul's life is more difficult to sympathize
with, and none cost him more dear; for it was misun
derstood by the Galatian converts, and used against
him later by zealous advocates of the Law.
The older commentators, who understood by Galatia
the region originally bearing that name and constitut
ing in Paul's day the northern part of the great Roman
province of Galatia, supposed that at this point
(16:6) Paul and his companions journeyed into
North Galatia, and preached in such cities as Ancyrus

134 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
and Pessina; but scholars now largely agree that the
statement " they went through Phrygia and the region
of Galatia," means simply a continuation of their jour
ney westward through the Phrygian region of the
Roman province. When they had visited the brethren
in Pisidian Antioch, the question was, Whither next?
Should they retrace their steps, or cross the Taurus
and revisit Pamphylia, or go forward into unexplored
fields? As yet they had done no new mission work;
they were on the direct road to Ephesus, capital of the
province of Asia and dominant city of all Asia Minor;
a desire to preach Christ in the very face of the great
goddess Artemis fired Paul's heart; so they pushed
on. Possibly we should state the matter more strongly,
and say that Paul had Ephesus in mind when he set
out from Syrian Antioch, or at least when he selected
Timothy to be henceforth his fellow-worker. He was
a leader with bold plans and high courage. His suc
cess in Galatia could not but rouse in a mind like his
a vision of the whole Roman empire claimed for
Christ. He would go forward planting the cross in
province after province clear across to Spain.
Ephesus, "that great metropolis in which the East
looked out upon the West," was the next step in such
a march of conquest; when he had fully preached the
gospel there, he could cross the Aegean. If this was
his plan, he was now to learn,- — -as many a missionary
must, — that an overruling Power defeats our best laid
counsels. The record of the next section of this mis
sionary journey (16:6-9) Ramsay pronounces "the
most remarkable paragraph in Acts " because of the
repeated operation of divine agencies, and the sweep
and rush of the narrative in which point after point
and province after province are hurried over. When

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 135
the travellers reached the province of Asia they were
forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach in it; then
journeying northward they tried to enter the province
of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow
them to do so; and passing through Mysia they came-
to Troas, still unable to preach because still in Asia,
and doubtless much disappointed and sore perplexed.
It is idle to conjecture what experiences lie behind
this condensed statement of repeatedly changed plans,
baffied undertakings and enforced silence; whatever
they were, Paul accepted them as God's leadings; and
when at Troas he saw in a night vision a Macedonian
man, and heard his appeal, " Come over into Mace
donia, and help us," he recognized that the path along
which he had been divinely driven was to the lands
across the Aegean Sea.
2. Through the Cities of Macedonia.
At Troas Luke joined- Paul's party, — so the change
in the narrative from the third person to the first indi
cates ; and doubtless he, a Greek and therefore familiar
with the sea as the Jews were not, took charge of the
arrangements for crossing the Aegean, and decided that
they should sail for Philippi, which seems to have been
his own city, rather than for some other place in Mace
donia. ,
Crossing from Troas to Neapolis seems to us passing
from one continent to another, and therefore a specially
significant act; but no such thought could be in the
mind of Paul as he embarked ; since all the Greek cities
around the Aegean were closely related in civil and
political life. Luke always notes the details of a voy
age: — this time they made a very quick run, — two
days ; a later crossing took five days (20 : 6). Philippi,

136 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
a few miles inland from Neapolis, was a Eoman colony,
like Pisidian Antioch, governed by two chief magis
trates, praetors, as Rome was by two consuls and proud
of its privileges and loyalty, — a pride evidently shared
by Luke. There were not enough Jews here to sup
port a synagogue, but a handful of women had a " place
of prayer " by the riverside ; and on a Sabbath the mis
sionaries found them there, and sat down and talked
with them. One of the number was Lydia, a devout
Gentile from Thyatira, who carried on a prosperous
traffic in the famous purple fabrics of her city. She
listened with interest to the words of Paul, and in the
days that followed became a convert, and with all her
household was baptized; whereupon she invited Paul
and his companions to make her house their home, in
sisting upon this so strongly, putting it as a favor to her
self and not to them, that they yielded, despite Paul's
rigid rule to shun even the semblance of making a liv
ing out of the gospel (I Cor. 9 : 14 f.).
The work in Philippi was beginning to bear fruit
when, though free from the usual opposition of hostile
Jews, it was brought to an end by a Gentile attack.
Certain men of the city were joint-owners of a demoniac
slave-girl whose skill as a ventriloquist and fortune
teller was making them wealthy. The psychology of
demoniacal possession is too abstruse a subject to be
discussed here in a paragraph, and is better taken up
in a study of the life of Christ where it is repeatedly
forced upon our attention. Certainly, to say that a
demoniac is merely insane is as superficial a statement
as to say that a paralytic is merely ill. The disordered
intellect of the demoniac is evident; the real problem
is whether the cause is physical or spiritual. Only
those who have seen and carefully studied cases of demo-

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 137
niacal possession in lands where they still abound, are
competent to pass judgment as to the cause: the rest
of us merely darken counsel by words without knowl
edge. Demoniacs in Philippi were not so unusual
as to attract the attention of the missionaries ; but this
girl kept following them and shouting their mission, as
they went each day to the place of prayer which had
now become a meeting-place for the believers. Paul
endured such troublesome attentions for many days, but
at last put an end to them by casting out the demon,
thus stopping her masters' money-making; and they
took revenge by dragging Paul and Silas before the
praetors on the trumped up but plausible charge that
these men were turning Roman citizens into Jews, and
in this way spreading treason. If, just about this
time Claudius was having trouble with the Jews at
Rome, the charge that Jewish emissaries were at work
in this proudly loyal colony would be doubly effective ;
and the declaration of the apostles that they were
Eoman citizens would be answered with howls of deri
sion. Without any trial the excited petty praetors
ordered them stripped, severely scourged (II Cor.
11: 25) and kept in safest custody; and nightfall found
them in an inner prison, their feet gripped by stocks,
their backs raw with stripes, but their lips vocal with
prayers and hymns to which the other prisoners lis
tened with wonder. A severe earthquake, not uncom
mon in that region, came at midnight to set them free.
In all its effects, — doors wrenched open, bonds loosed,
prisoners bewildered or panic-stricken, the jailor ready
to commit suicide if his charges had escaped, — there
was nothing marvellous ; the really impressive features
of the scene were Paul's calmness and his prompt as
sumption of command over prisoners and jailor alike.

138 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
We shall see this repeated when he is shipwrecked; in
all hours of stress and danger he is master of the situa
tion, and dominates his companions, high or low, Chris
tian or heathen.
Morning found the two prisoners now honored guests
in the home of the jailor, who with all his household had
believed on the Lord Jesus and been baptized. It
found also the praetors far from satisfied with what
they had done. We can hardly suppose that they asso
ciated the earthquake with the imprisonment of two
vagabond Jews; but the night was not one for sleep,
and as they reviewed the hasty action of the previous
day, they were not so sure of its wisdom. Also, Luke
and other friends of Paul may have been to them with
vigorous protest. The easiest way to avoid unpleasant
consequences was to set the prisoners free on condition
that they leave the city at once; but after the open,
shameful treatment he had received (I Thess. 2:2)
Paul refused to be thus secretly and ignominiously re
leased. To vindicate himself and protect the cause he
represented, he insisted that rulers who had maltreated
Eoman citizens must make their amends as public as
their injustice by coming in person to escort him and
Silas from the prison. The abject praetors hastened
to do this, and begged them to depart lest fresh dis
turbance should arise. So, after staying in the house
of Lydia until they were fit for travel, they bade fare
well to the assembled brethren, and left Philippi.
Timothy went with them, but Luke remained because
here probably was his home, and he could help the little
group of believers who mourned to see the others leave.
Thessalonica, then as now a great commercial city
with a magnificent harbour, lay on the Eoman road some
ninety miles southwest of Philippi ; and the mission-

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 139
aries chose it as their next field, instead of Amphipolis
or Apollonia through which they had to pass on the
way. Probably the meager fruits of the work in
Philippi had made Paul feel that it was unprofitable to
tarry in cities where there were no synagogues and
consequently very few " God-fearing " Gentiles, — the
most receptive hearers of the gospel. In the synagogue
at Thessalonica he found many of these, who promptly
became believers ; and though few Jews were converted,
and the synagogue was closed against him after three
Sabbaths, the work went on among the Gentiles for a
long time, — long enough for Lydia and the other
friends at Philippi to send him gifts for his needs twice
(Phil. 4:16), thus supplementing what he himself
earned by working day and night (I Thess. 2:9). The
letter he afterwards wrote to the Thessalonians contains
a striking description of the manner in which Paul and
his companions preached the gospel of God among them
in behaviour as well as in words and cared for the con
verts as a father for his children or as a nurse for her
charge (I Thess. 2 : 1-12) ; it is most profitable reading
for all missionaries. The church founded in Thessa
lonica was composed mainly of poor people (II Cor.
8:2), but included the wives of a number of the lead
ing men of the city. Macedonian women had a higher
position and exerted more influence than their sisters in
Athens and Corinth; and for that reason mention is
specially made of their conversion (17:4, 12). The
Jews must have been sore over the loss of these promi
nent women from their synagogue; and doubtless this
was one reason why they were jealous and began a perse
cution which was long and bitter (I Thess. 2: 14-16).
They stirred up the dregs of the city to make a riotous
assault upon the house of Jason, where they thought to

140 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
find Paul and Silas at some meeting of the Christians ;
and as the men they sought were not there, they seized
Jason and his companions, and dragged them before
the city rulers on the charge of receiving and abetting
revolutionaries who were setting up Jesus in the place
of Caesar. There was always danger that exhortations
to obey Christ might be interpreted as treason ; and for
this reason the words king and kingdom, — so often on
the lips of Jesus, — were seldom used by the apostles;
but Paul had been preaching much about the coming
of Christ (17: 3; II Thess. 2:5), which would easily
be understood to signify the overthrow of the Roman
emperor. The charge against Jason and his associates
was a most serious one; but evidently the city rulers
knew it was baseless, for their action was the mildest
possible under the circumstances, — they took security
from them and let them go. What was the security to
secure? Some say it was that Paul should leave the
city and not return. They point out that Paul says
Satan hindered his return (I Thess. 2:18), and they
think that he would consider Jason's pledge a most cun
ning device of Satan because, though he was willing to
risk his own life by returning, he could not as a Chris
tian gentleman bring his friends into trouble. But since
he was twice on the point of returning (I Thess. 2 : 17)
and did not soon give up the hope to return (Id. 3 : 11),
this explanation is hardly satisfactory. More probably
the hindrance was the malignity of Paul's enemies,
which he would feel to be Satanic, or else that oft re
curring illness, — the "thorn in the flesh," — which he
calls a messenger of Satan (II Cor. 12 : 7) ; and the
security given by Jason and others was simply bonds to
keep the peace. Even thus the Christian religion was
placed under a ban as tending to excite tumult; and

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 141
Paul with his attendant, Silas, would best leave the
city at once, lest the mob at sight of them should rouse
again. If they were seized and brought before the
rulers, they might not be let off as easily as Jason had
been. So that very night, though they were reluctant
to leave, the brethren sent them away. Unfortunately
their departure did not end the persecution, and the
Thessalonian Christians passed through as bitter a
season as the early believers in Jerusalem (I Thess.
2:14). Beroea, the city to which the brethren sent Paul and
Silas, and where Timothy soon joined them, was some
forty miles from Thessalonica on a branch road and
in another district of Macedonia. The reception here
was most encouraging. The Jews were open-minded
and gave the apostolic teaching a ready hearing, test
ing it by their own scriptures, with the result that many
believed, and with them many prominent Gentile
women and their husbands. The Christians of the first
century are often represented as obscure and lowly
people : — undoubtedly the majority were such, for they
form the majority in any community, — as Lincoln
once said, " God must think a good deal of the common
people for He has made a lot of them;" but Paul's
churches both in Macedonia and elsewhere, always
contained a fair proportion of men and women dis
tinguished for position, education or wealth. It
was the rabble, and not the prominent people,
who readily roused against the Christians, and de
lighted in persecuting them. " Throughout the early
centuries the city mob, — most superstitious, unedu
cated, frivolous, swayed by the most common
place motives, — was everywhere the most dangerous
and unfailing enemy of Christianity, and often carried

142 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the imperial officials further than they wished in the
way of persecution" (Ramsay). This was the case in
Philippi and Thessalonica, and it bade fair to be re
peated in Beroea. The Thessalonian Jews, when they
learned of Paul's success here, came and stirred up the
crowd against him, making it dangerous for him to
remain. This time the brethren sent him out of the
province of Macedonia; and, either for protection or
because he was suffering in body as well as mind, some
of them went with him all the way to Athens. Whether
they had Athens in mind when they hurried from
Beroea, or fixed upon it when they reached the nearest
seaport and found a vessel about to sail thither, is unim
portant. In Paul's thought Athens was simply a wait
ing place until he could return to Macedonia, the field
to which the Lord had called him and which he would
not abandon unless divinely commanded to do so. Silas
and Timothy remained in Beroea that they might bring
him word whenever the way was clear for his return.
3. In Athens.
The parting charge of Paul to his friends as they
left him in Athens was that Silas and Timothy should
come as soon as possible: he chafed under inactivity,
and longed to hear the latest news from his churches.
The two men came shortly, but with no cheering
word; — the fury of the Thessalonian persecutors had
not abated, the Christians were suffering greatly, and
his return was still blocked. So he sent them back
again, — Timothy to Thessalonica with messages of
counsel and comfort (I Thess. 3: 1 f.), and Silas prob
ably to Philippi to learn whether that church also was
in trouble (II Cor. 11:8-9); and "left at Athens
alone," he settled himself for another period of anxious

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 143
waiting. But for him to remain silent was impossible,
especially in such a city as Athens, — a city puffed up
with conceit of knowledge yet despising the heavenly
wisdom, worshipping a multitude of deities but igno
rant of God. To him with his Jewish* training the won
derful Greek sculpture was simply repulsive, and the
city, adorned everywhere with statues of gods and god
desses, seemed full of idols. He felt there was sore
need of the message he burned to proclaim. Moreover,
Athens thronged with sons of Roman nobles, sent there
to be educated; and none of their teachers, Epicurean
or Stoic, was giving them the true preparation for a
righteous and useful life. Paul's heart, which ever
went out towards young men, yearned to reach in some
way these future rulers of the Empire. In his boy
hood he had lived in a university city, so the atmos
phere of this most famous of university cities was not
strange; and while now he was a persecuted and de
spised Christian missionary, he was also a Roman gen
tleman, acquainted with letters and philosophy, and
able to hold his own with the Athenian teachers. Ac
cordingly, though the synagogue was open to him and
he preached in it, his daily resort was the market-place,
the centre of all the city life, where like a Christian
Socrates, he entered into debate with whomever he met.
Paul never was inconspicuous long, and now he soon
had a crowd surrounding him whenever he spoke ; and
though some sneered and others were puzzled, all lis
tened. The curious idea that he was speaking of more
than one deity when he preached Jesus and the resur
rection (17: 18), must have arisen from the fact that
resurrection (anastasis) in Greek is a feminine noun,
and might be the name of a goddess, especially as the
Athenians worshipped many abstract deities such as

144 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
mercy, shame, energy. The charge that he was setting
forth " strange gods," i.e., those not allowed in the
city, was similar to that made against Socrates, and in
earlier, stricter days might have brought on him a
similar fate.
There was in Athens a court, called the Areopagus
because it held its meetings on the hill of that name
(Mar's Hill), which had a general oversight of the
morals and education of the city; and as soon as Paul
fairly began work, he was brought before that court to
give a statement of what he was teaching. There in
the midst of the judges, with a crowd of idle, inquisi
tive listeners surrounding them, he made his famous
speech (17: 22 f.). Apart from its impressive contents
it is an admirable illustration of his generous recogni
tion of the truths in heathen religions, and his skill
in adapting himself to his audiences, or, as he would
put it, becoming " all things to all men that I may by
all means save some " (I Cor. 9 : 22). Beginning with
a courteous, though slightly equivocal, compliment upon
their religiousness as shown by the countless objects of
worship and especially by an altar dedicated even to
an unknown god, he said that his mission was to tell
of the unknown God to whom their ignorant worship
bore witness. Then in eloquent words on a level with
the highest Greek thought and adorned with quotations
from the Greek poets, he set forth the nature and work
of the One God, the relations of all men to Him and
to one another, and the absurdity of idolatry. Next,
he would have preached Christ ; but, as he pointed out
the need of repentance in preparation for a day of
judgment, and the proof from His resurrection that
God had appointed Jesus to be the judge of the world,
the court decided it had heard enough and adjourned.

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 145
The earlier part of his speech had been listened to with
only qualified approval by the surrounding audience, —
the proud Greek would not agree that God had made
him of one with Jew and barbarian, — and his words
about the resurrection, a doctrine so novel to Greek
ears, made some scoff and others desire to hear more.
There was no opportunity to tell them more; the ver
dict of the judges was that Paul should not be allowed
to teach and must leave the city (18 : 1). Timothy and
Silas had not yet had time to return; so Paul crossed
the isthmus to Corinth, fifty miles away, there to wait
for them. His brief labours in Athens were not wholly
in vain ; one of the judges of the Areopagus, Dionysius,
and a woman of the street, Damaris, and certain others
became believers. But we hear nothing of a church in
Athens. Self-conceit, shallow philosophy and flippancy
form a poor soil for the word of God.
4. In Corinth.
Corinth, the capital of Achaia, was a great seaport,
famous for its wealth, and notorious for its licentious
worship of Aphrodite ; its life would in many ways be
like that of Antioch in Syria with which Paul was so
familiar. He came to it expecting to stay only a few
weeks ; he did stay nearly two years. What he planned
was to wait there in loneliness till word came that he
might return to Macedonia ; what he accomplished was
the creation of a strong church, which from its location
was in touch with almost the whole Eoman world, and
which we know more intimately than any other of the
first century. The strain of long-continued persecution,
the burden of sympathy for his friends in trouble, the
discouragement from the scanty fruit of his labours in
Athens, and possibly a recurrence of his " thorn in the

146 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
flesh," had worn him down physically (I Cor. 2:3);
so at first he undertook no missionary work except a
little discussion in the synagogue each Sabbath. But
work for daily bread had to be sought promptly, as his
funds by this time must have been exhausted. Accord
ingly, he found two fellow exiles, who were working
at his own craft of tentmaking, and joined them in
residence and occupation. They were a Pontian Jew,
Aquila, and his wife Priscilla or Prisca ; and they had
recently, say in 49 a.d., been forced to leave Eome
when Claudius ended the constant disturbances between
Christian Jews and their unconverted brethren by ex
pelling both parties. Probably they already were Chris
tians; and of the two Priscilla was either the natural
leader or else, as Eamsay thinks, a Eoman lady of
higher rank, for her name is usually placed first by
Luke and Paul. The thoughts that filled Paul's mind
as he toiled at the loom day after day can be gathered
from his own statements (I Cor. 2: 1 f.). He felt that
his preaching in Athens had made so little impression
because he had striven to meet philosophers with philoso
phy, and to win hearers by excellency of speech, instead
of giving himself wholly to a direct presentation of the
gospel itself. He had hesitated to hold up the cross in
that university city lest the cultured Greeks might jeer
at it. But now he recognized that a crucified Christ
is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and he
determined henceforth to have no other theme.
So passed the slow days of waiting until the arrival
of Silas and Timothy ; when the one freed Paul's hands
from labour by a gift of funds from the church in
Philippi (II Cor. 11: 8-9), and the other lifted a bur
den from Paul's heart by the tidings that the Thessa
lonians, though still sore beset, were standing fast in

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 147
the Lord (I Thess. 3:6 1). His return to Macedonia
remained unadvisable ; but later on it might come about
(3 : 11) ; and meanwhile Corinth was the field to which
the Lord had directed his steps. Cheered in spirit, re
leased from the loom, and assisted by his trained fellow-
workers. Paul gave himself to witnessing for Christ
among the Jews (Acts 18: 5). His increased activity
soon produced its usual effect of setting the Jews in
hostile array, and closing the synagogue against him;
whereupon he publicly and dramatically declared that
henceforth he would go to the Gentiles, and he boldly
opened a preaching-place the very next door to the syna
gogue in the house of Titus Justus, a God-fearing Gen
tile who probably was already a convert. The exaspera
tion of the Jews at this was small compared with their
rage when Crispus, the ruler of their synagogue, was
converted with all his household, and was baptized by
Paul himself, though the apostle usually left the work
of baptism to others (I Cor. 1: 14). Not many other
Jews became believers, but many Gentiles did, among
whom were Gaius, noted for his hospitality (Eom.
16 : 23) and the household, probably the domestic
slaves, of Stephanas, " the first-fruits of Achaia " (I
Cor. 16: 15). Promising as was his work in Corinth,
Paul felt that he must soon end it by returning to
Macedonia, and feared that it might even sooner be
ended by a persecution like that in Thessalonica. But
just at this point there came, as at Troas, a vision in
the night which made a turning-point and shaped his
future course. The Lord told him to remain in
Corinth, to preach without fear of enemies, and to rest
assured that his labours would win many souls. Ac
cordingly he settled down for a prolonged stay, and was
transformed from an itinerant evangelist into the

148 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
pastor of a struggling church in a great, godless metrop
olis. The care of converts, the Christian nurture of
children, the instruction of adults, the discipline of the
wayward, the reclamation of the lapsed, the ministry
to the poor and the sick, the comforting of those in sor
row, the constant fight against surrounding forces of
evil, — all these duties and privileges of a pastor's life,
the apostle now came to know intimately. It was a rich
experience, increasing his acquaintance with the needs
of humanity and with the ability of the gospel of Christ
to supply them. Some of its fruits are preserved for us
in Paul's letters to this church in Corinth.
We know only one incident of the months that fol
lowed. The Jews did not succeed in blocking Paul's
work because, probably, they could not gain the support
of the authorities; but when Gallio, an older brother
of Seneca and a man of high character and genial spirit,
was made proconsul of Achaia in the summer of 51
a.d., they were hopeful of success, and brought Paul
before him, asserting that what the apostle taught was
not orthodox Judaism, and therefore could not claim
exemption from the Eoman law against foreign relig
ions. With vociferous assertions and involved explana
tions of the differences between the two creeds, they
wearied and disgusted Gallio. It seemed to him a mat
ter of mere names and words, unimportant and of no
interest; at best, it was a controversy which they had
full right to settle in their synagogue ; so without wait
ing to hear Paul's reply, he ordered the courtroom
cleared of the whole noisy, excited crowd. The upshot
of the matter was that Sosthenes, ruler of the syna
gogue, received a beating even before they left the
room, while Gallio looked on with indifference or tacit
approval. Who beat Sosthenes and why, will never be

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 149
known : — was it the Gentiles who took this opportunity
to pay off old scores with the Jews, or had this ruler
of the synagogue also become a Christian (cf. I Cor.
1:1), and so, failing to punish Paul, the Jews pounded
him ? This was the second time that Paul had appeared
before a proconsul (13: 7) ; and Luke tells the incident
to show that the Eoman government in the early days
of Christianity was uniformly friendly. The attitude
of these two high officials may have encouraged Paul
later on to make his appeal to Caesar.
5. The Two Letters to the Thessalonians.
The churches that Paul founded have long since
ceased to exist ; but some of the letters he wrote to them
are in our hands to-day and are his most lasting monu
ment, though doubtless they were what he valued least,
counting them merely an imperfect substitute for a per
sonal visit. With the exception of Eomans he wrote
them hurriedly, never dreaming that they would be
treasured throughout the centuries and become second
only to the words of Jesus in formative power. Had
he foreseen this, could he have written them? Would
not the tremendous responsibility of framing each
separate sentence have paralyzed his pen? We are ac
customed to call them epistles ; but if we make the dis
tinction that a letter is simply an imperfect substitute
for one side of a conversation while an epistle is a dis
guised form of an essay or treatise, Paul's epistles are
all of them really letters. They are what he would say
if he could talk with the recipients; and they cannot
be understood without bearing in mind both his cir
cumstances and theirs. To read them as we do a book,
thinking only of their contents, is misleading; and to
treat them as theological essays is absurdly unfair.

150 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
They all are written to Christians whom he knew or,
in the case of Eomans, wished to know; and they are
intensely personal, pulsing with emotion, full of sud
den transitions, broken in utterance sometimes, — as if
he were thinking aloud. What we ever marvel at is the
way in which he pours forth the deepest Christian
truths with evident expectation that his readers will at
once grasp them, though we to-day have to ask aid
from commentators and expositors. In form the letters
are much the same as the heathen letters of that period ;
and their contents can usually be divided into a doc
trinal part followed by a practical part and closing with
personal messages. With the exception of Philemon
they are written by an amanuensis (cf. Eom. 16: 22),
probably because Paul had bad eyesight or was a poor
penman (Gal. 4:15; 6:11); but there are always
added a few lines in his own hand to authenticate the
whole. First Thessalonians was called forth by the report —
and perhaps a letter from the church — which Timothy
brought when he came down from Thessalonica to
Corinth, a report whose contents can be inferred from
the messages Paul at once sent back, probably using
some other messenger than Timothy who would be
needed in Corinth. After a salutation in which he
courteously joins his companions with himself, as he
usually did, the apostle first gives thanks to God for
the zeal and remarkable success of the Thessalonian
..brethren in spreading far and wide the word of the
Lord (1 : 1-10). Next, he has to defend himself against
those enemies who, having succeeded in driving him
away, are now striving to kill his influence by slander
ing his life and motives, — aided in this by the fact that
Paul came to Thessalonica a complete stranger and

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 151
departed after a comparatively brief stay just when
persecution was arising. This forces him to point out
how unselfishly and unblameably he lived and laboured
when he founded the church (2: 1-12) ; which, in turn,
calls for a second thanksgiving for the way in which
the church accepted his divine message even at the cost
of bitter persecution (13-16). In proof of his affec
tion, and perhaps to repel the charge that he had ceased
to care for them, he dwells at some length upon his
repeated attempts to return, and his joy when Timothy
brought glad tidings of their faith and love and remem
brance of him (2: 17-3: 10) ; and he closes this part
of his letter with a prayer that he may meet them
again, and that through increasing love toward all men
their hearts may be established blameless in holiness
(11-13). Thus far the tenor of his words has been en
couragement and sympathy ; now it changes to warning
and exhortation. Personal purity was a virtue that had
to be constantly enjoined upon Gentile converts because
the heathen standard was low, and the temptations were
many. Though Paul had warned the believers in
Thessalonica against fornication, and doubtless had
given them the Jerusalem decrees, he has to warn them
again, because their persecution by the Jews would dis
pose them to reject the decrees, and his favourite doc
trine of Christian liberty could easily be perverted into
license for licentiousness. Now he sternly declares that
the sin of unchastity is not merely a rejection of his
own injunctions, — it is a rejection of God, resulting in
loss of His Holy Spirit (4: 1-8).
The remainder of the letter is devoted to correcting
certain unfortunate results of his former teaching.
He had dwelt upon the time when Christ would return
and be again with His people, — in technical phrase, the

152 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Parousia (II Thess. 2:5); and the thought of this
glorious day had greatly helped them to endure their
present afflictions. But over-emphasis of Christ's com
ing was producing certain effects, often reproduced in
later centuries. The believers were restless, impatient
of control, neglecting ordinary tasks; some had ceased
to work, and had to be supported by the rest; and all
were striving to fix the day and hour of the coming
of the Lord. It was taken for granted that believers
who died before the Parousia would miss the joys of
that blessed time; and this added a new sorrow to
death. Paul endeavours to set the church right in these
matters. He enjoins them to show brotherly love to
the needy, but to aim at a life of steady, faithful,
manual labour such as will win respect and supply their
wants (4:9-12). He explains that by a resurrection
those asleep in Jesus will share His coming equally
with those still alive (13-18), and that we cannot know
the day of the Lord, but should ever be ready for the
surprise of its dawn (5: 1-11). And he exhorts them
to maintain a church-life of order, peace, brotherly
helpfulness, recognition of the Spirit, and abstinence
from every form of evil (12-22). The dictation closes
with a prayer for their complete sanctification (23-24).
Then Paul takes the stylus from the amanuensis, and
with his own hand adds to the papyrus roll a few brief
messages, ending with a benediction, such as he would
use in closing a conversation with them (25-28).
Second Thessalonians is little more than a post
script to the first letter. It resembles the first so
strongly that some critics maintain it is unauthentic, —
a spurious imitation; but had it differed strongly from
the first, other critics would say that Paul could not
have been its author. Verily, the two-edged sword of

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 153
hostile criticism is a formidable weapon. The news
that came back from Thessalonica, apparently in an
other letter from the church, was not encouraging: — ¦
the persecution still continued; and, as often happens
in times of great stress and danger, certain enthusiasts,
professing to speak in the spirit or to find hidden mean
ings in the Scriptures or to develop the thought of
Paul's first letter (2:2) were now proclaiming the
Parousia as just at hand, thus causing much excite
ment and making quiet labour and healthy church-life
almost impossible. Paul could not ignore this unfor
tunate state of things, so he wrote again. He begins
as before with words of praise and heartening
(1 : 3-12). Then he beseeches them not to be beguiled
into thinking that Jesus is soon to come, for certain
other events still in the future must precede the day of
the Lord (2: 1-12). Let the brethren, therefore, with
confidence of salvation hold fast to the teachings they
have received (13-15) ; and may Christ Himself and
the Father comfort and establish them (16). He asks
in turn their prayers for the work and workers in
Corinth (3: 1-5); and under penalty of discipline by
the church if they refuse to obey, he sternly commands
the idle and disorderly to imitate the life of orderly,
self-supporting labour led by him when among them
(6-15). A benediction and the usual autograph mes
sages close the letter (16-18).
To the present-day missionary these two letters are
of great value in their disclosure of the way Paul lived
and laboured and loved when striving to plant a
church in a heathen city, and the practical lessons in
Christian life he had to impress upon his converts.
To the theologian they are of less importance, their
main contribution being in the field of eschatology, —

154 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
a field from which the reaper usually gathers many
weeds and little wheat. We have seen the reasons why
the early Christians believed that Jesus would soon
return; evidently Paul at this time shared that belief;
but though he thought the event would take place in
his generation (I Thess. 4: 17), he was sure it was
not immediately at hand. The passage stating what
must first take place (II Thess. 2 : 1-12) is hopelessly
obscure, partly because to understand it we must
know what Paul had told the Thessalonians when he
was with them (Id. 2:5), and partly because, like
most apocalyptic messages, it was put in enigmatic
form so that if it fell into the hands of enemies, they
could not grasp its meaning. From this precaution
we may infer that " the man of sin " and " that which
restraineth " were political persons or powers ; more
than this is mere guesswork, mightily attractive to
some minds. In later years Paul seems either to have
recognized that the Kingdom of God would be estab
lished not by sudden catastrophe but by slow growth,
" first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in
the ear" (Mark 4:28), or else to have learned from
such experiences as those at Thessalonica the wisdom
of not emphasizing the Parousia. The time and cir
cumstances of the coming of Our Lord are as unprofit
able subjects for constant thought as the time and cir
cumstances of one's own death, and for the same
reason, — few can dwell upon them without neglecting
the commonplace duties of ordinary life, and losing
the calm, trustful spirit of Christ's little ones.
6. The Return to Antioch.
Paul had laboured in Corinth eighteen months and
more; he had founded a church and brought it to the

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 155
point where other men could care for it; there was no
imperative reason for his remaining longer. What
was in his heart we know from his own statements
later, — he longed to go to Eome, the center of the
great empire he was striving to win for Christ (Eom.
1 : 9-15 ; 15 : 14-29). Nothing was easier than to make
the journey, for ships from Corinth were sailing
thither every week; but, as he reveals, there were two
obstacles in the way. One was largely a matter of
sentiment : — he took pride in doing pioneer work, aim
ing always to preach the gospel where Christ was not
already known; and Christianity had reached Eome
long "before this time. This obstacle he got around by
deciding that Eome might be treated, not as a field
of work, but as merely a stopping-place, where he could
visit the brethren and impart to them some spiritual
gifts on his way to Spain. The other obstacle was
more serious: — he felt that he must finish his task in
the East before he went on a journey to the far West,
perhaps never to return. He had planted the gospel
in three great Eoman provinces, Galatia, Macedonia
and Achaia; but Asia remained unevangelized. If he
could establish a church in Ephesus, the capital of that
province, and also could revisit the churches already
established, he might rightly feel that he had " no more
place in these regions." With this program before him
he sailed from Cenchreae, the eastern harbour of
Corinth, for Syria. What the vow was that caused
him to shear his head before he wen^ on board ship,
we are not told and it is idle to guess ; but we are inter
ested to see that, despite all his liberty from the Law,
he still showed in this Jewish vow the persistent influ
ence of his early training.
Ephesus was a port at which a ship would naturally

156 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
stop for passengers and lading; and as Paul's ship
stayed there over a Sabbath, he seized the opportunity
to preach in the synagogue. The Jews listened with
deep interest; possibly Epaenetus, "the first fruits of
Asia" (Eom. 16:5) was then converted; and they
urged Paul to stay longer. The request showed that
the door to Asia, previously closed (16: 6), was now
open; yet Paul was not quite ready to enter it. An
explanation found in some early texts is that he was
desirous first to attend a feast at Jerusalem; more
likely his desire was to revisit Antioch. That city was
now the headquarters of Gentile missions with the
great leaders, Peter, Barnabas, Paul himself and
others, closely connected with it and often there. That
he should wish to keep in touch with his fellow-work
ers and their work was natural : he craved the compan
ionship of those whose aims were his own, and he knew
that the advance upon heathendom could not be united
and well-ordered unless the leaders took counsel to
gether. Anyone who has been for months and years
in lonely mission work can understand what a season
in Antioch would mean to Paul. He dared not tarry
now in Ephesus ; for the time, we suppose, was late in
the autumn of 51 a.d., and travel would soon be diffi
cult or impossible. So he took his leave with a promise
to return, doing this with an easier mind because Pris
cilla and Aquila, who had crossed from Corinth with
him, were going to remain at Ephesus until he
returned. Paul sailed to Caesarea where, leaving the ship, " he
went up and saluted the church and went down to
Antioch" (18:22). Some hold that the church here
designated was the one at Caesarea; but the terms to
go up and to go down are always used for a visit to

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 157
Jerusalem, that city on the crest of the Judean hills;
and the significant " If God will," which accompanied
his promise to return to Ephesus, hints of perils such
as confronted him in the Jewish stronghold (cf .
21: 11; 23: 12). It is objected that Paul would not
visit the mother church now because he had no gift
to bring its poor; but what proof is there that he did
not have a gift? The church in Corinth was able to
provide it; and perhaps Paul's eagerness to carry it in
person explains why he sailed to Caesarea instead of
taking the direct route by land or sea to Antioch.
True, Luke does not mention it; but neither does he
mention the gift brought at the next visit, save inci
dentally when reporting Paul's speech before Felix
(24: 17). Moreover, Paul when telling the Galatians
about the injunction to remember the poor, adds
" Which very thing I have also taken pains to do "
(Gal. 2 : 10, Burton's rendering) : must not his refer
ence be to a gift at this particular visit ? How it was
received we do not know, save as we infer a qualified
approval from the effort he made to collect a large and
representative offering for his next visit. There was
little to detain him in Jerusalem except, it may be, to
fulfil his vow; and after greeting the church he
hastened to Antioch, the city which in his homelessness
seemed more to him like home than any other.
Whether Silas accompanied him as far as Jerusalem,
his original residence, and there remained or what be
came of him, we do not know : Corinth is the last place
where we hear of him, unless he is the Silvanus who
was Peter's amanuensis (I Peter 5:12).
Paul had been away from Antioch nearly three
years, and had travelled more than two thousand
miles. What had he accomplished? He had planted

158 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
churches in two important provinces, Macedonia and
Achaia, and the gospel was spreading rapidly in both
of them. With the sagacity of a great leader in select
ing able assistants he had gathered a noble band of
fellow-workers, some of whom we shall meet again and
some whose later career is not recorded. He had de
veloped his scheme of a world-wide evangelization in
which province after province should be claimed for
Christ by planting churches at the great centres from
which the evangel could be carried into the smaller
places. And he had been forced in his long stay at
Corinth to study the problems of applied Christianity,
and to consider what the gospel means for the family
as well as for the individual. Unfortunately a sim
ilar consideration of what the gospel means for the
state, was prevented by the political disability of
Christians in that century. Had Paul found occasion
to turn his mind to this, and had he set forth in his
strong way the ideal of a Christian state, how different
might have been the course of Christendom in later
ages!

IX
THE BATTLE FOE CHRISTIAN EQUALITY
BECAUSE the second half of Acts is devoted to
Paul, and because so many of his letters have
been preserved, he seems to us the one great
missionary in the Apostolic Age. It is hard to realize
that other Christian workers must have been nearly, if
not quite, as active and devoted. Who were they?
Who preached Christ to Alexandria, that second largest
city of the Eoman world with far more Jews than
Jerusalem ? Who carried the gospel through the broad
Mesopotamian valley and along the shores of the Black
Sea? What were the Twelve themselves doing in all
these years ? In what form was the message of salva
tion presented by preachers whose training and spir
itual experience differed greatly from that of Paul?
And what were the problems placed before them by
races unlike the peoples of Asia Minor, Greece and
Italy ? Here is a great and fascinating chapter of his
tory which must remain unwritten, save a few frag
mentary paragraphs. The foundation stones of the
Christian church stand foursquare and firm, but they
are buried out of sight. Even the mother church in
Jerusalem fades from our view, the moment it ceases
to touch the life of Paul ; and we almost forget that it
remained the recognized leader until the Jews plunged
into their mad revolt against Rome. The first chapter
of its history was under Peter, and we have already
studied it. The second chapter was under -James, the
brother of Jesus ; let us now consider it.
159

160 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
1. James, the Brother of Jesus.
John tells us that up to the closing months of Jesus'
public ministry His brethren did not believe on Him,
i.e., did not accept Him as the Messiah (John 7:5).
Their unbelief is not surprising when we consider how
erroneous were their Messianic expectations, and how
hard and enigmatic were some of His sayings; even
the apostles with all th^ help that came from daily
intercourse were slow to recognize His Messiahship.
His brethren may have loved and venerated Him, and
yet have feared that claims so tremendous as His were
begotten by an enthusiasm which had unbalanced His
mind (Mark 3:21). Probably it was the resurrection
appearance to James that changed the perplexity of the
four brothers into full belief; for we find them await
ing Pentecost among the little group of believers (Acts
1 : 14). Henceforth they seem to occupy a definite and
unique position, midway between the original apostles
and the ordinary disciples (I Cor. 9:5; Gal. 1:19).
James remained in Jerusalem while the apostles in
creasingly were in foreign lands ; and his constant pres
ence as well as his ability caused him to be recognized
as the head of the church there and, therefore, of all the
churches in Palestine (Gal. 2:9; Acts 15:13; 21:18).
Indeed, it is not impossible that he had been duly chosen
to fill the place in the Twelve left vacant by the death
of James, brother of John. By his sternly austere life
he won the title of James the Just, and gained high
favor with all the Jews; but in 61 a.d., when the death
of Festus left Palestine without a Roman procurator
until the arrival of Albinus, the Sadducees led by the
high priest, Ananus, took advantage of this opportu
nity, and put him and certain other Christians to death

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN EQUALITY 161
by stoning on the trumped up charge of violating the
sacred laws. Symeon, nephew of Joseph and son of
Clopas, was chosen by the church as his successor ; and
probably if the Jerusalem church after 70 a.d. had not
sunk into insignificance, there might have been an eccle
siastical dynasty of the kinsmen of Jesus.
2. The Epistle of James.
When the canon of the New Testament was being
formed in the second and third centuries, certain books
won a place in it only after much dispute as to whether
they were authoritative, sacred writings. One of these
disputed books (antilegomena) was the Epistle of
James, some of the objections to it being that it was not
written by an apostle or under apostolic direction, that
it contained little distinctly Christian teaching, and
that it contradicted Paul as to the relative value of
faith and works. Though the book is firmly in the
canon, the objections still have to be considered. Who
did write it ? The superscription says, " James, a ser
vant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:1),
which might designate any devout Christian bearing the
very common name of James, but would seem to de-
Scribe a James so well known as to need no further
identification. Next to the brother of John, who died
too early to be the author, the only prominent James
in apostolic times is the brother of Jesus; and tradi
tion, perhaps for this reason, uniformly ascribed the
Epistle to him. The contents disclose little concerning
the authorship, and this little may be used both for and
against James the Just. Some scholars maintain he
could not have written such good Greek, and did not
have the attitude revealed in the epistle towards the
Law, and would not have failed to point to the example

162 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
of Jesus when urging prayer, patience and the like ; so
they conclude that the writer was an unknown James;
and they find reasons for believing that the book was
not written until the end of the first century or later.
Other equally able scholars pronounce these arguments
unconvincing, and hold that the undeveloped theology,
the constant echo of the ethical teachings of Jesus, the
strongly Jewish tone and topics, and the attitude of
authority in the admonitions, all point to James the
Just. Accordingly they ascribe the epistle to him, and
pronounce it one of the earliest books in the New Tes
tament. Fortunately the value of the epistle as a
guide in Christian living is not involved in this dis
pute. Doubt about human authorship does not unsettle
certainty of divine authorship, since that is recognized
by the accents of the Holy Ghost in the message. With
out entering into a long discussion, or professing to
make more than a somewhat arbitrary decision, let us
accept James the Just as the author, and fix the date of
the epistle at 47 or 48 a.d.
James is writing to " the twelve tribes which are of
the Dispersion," i.e., his Christian brethren who live
outside of the Holy Land. The Antioch visit of " cer
tain from James " shows that he was mindful of them.
He thinks of them as all sons of Abraham (2 : 21) be
cause only a few Gentiles as yet have become believers ;
and he seems well acquainted with their condition, so
they cannot be living far away, say in Syria and Phoe
nicia. They are poor (2:5), oppressed by the rich
(2:6 f.), undergoing many trials (1:2) and sur
rounded by temptations (1:12). They have the Jew
ish ambition to become rabbis (3:1), and show Ob
sequiousness to the wealthy even in their places of wor
ship (2:1 f.). With the spirit of the Pharisee they

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN EQUALITY 163
emphasize creed more than deed (2: 14 f.) and ritual
more than life (1 : 26 f.). Their evident need both of
encouragement and of rebuke and warning prompts
James to write to them. His letter is a series of prac
tical messages, much resembling those of the Jewish
sages, yet so strongly filled with echoes of the Sermon
on the Mount as to make absurd the supposition of some
critics that it is an earlier Jewish essay changed into a
Christian epistle by prefixing the address and insert
ing the name of Christ once (1 : 1 ; 2 : 1). Its strongly
Jewish tone is natural, if the writer had absorbed the
wisdom literature of the Old Testament, and was writ
ing to Jewish Christians. There is no logical order in
the contents of the book: — one thought suggests an
other, and a word in one passage is often taken as the
keynote of the following passage, much after the man
ner of an untrained speaker when extemporizing. But
James knows exactly what his readers need, and there
is no uncertainty in his messages. They deal with the
trials of life and the temptations arising from them
(1:2-18), the importance of doing God's word
(1 : 19-27), the sin of respect of persons (2 : 1-13), the
worthlessness of orthodox creed when divorced from
Christian deed (2: 14-26), the dangers that lie before
one who is ambitious to set himself up as a teacher
(3:1-18). There are warnings against the sins that
arise from a double-minded attempt to please both God
and the world (4:1-17), woes upon the extortionate
rich (5: 1-6), and exhortations to patience and prayer
(5: 7-20). It is a sober, drab-coloured life which James
sets forth, — a life of patient, single-minded devotion to
duty with no ecstatic vision or thrill of overpowering
emotion. Christ's coming is looked forward to, but
rather as the labourer looks for the end of a hard day

164 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
than as the bride looks for the bridegroom. Here is a
different type of mind from that of Paul or John, and
a different revelation of the unsearchable riches of
Christ. Fortunate for the prosaic man that James
wrote !
The theology in the epistle of James is small in
amount, and of the same simple, undeveloped charac
ter as that of the early speeches in Acts. The con
tradiction of Paul as to the relative value of faith and
works is more apparent than real, and arises — as such
contradictions often do — from attaching different
meanings to the same word. By faith as contrasted
with works (2: 14 f.), James means the intellectual ac
ceptance of Christian doctrines, a matter purely of the
head; while faith, as Paul uses the word, is the com
plete surrender of the heart to Christ, resulting in a
vital union with Him. The works James declares to
be indispensable are the fruits of the new life, — the out
ward manifestation of the indwelling spirit of Jesus;
the works Paul pronounces useless are those by which
men think to merit salvation, especially the works of
the Jewish Law. Evidently the two writers are in
agreement, though their words seem contradictory.
Nevertheless, James' well-known adherence to the Law
might seem to uphold the party of the circumcision in
turning his epistle into a weapon against Paul and the
Gentile Christians.
3. The Trouble in Galatia.
The party in the church who sought to bring all
Gentile Christians under the yoke of the Law had thus
far been unsuccessful but remained undiscouraged. A
convenient title for them is the Judaizers, a term
coined from Paul's question to Cephas, " How com-

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN EQUALITY 165
pellest thou the Gentiles to Judaize?*" — i.e., to live as
do the Jews (Gal. 2:14). Because Paul denounced
them so strongly, we must not conclude that all Juda
izers acted from evil motives. Undoubtedly some
wished the Gentiles to live as the Jews in order that
they themselves might not be persecuted for the cross
of Christ by the Jews (Gal. 6 : 12), or that they might
destroy the influence of Paul, whom they hated, and
take his place with the Gentile converts (4:17); or
that they might gain glory as successful proselytisers
(6:13). But there were others whose own religious
life was so closely connected with keeping the Law that
they could not deem any other manner of life equally
consecrated, and who verily thought they did God ser
vice, and Gentile Christians the greatest kindness, by
insisting that the Law must be kept by all believers.
Even the Judaizer of to-day, — the man who stirs up
trouble by insisting that all Christians shall adopt his
own precious forms and observances, — may really be
filled with a zeal for God and a sincere love for his
fellow-man. Hence the duty of forbearance toward
him. After the case of Titus and the council at Jeru
salem, the Judaizers could no longer disturb Gentile
Christians by insisting, " To be saved or to have fel
lowship with us you must keep the Law ; " but it was
still possible to declare, " In order to become better
Christians, you should keep the Law." That which
might not be imposed as a necessity or a condition,
could be offered as a counsel of perfection, appealing
to the very noblest natures. It did not take long for
the Judaizers to perceive this and to act accordingly.
Their tactics were those of certain sects on modern
mission fields : — instead of starting their own missions

166 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
in the wide and needy Eoman world, they systematic
ally sought out the churches already planted by Paul,
and sought to win over his converts. He must have
feared this, having perhaps caught some hint of it at
the council; for when he visited the Galatian churches
on his second missionary journey and delivered the
decrees, he strongly warned them against anyone who
should preach a gospel different from that which he
had given them (Gal. 1:6-9). His fear soon proved
to be well-founded. Sometime while he was labouring
in Macedonia or Corinth, the Judaizers came to Gala
tia. Who they were we do not know, since Paul
wisely refrains from naming them. All hope of a
happy termination ends when a battle over doctrine is
allowed to become an attack upon persons. But though
Paul did not assail them by name, his letter shows
that he was assailed by them shamefully. They de
clared he had received his apostleship from Ananias
at Damascus or from the church at Antioch, and not
directly from Christ, and therefore was inferior to the
Twelve, as he himself had shown by accepting their
decrees. Also, he had not known Jesus; so his gospel
was gained at second-hand, and whatever in it did not
harmonize with the teachings of the apostles must be
erroneous. Indeed, he had not fully and fairly given
the Galatians his gospel; for while evidently he be
lieved in circumcision, — witness the case of Timothy, —
he had sought to please them by declaring it was not
necessary. In short, he was an incompetent and de
ceitful evangelist. As for the gospel he brought, they
said it was only the beggarly rudiments of the Chris
tian religion. Faith in Christ is merely an infant step
towards salvation; to reach the full blessings of the
Messianic kingdom promised to the seed of David, one

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN EQUALITY 167
must be circumcised and keep the Law. The liberty
of which Paul taught them to boast, was really his
base concession to fleshly appetites, and led to all kinds
of licentiousness. While not asserting that the Law
was absolutely necessary, the Judaizers made it so im
portant as to be practically indispensable.
There was great likelihood that these enemies of
Paul would succeed in supplanting him. The Gentile
Christians were inclined towards Judaistic Christian
ity because their old heathen religions were strongly
ritualistic; therefore, with little difficulty they could
be persuaded to observe the various Jewish sacred days
and ceremonies (Gal. 4: 10). Also, they were familiar
with the idea of an outer and an inner circle of mem
bership in religious societies, including esoteric teach
ings for the duly initiated. The Judaizers would
represent their teachings as those of such an inner
circle in the Christian church, admission to which was
gained by circumcision. This would appeal to the
Galatians ; and in their desire for the higher life some
seem already to have submitted to circumcision
(6:12), while others were wavering. The leaven
brought by these new teachers was beginning to per
meate the church (5:9-10). Other dangers, also,
lurked in the present situation. The converts who re
mained faithful to Paul's teachings were tempted to
make special display of their freedom by indulging in
those very excesses that the Judaizers declared were
the natural fruit of his gospel (5 : 13 f.) ; the normal
activities of the church were hindered by the forma
tion of hostile camps; and the followers of the new
doctrine were withholding their gifts from the teachers
of the old (6:6). Evidently there was need of
prompt and vigourous action, if all that Paul had thus

168 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
far wrought for Gentile Christianity was not to be
destroyed. 4. The Letter to the Galatians.
When and where did Paul write his letter to the
Galatians ? He had visited the Galatian churches
twice before he wrote (Gal. 4: 13), but were they
some unknown churches in North Galatia or Antioch,
Iconium and the others in South Galatia? If, as is
increasingly believed, they were the latter, his second
visit was when he delivered the decrees (Acts 16 : 4) ;
and the letter was written either later on in the second
missionary journey or afterward. Apparently the
Judaizers had not been long at work (Gal. 1:6); but
how soon after the council at Jerusalem is it likely
they would begin ? Does the close resemblance of
Galatians to Romans prove that the two were written
about the same time, the date being, therefore, as late
as shortly before Paul's last visit to Jerusalem (Eom.
15:25 f.) ? These and similar questions bearing on
the time and place of the epistle, might be discussed
interminably. Eather, let us accept Professor Eam-
say's solution of the problem as simple and fairly satis
factory. He supposes that when Paul sailed for Syria
(Acts 18:18), Timothy accompanied him as far as
Ephesus, and then took the overland route to his home
at Lystra. As he passed through South Galatia he
learned what the Judaizers were doing; and he
brought the alarming tidings to Paul when he joined
him at Antioch in Syria. We might expect that the
apostle would hasten forthwith to Galatia: but he had
barely begun his visit in Antioch; the winter had set
in, making travel through the mountain passes of
Tarsus difficult; his health may have hindered the

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN EQUALITY 169
journey; and his experience with the Thessalonians
had shown that a letter might accomplish the purpose
of a visit. Accordingly, he now wrote and sent from
Antioch his famous Epistle to the Galatians. Though
he includes in the salutation " all the brethren that are
with me," the letter is entirely his own, beginning
with " I marvel " and ending with " Henceforth let
no man trouble me." It was dictated at white heat,
and still glows with the apostle's indignation and ap
prehension, and throughout it all is his " overwhelm
ing, burning conviction of immediate divine vocation."
Eomans is a calm statement of doctrine; while Gala
tians is a surging outburst of emotion, with denuncia
tion, expostulation, appeal, warning, entreaty, com
mand, poured forth tumultuously. There is no other
letter in which the great apostle so unbares his heart.
Omitting the usual introductory thanksgiving and
prayer, Paul rushes at once into a defence of himself
and his gospel. Indeed, the very salutation (1:1-5)
is so worded as to be the beginning of this defence.
The first section of the letter (1: 6-2: 21) is a refuta
tion of the charge that his knowledge and authority
as a teacher were gained at second-hand, thus making
him inferior to the Twelve. After a sharp rebuke of
the Galatians and a denunciation of their new teach
ers (1: 6-10), he declares that the gospel preached by
him was not received from man but came directly from
God through revelation of Jesus Christ (11-12) ; and
in proof of this he gives a brief but most valuable
sketch of his life, especially of his relations with the
heads of the church at Jerusalem. His zeal as a
Jewish persecutor, his conversion, the sojourn in
Damascus and Arabia, the first visit in Jerusalem with
Peter, the years of obscurity in Syria and Cilicia, the

170 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
second visit in Jerusalem when the battle was fought
over Titus, the latter controversy with Peter at An
tioch (1:13-2:21), — all this is outlined to show that
he could not have been a neophyte of the apostles, but
on the contrary had compelled them to recognize him
as their equal. In this review he says nothing about
the council visit in Jerusalem because the Galatians
had already heard about that from his own lips when
he delivered the decrees to them.
His words of rebuke to Peter at Antioch form the
transition to the next section of the letter (3:1-5:1),
in which he defends his gospel, especially his teaching
of justification by faith instead of by the works of the
Law, against the charge that it is imperfect and in
ferior. We may call this the doctrinal section, if we
bear in mind that Paul's primary purpose in writing
it was not theological instruction but the strengthen
ing of his converts against the guileful teachings of the
Judaizers. In interpreting it we must read between
the lines much that had been given the Galatians dur
ing his former visits. He begins by an appeal to their
own personal experience of the value of faith in the
days before the Judaizers appeared (3:1-5). Next,
because the Judaizers had promised that if the Gala
tians took on the Law, they would inherit the blessings
of Abraham, he affirms that the true sons of Abraham
are they who, like Abraham, are of the faith (6-9) ;
and that the Law instead of bringing a blessing brings
a curse through human inability to keep it (10-14).
That the blessing does not depend upon keeping the
Law is further proved by the fact that it was granted
by an irrevocable promise to the true seed of Abra
ham long before the Law was given (15-18). The
Law was added later on to reveal sin through the

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN EQUALITY 171
transgressions of it, and thus to prepare the way for
faith in Jesus Christ as the only Saviour from sin
(19-22). Those who are under the Law, instead of
enJ°ymg a high position, are like children under the
constant oversight of a servant (23-29), or infant
heirs under the control of a guardian (4:1-7). Why
then turn back from the free, intelligent service of
God to the bondage of a childish and heathenish ob
servance of Jewish sacred times (8-11) ? Here Paul
interjects a touching personal appeal, pointing out how
the Galatians formerly considered him their best
friend, and lamenting that now they are being turned
against him (12-20). And he ends in true rabbinical
fashion by using the story of Sarah and Hagar as an
allegory to prove that liberty is the birthright of the
Gentile Christians, and that the Judaizers are repeat
ing ancient history when persecuting them (4 : 21-
5:1). The closing section (5: 2-6: 18) is devoted to prac
tical exhortations. First, he urges those who are
thinking of circumcision, to consider that by this act
they fall away from grace and undertake the whole
obligation of the Law. Circumcision is of as little
value in the Christian life as uncircumcision; only
faith working through love avails. As for those slan
derous enemies who urge circumcision, would that they
were revealing their true nature by adopting self-
mutilation like priests of Cybele (5: 2-12) ! Next, he
appeals to those who have the Christian freedom, not
to make it an excuse for yielding to the lust of the
flesh, but instead to show in their lives the fruit of
the Spirit (5 : 13-26). A group of various injunctions
follows, bearing mainly upon duties toward fellow-
Christians (6:1-10). Finally, in his own handwrit-

172 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ing, made emphatic by its size, Paul warns once more
against the Judaizers, and points to the scars of his
own sufferings for Christ as the visible seal of his
apostleship (11-18).
The epistle to the Galatians places us in the very
heart of Paul's great battle to save his converts from
the fetters of legalism. Throughout the long struggle
he was confronted with the Jewish Law; but that in
cluded the law of conscience resting upon the Gentiles
(Rom. 2:14-15), which, therefore, was included in
his contention that " a man is justified not by the works
of the Law, but through faith in the Lord Jesus "
(Gal. 2:16). For the followers of Christ there is
no law, save the law of love (5:14); they are not
driven by commands, they are led by the Spirit
(5:18). How faith justifies is stated more fully in
Eomans ; but what Paul means by faith is most clearly
revealed here. Faith is not merely the acceptance of
Christ's promises and teachings; it is the acceptance
of Christ Himself, — the reception of Him in the heart,
merging the recipient so completely in Him that he
can truly say, " It is no longer I that live, but Christ
liveth in me" (2:20). The experience may be pic
tured as a birth (3 : 27), a resurrection (2 : 20), a new
act of creation (6:15). It results in such vital union
that the life of the believer is henceforth a revelation
of Christ (1:16); and because the Spirit of God's
Son is in his heart, he can with confidence cry to God
"Abba, Father" (4:6). All this is intensely mys
tical ; but Paul was a mystic as well as a man of com
mon sense; indeed, it was the harmonious blending
of mysticism and practical wisdom that made him re
markable. Faith was for him both an ineffable ex
perience at the hour of his conversion, and the daily

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTIAN EQUALITY 173
uplift of his life in the drudgery and tasks which
everywhere confronted him. " That which I now live
in the flesh, I live in faith, which is in the Son of God
who loved me and gave Himself up for me " (2 : 20).
Any general survey of Paul's theology would take
us outside the scope of the present volume; but we
cannot pass without comment his description of the
warfare between the flesh and the Spirit (5:16-24),
because he has been charged by some with holding, as
did many in the heathen world of his day and later,
that man's body is vile, a source of pollution, and that
salvation involves deliverance from it, partially by
asceticism, fully by death. Such a charge would seem
to be refuted by his clear statements that the body is
for the Lord (I Cor. 6:13), a temple of the Holy
Spirit in which to glorify God (Id. 19-20), and is to
be presented to God a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God (Rom. 12: 1). But Paul's life of celibacy, his
frequent and strong denunciation of sins of unchastity,
and his emphatic statement " I buffet my body and
bring it into bondage " (I Cor. 9 : 27), are often cited
to prove that he was an ascetic; and specially his as
signment of all sin to the flesh is held to place him
among those who think that the body is the source of
evil. Now, it is true that Paul sometimes means by
the flesh the human body (2:20; 4: 14) but he- also
gives the term a variety of other meanings, e.g., human
beings in bodies (1:16; 2:16) and the whole visible,
material side of human life (6: 12) and all the natural
powers and activities of man (Phil. 3:4). And when
he is contrasting the flesh with the Spirit (Gal.
(5:16-24; Eom. 8:4 f.), he gives the word a still
broader meaning. As he looks forth upon human life
he sees there two great and warring realms. One is

174 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
that of "the flesh" or "the natural man" (I Cor.
2:14) or "the old man" (Eom. 6:6; Col. 3:9).
The dwellers in it are at enmity with God, and under
the condemnation of His law which — whether whis
pered by conscience or thundered at Mount Sinai —
they are unwilling and unable to obey. It is called
the realm of the flesh because, perhaps, the most evi
dent sins are sensual, yet those most numerous and
most deadly are spiritual, — envyings, strife, wraths,
idolatry and the like. The other realm is that of " the
Spirit" or "the kingdom of the Son" (Col. 1:13)
or " the new man " (Col. 3 : 10), — the man created in
Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10). In that realm there is
peace with God ; and the only law is love, " the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Eom. 8:2).
It is called the realm of the Spirit because the Holy
Spirit or the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ, —
these being identical, — controls all its activities and
produces all its fruits. One enters that realm when
by faith he receives the Spirit and yields to His sway.
With deep humility and constant gratitude Paul reck
oned himself a member of that realm. And yet he
recognized that the fight against the lusts of the flesh
and the powers of evil must be unceasing. For this
reason he kept his body in bondage and strove to bring
every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
counting himself not to have already obtained or al
ready to be made perfect, but pressing onward unto
the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
And his exhortation to all his brethren is to do the
same.

PAUL'S YEAES AT EPHESUS
PAUL " spent some time " at Antioch (Acts
18:23), probably until the spring of 52 a.d.
Navigation ceased in the winter, and snow
made the mountain pass across the Tarsus extremely
difficult. He could not easily get back to Ephesus,
even if he wished to. Apparently he planned to return
by sea, the easiest and speediest route ; for in his letter
to the Galatians he makes no mention of intending to
visit them, — indeed, indicates that a visit is impracti
cable (4:20). Some change in the situation, or fur
ther news from Galatia, made him take the land-route
so that he could meet his wavering converts. The de
parture from Antioch is usually called the beginning
of the third missionary journey; but it was with no
sense of a new undertaking, and with no formal dis
missal and Godspeed by the Christians of Antioch,
that he left the city for the last time. He was simply
returning to Ephesus to take up the work waiting him
there. Of his experiences as he passed through Gala
tia we are told nothing, save that he visited the
churches in order and made firm the disciples (Acts
18:23). Apparently his letter had wrought more
effectively than at first he supposed, and his presence
completed the defeat of the Judaizers. Out of this
experience may have arisen his later practice, which
we shall soon have occasion to note, of preparing the
way for a personal visit in settlement of difficulties by
175

176 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
sending ahead a letter and waiting its effect. If the
Galatians had reached the point of emphatically re
jecting the Judaizers, they would be disposed to go
still further and break off all connection with the
Jewish-Christian church. This tendency must be
checked, and would best be met by some counter-
measure; so it may have been at this time that Paul
first urged upon them the duty and privilege of send
ing a gift to " the poor among the saints that are at
Jerusalem" (I Cor. 16: 1; Eom. 15:26).
1. Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis.
Asia was one of the richest and most important of
the Roman provinces; and Ephesus, its capital, was
the largest, wealthiest and most influential of all the
cities in which Paul undertook to plant a Christian
church. It was a seaport at the mouth of the river
Cayuster, and an outlet for all the rich commerce from
the East. The flourishing cities of Asia, — .Smyrna,
Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea,
Colosse, Miletus and others less familiar to us because
not mentioned in the New Testament, — all looked to
Ephesus as their metropolis. For this reason the
Roman proconsul chose it as his residence. And the
importance of the province made the proconsulship one
of the most responsible and highly prized positions in
the Roman government, open only to those who had
previously been consuls at Eome. But Ephesus itself
was a free city with a democratic government. The
popular assembly which governed it met regularly
three times each month (Acts 19: 39) ; and the secre
tary (19: 35), who acted as chairman, was a very in
fluential person. Another notable person residing in
Ephesus was the Asiarch, an officer selected probably

PAUL'S YEARS AT EPHESUS 177
annually to preside over the emperor worship through
out the province. In Ephesus and other important
cities of Asia special temples were erected for this wor
ship, which was emphasized as a proof of loyalty and
a bond of unity; and the Asiarch as a high-priest
looked after them and bore the expense of the games
and festivities connected with them. In a certain
sense he was, as the name indicates, the ruler of the
province, and his office, which could be filled only by
a man of great wealth, was one of highest honour and
most impressive outward splendour. Probably when
he retired from office he still retained his title, — as
did the Jewish high-priest; and thus in Paul's day
there were several Asiarchs in Ephesus (19: 31).
The glory of the city was its temple to Artemis, —
one of the seven wonders of the world. Enormous in
size, beautiful with marble and ivory and Cyprus and
cedar, it had been more than two hundred years in
building; and worshippers throughout the province
had helped defray its great cost. Though the goddess
worshipped at its altar was identified by the Greeks
with Artemis and by the Eomans with Diana, she was
really a primitive nature deity whose worship was a
recognition of earth's powers of fecundity. Her most
sacred image was a block of wood or ivory, so old that
it was fabled to have fallen from heaven, rudely carved
in part into a head and a bust covered with breasts,
the symbol of fertility. Her world-wide fame was ex
pressed in the favourite and distinctive title, Great
Artemis of the Ephesians. The temple was an asylum
for fugitives from oppression or from justice ; and the
Croesuses of that day deposited their treasures in it
for safe-keeping. An army of priests and their help
ers, both men and women, belonged to it; and the ma-

178 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
jority of the Ephesians gained their support from it
in various ways, of which making silver shrines —
little models of the inner sanctuary with its image of
the goddess — for sale to worshippers as votive offerings
or souvenirs (19: 24) was only one. With good reason
Ephesus gave the worship of Artemis popular and
official support, and gloried in being the temple-
keeper (literally, the temple-sweeper) of the great god
dess (19: 35). In no other city where Paul laboured
was a heathen cult so well organized, active and
powerful. 2. Apollos and His Disciples.
The number of incipient Christian sects in the first
century, and the varying degrees of belief in Christ,
are seldom realized. We think of the stream of Chris
tian thought in those early days as flowing with a
steady, onward movement of life-giving waters; in
reality there were eddies and cross-currents, back
waters and stagnant pools and side streams which led
off nowhere. In regard to the Jewish Law, for ex
ample, the different positions taken range all the way
from what seems almost pure Judaism to what threat
ens to become dangerous lawlessness. At Ephesus we
find another illustration of the varied forms of Chris
tian belief. There came to that city, soon after Paul's
passing visit, a learned and eloquent Jew named Apol
los. He was already a believer; and he began boldly
to proclaim Jesus in the synagogue, thereby gaining
the little group of disciples whom Paul ran across
later on (19: 1-7). Luke does not state that these men
were converts of Apollos; but he clearly implies it by
giving Paul's dealings with them, as a sequel to the
story of Apollos, before taking up in regular fashion

PAUL'S YEARS AT EPHESUS 179
the account of what Paul did in Ephesus. Apollos
was an Alexandrian, but it is unlikely that he had
gained his knowledge of Jesus in that city; for Alex
andria, because of its situation and its large Jewish
population, was in constant and close communication
with Jerusalem, and any Christian residing in it would
know pretty exactly what the church in Jerusalem
held as Christian doctrine; but Apollos, while ac
quainted with the baptism of John and able to teach
accurately the things concerning Jesus (18:25), was
ignorant of Christian baptism and of the gift (or pos
sibly of the very existence) of the Holy Spirit
(19:2). Some scholars suppose him to have been a
disciple of John the Baptist, but his Christian knowl
edge is too great for that. Evidently he had learned
the full story of Jesus' life and death, including the
mission of the Baptist, but had heard nothing about
Pentecost and the later life of the church. This would
be the case if the person by whom he had been orally
taught the way of the Lord (18:25) was a disciple
who had never returned to Jerusalem after the fatal
Passover week. There must have been many such;
and they could hand on to others only the incomplete
Christian knowledge they themselves had gained. The
religious ideas of Apollos would be similar to those of
a man of to-day who knew only the Gospel of Mark,
or of a man who in obedience to the cry, " Back to
Jesus," rejected all the later teachings of the church.
No wonder that when Priscilla and Aquila listened to
Apollos they soon recognized that his message was in
complete and his spiritual power undeveloped; and,
taking him to their home, they "expounded to him
the way of God more accurately " (18 : 26). Whether
they baptized him, as Paul did the men who had re-

180 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ceived only the Johannine baptism (19:1-7), we are
not told; it would seem probable that they did, and
that this fuller entrance into the realm of Christian
truth brought to him the same influx of the Holy
Spirit. From Priscilla and Aquila he learned, too, of
the existence of a Christian church in Corinth; and a
strong desire to enjoy its privileges, all new to him,
filled his heart. Encouraged by the brethren from
that church who happened to be in Ephesus, and re
ceiving letters of recommendation from them, he
crossed to Achaia. And there his courage, eloquence
and profound knowledge of the Old Testament made
him not only a powerful disputant with the Jews, but
also, as we shall see, the leader of the Corinthian
church as long as he remained there. Later on he was
again in Ephesus and with Paiil (I Cor. 16: 12).
3. The Conquest of Asia.
When Paul had finished his mission in Galatia, he
hastened by the shortest route, that through " the
upper country" (19:1), to Ephesus. The Jews who
before had urged him to remain, now welcomed his
return; the synagogue was at his service as a preach
ing-place; Priscilla and Aquila would take him again
into their home; and probably a little handful of be
lievers had already been won by their labours. Thus
the work began most favourably. In no other city did
the Jews give such attentive and prolonged hearing to
the gospel ; and though at the end of three months Paul
withdrew with his followers from the synagogue, he
was not forced to do this, but thought it best because
his teaching was increasingly interrupted by the ob
jections and counter-arguments of the disaffected.
Public disputations are not a fruitful means of win-

PAUL'S YEARS AT EPHESUS 181
ning souls. The lecture-room of Tyrannus was secured
by the Christians, and here Paul set forth the new
faith daily " from the fifth to the tenth hour" (Codex
Bezae), i.e., from about eleven to four o'clock, — a
period of the day when Tyrannus would have finished
with his classes, and when the labour and business of
the city largely ceased. That lecture-room of Tyran
nus is the first step of the Christian church from a
room in the house of some member to a special build
ing for its use.
We can form a pretty clear picture of the regular
daily life of Paul. From early morning until nearly
noon, — the working hours at Ephesus, — he is toiling,
probably at the loom, to earn bread for himself and
his companions (20 : 34) ; for the next five hours he
is to be found at the lecture-room, meeting disciples
and enquirers, holding religious services, planning
evangelistic work with his helpers, and busy with all
the multifarious demands upon a missionary's time
and strength ; then he goes forth as a visitor " from
house to house " as long as the day lasts, " testifying
both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God,
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (20: 20 f.).
He found that " a great door and effectual " was
opened unto him (I Cor. 16:9), through which the
gospel could pass to the whole province of Asia. For
men from the lesser cities came constantly to the
metropolis on business or pleasure or the worship of
Artemis; and if in their sojourn they met Paul and
accepted his message, they would carry it back to their
homes. Such was the way apparently that Christianity
reached Colosse, Hierapolis, Laodicea and other cities
in which churches sprang up. And doubtless Paul
himself went forth on evangelistic missions. His stay

182 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
at Ephesus lasted in round numbers three years
(20:31) — possibly he had learned at Corinth the
value of prolonged work; — and he would not remain
in the city all that time. Then, too, he had with him
for more or less of the time a noble band of workers,
Timothy, Apollos, Priscilla, Titus, Epaenetus and
others (I Cor. 16:10, 12, 19; II Cor. 8:16; Eom.
16:5) whom he could send forth to scatter the seed of
truth. Working out from Ephesus with deliberate
plans and corresponding success he was evangelizing
all Asia (19:10, 26); and when towards the end of
his stay he wrote to Corinth, he could say " The
churches of Asia salute you " (I Cor. 16: 19).
" A great door and effectual opened unto me," was
an excellent reason why Paul should remain so long
at Ephesus ; and " there are many adversaries " was
an even better one. On the fighting line is the place
for the soldier of Christ. Through the influence of
the temple of Artemis the whole city was full of evil
forces. Ephesus was noted for its devotion to black
art. The streets swarmed with magicians, enchanters,
exorcists and sorcerers, who wrought " in craftiness,
after the wiles of error, the unfruitful works of dark
ness" (Eph. 4:14; 5:11). Formulae of incantation
by which spirits were supposed to be controlled through
the potency of the " name that is named " (Eph.
1:21), were known as "Ephesian letters." Speci
mens of such charms, some even naming the name of
Jesus along with other potent names, have recently
been discovered. We might expect that Paul would
confound this horde of greedy, insolent miracle-mon
gers by a manifestation of the truly supernatural, —
the sham is best exposed by a presentation of the real ;
and Luke tells us that "God wrought extraordinary

PAUL'S YEARS AT EPHESUS 183
miracles by the hands of Paul " (Acts (19: 11). His
further statement that articles of clothing worn by
Paul were thought by these superstitious Ephesians to
have healing power (even as the shadow of Peter was
by some in Jerusalem, 5:15), is not improbable;
though we cannot believe that Paul did anything to
encourage such credulity. The somewhat confused ac
count of the experiences of certain strolling Jewish ex
orcists (19:13-16) is perfectly credible; but that the
sudden fury of a demoniac should create consternation
in the whole city, and produce a general forsaking of
magic arts and an exaltation of Christ, is incredible;
and the Lord Jesus Himself never suffered His name
to be magnified in such a way (Luke 4: 41). So, too,
the burning of the books of magic may have been a
natural expression of the renunciation of magic arts;
but the theatrical bonfire and the childish reckoning
of the importance of the deed by a prodigious estimate
of the value of the books, are not after the spirit of
the great apostle. When we notice that Luke has al
most nothing to tell about Paul's long sojourn in
Ephesus except these fantastic stories, we are forced
to conclude that his sources of information here were
scanty and less trustworthy than usual. Certainly in
Paul's own humble and touching review of his work
in Ephesus (20:18-35), there is nothing to confirm
Luke's conclusion that it was by such peculiar ways
as he relates that the word of the Lord grew and pre
vailed (19:20).
To Luke's very incomplete account of what Paul
encountered at Ephesus we can add certain brief but
suggestive hints from the two letters to the Corinthians
and the last chapter of Romans. If that last chapter
was written to the church at Rome, it is most perplex-

184 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ing. How should Paul know so intimately and affec
tionately such a large number of persons in a city he
had never visited, and how did it happen that so many
of them had shared his work and even his prison in
previous years ? But if we suppose, as many able
scholars do, that it was written to his former comrades
at Ephesus, the puzzle is solved. And we can easily
imagine how a note to the Ephesians came to be an
nexed to the Epistle to the Eomans. That epistle was
Paul's most careful and elaborate statement of certain
truths which he considered his special message to the
Christian world. When he had completed it, he
naturally would wish to have his other churches read
it, just as he did in the instance of Colossians (4: 16).
Phoebe, a worthy and efficient member of the church
at Cenchreae, the eastern harbour of Corinth, was
going to Ephesus ; so Paul had her take along for that
church a copy of his epistle, and also gave her a little
note of introduction containing many greetings to his
friends. The note, preserved in Ephesus, was natur
ally treated in later days as a supplement to the epis
tle, and has come down to us in that form.
Phoebe's note introduces us to a notable group of
Paul's fellow-workers, and reveals how tender and
strong the ties were that bound him to them. But it
also gives hints of sore trials and great dangers in the
days when they had laboured together. Andronicus
and Junias, two Jews ("my kinsmen"), who had
been Christians earlier than Paul and had been highly
thought of by the apostles, have been his fellow-prison
ers; and Priscilla and Aquila have risked their own
lives for the life of Paul (Eom. 16: 4, 7). This har
monizes with what is revealed in his two letters to the
Corinthians. In one letter, written after he had been

PAUL'S YEARS AT EPHESUS 185
at Ephesus about two years, he says that he and others
are running risks every hour and facing death daily;
and he refers to some special occasion when he " fought
with wild beasts at Ephesus" (I Cor. 15:30-32).
And in another, written soon after the close of the
Ephesian ministry, he refers to a time, apparently re
cent, when in overwhelming distress he despaired even
of life but was divinely delivered from a terrible death
(II Cor. 1:8-10). What these trying experiences
were, and what caused them, we never shall know, ex
cept that some were " by the plots of the Jews " (Acts
20: 19). Was Paul actually forced to fight with wild
beasts in the arena; or is that statement a metaphor
for his struggle with even more savage men?
4. The Close of the Work.
The gospel message had been carried throughout
Asia. In Ephesus little groups of believers, each form
ing a " church in the house " (Eom. 16: 5, 10, 11, 14,.
15), were parts of a strong Ephesian church whose in
fluence was felt throughout the city ; and in other cities
of the province there were similar groups. With good
reason Paul felt that his work in these parts was
drawing to a close, and that now he could enter upon
his cherished plan of going to Eome and thence to
Spain. As a final preparation he must first pay a
farewell visit to his churches in Macedonia and
Achaia, and send or take to Jerusalem the contribu
tions which were being gathered for the poor of that
church. To ensure that these would be ready when
he came and to correct certain troubles in Corinth, he
sent Timothy and Erastus ahead into Macedonia and
Achaia, while he gave the last touches to his work in
Asia (Acts 19 : 21-22; I Cor. 16 : 1-11). He proposed

186 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
to remain in Ephesus until Pentecost of 55 a.d., but
sudden peril forced him to leave sooner.
When the whole atmosphere is full of hostility
against Christianity, no one can predict from what
quarter a thunderbolt may be launched. In this in
stance it came from the silversmiths. The demand for
their shrines was falling off; and Demetrius, one of
their number, laid the matter before a council of
craftsmen, and vehemently declared that the rapid
spread of Paul's teachings threatened not only their
profits but the prosperity of the city and the majesty
of the great goddess herself. His hearers were easily
aroused : no nerve is so sensitive as that which leads to
the pocketbook. Eepresenting their selfish interest as
civic pride and religious devotion, they quickly stirred
up the whole excitable city; and, when they failed to
find Paul, they dragged two of his companions, Gaius
and Alexander, followed by an ever-increasing mob,
into the great open-air theater where popular assem
blies were held. If they thought to have a special trial
here, it was made impossible by the confusion and up
roar of the senseless mob, who had no idea what the
trouble was, save that in some way the worship of
Artemis was threatened by men who opposed idol-
worship, i.e., by the Jews as well as the Christians, for
the people generally would not distinguish between the
two. There was danger that such excitement would
lead to bloodshed; but when Paul proposed to calm it
by addressing the mob, his fellow-Christians would not
allow him to hazard his life by going into the theater,
and certain friendly Asiarchs sent the same advice.
The wisdom of this was evident when the Jews put
forward Alexander as a spokesman for themselves.
The sight of his Jewish features caused a howl of rage

PAUL'S YEARS AT EPHESUS 187
in which his voice was drowned. For two hours the
mob heralded its devotion by shouting in unison,
" Great Artemis of the Ephesians," until exhaustion
brought some measure of quiet. Then the city secre
tary in a brief, sensible speech assured them that their
fears for Artemis were groundless, referred Demetrius
and the craftsmen to the courts for redress if they had
been wronged, and pointed out how sternly the Roman
government might call the citizens to account for this
riot. The people, thus brought to their senses, dis
persed and the uproar ceased. But Demetrius had ac
complished his purpose; for Paul could do no more
work in the excited city, and it was not prudent for
him to prolong his stay in it. Accordingly after bid
ding farewell to his friends, he left for Macedonia,
going up the coast by land or by sea to Troas where
he could find a ship for Philippi.

XI
THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS
WHETHEE Paul, during the years he lived
in Ephesus, ever crossed the Aegean and
visited the church of Corinth, is a mooted
question. Ships sailing to Corinth would be in the
harbour, the voyage required only a few days, and
Paul's heart yearned to see his former converts. But,
as we shall note, there were reasons why his presence
in Corinth might hinder rather than help the church,
and be painful to both him and it. He certainly
planned more than once to make the visit (II Cor.
12: 14; 13: 1-2) ; but his words about these plans may
be read to imply that he carried them out or the re
verse. Even without a visit, he would be constantly
informed about the condition of the Corinthian church
through letters from it and visits from such of its mem
bers as came to Ephesus on business or travel. And
as occasion required he sent letters to the church, more
doubtless than have been preserved. These letters of
Paul are extremely precious, not so much for their doc
trinal teachings, — though they touch on some high
themes, — as for their light upon church life and prob
lems, and their revelation of Paul himself. In the
form we now have them they are two in number; but
there is reason to think that we should treat these two
as originally four.
1. The First Letter, now II Cor. 6:14-7:1.
A seaport city, even in a Christian land, often reeks
188

THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 189
with sensuality; prostitution may be forbidden, yet it
abounds. But in the great maritime city of Corinth,
the worship of Venus made the prostitute a sacred per
son ; and the general belief that venery was as natural
and blameless as eating or drinking, made sexual in
dulgence a matter of course. " To Corinthianize " was
a synonym for to live in debauchery. Evidently the
maintenance of Christian standards of personal purity
by a church whose members had been reared in such an
atmosphere and were exposed to such temptations, was
exceedingly difficult. Neither the pressure of public
opinion nor an inbred sense of shame strengthened the
resolution to flee fornication. Nor was it easy for those
who had received little Christian instruction to deter
mine what the relation between the sexes ought to be.
Some went to the extreme of asceticism, pronouncing
even lawful marriage a sin, and pointing to Paul's ex
ample of celibacy. Others justified self-indulgence by
Paul's doctrine of liberty, or argued that fleshly acts
have no moral character since the flesh perishes and re
ligion is a matter of the spirit (I Cor. 6:12-13).
These latter deemed that Christianity was glorified by
their disregard of all restraints, even of those observed
when formerly they were heathen. And one of their
number outraged the sense of decency in his heathen
neighbours by entering into marital relations with his
stepmother, — probably herself a heathen, since Paul
passes no sentence upon her, and while his father still
lived under the same roof (Id. 5:1). Revolting as was
this incestuous household, some of the Corinthian
church boasted of it as a proof of the liberty they had
gained in Christ Jesus!
We can hardly suppose that this case of incest had
arisen, or, at least, was known to Paul, when he wrote

190 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the letter to which he refers in I Cor. 5:9; but he did
know the tendency to sensual sins ; and in that letter —
so he says — he enjoined them " to have no company
with fornicators." The letter is lost ; but many scholars
think a portion of it has been preserved for us as
II Cor. 6 : 14-7 : 1. That passage fits in with such an
injunction and evidently it does not belong in its
present place, for it has no connection with what pre
cedes or follows, and when it is removed we find that
7 : 2 joins on to 6 : 11 as an unbroken appeal for -larger
sympathy and love. How it may have come to be where
it is, we will consider later. What else the letter con
tained we do not know; but its effect was other than
what Paul hoped. Though the withdrawal he com
manded was from immoral church members only, he
was understood to mean from all persons guilty of im
purity, which would include practically all heathen
neighbours. The ascetic wing of the church treated this
command as an endorsement of their inclination to shut
themselves entirely away from the world ; while the op
posite wing pointed to its impracticability as sufficient
reason for rejecting Paul's advice altogether, and fol
lowing their own untrammelled desires.
2. The Second Letter, now I Corinthians.
About a year before Paul left Ephesus he sent Titus
and " the brother," whoever he was (cf. II Cor. 8 : 18),
to Corinth to arrange about a collection for the poor
saints in Jerusalem (II Cor. 12: 18; 8:6, 10). Pos
sibly Titus carried the lost letter of warning against
fornicators, which may have contained an announce
ment of the first of Paul's three plans to visit Corinth
(12:14). The suggestion of a gift to their Jewish
brethren was cordially received, and the Corinthians

THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 191
started in to collect the money (9:2); whereupon Titus
returned and may have been sent to Galatia on a sim
ilar mission (I Cor. 16:1). Next, there came to Paul
a report brought by " them of Chloe " that the church
of Corinth was full of contentions, the Greek tendency
towards partizanship showing itself in the marshalling
of the different factions under the names of separate
leaders (I Cor. 1:10 f.). There were the original
members who still remained loyal to Paul; there were
others who had been won or won over by Apollos. A
third party, dating perhaps after the return of Apollos
to Ephesus, and led by some teacher or teachers from
Jerusalem, had adopted Peter as its head. And still
a fourth party boasted that it recognized no human
leader and followed Christ alone. Thus the little
church of Corinth — like the great church of Christen
dom to-day — was sacfly divided when it needed to be a
unit against its many foes within and without. How
much of theological dissension underlay these divisions
we can only surmise. We are predisposed to find the
familiar dispute about the obligations of the Law. In
that case the three views that the Law is binding on no
one, on Jewish Christians only, and on everyone, might
be held by the parties of Paul, Peter and Christ re
spectively; while a fourth view, that the Law is bind
ing in a spiritualized form on all (the view set forth
in the epistle to Hebrews) might be that of the party
of Apollos. But between Paul and Apollos themselves
there is evident harmony, and in his rebuke of the fac
tions Paul says nothing about the Law. So we conclude
that the strife was personal rather than doctrinal.
The party spirit has not yet torn the church asunder ;
but lest it should do so, some one must visit Corinth
and cast out the demon of dissension. Paul's work in

192 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Ephesus was too pressing for him to leave it (I Cor.
16 : 9) ; Apollos for some reason could not or would not
go (16 : 12) ; the next best person was Timothy who had
laboured with Paul in founding the church. Accord
ingly Timothy was sent together with Erastus, a lead
ing member of the Corinthian church (Eom. 16:23)
who was then in Ephesus, and certain others ; and they
were to go to Corinth by the way of Macedonia, prob
ably that they might initiate the missionary collection
in the northern churches (Acts 19 : 22 ; I Cor. 4 : 17 ;
16:10). We imagine it was soon after they left that there
came three friends of Paul from Corinth, — Stephanas,
one of his earliest converts (I Cor. 1:16), Fortunatus
and Achaicus, — bringing a gift (16:17) and also a
letter from his loyal friends asking his advice on prob
lems that were perplexing and dividing the church
(7:1). They gave him further information about the
parties, and reported the case of incest and an epidemic
of lawsuits prosecuted in heathen courts. As they were
returning at once, Paul wrote the letter we call First
Corinthians for them to carry back. It would arrive
in advance of Timothy, and help him in calming the
disturbed church when he came (16:10-11). In the
letter Paul again promises to visit Corinth, going by
the way of Macedonia, and to remain there perhaps all
the following winter; he plans to start after Pentecost
(4: 18 f.; 16: 5 f.). This letter to the Corinthians is
the rich fruit of Paul's experience as a pastor both at
Corinth and at Ephesus. It is our clearest picture of
church life in the Apostolic Age, and it reveals Paul's
great sagacity in dealing with the problems that are
forced upon the leader of a church. Especially do we
notice how he brings to bear upon every question, even

THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 133
a seemingly petty one, some great, eternal truth in
which lies the answer. This shows how we ourselves
should treat similar questions, and also how far Paul's
injunctions are binding upon us to-day. The rules he
laid down have to be changed with changing circum
stances, but the unchanging truth in accordance with
which the old rules were framed, must be used consist
ently in framing the new.
First Corinthians presupposes so much knowledge of
the condition of the church that any outline of its con
tents cannot give their full meaning. After the usual
salutation and prayer of thanksgiving (1:1-9), Paul
begins with the factions in the church. He purposely
limits his censure to the parties of Paul and Apollos
because he would not seem to criticize the other leaders,
and everyone knew that he and Apollos were in no way
rivals. The root of the party strife is the emphasis of
worthless human distinctions. " The wisdom of the
world," of which the party of Apollos boasts, despises
the message of the cross and those who accept it, and
treats as foolishness the hidden wisdom of God which
is given to those who have the mind of Christ. Instead
of glorying in Paul or Apollos, the apostle says, regard
them simply as God's servants, — yours also since you
are Christ's and Christ is God's, — doing the work He
assigns, and to be judged by Him alone. Your com
placency and conceit are in startling contrast to the con
tempt and suffering heaped upon us. Whatever other
men may be to you, I am your father: remember my
teachings and pattern after me, that I may not have
cause to discipline you when I come (1:10-4:21).
Passing on to other matters that require correction,
Paul commands the church to purge out the incestuous
man, and lays down the procedure of his excommunica-

194 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
tion (5 : 1-8). The injunction to keep away from forni
cators, given in his first letter, is explained as referring
only to those who are within the church circle (9-13).
The absurdity and shame of resorting to heathen courts
for the settlement of differences which, indeed, ought
never to have arisen, is emphasized (6:1-11). A
warning against fornication follows. This comes in
abruptly, and may be another fragment of the first let
ter; although the specious arguments by which the
Corinthians justified licentiousness needed to be an
swered and the sin to be denounced repeatedly (12-20).
Now Paul can turn to the questions propounded in
the letter, and first to those about marriage. His gen
eral thought is that Jesus will return and establish a
new, marriageless order of life, and that the present
dangers and hardships of Christian living make further
marriages and families unadvisable; better for all to
remain as they now are: nevertheless, in a city like
Corinth there are many temptations against which mar
riage is a safeguard needed by some; and the ascetics
who condemn it are in the wrong. The application of
this general principle to all the different classes of mar
ried and unmarried persons is not easy; and Paul in
doing it makes a careful distinction between what is his
individual judgment and what he knows to be the com
mandment of the Lord (7: 1-40). The next question
was about eating things sacrificed to idols, either at
heathen sacrificial feasts or when bought in the mar
kets. Paul answers this at much length (8:1-11:1)
because of its importance. In the answer is involved
not only his interpretation of the Jerusalem decree to
refrain from such food (Acts 15:29), but also the
whole attitude of a Christian towards the surrounding
heathen life in which the social and religious were al-

THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 195
most inextricably interwoven. The question of the
Corinthians is that of Indian Christians to-day about
customs of caste, or Chinese Christians about ancestral
tablets, or Japanese Christians about Shinto shrines. In
our own land it arises in another form about certain
occupations, amusements, beverages, books, whose con
nection with evil seems to some minds inseparable. As
to its answer there are always two parties, the scrupu
lous and the charitable. Paul belonged to the latter
but had much sympathy for the former. He agrees
that an idol is nothing and cannot pollute a sacrifice;
but he points out that knowledge of this fact should
create, not contempt but tender regard for the brother
who has not gained it, and a willingness to refrain from
food offered to idols lest he be encouraged to eat when
for him eating is a sin (8 : 1-13). This is a restriction
of Christian liberty, but for Christ's sake. Paul's own
practice of not accepting support from his churches, —
a practice that some malign, — is an example of such sur
render of liberty in order to save others and win for
himself a crown (9:1-27). To those who deem that
the church and its sacraments are sufficient safeguards
amid the pollutions of heathen life, the story of Israel
in the wilderness proclaims, Let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall (10: 1-13). Indeed, the
vaunted power of the sacraments is itself a warning
against sharing in idolatry; for if, as many think, the
sacrifice to idols is a sacrifice to demons, then the idola
trous feast is communion with devils even as the Lord's
Supper is communion with Christ (14-22). The Chris
tian is free ; but only to do that which is for his neigh
bour's good and for the glory of God: he must not
be a stumbling-block to his brethren who abhor

196 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
idolatry or to heathen who are seeking Christianity
(10:23-11:1). In every land where women have been kept in igno
rance, subjection and seclusion, the recognition granted
them in Christ is revolutionary; and during their first
enjoyment of Christian liberty they are liable to run
into excesses. Such was the case in Corinth. A virtu
ous woman there appeared in public but rarely, and
never without shrouding her head with a veil (pep-
lum) ; but now some of the Christian women were dis
carding the veil as being a badge of inferiority. Such
defiance of convention would pain the conservative
members within the church, and create scandal among
outsiders; so Paul forbade it. Unquestionably he
was right in doing this ; but he seems to flounder help
lessly, — as all philosophers do, — in finding a reason why
one particular form of dress is modest and another is
not (11: 2-16). The next abuse was dealt with in no
uncertain terms. The love-feast of the church had be
come a scene of selfishness, discord and gluttony. Any
real communion with Christ was impossible in it, and
to partake of the Lord's Supper under such circum
stances revealed an utter failure to recognize the sig
nificance of the sacrament. The displeasure of God
might be read in the prevalence of illness in the church.
Let the abuse be stopped at once (11:13-34). Still
another thing that marred the Christian gatherings for
worship was the disturbance caused by those who were
eager to display their gift of speaking with tongues,
believing it to be the highest manifestation of the
presence and power of the Holy Ghost. Their unin
telligible outcries drowned the prophet's sober words of
advice and cheer, and made the meeting seem a gather
ing of madmen. In his attempt to correct such dis-

THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 197
order Paul begins with a discussion of spiritual gifts
in general. The Holy Spirit dwells in every man who
confesses Christ as Lord; for without His help such
confession is impossible. And though there are diversi
ties of spiritual gifts, they all proceed from one and
the same Spirit (12:1-11). In the church, which is
the body of Christ, the gifts of the Spirit are like
powers of the different members of the human body, —
each contributes to the welfare of the whole, and none
is to be despised as base or useless. The greater gifts
are to be most earnestly desired in work for Christ, yet
there is a still more excellent way to serve Him
(12:12-31). And here Paul breaks forth into his
hymn in praise of love, — one of the most beautiful pas
sages ever penned (13: 1-13). Concerning tongues, it
is a showy gift ; but when measured by profitableness, —
the true test of a gift's" value, — it is not to be compared
with prophecy; and its exercise, if not carefully regu
lated, will hinder rather than help the church. Speak
ing with tongues is not to be forbidden, but the disorder
it is causing must be stopped (14: 1-40).
The Christians of Corinth were much divided in
their thought of the resurrection. Some accepted the
Jewish idea that at the coming of the Messiah those who
are to share His kingdom will come forth from the
grave with their earthly bodies revived. Others scoffed
at this as childish (cf. Acts 17: 18, 32), and clung to-
some form of the Greek idea that the future life is in
a purely disembodied state. Yet these latter' may not
have rejected the resurrection of Christ ; for the thought
that a god could die and rise again was familiar to them
in the stories of Osiris and Attys. Paul has to deal
with these various and contradictory ideas as he pro
ceeds next to set forth the Christian doctrine of the

198 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
resurrection. He begins by rehearsing the proofs of
Christ's resurrection (15: 1-11), and declares that any
who refuse to believe that the dead rise, must reject
these proofs and all the faith and hope established by
them (12-19). But since it is a fact that Christ has
risen, those who sleep in Him will certainly in due time
share His resurrection, and death will be abolished
(20-28). Without such complete triumph over the
grave, the future life is not worth the sacrifices of the
present (29-34). Nevertheless, those who expect to
have a body of flesh and blood in the resurrection, are
mistaken. To every form of life God gives a body
suited to its environment ; and since the heavenly world
is spiritual, the body raised from the dead for life in
that world, will be a spiritual body, connected with the
earthly somewhat as the standing wheat is with the seed
(35-49). Such glorious investment with the spiritual,
incorruptible body is our final victory over sin and
death through our Lord Jesus Christ (50-58). The
epistle closes with a brief suggestion about the collec
tion, a number of personal details which we have al
ready considered, and some autographic words of greet
ing (16 : 1-24). And with mingled hope and apprehen
sion Paul entrusted it to his friends to bear to the
troubled, distracted church across the Aegean.
3. The Third Letter, now II Corinthians 10-13.
Before Paul was driven from Ephesus by the riot,
some unnamed person in Corinth had wronged him and
a friend of his so grievously as to call forth a letter
written with many tears out of much affliction and an
guish of heart, — a letter so stern and bitter that after
ward for a time Paul regretted writing it (II Cor.
2 : 4 f. ; 7 : 12, 8). That the wrong-doer was not the in-

THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 199
cestuous man but the leader of a large group in the
church, is evident both from the personal injury Paul
suffered and from the deep and widespread repentance
and clearing aroused by Paul's rebuke (7: 7-12). And
the letter could not have been our First Corinthians ; —
that letter was not written with tears nor such as to be
a cause for regret. Possibly the sorrowful letter is lost ;
but many scholars think that we have it preserved as
the last four chapters of Second Corinthians. These
chapters reveal an indignation, a sense of injustice and
injury, and a painful necessity for self-vindication,
that fit well with Paul's description of his state of mind
when he wrote the sorrowful letter. And clearly they
cannot have been written at the same period as the
chapters now preceding them which are full of joy and
praise. No man could write, " I rejoice that in every
thing I am of good courage concerning you" (7: 16),
and close his letter by saying " to them that have sinned
heretofore and to all the rest, if I come again, I will
not spare " but " deal sharply " (13 : 2, 10). We con
clude, then, that our Second Corinthians is not one let
ter but a collection of Paul's letters to Corinth, viz. : a
fragment of his first letter (6: 14-7: 1) ; a part, pos
sibly nearly all, of his third and sorrowful letter
(10:1-13:14); and the whole of his fourth letter.
And it is not at all strange that these three should be
put together in later days by someone who wished to
preserve them, and therefore copied them upon one
papyrus roll of convenient size. Unfortunately he took
no pains to indicate their separate origin; doubtless it
did not seem to him of importance. And what led him
to insert 6 : 14-7 : 1 just where he did, we shall never
know. From the contents we can make a fair guess as to

200 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
"what called forth this letter of sorrow. The opposition
to Paul in Corinth was more bitter and extensive than
he dreamed when he wrote I Corinthians. The leaders
in it were" certain men, probably from Jerusalem where
Paul was unceasingly hated, who brought letters of
commendation (10:12, 18; 12:11; cf. 3:1), and
claimed to be1 special representatives of Christ (10: 7;
13:3). False apostles and ministers of Satan, Paul
calls them (11:13-15). They boasted of the works
they had wrought (11:18 f.). They declared that
Paul was not an apostle (12: 11-12; 11: 5), and that
this was the real reason, though he had given another,
why he did not demand support from the churches in
which he laboured (11 : 7 f . ; 12 : 13 f.). They sneered
at the tone of authority in his letters when absent, as
being very unlike his humble bearing and ineffective
speech when present (10:8-10). They represented
that his plan of a collection for the poor at Jerusalem
was a crafty scheme for filling his own depleted purse
(12 : 17-18 ; cf. 8 : 20). And when Timothy arrived as
Paul's agent, they refused to accept him, and someone
did him grievous wrong (7 : 12). It was the report of
all this, brought back probably by Timothy himself,
that called forth the letter, written out of much afflic
tion and anguish of heart and with many tears (2:4).
The opening words, " Now I Paul myself entreat you,"
may indicate that he did not even employ an amanuensis.
Titus was selected as the best person to carry it to the
Corinthians. They had been friendly to him before;
Paul was sure they would give him a kindly reception
now. Indeed, despite all the pain they were causing,
Paul seems to have felt that they were true at heart,
and to have said so to Titus (7: 14).
The letter does not admit of analysis: — logic and

1
THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 201
emotion are never good yoke-fellows. Nor is it in all
places easily understood. It is like an impassioned
dialogue in which we can hear only one of the speak
ers. Phrases that his enemies had used in self-praise
or hurled against Paul in abuse, are repeated by him
with sarcastic or indignant comment. Charges are an
swered whereof we know little. The smoke of battle
obscures our vision. But the letter is precious as a
unique self -revelation of Paul. In no other letter does
he so dwell upon himself and lift the veil from his years
of missionary toils and dangers and sufferings and
wondrous spiritual experiences. Yet, full as it is of
self-defence, it was written, not as an apologia pro vita
sua but as an agonizing effort to cast down the enemies
of Christ and protect the church of Corinth. If by it
the wrong-doers could be roused to penitence and self-
probation, he would not have to deal sharply and sor
rowfully with them when he came. For he had changed
his plans once more, — the third time, — and now was
resolved to go directly to Corinth before he went into
Macedonia (1: 15 f.). But he did not wish to go until
he had heard through Titus how the letter was received.
This was the reason why, when a few weeks later he
was driven from Ephesus, he went to Troas instead of
directly to Corinth.
4. The Fourth Letter, now II Corinthians 1-9.
At Troas Paul found the door opened which had been
closed against the gospel when he was there before (II
Cor. 2: 12; Acts 16: 6 f.). But though he could not
refuse to enter, his anxiety to know what his letter had
wrought in Corinth made him too restless to remain.
•Others could carry on the work without him; so, be
cause Titus was Slow in coming with the craved report,

202 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
he crossed to Macedonia and met him somewhere on his
way from Corinth. The tidings now received greatly
refreshed his heart. The Corinthians had welcomed
Titus, and the letter had stirred them to repentance
and the needed reforms. The chief offender had been
severely punished and was now truly penitent. A few
still reiterated the old criticisms, and many felt that
Paul's repeated failure to visit them as he had promised
was reprehensible; but this was merely the rumble of
a storm whose force was spent. Unfortunately the mis
sionary collection, which Paul supposed to be in prog
ress, had been stopped by the opposition of his slander
ous enemies. It must be started anew at once, for the
time of its close was drawing near. The state of the
churches in Macedonia, as we shall see, held Paul there
for the present; so, because Titus had begun the col
lection the previous year, Paul sent him back again to
complete it with two unnamed assistants of whom Paul
speaks so highly that we regret they cannot be identified
(8: 16-24). And by Titus he sent a letter which in
tone and contents was in marked contrast to the one so
recently preceding it. His great desire, everywhere
evident in it, was to dispel the last clouds of bitterness
and opposition, and to bind the church most firmly to
himself once more. This letter is preserved in full ex
cept some closing words.
Paul joins Timothy with himself in the salutation,
since the two had shared the wrong now forgiven (II
Cor. 1 : 1-2). He begins with a prayer of thanksgiving
for the comfort God has granted after what he has suf
fered both in spirit and in body, and for the assurance
that henceforth in all sufferings and consolations the
Corinthians and he will remain in unbroken fellowship
(3-11). He has been sincere in his steadfast care for

THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 203
them ; and this should not be doubted despite his failure
to pay the promised visit ; for his change of plans came
from his unchanging desire to cause them joy not sor
row, even as the painful letter was written not to make
them sorry but to make them know his love (1: 12-
2:4). As for the offender who had been a source of
sorrow to all, sufficient punishment has been inflicted
upon him; now forgive and comfort him lest his soul
be drowned in despair (2:5-11). The good news
brought by Titus makes Paul thank God for this proof
that his ministry in Christ is everywhere effectual
(12-17). This is not self-praise, such as he was forced
to use when he wrote before ; he needs no letter of com
mendation, for the Corinthians themselves are such a
letter written by Christ and read of all men (3:1-3).
And it is not through his own power that he has worked,
but through God who has made him the minister of a
new covenant, life-giving, glorious, permanent and trans
forming, such as the old covenant which Moses minis
tered could not be (4-18). In the ministry of this
covenant there can be nothing hidden or deceitful,
though those who are blind to the gospel allege the con
trary (4:1-6) ; and the apostle's weakness and persecu
tions, which they jeer at, are a reproduction of the life
of Jesus, — all for the sake of the Corinthians (7-15).
Therefore, he never loses heart; and his present afflic
tions seem light while he looks at things eternal, and is
assured that presently he shall exchange this body of
pain for the heavenly body, and be "at home with the
Lord" (4: 16-5: 8). Whether at home or absent, his
one aim is to be to be well-pleasing to Christ who is the
judge of all (9-11). And the love of Christ, by whose
death and risen life all things have been made new,
forces him to undertake the ministry of reconciliation,

204 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
and on behalf of Christ to entreat them to be reconciled
to God (5: 11-6:2). All his sufferings, all his spir
itual powers, all the paradoxes of his Christian life, are
the credentials of this ministry (6: 3-10) ; so he may
appeal to the Corinthians to open their hearts to him,
even as he holds them in his heart (6: 11-13; 7: 2-4).
Once more he tells at fuller length the story of meeting
Titus, and his joy over the report of how they had
treated his letter and Titus himself (7:5-16). Then
he turns to the subject of the collection (8: 1-9: 15),
which we shall consider later. The concluding words
of the epistle, as well as the opening salutation of the
third epistle, were lost or omitted when the two were
joined together. A papyrus manuscript was always
brittle, and if much used, as the instructions about the
collection would be, might become hopelessly broken.

XII
PAUL'S PREPAEATION FOE SPAIN
AMBITIOUS to preach the gospel where the
name of Christ has not been named," so Paul
describes himself. Like Francis Xavier or
David Livingstone he was by nature a pioneer. He
would build on no other man's foundations. And now
that he had completed his work in Asia, and that the
East was increasingly full of Christian workers, he felt
he had " no more any place in these regions " (Eom.
15: 23). The land of the pillars of Hercules, whither
no missionary yet had ventured, called to him ; and he
was eager to undertake the long and hazardous journey
from which probably he would never return. Two
things remained to be done before he could start: — he
must bind the Corinthian church to Christ and himself
more firmly by making that oft-postponed visit, and he
must go to Jerusalem with those who carried the con
tribution for the poor among its saints.
1. The Collection for the Poor in Jerusalem,
Years had passed since the heads of the church at
Jerusalem urged Barnabas and Paul not to forget their
poor. What Barnabas had done about it, we do not
know. Paul had done nothing, unless he did take an
offering from the church at Corinth when he went up
and saluted the parent church on his way to Antioch.
But what he saw or was told on that occasion may have
revealed to him the importance of collecting a generous
gift from all his churches before he went to Spain. He
205

206 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
was roused, we may suppose, not so much by the poverty
of these Jewish Christians as by their increasing dis
like of their Gentile brethren and disbelief in the gen
uineness of the fruits of his gospel. Though he had
fought a long and painful battle for Christian unity,
there was danger that after all the body of Christ would
not be one. And the collection seemed a hopeful means
of averting such disruption. It would be an indisput
able evidence that his churches possessed the spirit of
Christ ; and it would bind Jew and Gentile together in
the blessed fellowship of giving and receiving.
To induce his churches to make this offering was not
altogether easy. If the Jews despised the Gentiles,
what love had the Gentiles for the Jews ? And if the
church in Jerusalem could not support its poor, did not
the churches in Gentile lands have their own problems
of poverty ? Enthusiasm over a missionary offering was
kindled with difficulty in the first century, even as now.
Paul could not impose the collection upon his churches
by apostolic command ; it would lose its value thus ; he
could only advise it and urge it, and wait their pleasure
(Eom. 15: 26). He pointed to the duty of making a
contribution as the payment of a debt (Eom. 15 : 27) ;
to the desirability of it as the development of a Chris
tian grace (II Cor. 8:7); to the blessings that would
arise from it in answer to grateful prayers of the re
cipients (9: 12-14) ; and to the example of Jesus and
the unspeakable gift of God (8:9; 9 : 15). And he did
not hesitate to stir up emulation in the matter (9:2).
As for the manner in which the offering should be col
lected, he advised that on the first day of the week each
disciple should set aside a sum in proportion to the in
come of the previous week (I Cor. 16:2). And he
arranged that the churches in each province should

PAUL'S PREPARATION FOR SPAIN 207
select trusted delegates to carry their offerings to Jeru
salem (16: 3), an arrangement doubtless suggested by
the custom of Jewish communities in Gentile lands, who
chose such delegates to carry their offerings to the
temple. It had two advantages: — no suspicion could
arise that the funds would be appropriated by Paul or
his agents; and the meeting of this body of Gentile
Christians with the Jerusalem church would give each
a fuller knowledge and better opinion of the other.
Luke makes only an incidental mention of the collec
tion (Acts 24:17), though he was one of those who
went to Jerusalem with it. The silence seems strange un
til we reflect that his narrative deals with the spread of
the gospel rather than with the internal development
of the church. However, Luke gives a list of those who
went with Paul to Jerusalem (20:4), and evidently
they are the churches' delegates. Our knowledge of the
offering is gained from Paul's letters. They show that
when he had fully determined upon making it, he set
about the task with his usual energy. As we have al
ready seen, Titus was sent to inaugurate the collection
in Achaia, and later to quicken it again into activity;
and someone, perhaps Titus, went to Galatia to do the
same, or to find out whether the churches there were
following the counsel Paul had given them in his last
visit. In Macedonia Paul himself could promote the
collection which Timothy and Erastus had proposed
when they passed through the province on their way to
Corinth. The Macedonian churches, however, were in
such deep poverty and so burdened with imperial taxa
tion that he hesitated to ask gifts from them ; yet, with
a gladness and consecration which touched his heart,
they begged a share in this ministry to the saints, and
gave according to their power, yes, beyond their power

208 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
(II Cor. 8: 2-5). Before his visit to Macedonia Paul
had been doubtful whether he would go with the others
to Jerusalem (I Cor. 16 : 4) ; but after it — perhaps be
cause the response was so generous — he was determined
to go even at all hazards (Eom. 15 : 25 ; Acts 21 : 10 f.).
Evidently as the collection progressed, he became in
creasingly enthusiastic over it, and impressed with its
possible fruits. His latest message to the Corinthians
about it (II Cor. 8: 1-9: 15) rises to an exultant note
of praise.
2. The Epistle to the Romans.
Paul spent fully six months in Macedonia. The col
lection would demand little attention; but this was a
farewell visit, and there were plenty of matters to de
tain him. The churches were having a hard time, and
needed his fatherly counsel and cheer. He speaks of
their affliction in which he shared, — of fightings with
out and fears within (II Cor. 8:2; 7:5); but he does
not tell us the cause or causes. Were Jewish enemies
still stirring up persecutions, as in the beginning?
This seems likely; yet Gentile foes might be equally
aggressive, or traitors within the church might be caus
ing trouble as at Corinth. Luke states merely that Paul
made a tour of the churches, encouraging them with
many words (Acts 20: 2). But the apostle must also
have pushed into new fields ; else he could not have re
ported, " I have fully preached the gospel of Christ even
unto Illyricum" (Eom. 15:19). A whole unwritten
chapter of missionary experience lies behind that brief
statement. After this, say in December 55 a.d., he
came down to Corinth. The church welcomed him, and
the hospitable house of Gaius, one of his own converts
(Eom. 16: 23; I Cor. 1: 15), became his home. Here

PAUL'S PREPARATION FOR SPAIN 209
he waited until the collection was completed, and the
season of navigation opened for the voyage to Jeru
salem. For the first time, perhaps, since he began his
missionary life, there was no pressing task upon him.
And so he set himself to write a letter upon which, un
like the hurried ones he had dashed off hitherto, he
could bestow calm and abundant thought. It is our
Epistle to the Eomans.
The beginnings of the church at Borne are beyond
our ken. The imperial city drew all things good or bad
to itself; and Christianity must have reached it at a
very early date. "Sojourners from Eome" were
among Peter's listeners at Pentecost (Acts 2 : 10) ; per
haps they accepted his message, and carried it back to
Eome. Nor do we know anything about the condition
of the Eoman church and its composition — whether
mainly Jewish or Gentile — when Paul wrote to it. His
epistle is vainly scrutinized for information. Doubt
less he knew a good deal about the church, since mem
bers from it would often come to Corinth or Ephesus ;
but he tells us almost nothing. We understand why,
when we recognize his reasons for writing the epistle.
Despite all his ambitious plans for future work, Paul
felt that very possibly the end was close at hand. He
had narrowly escaped death in Ephesus (II Cor.
1:8 f.) ; he had faced it with good courage in Mace
donia (Id. 5 : 6 f.) ; the Jews now were plotting against
him in Corinth (Acts 20: 3) ; and the journey to Jeru
salem was into the very stronghold of his foes (Eom.
15:31; Acts 20 : 22 f.). It might be the will of God
that he never should go to Eome and thence to Spain
(Eom. 1 : 10 ; 15 : 24). If so, he could not proclaim to
the central church of the Gentile world the good news
of the efficacy of the work of Christ when faith creates

210 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
a vital union with Him, — a message so specially his
own that he calls it "my gospel" (2:16; 16:25).
And he knew or, at least, all his previous experiences
led him to suppose that both his gospel and himself were
misrepresented and slandered at Eome as elsewhere.
Accordingly he determined to write a letter to the
Eomans. Its subject-matter would be much the same
as of his letter to the Galatians ; but he wrote that letter
in haste and great anxiety, while now he had an oppor
tunity to write deliberately, calmly and at length. He
would make a full and clear statement of the gospel
which he proclaimed and which the Judaizers opposed.
If he was privileged to preach to the Eomans later on,
the letter would prepare them to give him an unpreju
diced hearing; if he was soon to die, it would be his
best legacy to them and to all his churches. The epis
tle, therefore, did not arise from conditions in the
church of Eome, and for that reason contains little
about them. Its background is Paul's own experiences
past and present, — his conversion, his months in Arabia,
his work among the Gentiles, his discussions with the
leaders at Jerusalem, his battle with the Judaizers who
were still dogging his steps, — in short, all that had gone
to reveal to him the meaning and power of faith in
Christ. The letter is often treated as an abstract theo
logical essay on justification by faith; in reality it is
a deeply emotional and most personal defence of the
apostle and his gospel. The problems it discusses reach
the very center of Paul's life and labours; the argu
ments it presents have been forged in the fire of re
peated controversies. Written with great care — and
doubtless many a prayer — and dealing with a central
theme of Christianity, the Epistle to the Eomans is the
greatest of his letters.

PAUL'S PREPARATION FOR SPAIN 211
Paul's salutation to the Romans is most elaborate,
since they had never met him; it sets forth his claims
to be an apostle (1:1-7), and is followed by a careful
and conciliatory explanation of his purpose in making
the proposed visit (8-15). He so words this as to lead
up naturally to a statement of the gospel he preaches
and desires to set forth to them, namely, that salvation
for all alike comes through faith, and in it is revealed
a righteousness of God as faith grows more and more
(16-17). This is really the theme of his whole letter.
And first he treats its doctrinal side. The lack of
righteousness is universal. The Gentiles show it by
their blindness to God's revelation of Himself in nature,
and by their surrender to idolatry and foulest lusts
(1 : 18-32). The Jews, though they look down upon the
Gentiles, and boast in the Law and circumcision, show
it equally by their failure to keep the Law, and by the
uncircumcision of their hearts (2:1-29). Here Paul
waives aside with brief answers the familiar Jewish ob
jections, — Are we not better than Gentiles ? Can Goa
break His promises to us ? You encourage sin, if you
magnify the grace of God to sinners ; — these objections
will be treated more fully later on (3 : 1-8). The Scrip
ture, then, is true that affirms, There is none righteous,
no, not one (9-20). But, though there is no human
righteousness, there is a righteousness of God offered
to all, and gained by faith in Jesus Christ, whom God
set forth to be a propitiation, that thereby He might
Himself be righteous in forgiving sins and make right
eous those who have this faith (21-26). And since
salvation is of faith and not of merit, the Jewish glory
ing in the Law is vain, though the Law is not abolished
but fulfilled (27-31).
The case of Abraham supports Paul's doctrine,

212 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
though his opponents delight to cite it against him. It
was Abraham's faith, not his works, that was reckoned
for righteousness (4: 1-8) ; and this was before he was
circumcised, i.e., when he still was as the Gentiles; so
all the faithful alike may call him father (9-12), and
the promise God made to him had no dependence upon
keeping the Law (13-17). Indeed, Abraham's faith
concerning the birth of Isaac is typical of our faith con
cerning the resurrection of Christ (18-25). Another
proof of the doctrine is personal experience. Justifica
tion by faith gives us peace with God and hope of His
glory and rejoicing even in tribulations, because we are
assured of the love of God revealed in His Son, through
whose death we have received reconciliation and in
whose life we shall be saved (5: 1-11). Christ's right
eousness operates like Adam's sinfulness: as sin with
the penalty of death is shared by all who are one with
Adam by natural descent, so — though far more abun
dantly — righteousness with the gift of eternal life is
shared by all who are one with Christ by faith (12-19).
As for the Law, it came in later to make the grace of
God in forgiving sins more evident by revealing the sin
fulness of men (20-21).
Thus far Paul has been stating what his gospel is,
in order to correct misapprehensions of it. Now he
turns to answer familiar objections to it. Paul's op
ponents honestly believed that to represent righteous
ness as arising from faith and not from obedience to
law, — either the Jewish Law or the law of conscience, —
would lead men to indulge in sin without restraint.
There is, indeed, this danger, as many a sad page of
church history reveals. And Paul has to point out that
release from law does not bring liberty for sinning, and
that the holiness of him who is joined to Christ by faith

PAUL'S PREPARATION FOR SPAIN 213
is the real and only holiness. As he has hitherto dealt
with the work of faith in justification, so now he deals
with the fruit of faith in sanctification. His preced
ing remark about the grace of God shown in the for
giveness of sins, calls up an objection already noted
(3: 8), namely, that if the greater our sin, the more
God's grace is evident, then we glorify Him by continu
ing in sin (6:1). Crying out against this as a mon
strous assertion, he replies by stating more fully (cf.
Gal. 2 :20) his conception of the nature of the Christian
life. When we become one with Christ by faith, our
old self ends, and a new self, not ours but His, begins.
The change is not a reformation ; it is a death and resur
rection, even as Christian baptism signifies. Because
Christ lives in us, His death to sin on the cross is ours,
and His risen life unto God is ours. Sin, therefore, has
no dominion over us (6 : 1-14). But, says the objector,
if there is no law restraining us, we can do what we
please (15). Evidently for this objector Paul's pre
vious picture of the life in Christ was too mystical, so
he puts it in a simpler form. Without the law you are
not freed from restraint; you are bound to righteous
ness. Once you were slaves of sin whose work is un-
cleanness and whose wage is death ; now you are slaves
of God whose work is sanctification and whose free
gift — not wage, since no one can earn it — is eternal
life in Christ (16-23). Or, to use another illustration,
once you were wedded to sin, as a wife to a husband,
and brought forth as offspring of that marriage, sin
unto death. That union was ended when your old self
ceased to exist. Now your new self is wedded to Christ,
and its offspring are righteous acts unto God (7:1-6).
You regard the Law, then, as an iniquitous device for
creating sin? says the objector. Not at all, is the an-

214 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
swer; the Law is holy and righteous and good, and its
purpose is to make us recognize sin. And then, to illus
trate this, Paul gives us two chapters out of his own
spiritual history. He pictures how the Law wakened
within him an intense consciousness of sin and an ever-
deepening recognition of his helplessness, as he agoniz
ingly but vainly struggled to keep it and gain the holi
ness it set before him. The result was utter despair,
i.e., death (7-25). Then came the gift of the new life
in Christ. And in glowing words he pictures its free
dom from condemnation, its blessed sonship to God, its
hope of future glory, and its present help from the Holy
Spirit. He ends with a triumphant burst of praise for
the certainty that nothing henceforth can separate him
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (8 : 1-39).
The next section of the epistle is but loosely con
nected with what precedes or follows it. Jewish Chris
tians were beginning to realize that the blessings of the
Messianic kingdom would go to the Gentiles and not to
their own people, who were increasingly unresponsive
to the gospel. In the bitterness of their regret they
accused Paul of deserting his kinsmen, — " a renegade
Jew," is the term sometimes applied to him even to-day.
This charge he repels, asserting in the strongest terms
his love for his nation and his anguish over their present
attitude toward Christ (9:1-5). But how can it be
that God's elect people are not to have the kingdom
which He had surely promised them from the days of
Abraham. Is God faithless? The unbelieving Jews
would put this question as an argument against the
truth of Paul's teaching; the believers, as a problem
which sorely puzzled them. Paul tries to answer each
in turn. Suppose, as the Jews assert, that God's prom
ises are absolute. The case of Isaac proves that they

PAUL'S PREPARATION FOR SPAIN 215
were not given to all of Abraham's seed, and the case
of Jacob that they were not given according to merit
(6-12). God's mercy is regulated by His own will, —
so the Scriptures declare (14-18). And what are men,
to criticize that will or comprehend the high purpose of
God! (19-29). Such an answer may silence a Jew,
but it is not enough for the Christian, who sees in God
not an arbitrary Oriental despot but a loving Father,
and finds with each of His promises an essential condi
tion. To him Paul says, God has dealt fairly with
Israel. They have failed to gain righteousness because
they sought it by the Law and not by faith in Christ
though that is the ready way and they had abundant
knowledge given them (9:30-10:21). But God has
not rejected all Israel; as of old, so now, a remnant is
saved (11:1-10). And through their loss has come
gain to the Gentiles, to whom their fate is a warning
(11-24). Moreover, their rejection is only until that
time when the Gentiles shall have fully come into the
kingdom; then will the Jews too find salvation. Thus
wonderful and past human wisdom are the ways of God
(25-36). The doctrinal portion of the epistle is completed;
and now Paul, as he is wont, adds a practical portion,
urging a life completely dedicated to God (12:1-2).
He repeats briefly the advice given the Corinthians
about the use of spiritual gifts (3-8), and gives a series
of pithy and pregnant precepts about character and con
duct (9-21). Good citizenship, involving obedience to
rulers and love to the other fellow, is enjoined
(13:1-10) with constant mindfulness of the dawning
day when Christ shall return (11-14). In the church
as in every group of men there are always two parties,
the stoics and the epicureans, — those who regard all

216 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
pleasure with suspicion, and those who are indulgent
towards it; and for the two to understand each other
or to live in harmony is difficult. In the Corinthian
church the division had shown itself concerning meats
offered to idols (I Cor. 8: 1 f.) ; here the broader mat
ter of ascetic and ritualistic observances is the possible
source of strife. But the principles to be applied in
preserving peace are the same. Avoid censoriousness
(14:1-3); recognize the right of personal judgment
and accountability to God alone (4-12) ; and, most im
portant of all, ever show Christian considerateness and
helpfulness (13-23). In another matter also, — the re
lations between Jewish Christians and Gentile, — this
same spirit of Christ is the only safeguard against un
fortunate dissensions (15: 1-13). With some words of
explanation about his present occupation and his future
plans to visit Jerusalem and Eome, the apostle ends his
letter (14-33).
When Paul had spent much time and thought upon
an epistle dealing with matters of great importance, we
would expect him to send it to more than one church.
Probably he did so with the present epistle. The chap
ter with which it now closes, seems to have been a spe
cial note sent with it to Ephesus. And the benediction
(15 : 13) may have been the conclusion of another copy
given to the church at Corinth, which would not need
the personal explanations that follow. The magnificent
doxology (16:25-26) is a fitting close to every copy;
for it must have welled from Paul's heart when his
great work was completed.
3. The Journey to Jerusalem.
Paul had planned to sail directly from Corinth to
Syria, probably aiming to reach Jerusalem in time for

PAUL'S PREPARATION FOR SPAIN 217
the Passover of 56 a.d. The discovery of a plot laid
against him by the Jews, — perhaps to murder him on
his ship which would be packed with pilgrims to the
feast, — caused him to change his route. He went up
into Macedonia, spent the Passover week, — for him the
solemn Easter season, — at Philippi, and sailed from
there, stopping at various points and reaching Jeru
salem before Pentecost (Acts 20:3 f.). Luke joined
him at Philippi, and from that point on the narrative
in Acts is very full. The details of the voyage are not
important ; nor are we concerned to determine from the
somewhat ambiguous text the course of the delegates
before they were all assembled at Troas to accompany
Paul with their offerings (20 : 4-5). But we are greatly
interested in the account of the church meeting at Troas
on the first day of the week, which would begin by
Jewish reckoning on Saturday evening (20 : 7-12). The
gathering at night because the slaves and servants were
not free to come by day, the upper room so crowded
that even the window-ledge must serve as a seat, the
many lights brought by brethren who had to pick their
way through dark streets and foul alleys, the earnest
farewell speech of Paul, the lad tired from the day's
toil and vainly struggling to keep awake, the midnight
meal and sacrament, the further talk by Paul with those
who could remain until daybreak when he must begin
his journey and they, their daily tasks, — it is the clear
est picture we possess of a church gathering in apos
tolic days. But Luke in painting it thought only of
the miracle, witnessed by himself, that Paul wrought
in restoring Eutychus to life, after the manner of
Elijah and Elisha. Had the incident been simply, as
some maintain, that Paul discovered signs of life in the

218 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
young man when others supposed him dead, Luke
would hardly have thought it worth reporting.
Another precious message is the account of Paul's
meeting with the Ephesian elders when, not daring to
visit Ephesus lest he be detained by friends or foes, he
summoned them to Miletus for his farewell. It gives
the only example of his speeches to his churches, and
none could be more characteristic or touching. We have
already noted the light this address throws upon his
toils and sufferings at Ephesus ; and we must not miss
its forecast of the future of that church (20:29 f.).
Already Paul perceived the stealthy approach of here
sies such as he assailed in his later letters ; and he knew
the fickleness of the Ephesians (cf. Rev. 2:4). As a
matter of fact, though the church was not lost to Christ
in after years, it transferred its allegiance from Paul
to other leaders (II Tim. 1: 15). In the address are
found, also, the same forebodings concerning what
awaited him in Jerusalem that he had expressed in his
letter to the Eomans (Eom. 15 : 31), now intensified
by the recent discovery of the plot of the Jews. Over
all this journey there lies the shadow of the cross, even
as over the last journey of Jesus to Jerusalem ; and tfie
hazard of the visit is increasingly emphasized as Paul
goes forward. At Tyre the disciples warn him to keep
away from the hostile city (Acts 21 : 4) ; and at Cae
sarea the prophet Agabus "with symbolic act declares
that the Jews will bind him and deliver him into the
hands of the Gentiles (21:11), while both his own
companions and the brethren beg him with tears to go
no further. But Paul will not be persuaded. The im
portance of the visit seems to him so great that as its
price he is willing not only to be bound but even to die.
Thus "bound in the spirit" (Acts 20:22) Paul

PAUL'S PREPARATION FOR SPAIN 219
came to Jerusalem. What was his welcome ? Luke
says, " The brethren received us gladly." How could
they do otherwise, when the gifts of the churches were
laid before them ? Such generous and unexpected relief
would fill all hearts with rejoicing. The revelation , of
their real attitude came the next day when Paul with
his Gentile companions appeared before James and the
elders to tell them what God had wrought through his
ministry. He told in detail the story of his work
among the Gentiles ; and when they heard it, they glori
fied God. But immediately they asked, What is to be
done about the report that you are no longer living as
a Jew, and are teaching the Jews in foreign lands to
forsake Moses? The brethren here will hold to the
agreement about your Gentile work ; but unless they are
convinced that this report is untrue, their zeal for the
Law will make them turn upon you." This was a poser
for Paul, since there was a certain amount of truth in
the report. His practice had been to live as a Jew
.- when with Jews and as a Gentile when with Gentiles
that he might get into helpful touch with each (I Cor.
9 : 20 f . ) ; and while he had laid down the rule that a
convert should not seek to change from Jew to Gentile
or the reverse (Id. 7: 18), unquestionably his insistence
that Jewish observances are of no avail in gaining
righteousness was an encouragement to disregard them.
He was not opposed to keeping the Law as a method
of life; but he was bound to denounce it as a means of
salvation. The Jerusalem church had understood and
allowed this attitude to the Law when Peter had stated
it at the council; but would they accept it, if Paul
should state it now? Unquestionably they had been
growing more narrow and Judaistic as the years went
by. The departure of such liberal leaders as Barnabas,

220 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Mark, Silas and Peter would hasten the process, if in
deed their departure had not been hastened by it. The
Judaizers who dogged Paul's footsteps and strove to
win away his converts in Galatia and elsewhere, had
their headquarters in Jerusalem; and all the brethren
there were now, as James declared, " zealous for the
Law." Would not any statement by Paul simply stir
up trouble ? The leaders seem to have felt so, and had
planned another way to meet the difficult situation. An
act might be more safe and efficacious than words. Just
now four impecunious church members were looking
for some generous friend to bear for them the heavy
expense of sacrifices connected with the fulfilment of
vows they had taken. If Paul should make himself
that friend, and publicly engage with them in the rites
of purification in the temple, then all who saw or heard
would be convinced that he still was a loyal son of
Israel. To this he made no objections: if they desired
it, there was no reason why he should not do it. But
as he consented, must he not have felt that the leaders
themselves should have defended him against all ac
cusations ? Had his generous advances been met with
the friendliness and cooperation they deserved? It is
hard to believe that either James or the elders had any
real sympathy with Paul and his work. We note that
when, a few days later, he was in sore trouble through
carrying out their suggestion, none of them came for
ward to bear testimony in his behalf, though it would
have helped him much. And as for the majority of the
Christians in Jerusalem, we suspect that they were by
no means sorry that Paul was in bonds as a malefactor.

XIII
PAUL A PRISONEE OF EOME
THE author of Acts devotes nearly one-fourth of
his book to the period in Paul's life now be
fore us, — a period of less than five years,
during which the apostle was perforce largely inactive,
and about whose activities little is told except his
speeches of defence. Evidently one purpose of the nar
rative, — perhaps the main one, — is to show that each
Eoman official before whom Paul was brought, recog
nized that the charges against him were false; and this
is considered so important as to justify giving much
space to it. Christian readers would not need such
proof that the apostle did not deserve condemnation;
therefore we conclude that Luke had in mind those who
were hostile to Christianity, and framed this part of
his narrative as a defence of the church in the troubled
days when he wrote. It has been argued that the same
purpose caused him to close his book without stating
that Paul at the end of two years imprisonment in
Rome was put to death. But would such silence con
ceal the fact? And if an opponent of Christianity
could point out that the final court of appeal, presum
ably after a full and fair review of the evidence, put
Paul to death, would not Luke's suppression of that
fact vitiate his whole document ? But if Paul was ac
quitted, why was not this stated as the crowning event
in the series of vindications? Possibly because there
were many other things to be stated first, and the papy-
221

222 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
rus roll had reached the limit of convenient size. Pos
sibly because Luke wrote before the final trial was held ;
in which case his full presentation of the former trials
would be with the hope of helping Paul in the present
one. Whichever answer we adopt, the abrupt close of
Acts throws no light upon the death of the apostle.
1. In Custody of Lysias.
The outer court of the temple at Jerusalem was open
to all nationalities; hence its name, the Court of the
Gentiles. Next came the court into which only Jews
might enter, but women as well as men, and for that
reason called the Court of the Women. At each en
trance to it stood a notice forbidding any Gentile to
enter under penalty of death. In this court was a
chamber where those who were ending the Nazarite vow
shaved their heads ; and doubtless it was here that cer
tain hostile Jews from Asia recognized Paul. They
had seen him previously in the city with Trophimus
whom they knew to be a Gentile; and they jumped to
the conclusion that the four men now with him were
Gentiles also whom he had brought into the sacred
court. With cries of horror and accusation they roused
the worshippers, who dragged Paul out into the Court
of the Gentiles where they would have killed him had
not Lysias, commander of the Eoman cohort which was
stationed in the adjoining castle of Antonia for police
duty, rushed down with his men and rescued him. As
the angry mob still surged and howled around the steps
of the castle, Paul asked permission to speak to them.
His address is the first of three in his own defence, each
framed for a special audience but all setting forth the
fact that he is a God-fearing, law-abiding Jew, who acts
in obedience to the commands of Jesus of Nazareth

PAUL A PRISONER OF ROME 223
whom he and those of " the Way " accept as Messiah.
In the present speech the emphasis is on his religious
life. With much tact, e.g., identifying the rage of his
foes with his own zeal for God, he describes his perse
cution of the Christians, his wonderful conversion, his
desire to preach in Jerusalem, and the command of
Christ which sent him forth to the Gentiles. The mob
listened, silent but suspicious, until he was forced to
utter the hated word " Gentiles ;" whereupon they
broke out again into such yells and tumult that Lysias
took Paul away into the castle. There he started to
examine him under the lash to discover what he had
done to arouse such hostility. Paul's statement that he
was a Eoman citizen promptly stopped this indignity,
and secured him henceforth most considerate treatment.
The next day Lysias undertook to find out by the aid
of the Sanhedrin what was Paul's offence. The meet
ing of that body held at his request, was not a formal
one — Paul begins his address with the informal
" Brethren ;" and probably Lysias himself rather than
the high-priest presided over it. Indeed, the familiar
statement that the high-priest was ex officio president
of the Sanhedrin is questionable. The Jewish rulers
were not expected to try and sentence Paul; the chili
arch could not thus hand over his prisoner, a Eoman
citizen, to them ; but he wished to have Paul repeat the
remarkable defence, given the day before, and to learn
what they thought of it. They knew about Paul, of
course; yesterday's riot, if nothing else, would ensure
that; and in their minds he stood already condemned.
At his very first words of self-vindication the high-
priest, Ananias, called out to those standing near him,
" Smite him on the mouth." Fired by this insult Paul
denounced the speaker in terms so bold and bitter as

224 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
to call forth a horrified remonstrance from the by
standers. But when he learned that it was the high-
priest he was condemning, he apologized, — the office,
if not the man, should be treated with reverence. Pro
ceeding then in his defence Paul had to tell of the
resurrection appearance of Jesus to him. The Sad
ducees jeered at this, as they always did when belief
in a resurrection and angels and spirits was presented,
and so irritated the Pharisees by contempt of their
favourite doctrine that when Paul promptly appealed
to the latter to support his statement as not incredible,
they responded. It was an old battle-ground between
the two sects ; and the fight grew hot, proceeding from
words to blows, until Lysias, in fear lest his prisoner
might be torn in pieces, carried him off again to the
castle. Paul has sometimes been censured as using a
cunning device and a distorted fact to save himself by
setting his enemies at variance. But the vision of his
Lord in the following night showed divine approval of
his course; and the words of cheer then spoken were
greatly needed. The two days had been full indeed of
stress and pain for body and soul.
To Lysias his prisoner must have seemed, in modern
phrase, the proverbial match in a powder magazine;
and this impression was increased when the next day
Paul's nephew came with the statement that a plot to
assassinate his uncle had been entered into by more
than forty Jews, and that the chief priests and elders
were privy to it. This action of the nephew suggests
that Paul's family were now reconciled to him; pos
sibly, too, some inheritance or family funds had been
received by him, for we have no further indication that
he was in extreme poverty but rather the reverse.
Lysias recognized the danger of keeping Paul in Jeru-

PAUL A PRISONER OF ROME 225
salem among foes so determined to kill him. He him
self would be in a very awkward position if his
prisoner, a Roman citizen, suffered harm. So the next
night he ordered a large guard to escort Paul to
Caesarea where he would be away from the most hos
tile Jews and directly in custody of the procurator,
Felix. 2. In Custody of Felix.
Felix was a f reedman ; and his exaltation to the high
office of procurator was unprecedented. Tacitus says
that he wielded the power of a king with the spirit of
a slave; and no historian speaks well of him. His
harsh treatment of the Jews- did much towards rousing
them to their final revolt, and brought about his own
removal from office. Drusilla, his third wife, was a
daughter of Herod Agrippa I and a sister of Herod
Agrippa II. Like most of the Herodian women her
character was dubious.
Paul's second speech in self-defence was made before
Felix when the Jews with a professional accuser came
down to Caesarea to lay charges against him. They
alleged that he stirred up insurrections, belonged to a
forbidden sect, and had profaned the temple. In reply
he denied the first charge, asserted that the sect of the
Nazarenes was not under the ban, and demanded to
be confronted by those who had seen him in the temple.
Felix, though ready to please the Jews, did not dare
to condemn a Roman citizen on charges so evidently
baseless, and postponed his judgment until Lysias
should come, — a sheer evasion, as Lysias had already
written that the prisoner was innocent. Evidently the
Jews perceived that he would proceed no further, and
so they left Paul alone. Presently the curiosity of

226 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Drusilla led her to interview Paul ; but instead of gain
ing an interesting account of his wonderful conversion
and exciting adventures, she received a rebuke, worthy
of John the Baptist, for her desertion of her husband
for Felix. Her resentment and the expectation of
Felix that Paul or his friends would presently offer a
bribe for his release, held the apostle in prison until
Felix was recalled to Rome after two years when
" desiring to gain favour with the Jews " who were his
accusers, he left Paul still in bonds. The captivity
was light ; his friends could visit him, and doubtless
he kept in correspondence with his churches, though
none of his letters have been preserved. But the period
was mainly one of much needed rest and opportunity
for meditation; and his later letters show its effect in
their new and fuller conception of Christian truth.
The years in the praetorium of Caesarea were like the
months in the desert of Arabia, a period of spiritual
education. 3. In Custody of Festus.
The new procurator, Festus, was honest and well-
meaning but unacquainted with Jewish thought and
laws. His term of office was brief, perhaps two years,
and ended with his death. If we knew the exact date
of its beginning, this would help us greatly in the
chronology of Paul's life: — 58 a.d. is probable but
much disputed. When he came to Jerusalem the Jew
ish authority made an insistent and clamourous de
mand that Paul be brought up from Caesarea for sen
tence at Jerusalem, planning, says Luke, to kill him
on the way (25: 1 f.), and thus forestall his acquittal
which they anticipated would come. Festus properly
and somewhat disdainfully (25 : 16) denied this re-

PAUL A PRISONER OF ROME 227
quest, but offered to hear any influential Jews who
would go down to Caesarea and testify against Paul.
The offer was accepted; and, in the hearing which fol
lowed, the old charges were again brought forward and
again refuted. Festus realized that the real provoca
tion was Paul's religion; and, knowing little about the
sects of the Jews, he was disposed to send the prisoner
to the Sanhedrin for trial. But Paul, aware of the
malignity of the Jews, stood on his right to be tried in
a Eoman court and, to ensure this beyond possibility
of change, appealed to Caesar. The step was a most
decisive one. It took the matter out of the hands of
Festus; it transferred the trial to Eome; and, most
important of all, it was Paul's final break with his
countrymen, — a declaration that he reckoned himself
no longer a Jew and subject to the Sanhedrin. Was
the appeal a mistake ? When Agrippa says, " This
man might have been set at liberty if he had not ap
pealed to Caesar" (26:32), it seems so. But Paul
did not make the appeal impulsively or ignorantly.
He had reviewed the whole situation and believed
there was no chance of liberty in Palestine. A hear
ing at Eome he was confident would set him free, and
then he would be thus far on his way toward Spain.
Agrippa II was a son of Agrippa I, and a brother
of both Drusilla and Bernice. When his father died
in 44 a.d., he was thought too young to succeed hrm;
later on he was given the northern part of the paternal
kingdom with his capital at Caesarea Philippi. He
was also made custodian of the temple at Jerusalem,
having power to appoint the high-priest. For a Herod
he was a very decent ruler and laboured to preserve
peace; but when the Jews finally revolted, he sided
with the Romans. Bernice, or Berenice, was in char-

228 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
acter like her sister. There were scandals about her
relations with her brother, and later on she was the
mistress of Titus until he became emperor. When
Agrippa came to make a complimentary visit upon the
new procurator, Festus took the opportunity to con
sult him about the puzzling case of the prisoner whom
he must send to Eome; and Paul was brought before
them to tell his story. His address to the two rulers
was not a defence, though he so terms it (26: 2), for
he was not on trial because he had appealed to Caesar;
it was simply a careful, full and eloquent account of
his life and faith, inspired by the desire to win them
for Christ. Its effect was according to the character
of the hearers. Festus, the fair-minded, rationalistic
Eoman, unfamiliar with the Jewish religion, was im
pressed with Paul's sincerity, but explained his ear
nestness as fanaticism, and his remarkable story as the
figment of an overtaxed brain. Agrippa, the frivolous,
corrupt, renegade Jew, listened with growing uneasi
ness as his conscience began to stir, and finally turned
Paul's personal appeal aside with a jest, " You are
going to make me into a Christian in a hurry"
(26:28). But both rulers agreed that this man had
done nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
4. In Custody of Julius.
Since Paul had appealed to Caesar, he must be sent
to Eome at the earliest opportunity. Julius, the
Eoman centurion who took him and certain other
prisoners in charge for the journey, was a high-minded
man and a kindly custodian. We gain a good opinion
of centurions from him and the other three mentioned
in the New Testament (Luke 7 : 2 ; 23 : 47 ; Acts 10 : 1).
Luke and Aristarchus, who accompanied Paul, were

PAUL A PRISONER OF ROME 229
probably counted to be his servants; otherwise they
would not have been allowed to go with him. A
Eoman gentleman in Paul's situation would be per
mitted to have attendants. He seems to have been in
ill health at this time (Acts 27: 3), and Luke would
be his physician, while Aristarchus, a Macedonian Jew
who had travelled much with Paul before this (Acts
19 : 29 ; 20 : 4) and who shared his Eoman imprison
ment later (Col. 4:10), would be nominally his valet.
Luke's log of the voyage, like that of the preceding
one, is very full. He was a Greek and, therefore, fond
of the sea. It has been pronounced " the most im
portant document antiquity has left for an understand
ing of the mode of working an ancient ship ; " and it
ends with a thrilling picture of one of Paul's " perils
in the sea," — not as thrilling, however, as might be
that of one of his earlier and unrecorded shipwrecks
when for a night and a day he was in the deep (II Cor.
11: 25). In the whole account what interests us most
is what Luke seems to have taken for granted, — the
way in which Paul speedily becomes the leading per
son on the ship. Before they have finished their disas
trous voyage, the centurion, the master of the vessel,
the soldiers and the sailors have learned to look to him
for counsel, command and cheer. The little, unpre
possessing Jewish prisoner is recognized to be greater
than all his companions. It is the power of a strong
and Christian personality.
The enforced stay of three winter months at Malta,
until navigation opened in the spring of 59 a.d., must
have been spent by Paul in evangelism; though Luke
tells only of works of healing. He calls the people of
Malta barbarians because they were not Greeks (cf.
Eom. 1 : 14) ; but we are not to think of them as sav-

230 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ages. Their culture was Phoenician, and Publius was
the official head of the island. From Malta to Puteoli,
a great commercial port, the voyage was uneventful;
and from that city, as was customary, the remaining
journey of one hundred and seventy miles was made
by land. The sojourn for a week with brethren at
Puteoli refreshed Paul's spirit; and the welcome of
other brethren from Eome who came to meet him as
far as the Market of Appius and the Three Taverns,
stations on the Appian Way forty-three and thirty
miles south of the city, made him thank God and take
courage. 5. In Custody of Nero.
"And so we came to Eome," says Luke, — not. at all
as Paul had thought to come when he wrote to the
Eomans, or even when he appealed to Caesar. He was
a prisoner, and the prospect of speedy release had van
ished. The report of Festus concerning him had doubt
less been lost in the shipwreck, and a copy of it must
be secured from Caesarea before anything else. That
would take time. Then a person must be appointed
as Nero's representative to look into the case; and he
would probably suit his own convenience about doing
it. Then, if it was decided that the report of Festus
did not justify a release, there must be a trial; and
for this the Jewish accusers must be summoned from
Jerusalem. Another long wait. Years might go by
before the matter was ended. So Paul settled down
to use the time as profitably as possible. His imprison
ment was light; the verbal report of Lysias ensured
that. He was allowed to occupy hired lodgings; and
though the soldier who guarded him was linked to him
by a light chain at times (Acts 28:20; Eph. 6:20),

PAUL A PRISONER OF ROME 231
we can hardly believe that he was always treated thus
as a criminal. The guards, when they grew to know
him, would certainly love him and possibly his Lord,
and would grant him every permissible liberty. His
friends could gather in his room to hear him preach
the kingdom of God and teach the things concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, and perhaps he might with
his guard attend other Christian meetings (Acts
28:30 f.). His relations with the Roman Jews are
puzzling. Three days after his arrival, he invited
their leaders to meet him, and explained his situation
(28: 17 f.). Why should he do this? And they de
clared that they had heard no charge against him, and
knew little about his sect except that it was everywhere
denounced. Was this ignorance feigned ? If, as is
generally thought, the strife that led Claudius at one
time to expel all Jews from Rome (18 : 2) was between
those who were Christians and those who were not,
these men must have known about Christianity and
doubtless had heard about Paul. The meeting held
with them a little later (28: 23 f.) is evidently a sub
stitute for the usual initial work in the synagogue with
which Paul was accustomed to begin his labours in a
new city, and it had the usual results. But why should
Paul or Luke apply this formula of work to Rome ?
Luke sums up in a single paragraph two years of
Paul's life in Eome (28:30-31). It is his practice
to give such a summary of a period as the close of one
section of his history before beginning another section
with a fuller account of it, e.g., he closes his gospel
with a brief statement of the ascension, and begins
Acts with further details of what happened during the
Forty Days (cf. 2:47; 11:26). Had he written his
third book, he would have told us about those two

232 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
years. But now all we know is the few facts we can
glean from the letters Paul wrote in his Eoman prison.
Paul's old friends in the East visited him frequently.
It was easy for them to come to Eome; for, as Ram
say says, " travelling was more highly developed, and
the dividing power of distance was weaker, under the
Empire than at any time before or since until we come
down to the present century." Besides Luke and Aris
tarchus who came with him, we find Paul companioned
by Tychicus, Mark, Timothy, and certain others whose
names are not mentioned in Acts. Through these he
kept in touch with his absent churches; they brought
him tidings and carried back messages and letters.
The inactivity that characterized the Caesarean im
prisonment does not continue into the Eoman; Paul is
in bonds but the word of God is not bound, and he is
still the Lord's ambassador. His relations with the
Christians of Eome are not clear. They met him with
a welcome; but his letter to the Philippians implies
that he is lonely and in want, and states that some who
were preaching Christ did it of envy and strife. Evi
dently the church was divided about him, and appar
ently he received little attention from it.

XIV
THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON
BESIDES the letters we have already considered,
the New Testament contains seven others
usually ascribed to Paul. Of these the three
to Timothy and Titus form a distinct group which
must be treated by itself. The other four expressly
state that they were written by Paul in bonds (Phile.
1 ; Col. 4:3; Eph. 3:1; Phil. 1 : 13) ; but from what
prison ? From Caesarea, say a few scholars ; from
Eome, say many and the early traditions. The situa
tion described in them, especially in Philippians, suits
Eome better than Caesarea; and their difference in
thought and tone from the earlier epistles would seem
to indicate that they were not written in the first years
of imprisonment. They dwell on deeper and more
speculative truths ; they glorify the person rather than
the work of Christ; they no longer put the coming of
the Lord in the foreground ; and they sound a conserva
tive note, — hold fast to the old, true doctrine. They
are distinguished by "a more uniform tenderness, a
richer fragrance of devotion, and a quiet insight that
reaches to the depths of the things of life and of God,"
and " are well styled the afternoon epistles, as the writ
ings of the Judaic controversy are the noonday epis
tles, of Paul" (Findlay). There has been a change
in the thought of the writer, partly through prolonged
meditation during the years at Caesarea, partly
through the influence of the imperial city upon his con-
233

234 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ception of Christ and the church. There has been a
change, also, in the churches to which he writes. The
old battle against Judaizers is almost ended, and with
it the need of asserting the apostolic authority of Paul.
But new and subtler foe^'have appeared, and the gospel
must be put into a new form to meet them. Moreover,
the Christians to whom he writes are no longer babes
in Christ; and he can give them instruction suited to
their maturer stage.
1. The Letter to Philemon.
Onesimus was a thieving slave who had run away
from his Christian master, Philemon, in Colosse and
gone to Eome, — the refuge of scapegraces. Here in
some way he met Paul, and was converted to Christ;
and the duty was laid upon him to return to his master.
It was not an easy thing to do, because Philemon had
been deeply wronged and might punish him cruelly : —
angry masters often put their slaves to death. Paul
never had been in Colosse ; but he knew Philemon, in
deed seems to have been his father in Christ; so he
wrote a note for Onesimus to carry back, which should
gain him kindly treatment. It is the only one pre
served, except the last chapter of Eomans, of the many
notes Paul must have written; and it makes us wish
that we had more. Nothing could be more skilful than
the way in which he deals with the injured and irate
slave-master, urging him in a most courteous yet com
pelling way to forgive Onesimus and set him free. It
is the glove of velvet and the grip of steel.
Philemon is praised for his love to all saints, which
would, of course, now include Onesimus (4-7). Paul
is going to ask as a favour to himself in his old age and
imprisonment something which he might impose as a

THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON 235
command (8-9). The favour is really for Onesimus
(and here the first mentioned of the hated name is
softened by a pun) whom Paul sends back, though he
would like to keep him as a loan from Philemon
(10-14). Perhaps the reason why he " was parted for
a season," was that Philemon should receive him as a
brother dear to Paul and still more to himself (15-16).
Now comes, not a request but a direct command to re
ceive him or else forfeit Paul's fellowship (17) ; but
it is softened by an offer to repay whatever he has
stolen, though Philemon is reminded how he himself
owes Paul a debt that money cannot pay (18-20). An
earnest appeal to rejoice Paul's heart by granting the
request or doing even more, i.e., by setting Onesimus
free (20-21), is made more effective by the statement
that Paul hopes presently to visit Philemon, when of
course, he will know what treatment the slave has re
ceived (22). And the closing salutations from Paul's
companions are an unspoken declaration that they, too,
are deeply interested in the welfare of Onesimus. Is
there any doubt that Philemon surrendered to such an
appeal? How could he withstand its courteous yet
compelling words?
This little note brings before us one of the many
problems presented to Christianity by slavery. Why
does not Paul say frankly that slavery is contrary to
the law of Christ, and insist that every Christian slave
holder should set his slaves free? Think what the
effect would have been in all the later ages of slave-
holding, if there had been a square, apostolic command
against it. But would that command ever have reached
later ages ? Eemember that a majority of the popula
tion in the Eoman empire, or at least in Italy, were
slaves ; that they had practically no protection from the

236 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
passions of cruel or licentious masters ; that often they
were of the same race as their owners; and that some
were highly educated. Evidently there was constant
reason to fear a servile insurrection which might de
stroy the whole existing civilization. Italy had al
ready with difficulty crushed out one such insurrection,
and was ever on guard against another. For Paul to
denounce slavery would be to hurl a firebrand, and
might not only cost him his life but lead to the ex
termination of Christianity. All he could do was to
preach the gospel of a common brotherhood in Christ
Jesus; and this, when fully grasped — how slowly men
have grasped it! — would make slavery impossible.
Philemon cannot receive Onesimus as " a brother be
loved," and treat him as a chattel. To the Christian
slaves, who formed perhaps the majority of the church,
Paul could only preach patience : — they must abide in
their condition, comforting themselves with the knowl
edge that they were the Lord's freedmen (I Cor.
7: 21). But even thus there were difficulties. If the
slave and his master met as equals in the church, there
was danger that in the household due subordination
and obedience might be refused. Against this Paul
warns them (I Tim. 6: 1-2). And if the master was
surly and failed to give his slave fair treatment, the
Christian emphasis of justice and kindness might in
crease the natural resentment of the sufferer. This
calls forth the injunctions to household servants in I
Peter 2 : 18-25. But what about a Christian slave
with a heathen master? Occasions must constantly
have arisen when he would be ordered to take part in
idol worship or assist in heathen practices; could he
obey his master and yet be true to his Lord? No an
swer is given to this question; yet evidently the old

THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON 237
problem of Naaman in the house of Rimmon (II
Kings 5 : 18) could not be evaded. And how should
a Christian master deal with the heathen practices of
slaves who were not Christian? Should he forbid
them or ignore them ? To this, again, we have no an
swer. Slavery and Christianity could at the best be
but unequally yoked together, and their joint progress
was a tortuous one.
2. The Letter to the Colossians.
Colosse was a city in the valley of the Maeander,
four or five days distant from Ephesus. Paul had
never visited it (Col. 2:1), though some of its citizens
must have met him in their frequent visits to Ephesus,
its metropolis. There was a church there, of which
Epaphras was a member, perhaps the founder (Col.
1:7); and it met in the house of Philemon, who was
one of Paul's converts (Phile. 2, 19). Epaphras had
come to Rome and told Paul about a heresy that was
gaining acceptance. There is much discussion as to its
exact nature; but it seems to have been some form of
what was later known as gnosticism, together with a
mixture of Jewish ideas such, possibly, as were held
by that strange Jewish sect, the Essenes. Thoughtful
men have always pondered over two problems, How
could a purely spiritual God create a universe of mat
ter? and, How could a supremely good God create or
permit evil? These are problems both of philosophy
and of religion, and usually go together. The old re
ligions of the East, out of which gnosticism came,
adopted one of two answers. Zoroastrianism said,
Matter and evil are as eternal as God and good; from
the beginning there have been two realms confronting
each other and in constant warfare, — the realm of

238 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
spirit, light and good, and the realm of matter, dark
ness and evil, each with a supreme leader. Brahman-
ism said, Matter' and evil have no real existence ; they
are simply illusions of the mind from which perfect
knowledge frees us. Gnosticism, which took its name
from its profession to know these mysteries, leaned
sometimes to the one answer and sometimes to the
other. It framed many systems, but always taught
that matter and evil are connected, and that God has
nothing to do directly with either, — He dwells far
apart from the sinful world. To bridge the wide abyss
between God and man, a series of intermediate agents
was imagined. From God, in whom is all " fulness,"
emanates a being less spiritual, holy and powerful than
Himself; and from this emanation another still less so,
until the last one in the series is so reduced in divine
qualities as to be able to come in contact with the world
of sin and matter. Whether the world was created by
this last emanation or by an evil spirit, would be an
swered according as the gnostic system inclined to il
lusion or to dualism. Gnosticism, if it recognized
Christianity, would hold that Christ was one of these
emanations, a spiritual being who either merely seemed
to have a material body or else joined Himself to the
man Jesus at the baptism and left him again at Cal
vary. His work would be to redeem men from the
bondage of sinful matter by teaching the nature of sin
and matter to a select few who in turn would teach
others able to receive such knowledge. If the gnostic
scheme held that matter and evil are illusions, then a
holy life would be consistent with the grossest sensual
ity and self-indulgence; if the opposite scheme ob
tained, then holiness would involve severest asceticism
and separation from the world. Simon Magus was

THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON 239
claimed by some of the later gnostics as one of their
number; writings professedly by him are quoted, and
many of their doctrines ascribed to him.
The gnostic type of thought was congenial to the
people of Asia Minor, especially of ancient Phrygia in
which Colosse stood. " Cosmological speculations,
mystic theosophy, religious fanaticism, all had their
home there" (Lightfoot). Paul's note to Ephesus
(Rom. 16: 17-20) and still more clearly his address at
Miletus (Acts 20:29-30) show that he was appre
hensive of some such heresy. The exact form which
this teaching had taken at Colosse we can only infer
from the letter he wrote the Colossians and sent to them
by Tychicus who was going to Asia with Onesimus
(Col. 4:7-9). Probably the statement of it which
Epaphras gave him was very incomplete, and much
of what he wrote was in refutation of what he feared
might be taught. What he specially strives to impress
upon his readers is the completeness of the gospel they
have already received, so that no professedly supple
mentary or improved teachings shall be added to it,
and the sufficiency of Christ in all things, doing away
with all need of the gnostic mediators and spiritual
rulers. " Christ is all and in all : in Him dwelleth all
the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are
made full" (3:11; 2:9-10).
After a salutation in which Timothy — who had
probably visited Colosse (cf. Phile. 1) — is joined
(1: 1-2), and a thanksgiving for the present condition
of the church (3-8), followed by an avowal of his pray
ers for its future progress (9-14), Paul passes without
a break to set forth the Christian doctrines that are
contrary to the heresy. First is the paramountcy of
Christ, as opposed to the gnostic doctrine that He is

240 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
but one in a graded realm of higher beings (15-19).
In relation to God, Christ is His image (15a) ; in rela
tion to the universe, including all the gnostic higher
beings (if, indeed, they exist), He is its source and
reason of existence (15b-l7) ; in relation to the church,
He is its head and beginning (18). Thus all "the
fulness " (probably a favourite term of the gnostics)
is in Him (19). Next is the sole activity of Christ
in the work of reconciliation, by way of contrast to the
gnostic schemes of mediation and redemption (1:20-
2:7). Wherever, on earth or elsewhere, there is recon
ciliation, He is its agent (20). And in particular the
Colossians have been reconciled solely through faith in
Him (22-23) because whatever Paul himself had
gladly suffered for them or taught to them was really
by Christ in him (24-29), and the great aim of it all
was that they might know Christ in whom is all wis
dom and knowledge, and might live accordingly
(2:1-7). The way has now been prepared for a direct injunc
tion against any teacher who puts Christ aside. Am
bitious as may be his " philosophy," it is really child
ish prattle (2:8). All that he offers for spiritual
needs is found in Christ, — fulness, true circumcision,
spiritual life, forgiveness and dominion (9-15). As
for his rules concerning foods and sacred days, they
are worthless, — a shadow instead of the reality in
Christ (16-17) ; and the whole gnostic scheme debars
from Christ and His reward (18-19). Asceticism is
not spiritual, and has no real force in fighting fleshly
lusts (20-23). The life hid with Christ in God, and
the mind set upon the things of Christ, are the true
means of holiness (3: 1-4). The old foul life is to be
put away, not by denial but by death of self; and the

THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON 241
new life in Christ must be kept free from every form
of sin by all alike, no matter what the former race,
religion, culture or condition, — these disappear when
Christ is all and in all (5-11). In place of ascetic
ordinances Paul gives a series of Christian rules for
individual life (12-17), for family life, — the case of
Onesimus causing special stress to be laid on servants
and masters (3:18-4:1), and for prayer and social
life (2-6). Those who wish to learn about his own
affairs are referred to Tychicus and Onesimus (7-9),
and the epistle closes with a series of salutations from
the group of friends and fellow-workers who are gath
ered around Paul in his prison (10-18).
This, then, is Paul's answer to the gnostics. The
mystery of Christ, now clearly revealed and openly
proclaimed to every man (1:23-28), is incomparably
better than the esoteric mysteries, a knowledge of
which fills the favoured few with conceit and is sup
posed to make them perfect. The fulness of Christ as
regards both creation and redemption does away with
all need of a host of intermediaries between God and
the world or man. The life in Christ gives a victory
over sensuality and sin, impossible to be gained by
asceticism or ritual. And the deepest problems of
philosophy are solved when Christ is recognized; since
all the seeming discord of the universe finds harmony
in Him, and the process of the ages is the onward
march of His Kingdom. " In Him " is the keyword
of the epistle, repeated again and again like the the
matic phrase of a symphony.
3. The Letter to the Ephesians.
In his letter to the Colossians (4:16) Paul bids
them get a letter from the neighbouring city of Laod-

242 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
icea and read it. What was that letter? Marcion,
an early writer, calls our Epistle to the Ephesians the
Epistle to the Laodiceans. Probably it was written to
them, though not to them alone. The only indication
of its destination is the words " at Ephesus " of the
opening verse; and two of the oldest and best manu
scripts have a blank instead of these words, as if the
destination were to be filled in later. These facts and
the character of the letter lead to the conclusion that
Ephesians was written to the group of churches headed
by Ephesus, and the bearer was to insert the name of
each particular church to which he gave a copy of it.
What called it forth can easily be conjectured. The
report that heresy had appeared at Colosse would make
Paul anxious about his other Asian churches: — were
they, too, infected with this subtle and seductive false
doctrine? Possibly Epaphras had brought some word
about their condition ; for he would sail for Rome from
Ephesus, and would know about that church and its
neighbours. And certainly Paul would leave nothing
undone that might safeguard his beloved converts. We
may suppose, therefore, that after finishing his letter
to the Colossians, he wrote a general letter to the other
churches, and gave Tychicus copies of it to distribute
as he journeyed to Colosse with Onesimus. This sec
ond letter in many ways resembles Colossians but by
no means merely reproduces it. The doctrinal part is
not so directly aimed against the heresy, since Paul
knows less the form it takes in these churches and the
extent to which it has spread. What he aims to do is
to set forth certain great truths that may counteract
it. " Ephesians has a broader point of view than
Colossians. The Colossian perversion of the gospel
serves in Ephesians only as a point of departure for a

THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON 243
general warning against any teaching which does not
recognize the supreme majesty of Christ. Contro
versies and false doctrines are almost forgotten as Paul
unfolds the eternal plan of God through all the ages
to consummate all things in Christ" (B. W. Eobin-
son). The practical commands are against licentious
ness rather than asceticism ; because the more seductive
and prevalent form of the gnostic heresy would be that
which granted full license to indulgence of fleshly ap
petites as being mere illusion.
Ephesians opens with praise to God for all the
blessings He has granted the writer and the readers.
The list of what God has freely bestowed is a long and
wonderful one ; and the fact that they are all in Christ
is emphasized again and again (1: 3-14). This is fol
lowed by the prayer that God would give the readers
a knowledge of Himself, both as to the hope of His
calling and the glorious riches of His inheritance and
the greatness of His power shown already in the resur
rection and exaltation of Christ who is head over all
things to the church, His body (15-23). The state
ment of what they and Paul himself once were — dead
in sins and children of wrath by nature (2:1-3), is
left a broken sentence as the apostle hastens to cele
brate the love of God, through which they now share
Christ's life and enthronement in " the heavenlies " in
order that the exceeding riches of His grace may be
manifest in the ages to come (4-10). Since the church
is a body of which Christ is the head, or a temple of
which He is the chief corner-stone, the Jews and Gen
tiles who belong to it are no longer separated and at
strife ; peace and union have taken the place of enmity
and division (11-22). Paul's part in this dispensation
of grace has been to receive with others a revelation

244' THE APOSTOLIC AGE
of the mystery of the fellowship of the Gentiles, to
preach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ, and
to make manifest to all men that which interests even
heavenly beholders, — the manifold wisdom of God
shown in His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus
(3: 1-13). With a second prayer, brief but most com
prehensive, for the readers, and a doxology (14-21),
the doctrinal part of the letter closes.
The practical teachings begin with an exhortation to
live worthily of the Christian calling, exerting them
selves to keep the unity of the Spirit (4: 1-3). There
must be such unity, for the church is one in all the
great fundamentals (4-6) ; and the different offices and
gifts of its members are for the perfecting of the saints
and the building up of the one body of Christ until it
shall attain the measure of a full-grown man and ex
press the fulness of Him who is its Head (7-16). The
old man, the Gentile darkness and lust, must be put
off, and the new man created by God in righteousness
and truth, must be put on (17-24). The sins to be
cast off, and the mode of life by which God in Christ
is to be imitated, are set forth in some detail (4 : 25-
5:2) with a special warning against impurity and
against any teacher who might represent such things
of shame and darkness to be of no moral quality
( 5 : 3-14) . A Christian must live with true wisdom,
sober enthusiasm and proper subordination (15-21).
In accepting this subordination wives are to be in sub
jection to their husbands, yet the husband is to love
his wife even as himself, Christ's love for the church
being the example (22-33) ; children are to obey their
parents, yet parents are not to provoke but to nurture
them (6: 1-4) ; and slaves are to render service to their
masters as unto Christ, while the master likewise is to

THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON 245
bear Christ in mind in all his treatment of them
(5-9). Finally, all are to arm themselves with the
panoply of God for the fight against the spiritual
forces of wickedness (10-17), remembering to pray for
all saints including Paul himself who for the gospel
is an ambassador in a chain (18-20). Tychicus is sent
to tell them how the apostle fares and to strengthen
their hearts (21-22). Peace and grace be with all the
brethren (23-24).
The authenticity of both Colossians and Ephesians
has been disputed, because they differ so much from
Paul's earlier epistles; but the difference is easily ex
plained by the natural changes in the writer, the
churches and the foes that assailed them as the years
went by. Other critics, accepting Colossians as gen
uine, reject Ephesians because of its unlikeness to its
companion; but had the two epistles been strongly
alike, would not that fact have been used as a proof
that Ephesians is merely an imitation of Colossians by
some forger?
4. The Letter to the Philippians.
The three letters we have just considered were sent
at the same time. Was the letter to the Philippians
an earlier or a later production? Scholars do not
agree, but a later date seems probable. The long stay
in hired lodgings at Eome would deplete Paul's funds ;
the Philippians feared this, and sent a supply by Epa
phroditus (Phil. 4: 18). He found that all of Paul's
old companions except Timothy were away (2: 19 f.) ;
so he remained to render service, and presently he fell
gravely ill. His friends in Philippi learned of his ill
ness, and were much distressed; and he in turn was
sorely troubled when the news of their distress reached

246 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
him (2:25-30). All this would take time. More
over, the letter indicates, as the others did not, that
Paul's case had already been given a hearing, espe
cially if we understand with Eamsay " the Prae
torium" (1: 13) to be the court which would try him.
When he wrote he was waiting to see what the verdict
would be (2: 23). He had hoped for a prompt release
as soon as he could gain a hearing ; and this unexpected
and discouraging delay fills him with grave apprehen
sions. He faces the possibility of death instead of
liberty; and though he has by no means lost hope, he
is ready to accept with joy whichever issue God may
give, and would have his friends do the same (1 : 21 f. ;
2:17; 4:4). He rejoices already in the assurance
that the course of the trial thus far, — " the things that
have happened unto me" (1:12) — has helped spread
the gospel. In making his defence he has had an op
portunity to proclaim himself as Christ's prisoner be
fore the whole court; and his courage as a preacher in
bonds has made others more bold to preach, — some, in
deed, with aspersions of Paul, but all preaching Christ
(1: 13-18). And his trust is that with all boldness, as
always so now also, Christ shall be magnified in his
person whether by life or by death (1: 20).
The opportunity to send the Philippians a letter
came with the return of Epaphroditus home. He
could do little for the apostle now that the trial had
brought close confinement, and he longed after those
who were troubled about him. Probably Paul had al
ready sent his thanks for the gift (Polycarp speaks of
the letters of Paul to the Philippians), but he would
again express his pleasure and gratitude. His main
purpose in writing, however, is to bid them to rejoice
over the tidings Epaphroditus would bring, grave

THE LETTERS OF PAUL IN PRISON 247
though they might seem to be. He would have them
know that his own heart is strong and joyful, and
theirs should be the same. Conscious that this may be
his last message to a church with whom his relations
have ever been most intimate and affectionate, he takes
the opportunity to rebuke a spirit of self-assertion that
is causing dissension (1:27; 2:1-10; 4: 2), and to
warn them against certain Judaizers and»sensualists
(3: 1-4: 1). The letter is the most tender and touch
ing of all that we have of his ; and Lightfoot well pro
nounces it " the noblest reflection of Saint Paul's per
sonal character and spiritual illumination, his large
sympathies, his womanly tenderness, his delicate
courtesy." Philippians is as impossible of analysis as a love-
letter. The noblest passage in it (2:1-10) has been
grievously abused by being considered a dry, precise
statement of the doctrine of the incarnation with each
word weighed and safeguarded as in the clauses of a
creed; whereas it really is a wonderful picture of the
mind, of Christ, painted with a few bold strokes and
held before those who are minded to faction and vain
glory. Another graphic picture, which he paints to
warn them against the wiles of the Judaizers, is the
contrast between his own old, proud, self-righteous
Pharisaic life, magnificent but worthless, and his
present humble, self-forgetful, earnest endeavour to
gain Christ and the righteousness that is through faith
in Him (3:2-15).

XV
THE PASSING OF PAUL
WE come now to the most uncertain and dis
puted portion of Paul's history. The clos
ing statement of Acts warrants the conclu
sion that his imprisonment ended after two years (61
a.d. ) ; but did it end in death or in release ? And if
he was set at liberty, did he go to Spain, as he had so
long planned, or back to his churches in the East, as
his prison letters promise ? And when and where and
how did he depart to be with Christ ? Luke never
wrote his third book ; so contemporary history is silent
about Paul's passing. But an almost contemporary
writer was Clement of Rome ; and he says of Paul that
" having taught righteousness to the whole world, and
having come to the limit of the West, and having borne
testimony before the rulers, he departed thus from the
world." This seems to be a trustworthy statement that
Paul did go to Spain, which could not have been un
less he was released. To be sure, some scholars under
stand "the limit of the West" to mean Eome; but
Clement could hardly use such a phrase to describe
Eome when he was writing in that city. Statements
by second century writers that Paul went to Spain are
of less value because they may have been based wholly
upon his expressed intention of going there. The
probability that he would be released, and also the ex
pectation of release revealed in his letter to the Philip
pians, are magnified by those who affirm the release
and minimized by those who deny it. Paul certainly
248

THE PASSING OF PAUL 249
expected release when he made his appeal to Caesar;
and nothing that we know of changed the situation
later. The charges against him were Jewish, not of
importance in Eome, and' he had the advantage of
being a Eoman citizen. However, the whole question
of his release would be one of mere curiosity, hardly
worth discussion, were not the authorship of the Pas
toral Epistles involved. Their claim to be by Paul can
hardly be defended, as we shall see, unless his release
from the Eoman imprisonment is granted. At the
same time we must recognize that their authenticity
is not established, if his release is accepted as a fact.
Some other Christian writer may have felt that their
messages were what Paul would have sanctioned, and
in later days have put them forth in Paul's name.
Such assignment of a writing to an earlier author was
not unusual, and was not considered dishonest.
1. The Problems of the Pastorals.
The letters to Timothy and Titus are known as the
Pastoral Epistles because they were addressed to men
in charge of churches, and contain instructions suited
to pastoral work. The three letters form a group by
themselves, and in many ways are so distinct from the
Pauline epistles already considered that their author
ship by Paul has been greatly doubted or strongly de
nied. The external evidence for it, i.e., the indications
that very early writers regarded the letters as genuine,
is nearly as strong as for the undisputed letters. To
be sure, Marcion, about the middle of the second cen
tury, omitted the Pastoral Epistles from his list of
Paul's epistles; but he dealt with all the New Testa
ment writings to suit his heretical views. The internal
evidence, i.e., what is found in the epistles themselves,

250 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
is confusing and conflicting. Though they claim to be
by Paul, and contain much that seems Pauline, they
have also much that is unlike what we find in the un
disputed letters of Paul, and they reveal conditions in
the church too far advanced apparently for the days of
Paul. Volumes have been written for and against
their authorship ; and the discussion still goes on. The
four leading opinions and the main arguments con
cerning each, may be briefly summed up as follows :
1. The epistles are wholly spurious, and much later
than the time of Paul. Several proofs of .this are
brought forward, (a.) In vocabulary and style they
are unPauline: — we miss the nervous force, the com
pact thought, the rush of argument and impetuous di
gressions, that characterize Paul's writings. New
words, peculiar phrasing, feebleness of expression, lack
of logic betray another author. In reply to this it is
asked, Must a letter-writer have the same style and
words at all times and in all correspondence? May
not mood and circumstance and subject-matter and re
cipient cause marked changes? (&.) The tone of the
letters is not what Paul would use when addressing
his most intimate and long-time fellow-workers. Note
how unsuitable are the emphasis of his apostleship and
authority, the information about his past career, and
the solemn repetition of simple tmths and obvious
warnings. But are not just these features a charac
teristic of old age? Or, if it be thought that Paul
could not have aged so greatly since he wrote the
Eoman prison letters, may he not have expected that
these pastoral letters would be laid before the church,
and therefore have shaped their contents for the flock
more than for the shepherd? (c.) The great Pauline
ideas are largely lacking : — " faith " has lost its special

THE PASSING OF PAUL 251
meaning, so emphasized in other epistles, and become
simply one of the Christian virtues ; godliness and good
works rather than union with Christ, are made the cen
ter of a Christian life. But the letters are not polemic
discussions nor doctrinal treatises ; they are practical in
structions in Christian living; and only the religious
ideas that suit this purpose would be chosen and em
phasized. And is it not true that the farther one ad
vances in years, the more a quiet walk with God in the
way of His commandments seems the one thing to be
recommended as worth while? (d.) The letters reveal
a development of ecclesiastical organization and of
gnosticism which was not reached until after the days
of Paul. But can this assertion be substantiated ? We
really know very little about the church life or the here
sies in the middle of the first century ; and certainly we
must not put the same fulness of meaning into the terms
used in these epistles that we would, if they were in
writings of the second century. Dr. Lindsay, speaking
out of his own experience as a missionary in India, says,
" The more I study these Pastoral Epistles, the more
evident it becomes to me that they are just what every
experienced missionary has to impart to a younger and
less experienced colleague when he warns him about the
difficulties he must face and the tasks, often unexpected,
he will find confronting him. It is scarcely to be won
dered at, then, that the Pastoral Epistles are always
among the earliest portions of the Scriptures translated
in almost every mission station. * * * The very
errors [gnostic] denounced by the Pastoral Epistles
may be found among Hindu enquirers who never get
further than enquiring and a certain measured sym
pathy with Christian teachings."
2. The Pastoral Epistles are not by Paul, but the

252 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
unknown author incorporated in them certain brief notes
by him. For example, Dr. McGiffert thinks that Titus,
though largely not Pauline, is based on a note written
by Paul just before his last visit to Corinth; that II
Timothy contains with many additions a farewell letter
from Paul at Eome shortly before his death at the end
of the first imprisonment, and also a brief note (about
the cloak, etc., 4:9, llb-15, 20-21a), written from
Macedonia soon after Paul was forced to leave Ephesus
(Acts 20: 1) ; and that I Timothy has at the utmost
only small fragments of Pauline letters. The objection
to this or any other composite theory is that there is
nothing to indicate such a mixture of material ; the un
known author and compiler, if such there was, must
have been skilful beyond degree in making his produc
tion an harmonious whole in style and thought. More
over, most of the arguments used to prove that Paul did
not write certain parts of the epistles are equally valid
against the supposition that he wrote any part of them
and cannot be used against a portion without invalidat
ing the whole.
3. The letters are by Paul, but were written before
the end of the first imprisonment, which terminated in
death. Bartlett, for example, holds that I Timothy was
written soon after Paul parted with the elders at Mile
tus (Acts 20 : 38) to Timothy who had been left behind
to look after the church at Ephesus ; that Titus was writ
ten from Eome, the recipient having been left at Crete
when Paul went to Eome; and that II Timothy is a
farewell letter to Timothy at Ephesus just before the
apostle's death. To support this theory he has to sup
pose that II Timothy 4 : 20 has somehow strayed from
I Timothy where it belongs, and that II Timothy
4:9-13, 21a is a separate letter, written earlier than

THE PASSING OF PAUL 253
Philippians, to summon Timothy to Rome. Any such1
theory has great difficulty in fitting the facts mentioned
in the Pastoral Epistles into what we know of the apos
tle's life; and it makes the Pastoral Epistles no longer
a distinct group in time, but alternates their composi
tion with that of Romans and the Epistles of the Cap
tivity. Most scholars agree that if the Pastoral Epis
tles are by Paul, they must have, been written after he
was set free at Eome, since no previous situation meets
their requirements.
4. The letters are genuine and were written after
Paul's release from imprisonment. They were accepted
and treasured as such almost without question in the
early centuries; and none of the arguments brought
against them is sufficient to prove them forgeries. We
shall treat them as genuine, recognizing, however, that
the problems they present are only partially solved, and
that their Pauline authorship is by no means as unmis
takable as that of the other epistles credited to him.
However, authorship has little to do with their right to
a place in the New Testament. Even if they are by an
unknown writer, so is Hebrews. The church has tested
them by its own spiritual sense, and found them truly
" profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction which is in righteousness " (II Tim. 3 : 16) ;
and this apart from the question whether Paul was their
author. But if they are by Paul, they throw some light
upon his last years and his death ; and thus are doubly
precious to those who love the great apostle to the
Gentiles. 2. The First Letter to Timothy.
If we suppose that Paul was set at liberty and that
he wrote the Pastoral Epistles, can we trace his move-

254 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ments, or decide when and where he wrote them? It is
an almost hopeless task, since the only data are a few
incidental statements in these letters. Without the
Book of Acts how much could we discover of Paul's
earlier labours from his epistles ? All we can do is to
sketch a possible history. From his expressed intention
to visit Colosse and Philippi as soon as he was released
(Phile. 22; Phil. 2:24), we may infer that his first
journey was among his beloved churches in the East.
If the churches in Crete were a fruit of his own labours,
as his well-known rule of not working in other men's
fields would lead us to suppose, he may next have spent
some time evangelizing that island whose shores had
appealed to him when he sailed so close to them on his
way to Eome. Next, we may place the final execution
of his long-cherished plan to visit Spain. Eeturning,
after we cannot say how long a stay, he revisits Crete
and leaves Titus there to rectify certain conditions and
complete the organization of the churches (Titus 1:5).
He goes onward to Ephesus where he finds conditions
bad, and has to excommunicate Hymenaeus and Alex
ander as heretics (I Tim. 1: 20). Leaving Timothy to
continue this needed work of repressing heresy, he passes
into Macedonia (I Tim. 1:3), and from there he would
naturally go down to Achaia. Corinth would be the
place where most readily he could hear directly or indi
rectly from Timothy. Evidently the young man was
having a hard time. He had previously been associated
with Paul as with a father (Phil. 2:22), and the
dominant spirit of the apostle would hinder the develop
ment of a self-reliant character. He seems to have been
of a gentle, pacific and somewhat timorous nature (I
Cor. 16: 10; II Tim. 1:4), and not strong physically
(I Tim. 5: 23). Left alone to handle a very difficult

THE PASSING OE; PAUL 255
position, it is not strange that he felt like deserting it
and needed a letter of strong encouragement from Paul.
Since Ephesus was the metropolitan city, the other
churches of Asia looked to its church for guidance and
assistance ; and Timothy, as the apostle's delegate, would
be in apostolic charge of their management, involving
the superintendence of men much older than himself in
years though not in Christian life. And in all matters
of doctrine it would be his duty to guard the true and
oppose the false. The heresy for which Hymenaeus and
Alexander were excommunicated, seems to have been
similar to that which had appeared earlier in Colosse,
but with more of a gnostic element. We find the
"knowledge, which is falsely so called" (6:20), the
" profane and old wives' fables " (4:7), which are the
marvellous stories and allegories of the gnostics, and the
"endless genealogies" (1:4), which are the long lists
of spiritual beings and emanations, framed by these
heretics. Asceticism, also, in extreme degree is prac
ticed or at least commanded (4:3). The law, probably
a mixture of Jewish ordinances and other rules, is
taught by the new teachers (1: 7 f.), who with conceit
and wordy disputations are seeking to enrich themselves
in their position as religious instructors (6:3-5). They
were a hard set to handle, greedy, aggressive and per
sistent. To master them was, as David Smith says, " a
difficult task demanding experience, discretion and
courage; and these qualities Timothy lacked." Paul,
by his letter, seeks to place his own at Timothy's service.
After the salutation to " his true child in the faith "
(1:1-2) Paul starts to renew his exhortation that
Timothy should remain at Ephesus, but in true Pauline
fashion leaves it unfinished while he passes on to speak
at once of the purpose of his remaining, — the silencing

256 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
of the heretical teachers (3-4) who in ignorance and
conceit are teaching the law without knowing the true
purpose of law as the gospel of God has revealed it
(5-11). Paul's own spiritual history shows the power
that even the foremost of sinners may receive when
Christ mercifully saves him and appoints him to His
service (12-17) ; and the charge he himself has courage
ously defended, he now entrusts to Timothy (18-20).
Next he proceeds to deal with matters pertaining to the
church life. Prayers should be offered for all to God
who would have all to be saved (2:1-6). Women in mod
est dress and with fitting docility should give themselves
to good works and the duties of motherhood (8-15). The
church officers must be above reproach in character and
life, experienced and tested; for the church of God is
the foundation and support of the truth (3:1-14).
This section of the letter closes with what seems to be
some lines from an early Christian hymn in praise of
Christ (16). Passing on now to injunctions for Tim
othy personally, he warns him against asceticism, — a
course of life to which the young man seems disposed
(4:1-10); and with fatherly commands and precepts
advises him how to care for himself and his teaching
(11-16), and how to deal with the various classes in a
church, — the older and younger men or women, the
widows who are to be enrolled as church wards and the
younger widows who should marry, the elders in their
office, and the masters and slaves (5: 1-6: 2). The let
ter closes with a denunciation of the avaricious heretics
(6: 3-10), a charge to Timothy to fight the good fight
of the faith (11-16), a message through him to those
who have riches (17-19), and a final charge — perhaps
autographic — to guard the gospel against the heretics
(20-21).

THE PASSING OF PAUL 257
3. The Letter to Titus.
The letter to Titus resembles the first letter to Tim
othy so strongly that we must suppose the two were
written at the same time. Paul, so the letter shows, was
planning to spend the winter at Nicopolis (3:12).
There were half a dozen cities of that name; but the
most famous was in Epirus, and most critics understand
it to be meant. It was the leading city in a section of
Achaia that Paul had not yet evangelized, and he would
use it as headquarters for the work. He wanted Titus
as his assistant, and wrote to tell him to be ready to
come from Crete as soon as Artemas or Tychicus arrived
to take his place there. A simple note to this effect
would have been enough ; but Paul's mind was still full
of the difficulties Timothy had encountered and the ad
vice given him. Titus was an older and possibly abler
man than Timothy, and the situation in Crete was not
the same as in Ephesus ; yet much of the advice given
Timothy would be so helpful to Titus that Paul did not
hesitate to repeat it, condensing it and omitting the di
rections for personal improvement. Years before when
writing to the Corinthians, Paul called Titus "my
brother, my partner, and fellow-worker" (II Cor.
2: 13; 8: 23) ; here, with the feeling of an old man,
he classes him with Timothy as " my true child."
The salutation is unusually long, and like that of
Eomans contains an epitome of the gospel (1:1-4).
Then Paul starts in at once to give, much as in I Tim
othy, the qualifications of those elder men who are to
be appointed overseers in each city (5-9). There was
special need of good men to fill this high office ; for the
Cretans were notoriously lax, and gnostic Judaizers
were busy and must be stopped (10-16). For Titus'

258 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
own work of supervision Paul gives him certain charges
to the aged men (2: 1-2), to the aged women who in
turn are to teach the younger (3-5), to the younger men
whom he is also to guide by example (6-8), and to the
slaves (9-10), — all these being based on the teaching
that God has given through Christ (11-15). The duties
of Christians to the outside world (3:1-2) are likewise
founded on the same gracious revelation of God (3-8).
Brief warnings against false teachings and factious
teachers follow (9-11). Personal directions about
Titus' coming, greetings from those with Paul and to
all the church, and a benediction close the letter
(12-15). It was carried by Zenas the lawyer and Apol
los, who were going to touch at Crete on their way to
some other place (13).
4. The Second Letter to Timothy.
When Paul wrote the second time to Timothy he was
again in prison (II Tim. 2:9), probably at Eome
(1: 17), — tradition uniformly says he died there; but
Timothy seems to have been no longer at Ephesus. Cer
tainly if summoned with all haste from Ephesus to
Eome, he would not be asked to make a journey of sev
eral days up to Troas and back for Paul's cloak and
books (4: 13), nor need to be told that Tychicus had
been sent to Ephesus, and Trophimus left ill at Miletus
nearby (4: 12-13, 20). Probably he was then at Troas
or in that neighbourhood evangelizing. But what had
happened meanwhile ? Paul had visited Troas and had
intended to return there, for he left his cloak and travel
library behind ; he had been evilly treated by Alexander
the coppersmith against whom he warns Timothy
(4:14 f.) ; he had been abandoned by all of Asia
(1:15); he had stopped at Miletus and probably at

THE PASSING OF PAUL 259
Corinth. These items are like fragments of a picture
puzzle of which the great portion is lost. Can we make
anything out of them? Did he come from Epirus in
the spring and, after crossing to Troas for a visit with
Timothy, venture a hasty trip to Ephesus where Alex
ander informed against him, and none of his Asian con
verts came forward to help ? And was it as a prisoner
and on his way to Eome that he parted with Trophimus
at Miletus and with Erastus at Corinth? We cannot
tell. Neither can we tell what happened afterwards at
Eome. When did Demas decamp, and why were Cres-
cens sent to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia (4: 10) ?
What were the charges against Paul? When was his
first hearing? And how was he delivered out of the
mouth of the lion if no one would take his part
(4: 16 f.) ? Again, these are queries to which there is
no answer.
The letter reveals that his second imprisonment is
very different from his first. Then he could live in his
own hired house as a Eoman gentleman; now he is
bound as a criminal (2:9) and Onesiphorus has to
search the dungeons to find him (1: 16 f.). Then he
had a large circle of friends about him besides his fel
low-workers; now the group is a little one (4:21).
Then he confidently expected release ; now he as confi
dently expects that the time of his departure is come
(4:6). And it threatens to come even sooner than he
expected when he began to write the letter. Evidently
there was a sudden change in the situation. In the let
ter up to 4 : 9, Paul contemplates Timothy's continu
ance in his present work; but the letter closes with an
earnest and repeated appeal to come to him quickly, —
come before the winter shuts off navigation (4: 9, 21).
Can we use our imagination to explain all this ? Tradi^

260 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
tion uniformly declares that Paul was martyred under
Nero; and, allowing for the time required for the jour
neys we have supposed, the date could not have been
much before the emperor's death in 68 a.d. In the
summer of 64 a.d. there had been that disastrous fire
which so nearly destroyed Eome. Nero had laid the
blame of it upon the Christians, seeking thus to avert
the ugly suspicion that he was its author, and had
pushed a persecution in which any who bore the name
of Christ were put to death by torture. After that time
a Christian coming before the courts of Nero on any
charge had no possibility of kindly treatment, and little
chance of acquittal. Paul's place of confinement would
be a dungeon ; and he might expect a sentence of death
when he was brought before the court. We know not
how long he had to wait a trial, — long enough for the
ministry of Onesiphorus to be very necessary, — but
when he did face his judges, he made such a favourable
impression and set forth such an able defence that,
being a Eoman citizen, he was remanded for a further
hearing. The Christians in Rome had been unwilling
to risk their lives by testifying in his favour ; so possibly
he was allowed time to summon witnesses from else
where, or the court decided to wait the appearance of
other witnesses against him. Though he had little hope
of ultimate release, it would be months before these wit
nesses could appear; meanwhile he could send messages
and messengers to his churches, and could comfort his
own restless spirit with the reflection that when defend
ing himself he had now, as in the previous instance,
fully proclaimed the gospel message to his Gentile
judges and the throng that listened in the courtroom
(4: 17). These were the circumstances under which he
began his letter to Timothy. But before he had com-

THE PASSING OF PAUL 261
pleted it, there came word, we will suppose, that his
enemies, — very probably the Jews in Rome, — had fur
nished new witnesses or new accusations, and a second
and undoubtedly fatal trial might be expected in the
near future. It is this news that causes him to close
his letter hurriedly with an appeal to Timothy to come
with all haste, and to send it off at once.
Paul's underlying thought as he began the letter to
Timothy is disclosed in the very salutation (1:1-2):
his apostleship is " according to the promise of life in
Christ Jesus," — the life that no enemy can destroy.
He constantly bears Timothy in mind and longs to see
him (3-5) ; and he exhorts him to use the powers God
gave him at his ordination, unterrified by the perils into
which he has seen the apostle plunged (6-12), and to
guard the sound doctrine committed to 'him (13-14).
Paul contrasts the faithlessness of the Asians with the
courage of Onesiphorus (15-18), and bids Timothy, like
him, to labour and suffer in the gospel (2 : 1-10), quot
ing from an early hymn in conclusion (11-13). As for
refutation of heretics, which was one of Timothy's hard
est tasks, it is best done, not by disputations but by
handling aright the word of truth (14-19), and still
more by a manifestation in his own life of the Christian
virtues (20-26). The prospect, indeed, is dark; every
kind of evil man will oppose the progress of the truth,
under the pretence of serving God (3: 1-10), but Tim
othy's course should be a reproduction of Paul's, which
he knows so well, with the wisdom that comes from the
Holy Scriptures which he has known from childhood
(10-17). He is to preach the word earnestly and con
stantly, even though men turn from it, and to fulfil his
ministry, because Paul's own labours are nearly ended
and his reward is at hand (4 : 1-8). At this point comes

262 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the sudden change we have noted. In a series of hur
ried sentences Paul urges Timothy to come to him at
once, and indicates where his trusted friends now are,
and the dangerous situation in which he finds himself
(9-18). Brief salutations, a note about Erastus and
Trophimus, and a hurried benediction, end the letter
(19-22). These are the last words of Paul, — fitting, beautiful
and touching. His last hours are veiled save as these
words throw light upon the spirit with which he met
his end. Though on his missionary journeys he had
faced death often (II Cor. 11: 23), his confidence that
he would remain alive to meet his coming Lord seems
to have been unshaken down even to the time when he
wrote his triumphant anthem of the resurrection of the
dead (I Thess. 4: 17; I Cor. 15: 51). But after the
unrecorded sufferings in Ephesus, when as he reports
" we despaired even of life " (II Cor. 1 : 8 f.), he began
to look forward to his own decease, first with calm wil
lingness and then with increasing desire (II Cor. 5:8;
Phil. 1 : 23). His longing to depart and be with Christ
did not weaken his interest in the great work to which
he had set his hand, nor degenerate into a sickly yearn
ing after heavenly rest from labour ; but when the time
of departure was come, he passed, with the glad assur
ance of one who had finished the course and kept the
faith, to receive the crown of righteousness. Tradition
says he was beheaded, which would be the form of cap
ital punishment for a Eoman citizen, and that the
execution took place outside the city, a precaution ob
served when there was likelihood of a popular demon
stration. The sites of his death and burial are identi
fied by a feebly trustworthy tradition, and are marked

THE PASSING OF PAUL 263
by churches. Various stories concerning his last hours
are of little historical value.
5. Paul's^ Services to Christianity.
Paul was a born leader. Imperious yet considerate
and tactful, proud yet with a vein of true humility,
burning with zeal though ever strongly practical, over
flowing with love but never sentimental, interested in
life rather than in things of abstract thought, skilled in
reading men and swaying them, an orator who could
hold a savage mob or stir a blase monarch, a poet and
mystic who was neither fanciful nor visionary, — nature
had equipped him for mastery of his fellows. It would
be interesting to compare him with Mahomet, and note
in how many ways these two leaders — so widely differ
ent in their careers — had the same natural endowments.
To natural gifts was added a training both intellectual
and spiritual that fitted him for a world mission. We
have noted this repeatedly, and must not dwell upon it
now ; but we must recall his remarkable breadth of sym
pathy and range of vision. He could rejoice because
Christ was preached, even though the preaching differed
widely from his own way of presenting the gospel, and
was by those who refused to recognize his right to
preach. He may seem intolerant in his battle against
the Judaizers ; but it was their intolerance that roused
him to do battle. His plans of evangelism embraced the
whole world, at least the whole Eoman world; and his
thought was in terms, not of individuals or cities but
of provinces. He reveals this when he calls Epaenetus
the first fruits not merely of Ephesus but of Asia (Eom.
16: 5) ; and the household of Stephanas the first fruits
of Achaia (I Cor. 16: 15), and the gifts of Philippi
and his other churches in that province the contribu-

264 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
tions of Macedonia (Eom. 15:26). As Jesus showed
His love for all men by reaching down to the dregs and
pariahs of Palestine, so Paul showed that same love by
reaching out to the farthest bounds of the Eoman
empire. It has been asserted by some that Paul was the real
founder of Christianity. They say that he gave it the
theological doctrines and the universal character with
out which the simple precepts of Jesus would soon have
been forgotten, and the faith in His Messiahship would
have been crushed by repeated disappointment about
His return. Certain others denounce Paul as a per-
verter of Christianity. They maintain that the limpid
stream of the gospel was polluted and turned from its
course by his rabbinical ideas and abstruse metaphysics,
and that only in his development of the ethical and
social teachings of Jesus can he be accepted to-day.
The truth of these statements depends upon the nature
of the Master for whom Paul gave his life. Was Jesus
such an one as he proclaimed, — the eternal Son of God
incarnate; or was He only a remarkable, spiritually-
minded son of Abraham ? Is He to-day merely a shade,
growing more shadowy as the world sweeps on into
light ; or is He the greatest of living, acting personali
ties ? Is union with Him another phrase for kindly
sympathy with His thought and purpose, so far as we
can discover them in the past; or is it complete surren
der to an unseen but present Lord ? In short, did Paul
create the Christ whom he preached, or did he lay hold
on Him, — or rather, to use his own phrase, was he laid
hold on by Him? Without discussing these questions
we may say confidently that if the Christian church in
its great ecumenical creeds has truly stated what Jesus
is, then Paul may be declared to have been the one of

THE PASSING OF PAUL 265
the apostles who best understood His mission and pro
claimed His truth, — " the congenial interpreter of the
message of Jesus." The development of Christianity
through Paul was from the. seed his Master had planted.
What he did was to change Christianity from a Jewish
to a world religion by breaking down all barriers and
placing it at the head of the highest thought of the ages.
And as he laboured to preserve the unity of the
church, — the body of Christ with one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and Father of all; so he strove
to present the unity of its Head as truly God and also
truly man. Much that was precious and distinctive in
Paul's teachings was later on rejected when the church
entered upon degenerate days. Instead of justification
by faith alone men began to teach merit gained by good
deeds. The immediate access of all believers to God
was blocked by creating a priesthood. The freedom
from law, for which he fought so stoutly, was destroyed
by framing and enforcing a new code of Christian laws.
And instead of recognizing Christianity to be a life, —
" Christ in me," — it came to be presented as the sub
scription to a creed, — orthodoxy. But all Paul's teach
ings still remain in his immortal letters at the service of
the church whenever she chooses to use them. And so,
though dead, he yet speaketh.

XVI
THE LATEE CHUECH IN PALESTINE
CHRISTIANITY soon began to ignore the
parent church, not so much because the Gen
tile Christians greatly outnumbered the Jew
ish, as because the church in Palestine ceased to have
the life and energy necessary for leadership. It be
came conservative and stereotyped, and had little in
terest in the broader work outside its confines. Chris
tianity means missions, and Jerusalem ceased to be
missionary. From that hour its history is only a foot
note in the great story of the progress of the King
dom. We must not, however, overlook the tremendous
obstacles that confronted the parent church, nor fail
to give full credit and generous sympathy to Jewish
Christians in their brave struggle against them. As
Weizsacker says, " Christian churches formed in a
heathen city certainly never experienced, either at the
outset or throughout their history, any hatred and op
position like that which surrounded believers among
their Jewish compatriots; and nowhere was the self-
sacrifice of renunciation, the conflict with the power
of a traditional doctrine, greater than in the case of
native Jews." Moreover, the Jewish church was
closely connected with Jewish political fortunes, and
Palestine was now entering upon the great disaster and
tragedy of its history. This sad chapter must be out
lined as the background for a sketch of the fortunes
of the church. 266

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 267
1. Rome and Palestine.
Palestine was one of the important provinces of the
Eoman Empire, made so by its position as a frontier
barrier against the Arabs and Persians, and as a nar
row bridge connecting Egypt with Asia Minor. There
was every inducement for the Roman government to
keep it loyal and contented, but this was no easy task.
The idiosyncrasies of the Jews were many and strong,
and a Gentile ruler even with the best intentions would
often arouse opposition and hatred. And the whole
Jewish conception of national life, with God as sole
ruler and the Law controlling things secular as well
as sacred, was opposed to a quiet acceptance of Rome's
authority. The recent brief but intoxicating taste of
independence in the days of the Maccabees, and the
vivid prophetic pictures of Israel's future dominion
over all nations, kept the Jews restless and inclined to
revolt. Nevertheless, every sagacious patriot could not
but see the madness of rising against the overwhelm
ing force of Rome, and would counsel submission and
patience until such time as Jehovah Himself might
come to their relief.
Herod Agrippa I (41-44 a.d.), to whom the Eomans
had entrusted the domains of his grandfather, Herod
the Great, was an able ruler, "a careful imitator of
the old Herod, only milder in disposition and some
what more sly" (Schiirer). Being himself a Jew by
nationality, though an Idumaean by race, he was far
more acceptable to the Jews than a Eoman procurator,
and his endeavour to please them (Acts 12:3) made
him popular. When he died his son was deemed too
young to succeed him; so the whole of Palestine, as
formerly Judea and Samaria, was put under a pro-

268 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
curator, subject to the governor of Syria. There were
seven of these procurators up to the time of the revolt,
even as there had been seven between Archaelaus and
Herod Agrippa. As foreigners they usually had little
knowledge of the Jews or sympathy with their peculiar
institutions; and like most petty governors, the major
ity were insolent and tyrannical. Felix was the fourth
of the seven. Up to his time there had been only
sporadic outbreaks against the Eoman rule; now his
oppressive acts made the spirit of revolt universal.
The party of the Zealots, who advocated armed resist
ance, greatly increased; the Sicarii or assassins ap
peared; and religious fanatics drew crowds into the
wilderness by promising to set up the kingdom of God
(Acts 21:38). Festus, with the best of intentions,
had too little knowledge of the situation and ruled for
too short a time to undo the mischief wrought by his
predecessor. The last two procurators, Albinus and
Gessius Florus, had but one aim, — to make what they
could out of their office by every sort of extortion and
iniquity. The final outrage was when the latter robbed
the temple treasury of seventeen talents. The whole
nation rose against him, and the daily sacrifice for the
emperor was stopped, which was an open declaration
of revolt. The governor of Syria came with an army
to crush the rebellion, and was defeated near Jeru
salem with heavy loss. All Palestine now prepared
for war with Eome. This was in the autumn of
66 A.D.
The next spring Vespasian with his son Titus led
a Eoman army from Antioch against Galilee, and by
the end of the summer had subdued it. He went into
winter quarters at Caesarea, intending to continue the
campaign the next year; but the death of Nero, June,

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 269
68 a.d., made him suspend his preparations for the
siege of Jerusalem; and the rapid succession of phan
tom emperors, — Galba, Otho, Vitellius, — held him in
active until his own army in July, 69 a.d., proclaimed
him emperor and he went to Rome to secure his throne.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem was rent with fanatical, civil
strife. Three parties held possession of different parts
of it, and mercilessly fought each other, even destroy
ing the grain that had been stored up against a siege.
A few days before the Passover of 70 a.d., when the
city was packed with pilgrims, Titus came with a
Roman army and invested it. Despite horrible suffer
ings from famine the Jews refused to surrender, be
lieving that in the hour of utter extremity Jehovah
would grant a miraculous deliverance as when Senna
cherib besieged the city (II Kings 19:35). In Au
gust the temple was captured; and, according to
Josephus, though Titus had given strict orders to pre
serve it, a firebrand hurled by an excited soldier caused
it to go up in flames. Another and, perhaps, more
probable account is that after the close of the siege
Titus ordered the temple to be destroyed, thinking that
thus the religion of the Jews and of the Christians
would be more easily blotted out. In September the
last portion of the city was taken, and it was razed
to the ground, — a fragment of the wall being left to
show its former strength and protect the Roman gar
rison left in charge. Of the host of Jewish captives
the finest were sent to Rome to grace the triumph of
Titus, and the rest were sold into slavery. Judea was
now made a separate province with a special governor
residing at Caesarea.
The fall of Jerusalem caused great changes in the
inner life of the Jewish people. The destruction of

270 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the temple made impossible all the religious rites con
nected with it, and ended the occupation of the priests.
There was no longer a Sanhedrin; and the Sadducees,
having lost fortune and influence, disappeared forever.
The Pharisees became the sole leaders; and the Law
was studied and developed with increasing diligence,
though much of it was no longer practicable. Jabne
(Jamnia), a town on the coast south of Joppa, became
the headquarters of the rabbis, and their decisions
were sought by the devout and given the authority of
the vanished Sanhedrin. The Messianic hope still re
mained, and so increased in force that the next cen
tury saw a new revolt inspired by it. But for the
present the political power of Judaism was utterly
crushed. Outside of Palestine the Jews suffered little.
The half shekel, which they had hitherto paid as a tax
to support the temple, was now made a Eoman tribute
which Vespasian applied to the support of the Cap-
itoline Jupiter: — that was about all.
2. The Jews and the Christians.
After the persecution beginning with the death of
Stephen had ceased, the Christians in Palestine en
joyed a period of comparative peace (Acts 9:31).
The Hellenists had fled to their homes in foreign
lands, and the Hebrews were more than ever careful
to observe all Jewish laws and avoid the suspicion tbat
they were not loyal Jews. If regard for personal
safety might not inspire this action, the desire to win
their nation to acceptance of Jesus as Messiah would
certainly do so. James the Just is said to have worn
his knees to callousness in prayers for the conversion
of his countrymen ; and a similar zeal filled the hearts
of others, even of Paul (Eom. 10:1; 9:3). Doubt-

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 271
less one reason why the great apostle to the Gentiles
was so disliked by his brethren in Jerusalem was their
belief that by offering the gospel to the heathen he was
causing the Jews to shut their hearts against it. The
glimpse we gain of the church in Jerusalem at his
last visit reveals that its members were more than ever
" all zealous for the Law " (Acts 21 : 20). Neverthe
less, the persecution had done much towards sharply
differentiating the Christians and creating distrust of
them; and the fire of persecution still smouldered.
Just what charge caused the action of Herod Agrippa I
against James, the brother of John, and Peter, we do
not know; but the inspiration of it was the popular
dislike of the Christians. Anything like a gen
eral persecution, however, was averted by the death of
Herod and the coming of Roman procurators, who
neither knew nor cared about the difference between
Jews and Christians, and who would not allow popular
tumults. An opportunity for independent action arose
when the death of Festus left Palestine without a
Roman ruler until the arrival of his successor. Dur
ing this brief interregnum Ananus, the high priest, put
to death James the Just and certain others, probably
Christians; but it is hardly likely that he did this
through religious zeal; for as a Sadducee he cared
little about the Law, while James was distinguished
among his brethren for scrupulousness in observing it.
The leading men of the city, who would be Pharisees,
condemned the deed of Ananus ; and in consequence he
was deposed from his office, though he had held it only
three months.
As the spirit of revolution increased among the
Jews, the position of the Christians became more diffi
cult. The precepts of Jesus forbade them from draw-

272 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ing the sword ; yet a refusal to do so seemed disloyalty
to their country. Also, the completion of the temple
(62-64 a.d.), work upon which had been going on for
more than eighty years, awakened an enthusiasm for
the Jewish faith which would sweep many Christians
back into their former religion, and cause the others
to be more sharply criticised. When at last the war
broke out, still greater changes took place. The Chris
tians of Galilee fled from the deluge of blood which
covered that land, going over into Decapolis or to their
brethren in Tyre, Caesarea and other cities; and the
bitter party strifes in Jerusalem the following years
led the Christians of that city to take refuge elsewhere
as their Master had ordered (Matt. 24: 15 f.). Pella,
across the Jordan in the old land of Gilead, was one
place of shelter; but the most strictly Judaistic party
would not go to a semi-Gentile city, but rather would
" flee unto the mountains," seeking a home in seques
tered places of Judea until the war ended.
After the end of the war the Christians of Palestine
found themselves in a sadly isolated position. The
Jews could not forgive their refusal to share in the re
bellion, and though now unable to persecute, hated
them more heartily than ever. And Gentile Christians
could have no sympathy with their extreme legalistic
ideas and their claim to be the elect remnant of the
Lord's people to whom all His promises were re
stricted. Thus left to themselves they grew more nar
row, conceited and bitter. Their poverty caused them
to be called Ebionites (" poor men ") ; and their in
creasing rejection of Christian doctrines, especially
those set forth by Paul, brought about their condemna
tion as heretics. This was in the second and third cen
turies ; they survived for a time longer, but finally dis-

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 273
appeared. That which Paul had laboured to pre
vent — the split of the church into a Jewish and a Gen
tile section — was thus brought about by the war; but
the Jewish section was left so small and weak that
henceforth it had no influence. The danger of a
dominant Palestinian mother-church, whose natural
Judaistic tendencies would be nourished by its environ
ment, was forever removed. And the privileged posi
tion claimed by the Jewish Christian was destroyed,
not so much by the logic of Paul as by the sterner and
more unanswerable logic of events. As for the Jews
in foreign lands, the destruction of their sacred city in
creased their hatred of all Gentiles, especially of Chris
tians, so that henceforth there was little possibility of
inducing them to accept Jesus as the Christ.
N
3. The Epistle to the Hebrews.
The letter that we call the Epistle to the Hebrews
did not, of course, bear any title originally, but has
been thus designated as far back as we can trace it.
Many able scholars to-day think that it was written to
Gentiles and not to Hebrews, but this seems, as West-
cott says, " an ingenious paradox." The letter presup
poses in its readers a knowledge of Jewish institutions
and an interest in Judaism such as few Gentile Chris
tians would have. Even to-day much of it is unat
tractive to the average Christian because he lacks a
familiar acquaintance with the Old Testament. Like
the First Epistle of John it has no address ; but it is
evidently written to some particular church in which
the writer has once had a place (13:19), and with
whose condition, therefore, he is well acquainted. The
church has borne persecution (10: 32 f.), but not unto
martyrdom (12:4), though some in bonds have

274 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
claimed its generous aid and sympathy (6:10;
10:34). Its members know Timothy who with the
writer is about to visit them (13:23). The temple
worship has charms for them,' and they are tempted
to go back to Judaism, — so the whole epistle indicates.
This description would suit many Jewish-Christian
churches, but not Jerusalem which had resisted unto
blood, and was a recipient rather than a bestower of
alms, and would not be interested in Timothy nor
willing to accept the authoritative tone of the letter.
Some church where Gentile vices were prevalent
(13:4), yet near enough to Jerusalem for the temple
worship to be strongly attractive, would seem to be
indicated. Caesarea is a good guess. It must have
ministered to Paul and others in bonds ; it would know
Timothy and various companions of Paul; it would be
made up largely of Jewish Christians; and during the
troublesome days of the rising revolution it would be
persecuted by the Jews. Also, the church at Caesarea
originally had in it Italians, — Cornelius and his
friends of the Italian cohort (Acts 10 : 1 f.) ; so pos
sibly the Italians who send greetings (Heb. 13:23),
are of that same cohort now stationed elsewhere.
If the readers of the epistle are a problem, still
more is the writer. All scholars agree that the letter
is not by Paul. Though its teachings have a Pauline
flavour, they are from an independent standpoint; and
the writer expressly places himself among the Chris
tians who had received the gospel from them that
heard Jesus originally (2:1-4). He writes excellent
Greek, — better than that of any other New Testament
author; and his polished style and full vocabulary
show him to be a finished scholar. " He was without
doubt, the finest and most cultured literary genius of

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 275
the primitive church" (McGiffert). " That he writes
as a literary man," says Ropes, " is one of the reasons
why his epistle is far less interesting than those of the
less trained and more human Paul. * * * We find
ourselves in an intellectual and almost dogmatic at
mosphere." Martin Luther thought that Apollos, the
" learned Alexandrian, mighty in the scriptures,"
might be the author, especially as the epistle shows
both the Alexandrian school of thought and the influ
ence of Paul. But Luke, Silas, Barnabas, Mark and
others have been put forward. The latest claimant is
none other than Priscilla! Harnack suggests that she
wrote it, and that later on her name was suppressed
because of monkish prejudice against women teachers.
" Who it was that wrote the epistle, God only knows,"
said Origen in the third century; and the uncertainty
about its authorship caused hesitancy about putting it
in the New Testament canon. Finally it was included,
and to make its place more secure it was ascribed to
Paul; yet the position where it stands in Western
manuscripts, — after all the epistles of Paul instead of
among his longer ones, — shows the doubt about this de
scription. The date of the epistle is likewise a matter of un
certainty. Apparently the temple worship is still
going on; and certainly if the date is after 70 a.d., the
destruction of the temple would be mentioned, and the
temptation to go back to Judaism would have largely
ceased. But it cannot be many years earlier ; for those
who were the first teachers have passed away (13:7;
2 : 3), and there has been time for religious growth
(5:12) though, as the many warnings indicate,
growth has not come as it should. A critical day is
close at hand (10:25; 8:13), and severer sufferings

276 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
are to be expected (12:4; 13: 13). The savage perse
cution of the Christians at Rome by Nero (64 a.d.)
may have caused this expectation; for a report of it
would quickly spread throughout the empire, rousing
the provincial officials to activity against the hated
sect. We are tempted to fix the date at 68 a.d., when
forty years since the church began were just ending
(3:9), when the carnage in Galilee and the struggle
for the throne of Eome would seem the first stage in
the fulfilment of Haggai's prophecy (12:26), and
when Timothy would be set at liberty by the death of
Paul (13 : 23). But the likelihood is small that Chris
tians would incline to go back to Judaism after the
Jewish revolt had become complete. A date just be
fore that revolt is more probable. Several causes then
combined to draw Jewish Christians back from their
new faith to the old. There was the intense outburst
of national spirit with which they could not but sym
pathize, and which seemed to demand that in no re
spect should they separate themselves from their
brethren. There was the increasing evidence that the
Jews as a nation were not going to accept Jesus and,
therefore, that it would be more and more difficult for
Jewish Christians to join with them in keeping the
ordinances of the Law. There was the probability of
severer suffering inflicted by the Eoman government
at the instigation of the Jews and of the Gentiles also.
And there was the 'failure of the coming of Christ
which they had confidently expected would bring the
final answer to all the difficulties about the ignomini
ous ending of His public ministry, and would initiate
the triumphant establishment of His rule over Pales
tine and the whole world. Added to all these was the
loss of tried and trusted leaders. The apostles were

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 277
scattered or dead, and James the Just had suffered
martyrdom, leaving the Jewish Christians as sheep
without a shepherd. No wonder they longed for the
old familiar fold.
The Epistle to the Hebrews was written to the men
who were drawing back and disposed to return to
Judaism again. Its keyword is " Better," thirteen
times repeated; and its aim is to set forth the superi
ority of the new faith over the old, or the sufficiency
and finality of Christianity as the last and clearest
divine revelation (1: 1-4). All that Judaism contains
is only a type and foreshadowing of what is to be
found in Christianity; and the old covenant is nigh
to vanishing away, giving place to the new and better.
But the epistle is not an academic discussion of the
comparative merits of Judaism and Christianity: it
is preeminently a "word of exhortation" (13:22).
These men who are tempted to give up the confession
of their faith are wavering, not from intellectual diffi
culties but from a lack of religious earnestness. They
are drifting with the current (2: 1), unwilling to press
on to perfection (6 : 1 f.), failing to consider the signifi
cance of Christ and His work (3:1; 12:3). Their
former consecration has disappeared in moral and
spiritual apathy and decay; and they greatly need to
be warned against an evil heart of unbelief (2:1-3;
3:12). The epistle, therefore, is fully as much prac
tical as doctrinal; but, unlike Paul, the writer does
not make one main division between the two, — he fol
lows each doctrinal statement immediately with a
practical exhortation " to give the more earnest heed
* * * for how shall we escape if we neglect so
great salvation."
The opening sentence of the epistle sets forth the

278 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
truth upon which all that follows is based. From the
Son of God, sole agent in creation, revelation and re
demption, we have received a full and final message,
of which the words of the ancient prophets were only
multiform fragments (1: 1-3). His superiority to the
angels, through whom God's message was thought to
come, is shown by the very name, Son, as contrasted
with that of angel, i.e., messenger (4-14). Therefore,
we ought to give to His words more earnest heed than
to any others, inasmuch as all things are subject to
Him (2 : l-8a). True, for a little while He was made
lower than the angels, sharing our flesh and blood and
tasting of death; but this was that through His suffer
ings He might be the author of our salvation (8b-18).
Or, if we contrast Him with Moses, again it is the
difference between a son and a servant ; and the danger
of rejecting His word is correspondingly great: — the
rest that remaineth for the people of God, which those
who followed Moses and Joshua did not enter into be
cause of their disobedience, will not be gained by us,
if we likewise lack faith and obedience (3:1-4:13).
Jesus is our Great High Priest, full of that sympathy
which gives us boldness to claim His help (14-16).
He was made such by God after the order not of
Aaron but of Melchizedek (5:1-10). This is a sub
ject concerning which, the writer declares, what I have
to say is properly for those who are advanced in knowl
edge; whereas you are still in the infantile stage, and
close to the hopeless condition of apostasy; though I
say this rather to stir you up than to discourage you
(5:11-6:12), since the immutable promises of God
are your strong encouragement (6:13-20). Christ's
priesthood, of which Melchizedek's is the type, is bet
ter than Aaron's because it is universal, eternal, abso-

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 279
lute (7:1-28), because it is in a heavenly sanctuary
and of a better covenant (8:1-13); and because He
offers a better sacrifice, purifying us by His own
blood, — a sacrifice that needs not to be repeated often
but is once for all (9:1-10; 18). Therefore, let us
draw near Him with a true heart, in fulness of faith,
in holy and active life, conscious of the fearful fate
of those who, knowing the truth, sin wilfully
(10:19-31). Let remembrance of the former conflict
of suffering make you bold for that which is to come,
and look forward steadfastly to the coming of Christ,
full of the faith that is unto the saving of the soul
(10: 32-39). It was by such faith that the long line
of God's great servants triumphed in the past
(11:1-40). And since these are looking down upon
us, and Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith, let
us endure all suffering, remembering that God sends
it, not as a bitter punishment but as a profitable,
fatherly chastening (12:1-13). A life of peace and
holiness should be pursued with even more care and
fear under the dispensation of Jesus than under that
of Moses (14-29). Love, good works, and steadfast
ness in the doctrine are enjoined (13: 1-17) ; and the
epistle closes with some brief personal messages
(18-25). In Hebrews we find a view of the Law distinct in
many ways from that of Paul. Both agree that the
Law was of divine origin and was a preparation for
the coming of Christ ; but while Paul, as we have seen,
thought mainly of its moral requirements and the way
in which human inability to meet them^ revealed the
need of a divine Saviour, the writer of Hebrews
thought rather of its ritual and sacrifices and of the way
in which these foreshadowed the work of Christ. With

280 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
somewhat of Platonic philosophy he held that heaven,
"the world to come whereof we speak" (2:5) is the
realm of realities, and that earth has only their im
perfect, fleeting shadows and symbols. But he also
held that faith makes that future, invisible realm a
present, actual possession for the Christian (11:1;
6:4-5). So while all the Jewish institutions are
merely " copies of the things in heaven," " a shadow
of the good things to come," the Christian by faith has
"the very image of those things" (9:23; 10:1).
For example, the tabernacle which Moses made accord
ing to the pattern showed him in the mount, was an
earthly, imperfect copy or symbol of the true, heavenly
tabernacle in which Christ ever ministers (8:5, 9 ;
11, 24), and into which His followers may in fulness
of faith enter even now (10: 19). The Law, then, was
a failure, not because it was weak through the flesh,
as Paul would affirm, but because it was merely an in
distinct shadow, faintly portraying the Christian reali
ties, and meaningless apart from faith. Paul reck
oned that the Law no more had any value for the
Christian, and so doubtless did the writer of Hebrews.
But would the man who longed for some legalistic,
ritualistic form of religion be content to give it up en
tirely ? Would he not feel that in some way it might
be filled with the reality it lacked, — be spiritualized
and retained. A Sabbath that truly brought the rest
of God, priests who served under Jesus as the Great
High Priest, sacrifices that truly represented or repro
duced the one sacrifice of Christ,— were these forbid
den, and would they not be helpful for Christian liv
ing ? Such certainly was the way in which the church
in later centuries reasoned and shaped its ritual ac
cordingly. It had its sacred days, its army of priests,

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 281
and its sacrifice of the mass. And the rebukes of Paul
and the warnings of Hebrews sounded in ears that
heard not.
4. The Epistle of Jude.
An epistle, little in size but large in problems, is that
which bears the name of Jude or Judas. The name
was a very common one, — made so, perhaps, by the
fame of Judas Maccabaeus; but the writer is further
described as the brother of James, another very com
mon name yet in this instance doubtless meaning James
the Just. We know that one of the four brothers of
Jesus was named Jude (Mk 6:3), and that like the
others he did not accept Him as Messiah until after the
resurrection. That is all we know about him. Eusebius
tells us that the emperor Domitian (81-96 a.d.) or
dered the relatives of Jesus to be brought before him,
as he feared they might head an insurrection. The
grandchildren of Jude were found and brought; and
they proved to be such humble peasants, devoid of
earthly ambition, that Domitian dismissed them in con
tempt. Evidently Jude was then dead, or he would
have been brought. But it is hard to believe that the
Epistle of Jude was written much before that time. It
speaks of the apostles as if they had ceased to preach
(17-18), and of "the faith" as something formulated
and handed down from an earlier generation (3) ; and
its rebukes reveal a development of gnosticism and
moral corruption much beyond what we have found
hitherto in the church. The author's Jewish name, his
familiarity with the Old Testament, and his use of two
Jewish apocalypses written about the beginning of the
century, — the Book of Enoch (14-15) and the Assump
tion of Moses (9) — make us sure he was a Jew. His

282 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
quotations from these two apocryphal books as if they
were historical and inspired, produce a perplexing
problem in inspiration, and were probably the chief rea
son why the epistle had to struggle for a place in the
New Testament. His command of the Greek language
suggests that he learned it rather late in life: — he has
a vocabulary of stately, sonorous, sometimes poetical
Greek words, but he lacks skill in the formation of sen
tences. He seems to be familiar with Paul's letters, or
at least with the Christian terms developed by Paul;
and the phrase " our common salvation," as well as the
sins he condemns, would indicate that he was writing
to a church made up of Gentiles alone or of both Gen
tiles and Jews. If so, he could not have belonged to
the narrow Palestinian Christians. Despite all that
suggests the contrary, he may have been the brother of
James. Otherwise, we may suppose that he described
himself simply as " Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ,"
and some later reader, naturally supposing that this
Jude was the brother of James, added that identifica
tion as a memorandum on the margin of the manuscript
whence it was copied into the text. We have little
means of determining the church to which Jude wrote.
One made up in whole or larger part of Gentiles, near
enough to Palestine to arouse the interest of a Jewish
Christian teacher, and in a community where sensuality
and godlessness abounded, would meet the require
ments. Antioch in Syria is a favourite conjecture, but
Alexandria and other cities have been suggested.
The epistle is a hasty, forcible note to warn the
church against certain new teachers whose profession of
Christian piety is only a cloak for foulest lust and ava
rice. Though we have but a very general description
of their teaching and acts, their errors seem to be

THE LATER CHURCH IN PALESTINE 283
practical rather than doctrinal; they deny Christ by
turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (4) ; they
are filled with pride, and scoff at all spiritual agen
cies (8); they are "shepherds that without fear feed
themselves" (12). That a church should endure such
men and even follow them, shows how the early enthu
siasm and consecration are dying out, and lusts once
banished are creeping back. There was always dan
ger, as we have seen, that the Pauline doctrine of lib
erty might be turned into an excuse for libertinism ; and
the gnostic teaching about the material world could
justify sensuality as well as inspire asceticism. The
opportunity of base men in a simple Christian com
munity with its new freedom of the sexes and its night
meetings and love feasts is evident, especially when the
members had recently come out from a licentious pagan
religion, and were still imperfectly trained in Christian
virtues. These fleshly, arrogant teachers deserved the
sweeping condemnation of Jude; and those who were
inclined to follow them needed the warnings he heaps
up from Old Testament fates of those who gave them
selves over to lust and insolence. Yet there is nothing
of the Pharisaic spirit in Jude's heart, but rather a
Christlike pity and yearning to save (22 : 23).

XVII
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
BY the end of the Apostolic Age nearly all remem
brance of what Jesus said and did except what
is recorded in our Four Gospels seems to have
ceased ; for only some sayings of little value and doubt
ful authenticity, and a few slight incidents besides that
of the woman taken in adultery, which finally was in
serted in our gospels, came down by tradition and were
preserved by second century writers. To be sure, the
statement of John 21 : 25 that a record of what Jesus
did would fill the world with books, suggests that its
writer was acquainted with a host of unwritten details ;
but nothing confirms this. The lack of reference to the
life of Jesus in the New Testament epistles indicates
that Christians in the early part of the Apostolic Age
had no keen historical interest in the earthly years of
their Lord. The period was one when an intense reali
zation of His presence spiritually, and a confident ex
pectation of His return bodily, deterred the disciples
from dwelling on the past. We do not write biogra
phies of friends who are with us, or are coming to
morrow. There may have been also a feeling that in
His earthly ministry Jesus was so hindered by unbelief
and hatred that He could not fully reveal His power or
teach His truth, and that, therefore, it was not wise
to emphasize the past as His perfect manifestation.
Nevertheless, the practical needs as well as the natural
curiosity of the early believers would counterbalance
284

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 285
this indifference or aversion to the past, and seek from
the apostolic eye-witnesses some account of what Jesus
had done and taught. And before the first generation
of Christians had largely passed away, the gospel Story
had taken definite form and permanent record in our
first three gospels, which from their interrelation we
call the Synoptic Gospels. The process by which this
came about must be considered at length.
1. The Oral Gospel.
The story of what they had seen and heard when with
Jesus must have formed the chief part of " the apostles'
teaching" in the days immediately after Pentecost
(Acts 2:42). There was little else they could teach,
because they themselves had barely entered upon the
great new world of Christian experience ; and there was
nothing that the early converts, most of whom had
never known Jesus, would find more interesting or ap
pealing. There was no reason for putting the story
into writing since the narrators were constantly at
hand ; and there was no inclination to do so, because an
Oriental feels that statements most sacred and inti
mate should not be written down lest profane eyes fall
upon them. For example, the Jewish traditional Law,
which was deemed most holy, was transmitted for gen
erations by grave rabbis who taught it orally to little
groups of reverent disciples; and it was not put into
writing until at last fear arose lest all who knew it and
could teach it might perish by persecution. The story
of Jesus, told by the apostles, would at first contain
only such incidents as answered the eager questions or
evident needs of their hearers, and would be most in
complete. Those converts who returned to their own
homes in foreign lands soon after Pentecost must have

286 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
carried back a very imperfect evangel, and have been
correspondingly crippled as they tried to proclaim it.
And had the church at Jerusalem at once sent forth
missionaries or been scattered by its foes, the formation
of any adequate account of the ministry of our Lord
would have been much hindered and delayed. But in
God's providence the church remained for some time
in peace and union at Jerusalem where it could con
stantly look to the apostles for the gospel facts. And
as the apostles repeated again and again to public gath
erings and to individuals the things concerning Jesus,
their story gradually grew more complete and took on a
stereotyped form, as stories told over and over inevit
ably do. It became what we call the Oral Gospel.
What this Oral Gospel must have been, we can with
some confidence determine. Because the apostles spoke
as eye-witnesses (Acts 1: 22), it would begin with the
great Galilean ministry, — the preaching of John and
the baptism and temptation of Jesus serving as a brief
preface, and the Judean ministry, which but few had
shared, being omitted as seemingly unimportant or a
failure. And because the motive in telling it was a
desire to convert unbelievers or to guide the brethren
in Christian living, it would not be in any strict sense
a chronological history but rather a selection of inci
dents and sayings that proved to be most helpful. It
would contain many of the miracles, which are always
impressive, and but few of the deeper teachings of
Jesus, since these teachings do not hold the attention
as well and require a degree of spiritual growth before
they can be appreciated. And it would dwell upon the
incidents of the last week, the tragedy of His cruci
fixion, and the proofs of His resurrection, because these
are the most sacred scenes in Christ's life, and make the

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 287
most effective evangelistic appeal. When once it had
taken on a recognized, definite form, it would be treas
ured in the memory of the hearers, and become the com
mon property of the church. Even after there were writ
ten gospels, many would prefer the oral. Papias, who
was born about 70 a.d., tells how he questioned those
who had heard the apostles ; " for," he says, " I did not
think that what was to be gotten from books would
profit me as much as what came from the living and
abiding voice." And Irenaeus, who was born some
fifty years later, when describing how he heard Poly
carp tell what he learned about Jesus, says, "These
things, through the mercy of God which was upon me,
I then listened to attentively, noting them down, not on
paper but in my heart ; and continually, through God's
grace, I recall them accurately." The feeling that an
oral gospel was preeminently in the heart must have
been shared by not a few.
2. The Sayings of Jesus.
Averse though the disciples may Have been to put
ting in writing that which the apostles told them, they
would soon find good reasons for doing it to a certain
extent. The words of Jesus are not as easily held in
memory as the incidents of His ministry, and exact
ness in repeating them is most important; so a hearer
who was accustomed to make memoranda would natur
ally write down- a saying that specially interested him,
whether he wished to preserve it for 'his own future
use, or to pass it on to a friend. In the old rubbish
'heaps of Egypt to-day we are finding ostraca, — broken
bits of pottery, the cheapest, handiest and most lasting
of stationery, — on which are single texts of Scripture
jotted down when Christianity was still new on the

288 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Nile. We have found there, likewise, fragments of
papyrus manuscript containing a series of short verses,
each prefaced by the words " Jesus said." These illus
trate the process that must have gone on at Jerusalem.
Whether the apostles when they were with Jesus made
notes of what He said, we do not know. The one most
likely to do it was Matthew, whose earlier occupation
as a tax collector may have accustomed him to aid his
memory by his pen. But we may be sure that among
those who listened to the apostles were some who would
write down the most memorable sayings of Jesus with
or without a statement of the occasion that called them
forth. The words of Jesus most desired and cherished were
those that might serve as a guide in daily living or
bring cheer and light concerning the future ; so we find
that precepts for conduct, directions and encourage
ments concerning prayer, and statements about the
Lord's coming and His kingdom form the larger part of
what has been preserved. There are indications that
little groups of His sayings bearing upon some special
subject were formed and circulated before any larger
collection was made. But larger collections would fol
low; and we know that one of these bore the name of
Matthew, for Papias, writing about 140 a.d.., says,
"Matthew compiled the Sayings (Logia) in the
Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as he
was able." That Papias was not referring to our pres
ent Gospel of Matthew seems clear, because that Gospel
bears no marks of being a translation from the Hebrew
(by which Papias means Aramaic, cf. Acts 21 : 40),
and Sayings would not be a fitting name for it. Some
such collection, as we shall see, was one of the sources
used by the authors of Matthew and Luke; and Eng-

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 289
lish scholars are inclined to believe that it was the one
mentioned by Papias ; so they call it the Logia, though
German scholars usually call it simply the Q (Quelle)
document. We can to a fairly satisfactory degree re
construct this document from Matthew and Luke; and
possibly some day a copy of it may be discovered in
the sands of Egypt or elsewhere.
3. The Gospel of Mark.
John Mark, though in a subordinate position, played
a more important part in the apostolic church than we
sometimes realize. The fact that he was a cousin of
Barnabas, who was from Cyprus, and that he had a
Roman name, suggests that he was a Hellenist ; but his
family in the early days of the church lived in Jeru
salem, and their house was one of the gathering-places
of the church (Acts 12:12). Possibly this was the
house where Jesus ate the Passover, and Mark was the
young man who barely escaped arrest at Gethsemane
(Mark 14: 51). When Barnabas and Paul went back
to Antioch after the famine visit, they took him with
them; and on the first missionary journey he was their
attendant as far as Perga (Acts 12:25; 13:5, 13).
Because he forsook them at that point Paul would not
take him on the second journey, but with Barnabas
he made another tour through Cyprus (15:37 f.).
Later on he made his peace with Paul, and became his
assistant and was with him in Rome (Col. 4:10;
Phile. 24). During the second imprisonment he was
working somewhere in one of Paul's fields, and the
apostle bade Timothy pick him up and bring him along
to Rome (II Tim. 4:11). We hear of him once more,
doubtless after the death of Paul, as being with Peter
in Babylon (Rome) ; and the way the aged apostle

290 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
leans on him is shown by his calling him " my son "
(I Peter 5:13). Tradition says he travelled with
Peter as his interpreter! because the Galilean fisherman
knew little Greek and less Latin. " Useful for minis
tering " is what Paul pronounces Mark : words of high
praise, though the world does not always count
them so.
The origin of the Gospel of Mark is stated by
Papias as follows : " Mark, having become the inter
preter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though indeed
not in order, whatever he remembered of the things
said and done by Christ. For he had neither heard
the Lord nor accompanied Him; but afterwards, as I
said, he accompanied Peter who used to suit his teach
ings to the needs of his hearers without attempting to
give an orderly arrangement of the Lord's words; so
that Mark cannot be blamed for thus having written
down some things as he remembered them. For of
one thing he was careful, — to omit nothing of what he
had heard and to state nothing falsely." If we accept
the statement, — and there seems little reason why we
should not, — the Gospel of Mark is the story of Jesus
as Peter used to tell it on his evangelistic tours. Not
that Peter would necessarily give all of it at one time,
or that he would follow the order we find in the
Gospel. As Papias suggests, he would select the por
tions suited to the needs of his hearers. For example,
he might tell the story of the resurrection first of all,
to hold the attention of a strange audience, — even as
Paul started to do at Athens. When Mark put the
whole in writing, he would naturally choose an order
more chronological. The Gospel of Mark, then, may
be accepted as practically the Oral Gospel framed by
Peter and the others at Jerusalem. The book itself

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 291
confirms this connection with Peter. Its contents are
the same as those outlined in the report of what Peter
told Cornelius about Jesus (Acts 10:37-42), and are
evidently chosen for evangelistic purposes. It has a
directness and rapidity of narration, a conversational
tone, a use of colloquial terms, and a lack of literary
finish, that make us feel we are listening to the plain
tale of an unlettered man whose sole object is to hold
our attention until he has made us realize that Jesus
is the Son of God. It is the story of an eye-witness
who gives certain minute and graphic details, not be
cause they are of any importance, but because they
stand out distinctly in his recollection (e.g., 4:36-38;
6 : 39 ; 10 : 50). And when we note its partial or total
omission of incidents in which Peter played a promi
nent part, — the call of the first four disciples, the
walking on the water, the promise of the rock and the
keys, the question about forgiving a brother, the pay
ment of the half-shekel, — we are increasingly con
vinced that the narrator was Peter. It is the story
of a faithful witness who does not hesitate to give the
unvarnished facts, e.g., that Jesus was a carpenter,
that his friends at one time thought him crazy, that
in order to open a blind man's eyes and heal a deaf
and tongue-tied man he had to try more than once.
Matthew and Luke omit these because it seems hardly
reverent to state them, or because they may be stum
bling-blocks to faith. The narrator describes the life
of his Lord in a familiar way because he has shared
it familiarly; and his description makes us see Jesus
most nearly as the disciples themselves saw Him.
Through some mischance, which we can only surmise,
the closing leaves of this Gospel were lost; and we
lack what may have been a most valuable account of

292 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the resurrection appearances. The present ending,
16 : 9-20, as also a shorter ending found in some manu
scripts, is an attempt to supply the deficiency; it re
veals the second century emphasis of the efficacy of
baptism, but for the life of Jesus it is too late to be
of value.
Eusebius says that Mark wrote the Gospel after
both Peter and Paul were dead ; but Clement of Alex
andria says he wrote it before Peter died. Possibly
both statements are correct, and there were two edi
tions. Translating it to audience after audience,
Mark would soon know Peter's story verbatim; and
nothing is more likely than that some wealthy Chris
tian would ask him to dictate it to slaves who were
trained amanuenses, that he might have copies to send
to friends or to keep after the apostle was gone. And
when Peter died there would be new reason why the
story should be preserved in writing; and Mark when
doing this would naturally adapt it to a special circle
of readers and might amplify it. In its present form
the narrative is evidently prepared for Roman readers,
e.g., Latin words are sometimes used (6:27; 12:15;
15:16, 39), the Roman equivalent is given with
Jewish money (12:42), Jewish customs are ex
plained (7:2-4; 14:12), and the Aramaic words of
Jesus, repeatedly quoted, are always translated
(3:17; 5:41; 7:11, 34 et al.). The parables in
4 : 1-34 bear marks of having been taken from a col
lection of parables; and the long eschatalogical dis
course of 13 : 1-37 seems to have come from a special
written source. If there were two editions of the Gos
pel, and if our present text rests upon both of them,
then certain peculiarities of it may be explained with
out denying Mark's authorship. These are not im-

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 293
portant enough to be considered here. What we should
specially note concerning Mark is that it gives us the
earliest form of the gospel story, our closest approach
to the Twelve as they tell about their Master. This is
the story they went forth telling to the nations, not
preaching a theology but proclaiming the facts of their
Lord's life, and trusting to the simple presentation of
them for creation of faith in Him. Even to-day these
facts thus told are the best evangelistic instrument;
and the Gospel of Mark is one of the first books to be
translated in any mission field because it is so effective
in gaining the attention and impressing the thought of
a man who has never heard of Jesus.
4. The Gospel of Matthew.
It was believed in the early centuries that Matthew
wrote the Gospel bearing his name, and wrote it in
Hebrew (Aramaic) ; but the book itself bears witness
to the contrary. A translation, no matter how well
done, can always be detected by the influence of tbe
original on the translator's vocabulary and style ; yet
nothing in our Gospel of Matthew smacks of Aramaic.
Moreover, there is incorporated in Matthew almost the
whole of Mark with its Greek reproduced at times
most minutely; such reproduction would be impossible.
if Matthew had been written in Aramaic and then put
into Greek. As for its authorship, the use of Mark
as one main source is strongly against the theory that
the apostle Matthew was the author; an apostle would
hardly thus base his own record of Jesus upon what a
Christian of the second generation had written, even
if the latter did have Peter as his authority. The
tradition of a Hebrew original and of Matthew's au
thorship may have arisen from what Papias states

294 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
about the Logia; nevertheless, it is so well established
that there would seem to be some measure of truth in
it. Perhaps someone who had Matthew's Logia, either
in Aramaic or already translated into Greek, came
across Mark's Gospel, and conceived the happy idea of
combining the two in one, thus joining the words of
Jesus with the deeds of Jesus. He copied Mark with
much freedom, having himself a knowledge of the
Oral Gospel which lies behind it ; and he added various
matters, such as the birth of Jesus and sundry deeds
of Peter, which he had gained from other sources, in
all less than one eighth of the whole. While in gen
eral he followed Mark's order, he was fond of group
ing by topics ; and he kept Matthew's Sayings of Jesus
together in long passages, such as the one we call the
Sermon on the Mount. When it was completed, the
book bore the name of Matthew because it was con
sidered simply an enlargement of his Logia. Who the
compiler was, cannot be known. Of course it is not
impossible that Matthew himself was the man; but far
more probably it was some Christian Jew living not
far from Palestine, possibly in Antioch.
The Gospel of Matthew belongs to the little group
of New Testament books prepared specially for Jewish
Christians. Many things reveal this: — its numerous
quotations from the Old Testament, its pains to point
out fulfilment of prophecy, its view of the Law as not
destroyed but completed by Jesus, and especially the
evident purpose of the writer to show that Jesus is the
long-expected Messiah and His Kingdom is the true
Messianic Kingdom, which He offered to the Jews,
who rejected both it and Him, and for this reason have
now as a nation been rejected while the Kingdom is
offered to the whole world. Mark is an unstudied re-

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 295
cital of precious reminiscences to make men see Jesus
as men saw Him in His public ministry. Matthew is
a presentation of the facts of Jesus' life to bring out
clearly His Messiahship; it is an argument as much as
a narrative, and, like the Epistle to Hebrews, was pre
pared for those who were tempted to give up their ac
ceptance of Jesus as the Messiah. Such strengthening
of faith by a special survey of the life and words of
their Lord was greatly needed by wavering Jewish
Christians in the excitement preceding and during the
revolt against Eome, when every Jewish heart was
filled with hopes of a political kingdom, and , again in
the somber days immediately after the fall of Jeru
salem, when the mystery of God's dealings with His
chosen people lay like a pall upon every son of Israel,
even the Christian Jew. We may, therefore, with
some confidence date the book not long before or after
70 a.d. when, as certain passages indicate, the tragic
events in Palestine were considered by the writer to be
the immediate preliminaries to the coming of Christ.
Though written by a Jewish Christian, the Gospel of
Matthew, by its catholic spirit, its emphasis of the
teachings of Jesus, its logical arrangement of contents,
and its place at the beginning of the New Testament,
has gained more readers than any other gospel, thus
making it " the most important book in the world."
5. The Gospel of Luke.
The Gospel of Luke is unquestionably by the same
author as the Book of Acts; and the proofs that this
author was " the beloved physician " and companion
of Paul, have already been considered. The purpose
of the book is plainly stated in its preface: — that
Theophilus may be assured of the Christian facts pre-

296 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
viously learned by him from the lips of others. Many
are undertaking to write a life of Jesus, and Luke is
stirred up by their example to do the same, being par
ticularly fitted for the task by special opportunities to
gain information and by unusual industry in research
(1: 1-4). His main sources prove to be the Logia and
Mark, — the same as those the author of Matthew used ;
but he has collected much additional information. In
his travels with Paul he would often meet men who
had been with Jesus, and would seize the opportunity
to question them. His account of the birth and child
hood seems based on some Aramaic document which
he may have obtained at Jerusalem. He attempts to
arrange his material in chronological order, breaking
up the Logia so as to put the words of Jesus in their
original setting; but he has little to guide him except
Mark's order, and much of his original material he
puts together in one long passage (9: 51-18: 14) with
the vague statement that the time was when Jesus was
journeying toward Jerusalem (9: 51; 13: 22; 17: 11).
A chronology of the life of Christ was as impossible
for him as for those who attempt it to-day. The Gos
pel of Luke, then, is a history of Jesus, written with
full sympathy and much literary ability by an edu
cated Gentile Christian, an historian by nature, who,
though not himself a witness of what he narrates, was
for years intimately among those who had been wit
nesses. Luke as a Gentile wrote for his Gentile brethren,
Theophilus, who may have been a Eoman knight, and
others. He substitutes Gentile terms for Jewish, e.g.,
master or teacher for rabbi, the Skull for Golgotha,
Zealot for Cananaean ; he calls the little sheet of water
in Galilee a lake and not a sea; he explains that the

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 297
Passover is the feast of unleavened bread and that
Capernaum is a city of Galilee and Arimathea a city
of the Jews. That Italian readers are specially in his
thought is shown in Acts by his taking for granted
that they will know just where The Market of Appius
and The Three Taverns are, though he carefully states
the location of the Mount of Olives (Acts 28 : 15 ;
1: 12). There is a catholicity of spirit in this Gospel
which makes it peculiarly attractive. As the genealogy
of Jesus is carried back to Adam instead of begun with
Abraham, so He is set forth 'as the Saviour of all, —
Samaritans, Gentiles, publicans, outcasts, — as well as
of Jews. There is a marked interest in women and
home life, and frequent emphasis of prayer by both
the example and the teachings of Jesus. All this
makes Luke " the most beautiful book ever written "
(Eenan). The attitude of the writer towards Jesus
and the apostles is that of a Christian of the second
generation. More even than in Matthew all details
are omitted that might be thought inconsistent with
Jesus' sinlessness and full divinity, e.g., His violence
in cleansing the temple, His overpowering sorrow in
Gethsemane (later copyists inserted 22 : 43-44), His
cry of seeming despair on the cross, and such emotions
as anger and grief and curiosity. There is similar
omission of matters discreditable to the apostles: — the
rebuke of Peter, the censure of the Twelve, the ambi
tious request of James and John, the flight at Jesus'
arrest; also the denial by Peter and the rebuke to the
Twelve at the Lake (22:54 f. ; 8:25) are softened
down, and excuses are made for acts by them that
might be censured (22 : 45 ; 9 : 33). It is the first step
in the long process by which the apostles came to be
represented as ideal men, and the human side of Jesus

298 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
was so completely hidden that worshippers craving un
derstanding and pity turned to the virgin mother in
stead of to her Son.
As for the time when Luke was written, it seems
certainly to have been after the fall of Jerusalem;
such a passage as 21 : 20-24, when compared with the
parallel passage in Mark, shows that the prophecy of
Jesus had received interpretation from the event itself.
If the date of Acts could be exactly determined, we
would, of course, set the date of the Gospel not long
before it. As a likely guess we may fix upon some
where about 75 a.d.
6. The Discarded Gospels.
Luke prefaces his Gospel with the statement that
many others have undertaken the task he sets before
himself. A sudden wave of activity in putting the
story of Jesus into permanent written form seems to
have swept across the church in the third quarter of
the century. We can easily understand how it arose.
Jesus had not yet returned, and the conviction was be
coming strong that He would not soon return. As
expectation grew less, the value of recollection in
creased; each act and word of the Lord when on earth
seemed more important. Perhaps, too, the conscious
ness of His immediate, spiritual presence was some
what dulled, and the guidance of His words was sought
to supplement the guidance of His Spirit. But the
eye-witnesses were passing away; and there was dan
ger that their story would be distorted or forgotten.
So men hastened to write it down as they had received
it directly or indirectly from their lips. How many
gospels came into existence during this period, we do
not know. Some of them probably were only brief out-

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL 299
lines, or dealt with special incidents in the life of
Jesus; others may have been as full as the Gospel of
Mark. The names of a few have been preserved
through references to them or even brief quotations
from them by early writers; but none ever gained gen
eral recognition by the church. One hundred years
later Tatian used only the four canonical gospels when
he compiled his life of Christ; and Irenaeus argued
gravely that from the very nature of things there could
aind should be four and only four.
Why did the church thus discard these other gospels
after brief use of them? Undoubtedly because they
were less satisfactory, that is, less full or less trust
worthy than our four. What Theophilus and all others
sought from a gospel was to know the certainty con
cerning the things wherein they had been taught by
word of mouth (Lk. 1:4). The written story was
placed in the hands of those who already had heard
the oral story, and was circulated while many still
lived who, from immediate acquaintance with the
apostles or even with Jesus Himself, coiild test its ac
curacy. Unless it received the hearty endorsement of
such critics, it would be thrown aside when a more re
liable gospel could be procured. Through such a sift
ing process our four gospels alone remain as those that
received the endorsement of the church, — an endorse
ment that is the highest proof of their trustworthiness.

XVIII
CHRISTIANITY AND THE EOMAN
GOVEENMENT
EVEEYTHING in the Book of Acts indicates that
during the first half of the Apostolic Age the
Eoman government was not hostile to Chris
tianity. There are persecutions by Jews and ill-
treatment by Gentiles; but whenever a Christian is
brought before a Eoman official he is dealt with justly,
though somewhat contemptuously. To be sure, one pur
pose of the Book of Acts, so scholars say, is to recom
mend Christianity to the Eoman government by point
ing out that in the beginning it was favourably regarded
by Eoman courts and magistrates ; so only instances of
favour may have been recorded. But Paul's letters cor
roborate Acts. The apostle is confident that if the
brethren lead a good life and obey the rulers, they have
nothing to fear (Eom. 13: 1-7). And certainly as long
as the Christians were supposed to be simply one Jew
ish sect, they would not suffer for their religion, since
Judaism was allowed special privileges and exemption
from governmental control.
1. The Persecution by Nero.
Though the Christians were sheltered under the
rights granted to the Jews, popular prejudice against
them was strong. Christianity caused trouble wherever
it came. It broke up households, even as Jesus had
foretold (Matt. 10: 35 f.) ; it caused loss of profits to
traders and craftsmen connected with the temples; it
300

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GOVERNMENT 301
shut its followers away from the social life as well as
from the licentious or cruel amusements of their neigh
bours; and it seemed to the educated a degrading and
destructive superstition. As has been the case in later
days, Christian meetings for worship and the celebra
tion of the Lord's Supper were grossly misunderstood.
Held as they usually had to be at night, with the two
sexes together, they were supposed to be carnivals of
lust; and from garbled words about the mystic body
and blood of Christ, it was inferred that human sacri
fices and cannibalism added horror to the scene. If the
Jews were disliked, the Christians were detested by
their heathen neighbours. Conditions were ripe for an
outbreak against them. Still no one could dream that
the storm would burst so suddenly and violently.
In July, 64 a.d. a terrible conflagration lasting for
days destroyed the greater part of Eome. The people
suspected Nero of causing the fire that he might revel
in the wild scenes of its flames and the misery of the
flying citizens, or glorify himself by building a new
city upon the ashes of the old. To avert this suspicion
he proclaimed the Christians to be the incendiaries.
And since they were generally despised, mostly poor,
without protectors, and supposed to lead infamous lives,
it was easy to fix the charge of arson upon them though
direct evidence was lacking. Indeed, the Roman popu
lace was ready to join with Nero in any action against
Christians because of the general belief that, as Tacitus
phrased it, they were " haters of mankind." The perse
cution which followed was savage to an almost incred
ible degree. Not simply were Christians put to death,
regardless of sex and age, but, as the sober Roman
historian tells us, " they were also made the subjects of
sport in their death, for they were covered with the

302 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, or
nailed to crosses, or set on fire ; and when day declined
they were burned to serve as torches by night." This
excess of cruelty finally caused a revolt in popular
feeling, and had to be stopped because the people began
to sympathize with the victims. Yet the brand of in
famy which had been thus publicly put upon the fol
lowers of Jesus remained, and they were increasingly
regarded as "the refuse of the world, the off-scouring
of all things." Any charge against them would be
plausible, and any punishment would not be thought
too severe. Henceforth, though not always persecuted,
they lived under the shadow of persecution.
2. The Later Persecutions.
During the troubled days that followed Nero's death
until Vespasian was fairly established upon the throne,
little attention could be paid to the Christians. Later
on, when action was taken concerning them, two causes
combined to make that action hostile. One was, as we
have said, the opinion that they were a worthless,
vicious class whose presence poisoned the people, — to
get rid of them would be for the public benefit. The
other was the fact that they were an independent or
ganization with their Great Head, their own officials
and laws, and a close connection with one another
throughout the empire. This was illegal and danger
ous ; they must be suppressed. No general edict to that
effect was issued; but rescripts were sent to the gov
ernors of different provinces directing them to watch
the disloyal sect, and deal with its members, if need be,
severely. In proportion as an emperor was active in
looking after the interests of the empire, he strove to
exterminate the Christians, thus causing the seeming

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GOVERNMENT 303
paradox that the best emperors were the bitterest per
secutors. The character of a provincial governor and
the degree of popular hatred of Christians in his prov
ince, would largely determine local measures against
them; but we may be sure that nowhere was an open
follower of Jesus free from danger of cruel treatment.
A greater cause of suffering, and one directly con
nected with religion, came from refusal to join in wor
ship of the emperor. Other men could add this wor
ship to their own cults ; Christians could not. Emperor
worship had its roots in the primitive belief that great
men are in some way divine ; but its rapid development
during the first century came from an increasing desire
for a deity more real than the gods who were vanishing
in the mists of scepticism, and for a religion that
would serve as a common bond throughout the Roman
world. The emperor was the incarnation of the im
measurable and beneficent forces of Rome, and to pay
him divine honours was a natural impulse. We see the
same feeling active in Japan to-day. The rulers at first
did not specially seek such worship of themselves in
their lifetime, preferring to wait until death before they
joined the ranks of the gods ; rather it was forced upon
them by enthusiastic provincials in the East, and ac
cepted by them because it nourished patriotism and
served to bind the empire together. Temples sprang up
in all the large cities, especially in Asia; and the
Caesar-cult was rapidly organized and developed. Par
ticipation in the worship was not compulsory: — Jews
and Christians could refuse to join in it, though at the
cost of seeming to be unpatriotic. Increasing familiar
ity with the ascription of deity to themselves presently
made the emperors ready to believe that they were in
deed divine. Forced to play the part of God, they

304 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ended by demanding this exalted position. Caligula,
who caused the Jews much difficulty by insisting that
his statue should be placed in the temple at Jerusalem,
was, to be sure, half crazy : but Domitian, a savage and
jealous ruler, loved to be called Lord and God (domi-
nus et deus), and made a sober and strenuous attempt
to force the worship of himself upon all except the
Jews. This brought sore trouble to the Christians. To
worship was to deny their Lord ; to refuse was to insult
the emperor and brand themselves as traitors to the
state with death as the penalty. Nor was it easy to
avoid these alternatives; enemies were ever watching
and eager to inform against them, and when they were
brought before the courts the examination was most
searching. The process of trial followed by Pliny when
he was governor of Bythinia (112 a.d.), had probably
developed much earlier. He states in a letter to Trajan
that when those who were brought before him as Chris
tians persisted in confessing Christ, though repeatedly
threatened with capital punishment, he put them to
death or, if they were Eoman citizens, sent them to
Rome for trial. Certain of the accused " declared that
they were not Christians then and never had been ; and
they repeated after me an invocation to the gods, and
offered worship with wine and incense to your image
which, for this purpose, I had ordered to be brought
with the images of the deities; and they likewise re
viled Christ; none of which things, I am told, a real
Christian can ever be made to do. On this account I
dismissed them. Others named by an informer, first
affirmed and then denied the charge of Christianity,
declaring that they had been Christians but had ceased
to be so some three years ago, others still longer, some
tAventy years ago. All of them worshiped your image

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GOVERNMENT 305
and the statues of the gods, and also reviled Christ."
Evidently when a Christian was accused of rejecting
emperor worship, his blameless life and his care in
observing the laws, would be of no avail in clearing
him. He would suffer, not as an evil-doer but as a
Christian (I Peter 4 : 16) ; and nothing but denying the
name would save him.
From the days of Nero the shadows of persecution
were ever growing darker, but the fierce tempest did not
break until the century neared its close. We have no
clear record of severe governmental action against the
Christians during the reigns of Vespasian and Titus,
though there are hints of outbreaks against them in
various localities, and of suffering even unto death as
a Christian. But under Domitian, the definite imperial
policy was to crush out the hated sect, and this resulted
in a bitter persecution shortly before the end of his
reign. No historian has recorded the sufferings of
those days; but imagination can easily picture the
steadily increasing pressure of measures to make fol
lowers of Christ renounce Him, the consternation when
this developed into outright persecution, the dismay as
persecution grew more and more severe, the sifting-out
of the half-hearted, the heroic endurance even unto
death of the faithful, the mingled sorrow and rejoicing
over the growing number of martyrs, and the 'dread
anticipation of what the powers of evil had still in
store. And such use of the imagination to reconstruct
the lives of the Christians under Vespasian and Domi
tian is helpful and almost necessary for a full apprecia
tion of the Christian writings produced in that period.
3. The Later Years of Peter.
Though Peter stands out as the leading apostle in

306 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the Gospels and the first half of the Book of Acts, he is
largely lost to sight later on. The headship of the
church in Jerusalem passed from him to James the
Just, possibly because Peter was increasingly away
from the city, and also because of his favouring attitude
towards the Gentiles, beginning with his visit to Cor
nelius. He is not mentioned in connection with Paul's
final visit to Jerusalem ; and he seems to have spent his
last years outside of Palestine. Though at first he might
work among only the Jews of the Dispersion (Gal.
2:7-8), his attitude towards the Gentiles (Acts
15 : 7-11) would lead him like Paul to offer the gospel
to all. On his missionary tours his wife accompanied
him, and tradition says that Mark went as his inter
preter (I Cor. 9 : 5 ; I Peter 5 : 13). We know that he
visited Antioch (Gal. 2:11); and though from this
visit may have arisen the early belief that he was the
first bishop of that church, it is very probable that after
leaving Jerusalem he made his headquarters there. A
party in Corinth took his name (I Cor. 1 : 12) ; but this
does not prove that he ever laboured in that city. The
First Epistle of Peter is addressed to the sojourners of
the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia
and Bythinia; and even if it should be denied that he
wrote that epistle, the inference is probably correct that
he laboured in those regions. He doubtless died as a
martyr; so Clement expressly says, and tradition uni
formly affirms. John 21 : 18-19 is further testimony to
this fact, as it is evidently an interpretation of the
prophecy of Jesus after the event. Tradition agrees
also that his martyrdom was in Rome. Some Protes
tants, in their eagerness to disprove the Pope's claim
to be the lineal successor of Peter, have denied that
Peter ever was at Rome ; but this is a wilful refusal to

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GOVERNMENT 807
weigh evidence. We may not believe that he founded
the church at Rome, — the silence of Acts and of Paul's
letters written to or in Rome is plainly against it ; but
the traditions that link Peter with Eome are so early
and so strong that scholars generally agree he came and
died there. Whether his death was as early as the time
of Nero is more doubtful. Tradition affirms it, but there
was a natural inclination to assign all deaths by martyr
dom to the time either of Nero or of Domitian, the two
well-known periods of persecution. Another tradition
declares that he lived in Rome twenty-five years; and
while such a long stay is barely credible, the story could
hardly have arisen if he died as early as the days of
Nero. Some beautiful legends have clustered around
his last hours ; but the time, place, and circumstances of
his death are veiled from us. And whether we have
any further items of his history depends upon whether
he was the author of the epistles that bear his name.
4. The First Epistle of Peter.
The letter is declared to be written by Peter (1:1)
from Babylon (5:13) — probably a cryptic name for
Rome, — to Christians in Asia Minor (1:1-2) who are
suffering persecution (1:6; 4:12 f.). The amanuen
sis is Silvanus (Silas), and greetings are sent by Mark
(5:12-13), — the former possibly and the latter prob
ably Paul's companion. The author evidently is
familiar with the Epistle of James, and seems to have
known Romans and Ephesians also ; though the resem
blances may have sprung from common Christian
thought. All this is consistent with the little we know
about the later days of Peter; and in the early cen
turies there was no question as to his authorship. Re
cent writers have questioned it, and seek to disprove it

808 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
by showing that the epistle does not correspond to what
in their opinion Peter would have written. Their objec
tion that a Galilean fisherman could not have written
such good Greek is easily met by giving credit for the
language and style of the epistle to Silvanus. They say
also that Peter would not have addressed churches in
Paul's field. But most of the provinces mentioned in
the address were not in Paul's field; nor is there evi
dence that Peter would hesitate to write a letter of en
couragement to Paul's churches, especially if Paul were
now dead. The letter seems to be written to Gentiles
(2 : 10 ; 4 : 2-3) or more likely to Christians generally, —
the term, "sojourners of the Dispersion," being used
figuratively (1 : 17 ; 2 : 11) ; and it is argued that Peter
would confine himself to Jewish Christians. But the
old division of work (Gal. 2:9) can hardly have been
observed through the decades (it was not by Paul) ; and
after the Jewish war it certainly must have been
ignored by anyone who worked outside of Palestine. The
Pauline theology of the letter is said to indicate that
Peter could not have written it. But, as the gospels
show, Peter did not have an independent mind; and
we have seen that at Antioch and the Jerusalem coun
cil he was deeply influenced by Paul. Moreover, in the
opinion of other scholars the theology of the epistle is
not so much that of Paul as of the Epistle to the
Hebrews. The silence about Jesus' earthly life, which
is urged against the apostolic authorship of this and the
epistles of James and John, is after all not remarkable.
If the consciousness of the immediate presence of Christ
was strong, and the emphasis of His risen power and
glory was constant, why should an apostle look back to
the days of the earthly ministry for guidance or inspi
ration ? Yet the example of Jesus in bearing persecu-

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GOVERNMENT 309
tion is held before the readers (2:21 f. ; 3:18;
4:1,13); and there is the plain statement that the
writer was an eye-witness of His sufferings (5:1). If
the epistle was not by Peter, either it was by a forger
who would have taken more pains to emphasize Petrine
authorship, or it was anonymous, in which case the
later assignment would have been rather to Paul than
to Peter.
There is little to indicate the date. If Peter was the
author and was put to death by Nero, it was before 68
a.d. But the spread and organization of churches
through Asia Minor, and what seems the beginning of
governmental persecution (3:16; 5:8-9), cause many
scholars to believe that the epistle was written not be
fore 75 a.d. The tone of the writer is that of an old
man who looks upon life as a pilgrimage full of suffer
ing, and who in a fatherly way exhorts his readers to be
patient, humble and hopeful. It is a new and strange
thing, this fiery trial which is in their midst; and he
still hopes that by well-doing they may escape its sever
ity ; but if the mere fact that they bear the name Chris
tian is to bring condemnation, let them glorify God in
this name, and rejoice that they share Christ's suffer
ings. " The temper inculcated by Peter in view of suf
fering is not a grey, close-lipped stoicism, but a glow
of exultation such as Jesus (Matt. 5: 11-12) and Paul
(Rom. 5:3) had already counselled. Christians can be
patient under trials only by being more than patient "
(Moffatt). And to sustain such a spirit of rejoicing
in tribulation the readers are pointed to the eternal
glory that lies beyond. The key-note of the epistle is
hope. Peter has been called the apostle of hope, as
James of works, Paul of faith, and John of love.
The epistle admits of no sharp analysis; like James

310 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the train of thought is conversational rather than logi
cal. After a salutation which outlines the thoughts that
follow (1:1-2), the salvation of God is held up as a
living hope for the future (3-5), an unutterable joy in
the present (6-9), and a subject of earnest study by the
prophets in the past (10-12). The life in expectation
of the coming of Christ must be one of holiness (13-16),
godly fear (17-21), and brotherly love (22-25). Those
who have entered upon it should seek to grow as babes
in Christ (2:1-2), and to be living stones and a holy
priesthood in God's spiritual temple (4-10). They
are exhorted to avoid fleshly lusts and all appearance of
evil, that the slanders against them may be stopped,
and the slanderers may "glorify God," i.e., be con
verted (11-12). As subjects, Christians must obey the
civil authorities (13-17) ; as servants, they must be
obedient to their masters, even to surly ones who in
flict punishment wrongfully, for thus Christ suffered
and left an example (18-25); as wives, they must be in
subjection to their husbands even to those who are not
Christians, hoping by silent influence and chaste be
haviour to win them to Christ (3:1-6); as husbands,
they must be considerate and appreciative of their
wives (7) ; and as neighbours they must display the
Christian graces, since by blessing others they will
themselves gain a blessing (8-13).
The epistle then passes on to the dominant subject of
suffering for righteousness' sake. The blessedness of
such suffering as a part of the life in Christ, is set
forth in a passage wherein an allusion to His preaching
unto " the spirits in prison " has caused much discus
sion, and given rise to the mediaeval idea of the harry
ing of hell (3 : 14-22). Suffering when Christlike is a
proof that, like Christ, the sufferers refuse to share in

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GOVERNMENT 311
the sinful life of the world, and live according to the
will of God (4:1-6). Such a life is enjoined that in
all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ
(7-11). In the fiery trial there is a double joy, that of
sharing Christ's sufferings and that of exulting in the
revelation of His glory (12-16). And suffering is a
testing which only the righteous can endure (17-19).
The elders are exhorted to be faithful in their over
sight of the flock (5 : 1-4) ; and the younger Christians,
to be subject to them and with humility to serve one
another, casting their cares upon God who will Him
self perfect, establish and strengthen (5-11). The
letter closes with a few salutations and a benediction of
peace (12-14).
5. The Second Epistle of Peter.
The epistle that bears this title is mentioned by no
writer before the third century, and was the last of all
the books to gain a place in the New Testament. The
indications that it was not written by Peter are many.
It speaks of " the fathers " and " your apostles," as if
they belonged to an earlier day (3:2-4) ; it shows that
Paul's epistles are now collected and treated as inspired
(3:15-16); and it takes nearly half its contents'
(2:1-3:7) from the Epistle of Jude. That Second
Peter does borrow from Jude, and not the reverse seems
unmistakable. Jude is brief, strong, symmetrical; to
enlarge and dilute it would be an easy task; but to take
the corresponding passage in Peter and condense it, re
taining the unusual words, bringing together scattered
ideas, and making all harmonious, would be exceeding
difficult. Also, to understand some passages in Peter
we have to go back to Jude, and see how the words
originally stood before they were torn apart and given

312 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
a new context (cf. II Peter 2 : 11-12 ; Jude 9-10). That
the apostle Peter would thus borrow from Jude is im
probable, even as that he should give such an injunction
as 3:2. On the other hand, if the epistle is not by
Peter, it is a deliberate forgery; for it professes
throughout to be by him. But a forger would take pains
to imitate more carefully the First Epistle of Peter,
especially in such a matter as the name and title of the
writer or as the benediction. And there are many
things in the opening chapter and the close of the epistle
that suit the apostle and harmonize with First Peter : —
enough so that the apostolic authorship, including
Peter's appropriation of Jude's epistle, is still main
tained by some able scholars.
An attempt to reconcile the conflicting indications
of authorship deserves consideration. It supposes that
Peter wrote a brief letter encouraging the church about
the delay of Christ's coming. In this letter he promised
his readers to put them in remembrance, and stir them
up from time to time (II Peter 1:12-13). A later
writer, noting this promise and thinking that the warn
ings of Jude were such a message as Peter would give
in the then conditions (3:1), took the little letter of
Peter and incorporated Jude in it, omitting the quota
tions from the apocalypses, and changing the tense from
present to future that they might suit the professedly
earlier date; and then sent it to the churches he felt
needed such warning and encouragement. Naturally
in amplifying Jude he made it more Petrine in tone
and phraseology; and he may also have remodelled
Peter's letter by adding profitable suggestions as, for
example, the one about Paul's epistles (3 : 15-16). The
original letter of Peter would be the first chapter and
portions of the last chapter in the present epistle.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GOVERNMENT 813
Apparently the question of authorship must remain
unsettled, thus leaving the book in much the same posi
tion as the Pastoral Epistles and Hebrews. The right
of any book to a place in the New Testament depends
not upon who wrote it, but upon what it contains. The
words of an apostle have no authority, save as they are
the words of the Holy Spirit. Suppose, and it is not
impossible, that there should be discovered to-day one
of the lost letters of Paul. Would the mere fact that
he wrote it, make us add it to the list of inspired
scriptures ? But in the case of the present epistle, the
uncertainty as to its author, while not affecting its
authority, does leave us in perplexity as to its date.
If Peter wrote it, we can place it not long after his first
epistle. If he did not, then the date must be after that
of Jude, and may be even after the end of the century,
making this the latest of the New Testament books.
The opening chapter is a general exhortation to make
progress in Christian virtues, together with an emphasis
of Peter's knowledge and authority. Jude's denuncia
tion of the false teachers is next repeated ; but they are
denounced not so much for their licentious, greedy lives
as for their denial of the coming of Christ, in which
they evidently have used some of Paul's teachings, —
perhaps II Thess. 2 : 1 f. In Jude there is a desire to
save these scoffers, if possible ; but the present epistle has
nothing but condemnation. Then follows the explana
tion that the Day of the Lord is delayed through God's
merciful desire that all should first repent; and the as
surance that it certainly will come, destroying the pres
ent heavens and earth, and making all things new. The
closing exhortation is to watchfulness and diligence.

XIX
THE REVELATION OF JOHN
THE Eevelation, or Apocalypse, of John is con
fessedly a puzzling book. We must suppose
that the original readers understood it; yet
as early as the fourth century Jerome cried out that
it contained as many mysteries as words. Fanatics
used it then, as they have ever since, in support of
strange and unwholesome doctrines, thus bringing it
into disrepute and causing much dispute over its right
to a place among inspired writings. It has been end
lessly discussed and variously interpreted by the few
for whom its very obscurity has a fascination, and un
duly neglected, save as regards certain familiar pas
sages, by the great majority of Bible students. Just
at present it is receiving special attention, both because
scholars believe that they have found new light upon
its meaning, and because ordinary readers feel that its
messages in some way have gained fresh power from
the Great War. Yet it still remains the most enig
matic book in the New Testament. Unquestionably it
was born from the struggle between the church and the
Eoman government ; and for that reason we take it up
at this point in our narrative.
1. The Problems of the Book.
The questions about the Apocalypse that call for an
answer are many; but we are concerned chiefly with
two, — Who wrote it? and What does it mean? The
author was John; but was he the apostle, or the pres-
314

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 315
byter John mentioned by Papias, or some unknown
Christian bearing that not uncommon name ? This can
better be discussed later on when we deal with the
other writings ascribed to the apostle John. The
meaning of the book is the more difficult and important
problem. Evidently in its central part it portrays by
a series of visions a terrible and deadly struggle be
tween the church and her enemies. But do the events
thus symbolically and powerfully set forth belong to
the writer's own age? Or are they still in the future,
— at the end of the present aeon, whenever that may
be? Or are some of them already behind us while
others are yet to come, so that the book is a continuous
history of the church's progress? Or are they in no
way historical events, but vivid pictures of the unceas
ing warfare between good and evil principles? Each
of these interpretations has had and still has its advo
cates; which shall we accept?
To add to our confusion, some recent writers main
tain that Eevelation can have no uniform interpreta
tion, because it is made up of various small apocalypses
or fragments of apocalypses, written at different times
by Jewish as well as by Christian authors, each of
which must be separated from the others and given an
independent treatment. Concerning this theory we
may say that evidently the author was a close student
of the Old Testament and current apocalypses, and
borrowed symbols and ideas from h them, especially
from the Book of Daniel ; and he may even have taken
whole passages from those who wrote before him, —
the Old Testament prophets did not hesitate to do so.
But he made his material thoroughly his own. In
grammar and style and structure, all of which are
unique, the book is the same throughout; and there is

316 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
an unusual unity of thought and dramatic develop
ment. To assign its several parts to different authors,
or to pronounce it " a conglomerate of ill-according
elements," and John merely an awkward compiler,
seems absurd. Whatever else the book may be, it is
" a masterpiece of literary art."
2. The Nature of an Apocalypse.
Many of the difficulties in understanding Eevela
tion have arisen from the idea that because it foretells
the future, it should be construed as an ordinary book
of prophecy. But to do this is as misleading' as to give
one and the same interpretation to the imagery of a
poet and the sober statements of a preacher. The un
derlying thoughts may be identical, but we must reach
them in different ways. An apocalypse has its own liter
ary characteristics as Avell as its own spiritual fea
tures. In former days there was excuse for not recog
nizing this fact; because the only apocalyptical writ
ings in the Bible besides Revelation are the Book of
Daniel and scattered passages elsewhere, and the very
few other apocalypses then knoAvn were little studied.
The comparatively recent discovery of further pieces
of this literature, of which the Book of Enoch is chief,
has enabled us to recognize more clearly its special
features. The messages of the prophets, at least of
the earlier ones, were delivered as public addresses,
and afterwards written down; but apocalypses were
never spoken and were for the closet rather than the
forum. Their messages were usually put in the form
of visions or dreams. Where ^.a prophet would say,
" They sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirl
wind " (Hosea 8:7), an apocalyptist would write, "I
behold a whirlwind; and by it those who sowed the

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 317
wind are being swept away." How far these visions origi
nally were real psychical experiences we cannot deter
mine; they became the convenient and conventional
form for an apocalypse. The use of symbols is an
other characteristic feature. It may have been caused
by the need of hiding the meaning from enemies (cf.
II Thess. 2: 1-10), or by the impossibility of express
ing in any other way the ineffable things of the vision
(cf. II Cor. 12:4). The symbols often seem gro
tesque or monstrous, e.g., a sword coming out of a
mouth, a beast with seven heads and ten horns, a city
as high as it is long and broad; but this is because we,
like the Greeks, insist that a symbol shall satisfy our
aesthetic sense, while the Hebrews thought only of its
fitness to express a religious truth. All the Jewish
apocalypses were put forth as the productions of
famous teachers in the remote past; e.g., Enoch,
Moses, Isaiah, instead of the real authors. This was
because in the age when they were written the belief
was general that prophecy had ceased, and that men
no longer were able to receive a direct revelation from
God. The only way, therefore, to give force to a mes
sage and assert its divine origin, was to put it in the
lips of some person of old who was recognized as hav
ing walked and talked with God. The fact that John,
when he wrote his apocalypse, did not support it by
an ancient name, is significant as showing that the con
sciousness of direct inspiration had once more been
kindled, and men possessing it did not hesitate to say,
each in his own way, " Thus saith the Lord."
An apocalypse is the product of periods of danger
and suffering, — an answer to the cry of the faithful,
" How long, O Lord ? " It brings a message of
patience, hope and cheer: — God will avenge His own

318 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
elect and speedily. But in regard to the present and
the future it takes a different view from that of
prophecy. It refuses to believe that present forces of
good will ultimately conquer evil, and pessimistically
declares that things must go from bad to worse until
God directly intervenes to erush His foes. While
prophecy ever urges men to work for God, apocalypse
holds that all events are so divinely prearranged that
men are helpless and can only wait for God. Since
the future is already fixed beyond change by the di
vine will, it may be revealed in visions, and its exact
times may be figured out; indeed, students of apoc
alypses are fond of > such figuring. Supernatural
beings, — angels and spirits of evil, — play an important
part in apocalyptic visions. This was the fruit of
later Jewish thought which held that God is too exalted
and holy to deal directly with men, and so makes use
of spiritual beings as His agents (even Paul speaks
of the law being enacted through the agency of angels
(Gal. 3:19), a different conception of its origin from
that in Exodus), and also the fruit of contact with the
Persian religion, according to which spirits of evil and
darkness were ever fighting against spirits of good and
light. It is in the apocalypses that we find the Mes
siah represented as a preexistent, heavenly being; the
prophets had uniformly pictured him as a human de
scendant of David, divinely endowed with strength
and wisdom. And the favourite title of Jesus for
Himself, the Son of Man, was first used in these
apocalyptic books.
The most characteristic feature of apocalypses is
the conception of the world's history as sharply divided
into two great ages or aeons. The first age is the one
in which the writer now lives. It is an age filled with

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 319
dire calamities, both physical and spiritual. The
forces of evil led by Satan seem triumphant, and the
condition of the pious is one of suffering and oppres
sion. But this age is drawing to a close. Very soon
will come the final, terrible struggle between the pow
ers of good and evil, a struggle full of supernatural
actors and terrifying events. And in that hour of
darkness either the Messiah will suddenly appear, or
God will manifest His power in some startling way,
to overwhelm all the hosts of evil and bring about their
dissolution. Then the new aeon will begin, — the
golden age in which all things will be marvellously
transformed, sickness and suffering and death will
disappear, those who fought against God will be
judged and punished, while the people of God will
enter into divine joys and rewards. The certainty
and nearness of this glorious consummation formed
the central note of hope and cheer in apocalyptic
thought. Whether the new world of this coming aeon
would be spiritual or earthly" was problematical. On
the one hand the old prophets had always promised a
renewed and transformed earth, in which the soil
would be marvellously fertile, Jerusalem would be
built up into a wonderful city, and the chosen people
would enjoy the utmost earthly felicity. On the other
hand the apocalyptists loved to anticipate and portray
a spiritual world with its rewards and punishments.
So to harmonize these two conflicting expectations,
there was sometimes pictured a millennium, — a period
of a thousand years after the end of the first aeon, —
during which the Kingdom of God triumphant on
earth will have all the joys promised by the prophets,
and at whose close will come the final judgment and
the eternal, spiritual age with its bliss and woe.

320 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
3. The Occasion of Writing.
An apocalyptist like a prophet was a preacher with
a message for men of his own day. When he wrote
about the future, he was not aiming to gratify idle
curiosity but from the future to draw helpful lessons
or warnings or encouragements for the present. His
teaching was suited to the needs of his readers; there
fore, to understand it, we must first ascertain when
and to whom he wrote. The Revelation of John, as
its contents show, was put forth in an hour of sore
trouble and persecution when Rome was ravaging the
church and threatening death to those who would not
worship the emperor. There was no longer any hope
that by well-doing the government might be propitiated
and Christians regain favour; instead, the war be
tween the beast and the Lamb must be fought to a
finish. In the opinion of some scholars, especially
those who wrote a few decades ago, the days immedi
ately following the death of Nero best suit the situa
tion revealed in the book; and elaborate interpreta
tions of the visions have been worked out from this
standpoint. But neither the hostility of the Roman
government, nor the development of the churches
founded by Paul in Asia, could in 69 a.d. have been
so far advanced as Revelation indicates. The date
fixed by early tradition and accepted generally to-day
is the latter part of the reign of Domitian, though with
the possibility that some portions of the book may have
been written in the time of Vespasian and revised
when the whole was published. Undoubtedly, how
ever, the persecution by Nero strongly shaped the
writer's portrayal of persecutions yet to come; and a
further background of his picture was the terrible suf-

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 321
ferings of the Jews when Antiochus Epiphanes (168
b.c.) sought to force them to deny their faith. The
destruction of Jerusalem, also, may have been in his
thought when he portrayed the destruction of Rome.
As readers John must have had in mind more than
the seven churches directly addressed. Even in Asia
there were other churches, — Colosse, Troas, Hier
apolis, — that might equally well be written to; and
what about those in Galatia and Macedonia and
Achaia ? There is no reason to doubt that his message
was for all his brethren, and that he selected the seven
churches, — the ones, it may be, he knew best, — simply
as representatives of the whole church. The number
seven, as a number for sacred things, would suit this;
and the several messages combine into a universal one
which " he that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
The last decade of the first century opened omi
nously for the Christians. Emperor worship was in
creasingly demanded, — the alternative being confisca
tion of goods, banishment, imprisonment or even death.
Also, there was a widespread belief that Nero was still
alive and in hiding among the Parthians, whence he
would presently lead those dreaded barbarians in a
campaign of vengeance upon his former empire. This
fear assumed a further and more terrifying form
among the Christians: — Nero was coming back, not
from the Parthians but from the dead, leagued with
Satan to stand at the head of all the enemies of Christ
as the defiant, dreadful Antichrist. Yet, many as
were the forebodings and manifestations of trouble, the
church was poorly prepared to meet the gathering
storm. The messages to the churches reveal that high
ideals had been forgotten, false teachings were suffered
or followed, lukewarmness was thought to be spiritual

322 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
peace of mind, immorality was uncondemned or even
practiced. There was need of a servant of God to
warn, rebuke and denounce, and also to give a message
of cheer and confidence for the days of trial at hand.
The church must be assured that, though at times the
powers of evil seem dominant everywhere, Christ is
still in the midst of His people to shield them and
fight for them, and God on His throne is making the
wrath of man to praise Him. Rome has surrendered
her strength to Satan, and insolently exults in his ser
vice; as a judgment she shall be utterly destroyed.
And the Antichrist, exalting himself above God, shall
be cast down to lowest hell. In the coming struggle
there will be hours of thick darkness; let them not be
hours of despair. And there is in store for some a
martyr's death, but also a martyr's special reward and
glory. In God's sure and speedy time the day will
dawn when the new heaven and the new earth shall be
established, and His servants shall reign for ever and
ever. Such in general is the message of John and
with such a background its details should be viewed.
4. The Contents of the Book.
The Revelation of John has a title or superscription
(1: 1-3) which apparently was prefixed after the book
was written, and possibly by some one other than John.
It assigns the revelation to Jesus, explains the way
John received it, and emphasizes its importance. The
address and salutation with a doxology (4-6) seem to
belong specially to the messages to the seven churches.
They are followed by a solemn announcement of the
Lord's coming (7-8), which, like the deep note of a
warning bell, commands anxious attention. Then
John tells the circumstances of his vision when in

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 323
exile on Patmos, and strives to set forth in symbols
the majesty of Christ whom he saw standing in the
midst of the seven churches, and heard commanding
him to write a message to each (9-20). These mes
sages (2:1-3:22) have a uniform structure, viz., a
command to write, a title for Christ drawn from the
details of the vision and suited to what follows, a
statement showing Christ's intimate knowledge of the
church's condition and giving the rebuke, warning, or
exhortation needed, and a promise to him that over
cometh. Collectively — and they were intended to be
taken in that way — they place before us the church
universal in its various aspects.
Ephesus (2:1-7) is the church steadfast and ortho
dox but lacking in love. In the great metropolis of
Asia it upholds the standards of the faith against all
heretics; but in its zeal for sound doctrine, it has al
lowed Christian brotherly love to wane, and so is in
danger of losing its place among the churches.
Smyrna (8-11) is the church bravely suffering per
secutions for Christ. Evil-minded Jews have stirred
up trouble ; imprisonment and possible death are in the
near future; but faithfulness will be rewarded with
life eternal.
Pergamum (12-17) is the church steadfast among
savage foes, but lacking spiritual discrimination. Loy
alty to Christ in a city that took the lead in emperor
worship has been maintained, though it brought mar
tyrdom to one faithful member. But with the loyalty
there has been failure to recognize licentious teachings
and practices, or at least to stop their spread. Thi3
fault must be corrected, else Christ will come in judg
ment. Thyatira (18-28) is the church abounding in works

324 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
of love and faith, but tolerant of evil. In a great in
dustrial center the opportunities for Christian minis
try have increasingly been used; but licentious or
gnostic teachings have been allowed through the in
fluence of an evil woman claiming to be inspired and
to teach the deep things of God, — really of Satan. The
impending divine punishment of her and her followers
is strongly stated. Upon those who have not followed
her, no other injunction is laid except to hold fast
what they have until Christ comes.
Sardis (3: 1-6) is the church moribund spiritually.
Most of its members have sunk to the level of their
heathen neighbours, and none of its works are perfect.
Unless the lost faith is regained, sudden judgment will
come. As for the few who have remained undefiled,
they shall walk with Christ in white, for they are
worthy. Philadelphia (7-13) is the church feeble yet fight
ing openly and stoutly. Like Smyrna its enemies are
Jews, and the message to it contains nothing but
praise. Its faithfulness will be rewarded in the im
pending, universal hour of trial.
Laodicea (14-22) is the church self-satisfied and
apathetic. It fails to recognize its utterly wretched
state, and alone of all the churches wins no word of
praise. Warning, invitation and promise are extended
to rouse it from the most hopeless of conditions to the
most blessed of rewards.
The purely apocalyptic section of the book, the
revelation of " things which must come to pass here
after," opens with two companion visions, to which
John is summoned by the voice he heard before his
first vision. God is revealed as the author of all
things, gloriously enthroned in heaven and surrounded

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 325
by the highest angelic beings, who render Him unceas
ing worship (4: 1-11). In His keeping is the record
of all future events, a book or roll sealed with seven
seals which, John learns with sorrow, no one is able or
worthy to open (5:1-5). The second vision is of
Christ, the Lamb, through whom God's future pur
poses are made possible, and who alone is empowered
to break the seals and open the book. The marks of
His sacrificial death and the tokens of His perfect
power and knowledge are evident; and when He takes
the book, the angelic beings and all created things
break forth into majestic hymns of adoration (6-14).
As the first four seals of the book are opened succes
sively by Him, war as conquest, war as slaughter,
famine and pestilence, — symbolized by four horsemen
— are sent forth upon earth (6:1-8); the fifth seal
reveals the martyrs in God's keeping, waiting the an
swer to their prayer that their deaths shall be avenged
(9-11) ; and the sixth seal is followed by catastrophes
in nature so great and overwhelming that men in
terror believe the final day of judgment is come
(12-17). All these woes are but the prelude of the
dreadful catastrophes to follow when the seventh seal
is opened. And to strengthen the hearts of the faith
ful, two visions are granted : — first, of the angelic pro
tection God provides for His servants on earth (7:1-8),
and second, of the future blessedness of a great multi
tude of the redeemed praising Him in the heavenly
court described before (9-17). The opening of the
seventy seal is followed by ominous silence and a sym
bolic act declaring that the judgments about to follow
are God's answers to the prayers of His saints and
martyrs (8:1-5). Then seven angels with trumpets
summon these judgments, intended to produce repent-

326 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
ance. The first four blasts call forth plagues, some
what like those of Egypt but far more dreadful, which
destroy one-third of the earth, sea, fresh waters and
heavenly bodies, but produce no change in the hearts
of men (6-12). The fifth blast brings the first of three
woes (13), causing physical suffering so intense as to
make the enemies of God long to die (9 : 1-12) ; and
the second woe, following the sixth blast, ends in the
death of one-third of these enemies, yet the survivors
do not repent or give up idol worship (13-21).
With the seventh trumpet broader and more distant
scenes are to be revealed; and John, instead of giving
a message to the churches in Asia, is to " prophesy
again concerning many peoples and nations and
tongues and kings." This transition is introduced by
the cry of a mighty angel standing on land and sea;
by the unwritten utterances of the seven thunders; by
the solemn announcement that there shall be delay no
longer in finishing the mystery of God; and by the
bestowal upon John of a new message and a new com
mission (10:1-11). At this point comes a prophecy,
seemingly independent and perhaps constructed from
older material (11:1-13). Among the various inter
pretations of it, the simplest is that it deals with the
future of the Jews, and repeats in a different form
what Paul states in Romans: — that despite their un
belief, God has not cast off His chosen people; already
a remnant is saved, and before the end of the world
the rest shall obtain mercy. It was natural that John,
when about to picture the final overthrow of the pow
ers of evil, should pause to set forth an event which all
Christians believed would closely precede it. The
Jews are symbolized by the city of Jerusalem, in
which the inner courts of the temple — the faithful

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 327
remnant — are under divine care and seclusion while
all the rest is trampled by the Gentiles. Two faithful
witnesses, the law and the prophets, are to bear their
testimony throughout the period of desecration until
the Antichrist kills them, much to the joy of those
whom their words had tormented. But after a short
time they will revive and ascend to heaven. This and
a judgment destroying one tenth of the city will cause
such fear that those who survive will turn to the God
of heaven.
The seventh angel now sounds his trumpet, intro
ducing the third woe; and, in anticipation of the final
establishment of the Kingdom of God, a chorus of
thanksgiving arises in heaven (14^19). Before de
scribing the great conflict just at hand, John sets
forth the actors in it. The powers of evil are a great
dragon, Satan, furious because of his overthrow in
heaven, and seeking vainly to destroy the Messiah and,
when thwarted, His church (12:1-17); a monstrous
beast out of the sea, the Roman government, acting as
the agent of Satan in ruling the world and in warring
against the saints (13: 1-10) ; and another beast (later
called the false prophet) from the land, the imperial
priesthood, gaining authority from the first beast and
compelling men by false miracles and force to join in
emperor worship (11-18). Opposed to these is the
Lamb with the whole body of the redeemed, who form
His escort and rejoice in the presence of God (14: 1-5).
The impending conflict is heralded by a series of an
gelic messengers and heavenly voices, announcing its
various events (6-20) ; and an anticipatory vision is
granted of the victors in heaven singing a song of
triumph and adoration (15:1-4). Seven resplendent
angels now receive bowls filled with the wrath of God,

328 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
the third woe, and pour them upon the earth, sea,
fresh waters, sun, throne of the beast, Euphrates and
air (15: 5-16: 21). The plagues produced in this way
are similar to those called forth by the trumpets, but
far more dreadful and purely punitive. They culmi
nate in the destruction of the city and dominion of
Rome, leaving the field free for the war of the great
day of God against the hosts of Antichrist which have
been gathered together in Harmagedon.
The overthrow of Eome is too important to be dis
missed with a single verse ; so John goes on to describe
it at length with new imagery. A harlot is seen, gor
geously attired and sitting upon a beast which has
seven heads and ten horns (17:1-6); and an angel
explains, though in veiled terms, that the harlot is the
great city of Eome, the beast is the imperial power, its
seven heads are Eoman emperors, and its ten horns are
the provincial rulers or powers. And he predicts that
the beast, transformed into a human ruler that was
and is and is yet to come (Nero redevivus?) shall as
Antichrist join with the ten horns in destroying the
harlot (17:7-18). Then in a passage of intense
power, similar to Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre, the
destruction of the city is announced and described
(18:1-24); and the great hallelujah chorus is heard,
which in heaven celebrates this judgment of God and
the perfect union of the Lamb with His bride, the
Church (19:1-10).
The Messiah Himself, equipped for certain victory,
now comes forth with the armies of heaven to confront
the powers of evil; and in the battle of Harmagedon
overcomes the beast and the false prophet, who are cast
into the lake of fire, and slays all their followers, mak
ing their flesh food for the birds of the air (11-21).

THE REVELATION OF JOHN 329
The dragon, Satan, is bound and shut up in the abyss
for a thousand years, during which time the martyrs
and confessors, raised from the dead, live and reign
with Christ in a world of peace and holiness (20: 1-6).
At the close of the millennium Satan is to be loosed and
allowed to assail the saints; but fire from heaven will
destroy his followers, and he will' be cast into the lake
of fire forever (7-10). Three glorious visions con
clude the apocalyptic portion of the book: — the Judge
upon the great white throne with all the dead standing
before Him to receive according to their works
(11-15) ; the new heaven and new earth, free from
all sin and impurity (21 : 1-8) ; and the new Jeru
salem, glorious and having the throne of God and the
Lamb (21:9-22:5). The concluding passages em
phasize the trustworthiness of the prophecy of the
book, and the imminence of its fulfilment (22 : 6-21).
Such is the book that strengthened Christian read
ers to meet a storm of persecution in the days of Dio
cletian, and has done the same many a time since.
Yet in the search for its meaning it has called forth
more commentaries and occupied more erratic minds
than any other book of the Bible. Its revelation is of
" the things which must shortly come to pass "
(22 : 6) ; and those who are eager to know times and
seasons, seek for them in the present and the future
because they did not come to pass in the past. But is
fulfilment the sure and only test that a prediction is
inspired of God? If so, the later Old Testament
prophets would have been forced to pronounce their
predecessors false. So long as human hearts have
power to repent, and human wills can change the
course of history, all predictions must perforce be con
ditional. Nineveh or Rome will perish or endure ac-

830 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
cording to the! word of the Lord; but that word is "I
have set before, thee life and death, the blessing and
the curse ; therefore, choose life that thou mayest live "
(Deut. 30: 19). Until the choice is made, the future
hangs in the balance. What the visions of John
meant to him who saw and those who read at the be
ginning, we can only conjecture ; perhaps, even as now,
they meant different things to different minds. Of
one fact we may be sure, that then as now those who
treated them as settled history of the future were en
tering upon a path of disappointment. But the value
of the book is to be found in something far different.
What is it that fills these visions with spiritual power,
and makes them worthy a place in the New Testament ?
The strong declaration that Christ is ever in the midst
of His church; that though His people pass through
bitter suffering, they never pass beyond His care and
sure deliverance; that above the clash of nations and
the fury of human passions God on His throne is shap
ing all to bring about peace and righteousness; that
the powers of evil shall at last be vanquished and de
stroyed ; and that the faithful followers of Christ shall
be rewarded by a heavenly life of perfect union with
their Redeemer and Lord. Such a message of faith
and spiritual insight has perennial force and ever-
recurring timeliness. It was first given to those who
were in sore trouble; and its present appeal is to
hearts that are sad and anxious. " Without tears it
was not written, and without tears it cannot be read."

XX
THE APOSTLE JOHN
THE history of the church has been likened to a
road that, beginning in the open, soon enters a
dark tunnel from which it does not emerge for
some distance. This obscure period of the church's
progress is from the closing years of the first century
well on towards the middle of the second century. That
it was a time of progress we know ; for the church when
it emerges from the darkness has developed in many
ways, though some of its changes may be a cause for
regret rather than for rejoicing. Naturally we are
eager to know who were the leaders and what were the
forces operative during these decades. Little can be
discerned to satisfy our curiosity ; the light is too dim.
One figure, however, stands forth with some distinct
ness as the shadows gather ; it is the aged apostle John,
the last survivor of those who had companioned with
Jesus when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Yet even upon him the shadows lie so heavy that every
fact about his last days and his writings may be dis
puted or denied by those who are disposed so to do.
There are many reasons, as we shall see, why such a
disposition exists ; and as a consequence, discussions are
multiplied interminably. To note them is necessary,
but to join in them at any length is not our purpose.
1. The Labours of John.
From the Book of Acts we gain but two items con
cerning the labours of John : — he shares with Peter the
331

332 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
miracle of healing the lame man at the temple gate,
followed by imprisonment and examination before the
Sanhedrin (3:1-4: 31); and some time later he goes
on a preaching tour through Samaria with Peter
(8:14-25). He seems to have made Jerusalem his
home for many years. Paul tells us that the three " pil
lars " of the church there, with whom he discussed the
case of Titus, were James, Peter and John (Gal. 2:9).
The name of John is put last in this statement, even as
it is always put second when joined with Peter or James
the apostle. The position indicates the place John chose
for himself. Though belonging to the innermost circle
of Jesus' disciples, his disposition was to assist rather
than to dominate. He did once join in asking the
chief seats for himself and his brother, but his
mother's ambition rather than his own seems to have
prompted the request (Matt. 20 : 20). There were fiery
passions slumbering in his bosom, which might make
him a Boanerges, "Son of thunder" (Mark 3:17);
but what would arouse them was an insult to his Master
and not to himself (Luke 9:51 f.). Gentle yet strong,
sympathetic but uncompromising with evil, contempla
tive though energetic when in action, loving and be
loved, pure in heart and blessed with the vision of
God, — such was the apostle John.
Irenaeus says that John lived in Ephesus down to the
time of Trajan (98-117 a.d.) ; and Irenaeus ought to
know, since he was a pupil of Polycarp who in turn was
a pupil of John. Polyerates, too, a bishop of Ephesus
shortly before 200 a.d., says that John died and was
buried there. He must have left Jerusalem before its
mad revolt against Rome; indeed, no mention is made
of his being there when Paul made his last visit. Ephe
sus was a center where leading Christian workers

THE APOSTLE JOHN 833
("great luminaries," Polyerates calls them) gathered
after Jerusalem was destroyed, and would be a suit
able home for the apostle when Palestine had become
impossible. Patmos, a little, rocky island some forty
miles southwest from Miletus, might well be selected by
the Roman ruler of Asia as a place of banishment for
a leader of the Christian church whom he hesitated to
put to death ; and here, during the dark hours of Dio
cletian's persecution, if John wrote Revelation, the
visions were gained which he published to cheer the
hearts of his brethren. Some recent scholars reject all
statements that connect John with Ephesus. They
maintain that at some unknown time and place he, like
his brother, was put to death by the Jews, and that the
John who lived and died in Ephesus must have been
another person, perhaps the one whom Papias mentions
and calls John the Presbyter. The evidence for this is
slight, being chiefly certain very late references to some
statement by Papias linking John's death with that of
his brother, — a statement that may have arisen from
our Lord's prophecy concerning the two brothers (Mk.
10:39). Certainly the clear and strong testimony of
Irenaeus and others in the second century is not to be
overthrown by merely what a writer centuries later tells
us was in a lost passage of Papias. Several charming
stories are told of the apostle's last days, but we cannot
discover how far they are purely legendary. The popu
lar belief, caused by a misunderstanding of Jesus'
words (John 21:22 f.), that John was to live until
his Lord's return, would gain increasing credence as the
apostles one after another passed away, and he still sur
vived ; and the Christians of the second generation must
have looked upon him with deepening veneration and
almost awe. He died a natural death, so it is said.

334 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Thus the two brothers in different ways drank the cup
of their Master, — James by an early martyrdom, and
John by bearing the burdens of the church to extreme
old age.
2. What Did John Write?
A gospel, three epistles and an apocalypse are as
signed to the apostle John; but the gospel and the
longer epistle give no author's name; the two short
epistles reveal only that they were written by "the
elder ;" and the John who wrote the apocalypse and calls
himself "your brother in Christ" (1:9), seems to
claim a place among the prophets rather than among the
apostles (22:9). Evidently there is opportunity for
the discussion which has in recent days been carried on
unceasingly over the authorship of these five books.
The Fourth Gospel is the center of the debate, the other
books being considered chiefly in their relation to it.
The importance of determining whether that Gospel
is a trustworthy record of the life of Jesus by one who
stood in the closest relations to Him, justifies all the
time spent in determining who wrote it. Unfortunately
in the multitude of treatises upon this subject we often
seem to find the spirit, not so much of the scholar seek
ing solely to ascertain the truth as of the advocate who,
having already taken his position, emphasizes unduly
every point in his favour, and minimizes all that counts
against him.
Dealing first with the gospel and the three epistles,
we may fairly, I think, summarize the verdict of the
second and third centuries in three statements :
1. The four books are by the same author. This i3
evidenced by their close resemblance in vocabulary, in a
style unlike that of any other New Testament book, in

THE APOSTLE JOHN 835
keywords such as light, life, love, the world, to know
and to believe, and in the leading ideas. The shorter
epistles furnish little material for comparison; yet
they, — especially II John, — are so much like I John
that the latest commentator says, " So far as their ori
gin is concerned, it is difficult to separate the two
shorter epistles from the First" (Brooke). In the case
of the Fourth Gospel and I John the similarity is so
great that even those who deny the same authorship, are
sure that their two authors must have been closely con
nected in training and thought, — were members, per
haps, of one special group at Ephesus. But it is easier
to explain certain underlying differences, which
these students think they find, by different themes and
different moods in the same author than to suppose that
two writers, no matter what their training, could be so
completely each the double of the other.
2. The author was an eye-witness of the public min
istry of Jesus. In I John he speaks as one of a group
of such witnesses (1:1-3; 4: 14) ; in the gospel he does
the same (1: 14; 19:35), and also calls himself "the
disciple whom Jesus loved" (13:23; 19:26; 21:7,
20). That this beloved disciple was the author, is at
tested by a note appended to the gospel by certain per
sons who claim to know him and vouch for his trust
worthiness (21 : 24) ; and the narrative throughout
bears marks of having been written by one who belonged
to the innermost circle of the Twelve. Nearly every
chapter has some incidental touch which only an eye
witness and participant would give; to point these out
would be almost to write a commentary on the book.
A modern novelist, professing to write personal remi
niscences, might take pains to put in such touches; a
writer of fiction in the second century would never

336 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
think to do so; and even the modern novelist would
find his skill taxed to supply such delicate and seem
ingly unconscious indications of the writer's undeclared
participation in what he narrates.
3. The author was no other than the apostle John.
Despite the anonymous form of the First Epistle, there
never was any doubt in the early church that John
wrote it. The epistle seems to have been widely circu
lated, and everywhere received by scholars and by all
Christians as the message of the apostle. That the
writer of II John and III John should call himself
" the elder," and be defied by Diotrophes, caused some
debate in the third century over their authorship; but
this was because by that time the apostles were held
in such reverence that it seemed unnatural for them
not to claim apostolic rank and power at all times. We
know that the term " the elders," was used early in the
second century, not only as an official title, but also as
a designation of the men of the previous generation
who had been leaders in the church. Perhaps John called
himself "the elder," as being the last of this group;
but he may have used the term in self-abnegation, as he
did " the disciple whom Jesus loved," showing by these
that he sought no authority save that which comes from
old age, and put forth no other claim to honour or re
membrance beyond the fact that Jesus graciously be
stowed His love upon him. Concerning the Fourth
Gospel there was in the second century some dispute. An
obscure sect, seemingly small in numbers, rejected the
doctrine of the Logos set forth in it, and tried to dis
credit both it and Eevelation by assigning them to the
gnostic, Cerinthiis, an opponent of John. There is some
slight evidence that a few other heretics, also, rejected
the Gospel. But with these exceptions heretics as well

THE APOSTLE JOHN 337
as orthodox writers agreed that it was by the apostle.
Much is sometimes made of the silence concerning this
gospel in the first half of the second century; but we
must bear in mind how few are the writings preserved
from that period, and how naturally familiarity with
the Oral Gospel or with its reproduction in the Synop
tics would make men turn to that source for quotations
and references, rather than to a gospel that was just
getting into circulation. By the last third of the cen
tury the book was receiving the emphasis it deserved.
The great scholars from that time on believed, and were
sure they had good reason for believing, that the
Fourth Gospel was by John the apostle, and gave the
deepest, most precious revelation of his Lord. And
the church throughout the later ages, despite all efforts'
to prove this gospel unapostolic and untrustworthy, has
accepted their verdict.
The Book of Eevelation, though at first accepted as
from the apostle, had later on to run the gauntlet of
criticism. Its marked difference in character from the
other books, its enigmatic contents and the fact that
fanatics used it then, as they do now, to support wild
and unwholesome doctrines, made men even in the third
century question its apostolic origin, thinking thereby to
invalidate its inspiration. They dwelt on its evident
unlikeness to the Fourth Gospel and I John, both in
language and in spirit. The Greek of Eevelation is by
far the worst in the New Testament, full of ungram-
matieal constructions ; while that of the other two books,
though Hebraic in style, is uniformly good. And the
spirit of Eevelation is narrow and vindictive, lacking
the universality, gentleness and love which characterize
the other writings of John. The missionary spirit of
Christianity finds almost no support or expression in the

338 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
book. Is it possible, these ancient critics asked, that the
apostle whom Jesus loved and whose own favourite in
junction, so tradition says, was " Little children, love
one another," could have written such a merciless book
as this ? These arguments have been revived in modern
days, though usually now they are directed against the
apostolic authorship of the gospel. Granted, so it is
said to-day, that the apostle is the John of Eevelation,
such marked differences prove that he could not have
been the author of the Fourth Gospel. It is not easy to
answer this. The difference in Greek may be accounted
for by supposing either that the solecisms of the
apocalypse were intentional, their object being to make
the statements more unusual and impressive, or that
John himself in exile and with imperfect mastery of
Greek wrote the apocalypse, while for the gospel later
on he had the aid of an amanuensis who expressed in
correct Greek the thoughts John uttered in Aramaic,
his native tongue. And concerning the difference in
spirit, there are two solutions. One is that John wrote
the apocalypse in middle life when the fiery spirit of a
Boanerges still filled his breast, and the gospel in his old
age when love had become the supreme emotion. Or,
if it is recognized that the Apocalypse belongs to the
time of Domitian when John was already old, then the
answer is that an apocalypse from its very nature must
picture the vengeance of God upon the enemies of the
church, — the wrath of the Lamb ; and in writing it the
apostle had no opportunity or no occasion to proclaim
the message of love. How successful these replies are,
must be left to the opinion of each individual student.
Certainly if we are forced to surrender apostolic author
ship for either the gospel or the apocalypse, wo would
prefer to assign the latter book to John the Presbyter,

THE APOSTLE JOHN 339
as Eusebius suggested, or to some unknown John. But
how about the unquestioning ascription of it to the
apostle in the second century ? Copies of the book must
have been sent at the very outset to the seven churches
of Asia, and those who received them must have known
from whom they came. To suppose that having accepted
it from some other John, they presently with one accord
pronounced it to be by the apostle, is to treat the Chris
tians of that age as lacking either in ordinary intelli
gence or in honesty.
3. The First Epistle of John.
Is this an epistle ? It has no address or salutations,
no names of persons or places, no hint of destination;
and yet it is personal in tone and shows evident familiar
ity with the spiritual condition of its readers. It may
have been a circular letter meant for all the churches
in Asia over which John had oversight. Certainly he
had in mind a definite group of readers as he wrote. Its
close connection with the Fourth Gospel makes some
suppose that it was written to be sent along with that
gospel, and others that it was written later to reinforce
that gospel's message. Evidently its writer takes for
granted that his readers know the teachings of the
Fourth Gospel ; but these teachings must have been pro
mulgated orally before they were put in written form.
As for its date, everything indicates that the writer was
an old man, addressing believers who lived when Chris
tian thought was fully developed. We must place it
near the close of the century when John, if we suppose
he was a lad in his teens during Jesus' public minis
try, would be nearly ninety. It moves so entirely in
the realm of the spiritual that no room is given for
political events; yet the omission of any reference to

340 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
persecution seems unlikely, had Domitian then been
seeking to crush out the church. The peaceful years
of Nerva (96-98 a.d.) or the opening of Trajan's reign
is a likely date.
What moved the aged apostle to write ? He says it
was his desire that his " children might have fellowship
with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, and
so their joy be made full " (1:1-3), and also that they
might know that they had eternal life (5: 13). He is
writing to Christians of the second or third genera
tion. " The enthusiasm of the early days of the Faith
is no longer theirs. Many of them had been brought
up as Christians, and did not owe their faith to strong
personal conviction or experience. Their Christianity
had become largely traditional, half-hearted and nomi
nal. They found the moral obligations of their religion
oppressive. The world had great attractions for them "
(Brooke). As a result, while they were not unbeliev
ing, they had no heartening assurance of truth through
personal experience, such as characterized the genera
tion to which John belonged. They failed to know that
which they believed. So John, desiring to bring them
to that fullness of Christian knowledge from which
springs the fullness of Christian life, declares unto
them the eternal truths which may be used as tests
whereby they shall know that they have eternal life.
The central ideas of the epistle are few in number, —
righteousness, life, light and love; and concerning
these John does not argue but affirm. " He had no
laboured process to go through; he saw. He had no
constructive proof to develop ; he bore witness "
(Westcott). To some readers he is monotonous and
unattractive; his lack of logical order and progress in
thought seems to them " the feebleness of old age."

THE APOSTLE JOHN 341
To others he is most stimulating and impressive; and
his words are like waters so clear that sometimes one
fails to realize their depths.
Another evident purpose of the epistle is to combat
a heresy which John calls the " anti-Christ," viz. : the
denial that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh (2 : 22 ;
4: 2-3). The gnostics with their doctrine that matter
is evil and that sin and suffering are impossible for a
divine being, refused to accept the full humanity of
Jesus. Some held concerning His whole life, what
some hold to-day concerning His appearances after the
resurrection, that it was purely visionary : — He seemed
to have a body of flesh and to suffer and die, but it was
only seeming. Others distinguished, as some do to-day,
between the human Jesus and the divine Christ, and
maintained that the two were joined in the period only
from the baptism to Gethsemane, so that it was the son
of Mary and not the Son of God who lay as a babe in
the manger and poured out his life upon the cross.
The gnostic, Cerinthus, taught this latter view ; and he
and his followers, so Irenaeus says, were those against
whom John was writing his denunciations, declaring
that their rejection of " that which ye heard from the
beginning " was a denial of the Father as well as of
the Son (2: 23 f.), and a rejection of the witness of
God (5: 10). His words come with special fitness to
us in the present day. The recent centering of thought
upon the human side of the life of Our Lord, which
has wrought such excellent results in making Him
stand out as a distinct figure moving among men of
His age and shaping His life to meet their thoughts
and needs, has had the unfortunate effect of creating
a tendency to ignore or deny the deity in Him. Be
cause we are so constantly exhorted to behold the Man,

342 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
we are in danger of seeing nothing else. The truths
set forth by John, not for mere intellectual assent but
as a motive principle of the Christian life, need re
newed emphasis and constant repetition.
Anything like a formal analysis of the epistle is al
most impossible. Its three great statements, God is
light (1:5), God is righteous (3:7) and God is love
(4:8) have been used to divide it into three main sec
tions. Fellowship with God and man, — its conditions,
dangers, character, and results, — has been suggested as
the theme and its development. And there are many
other attempts to find a definite order of thought in
John's successive statements. But the search is for
that which does not exist. The epistle is a heap of un
strung pearls which may be arranged in any order
without lessening their beauty.
4. The Second and Third Epistles of John.
Letters and personal notes, carried by special mes
sengers or by those who were journeying among the
churches, must have passed frequently between the
early Christians; for the age was one of correspond
ence, as the discovery of large numbers of letters writ
ten by all sorts of people on all sorts of occasions shows.
Of such private letters by Christians, only these two,
besides Philemon and Rom. XVI, remain; and their
preservation was doubtless more by accident than be
cause of their importance. Indeed, the insignificance
of II and III John, quite as much as doubt about their
apostolic authorship, was the cause of the hesitancy
with which they were placed in the New Testament
canon. Had they been allowed to perish, no doctrine
of the church would have suffered; but they throw a
little light on church life toAvards the end of the first

THE APOSTLE JOHN 343
century, and are a precious memorial of the aged
apostle. One unsolved problem about II John is its destina
tion. Is " the elect lady " a metaphorical term for
some church whose members are her children, or does
the apostle address an individual, either unnamed or
called the lady Electa or the elect Kyria? Scholars
by no means agree, but a church seems more probable,
in which case the closing salutation is from the mem
bers of a sister church, perhaps in Ephesus. It is not
likely that Gaius of III John was a member of this
church of II John; for, though both letters deal with
the reception and treatment of itinerant teachers, the
conditions revealed in each are decidedly unlike. Yet
the two are so identical in their opening and close that
they must have been written at nearly the same time;
and as both are merely preliminary to the coming of
the writer, we may suppose them to have been sent by
John to two churches not far from Ephesus, when he
was about to make a tour of oversight. At the period
we have now reached, Christianity had spread far and
wide. The number of Christians at the end of the first
century has been reckoned as high as half a million;
and, as they were largely confined to the cities, there
must have been a church of some size in almost every
considerable city of the empire. Travel was easy; so
preachers and teachers journeyed constantly among
the churches, using such powers as they possessed for
their edification. They were often self-appointed and
without supervision; and, though they might bear
" letters of commendation " (II Cor. 3:1; I Cor.
16: 3), the danger is evident that in their ranks would
be some who took this opportunity to spread heresies,
finding the young churches eager for new ideas and not

344 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
always able to discriminate between truth and error.
It was in warning against such deceivers that John
wrote to " the elect lady." Men preaching the same
gnostic doctrines that he denounced in the First Epis
tle, were abroad ; and the church must be on its guard,
testing all by the teaching of Christ, and refusing ad
mission or even greeting to any who abode not in that
teaching. Besides these traveling teachers who sought to in
struct the Christians, there were traveling evangelists
who addressed themselves to the heathen. It is a band
of these whom Gaius is asked to set forward on their
journey. There was ever the possibility that a true
brother in Christ might be denied a hearing or even
Christian hospitality, if the leaders in a church had
grown unduly suspicious of strangers, or were jealous
of the influence newcomers might exert. The latter
seems to have been the case with Diotrephes. To pre
serve his own cherished preeminence, he had refused
to receive certain brethren who had come with a letter
of commendation from John, and had done his utmost
to keep others from receiving them. Opposed to him
in spirit and action, and possibly threatened by him
with excommunication, was Gaius whose unfailing hos
pitality had been reported to John by those who en
joyed it. To him, then, John writes, since a letter to
the church will be blocked by Diotrephes, and com
mends to his confidence Demetrius, who may have been
one of a band of evangelists whom Gaius is now asked
to entertain. What we are specially interested to note
is the growing independence of the individual church,
and the increasing authority of its leader. By the very
term, " the elect lady," John recognized that the
church to which he is writing had its own separate, in-

THE APOSTLE JOHN 345
dependent life, — a fact which Paul, to whom the whole
church was the one, indivisible body of Christ, would
have been slow to concede. And though John was still
exereising the authority of a father over those whom
he calls " my children," laying down rules and promis
ing rewards, bestowing praise or censure, Diotrephes
backed by a majority of his church would have nothing
to do with the apostle's instruction in his absence, and
would be hard to bring to obedience when he did ap
pear. Whatever power John now had, came rather
from personal influence than from apostolic office, and
could not be transferred to a successor.
5. The Gospel of John.
The important problem of the Fourth Gespel is its
trustworthiness. Can we accept as true the wonderful
picture of Jesus it sets before us ? The question is not
disposed of by proving that John did or did not write
the book. The aged apostle may unconsciously have
mingled the ideal with the real in his reminiscences;
this is possible though not probable. And on the other
hand, if the author was some disciple of the apostle or
some other John who had excellent sources of informa
tion and used them truthfully, his statements may be
thoroughly reliable. Apart then from authorship what
about the credibility of this gospel?
Some view it with suspicion from the fact that it sets
forth so clearly the deity of Christ, from prologue to
close proclaiming Him the Only Begotten Son of God.
They say this is the Christology of Paul; and the
Fourth Gospel is simply Pauline preaching put into
the form of a biography. But was Paul's Christology
correct, and upon what facts in Jesus' life — for he had
plenty of opportunity to learn the facts — did he base

346 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
it, if not upon such as John narrates ? And, supposing
we reject the Fourth Gospel, are there not passages in
the Synoptics that proclaim the deity of Jesus just as
clearly ? The Gospel of Mark is supposed to give the
earliest picture of Jesus, " yet no gospel of the four is
more emphatic upon the superhuman quality of Jesus'
nature; this is not insisted upon but rather spontane
ously assumed throughout as the one thing that im
pressed the beholder most" (R. J. Campbell). Never
theless, the chief difficulty in accepting the Fourth
Gospel does arise from the many ways in which it dif
fers markedly from the Synoptics. These can be only
briefly indicated and discussed; I have treated them
more fully in my Introduction to the Life of Christ.
According to the Synoptics, Jesus began His minis
try after the Baptist was imprisoned; His field was
Galilee and the coasts until the last week in Jeru
salem; His ministry met with great success at first;
and the shadow of , the cross did not appear till toward
the close. Only one Passover is mentioned, and the
whole period seems to be little more than a year. Ac
cording to John, Jesus gathered disciples and preached
in Judea while the Baptist was still working; opposi
tion and prediction of death come at the very outset;
repeated visits to Jerusalem occupy almost the whole of
the book; and two Passovers, if not three, are recorded.
Again, the teachings of Jesus in John differ greatly
from those in the Synoptics. Instead of short, preg
nant and usually practical sayings with numerous par
ables, we find long discourses on particular themes,
theological and profound, and also allegories; the mis
sion of Jesus is represented as universal rather than as
directly to the Jews; and we hear only once of the
Kingdom of God but often about eternal life. The

THE APOSTLE JOHN 347
words and style of the speeches of Jesus so closely re
semble those of John in the prologue or in the First
Epistle that it is hard to distinguish between His words
and John's comments on them, e.g., is John 3 : 16 by
Jesus or by John ? Still again, there is a marked dif
ference in His self-revelation. In the Synoptics He
is silent about His own claims until the disciples waken
to the fact that He is the Christ; and even then He
bids them not to tell it, and does not make an open
proclamation until the last week of His life. In John
there is no such reserve and progressive revelation.
The Baptist points Him out as the Lamb of God; the
first disciples hail Him as the Son of God ; and in His
public discourses he constantly emphasizes His rela
tion to the Father. The miracles in the Synoptics are
a manifestation of His power and sympathy, but in
John they are a revelation of His divinity and are
usually the text for a discourse. How can we recon
cile these differences, exaggerated though some of them
undoubtedly have been? For if we cannot, we must
choose between John and the Synoptics ; and the choice
would probably be the latter.
John closes his book (the last chapter is an ap
pendix) with two statements (20:30-31) which bear
upon the problem we are discussing. He says, " Many
other signs did Jesus in the presence of His disciples
that are not written in this book." Evidently John
professes to give only certain passages in the life of
Christ, and his gospel is no more a biography than was
the Oral Gospel on which the Synoptics are based.
The Synoptics were already in circulation, and to re
peat their contents would be useless; so John supple
ments them with further incidents. That his gospel
was supplementary was recognized by those who read

348 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
it in the second century; and Tatian wove it in with
the other three without difficulty, even as our modern
Harmonies do. Not infrequently it throws light upon
the others ; e.g., the lament over Jerusalem, " How
often would I have gathered thy children " (Luke
13: 34) is inexplicable until we learn from John that
Jesus had repeatedly preached in Jerusalem. Some
times it seems to correct the Synoptics, notably in re
gard to the time when the Last Supper was eaten.
And ever it places before us not a new life of Jesus
but simply new chapters in that life, the great ma
jority being still unwritten. What guided John in his
selection of these special chapters, his second statement
reveals : — " These are written that ye may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing
ye may have life in His name" (20: 31). The pur
pose was the same as that which called forth his First
Epistle, viz. : the defence of the deity of Jesus against
those gnostic heretics who were assailing it. And to
accomplish it the apostle chose certain scenes where
Jesus most fully revealed Himself, — the bitter battles
with the theological leaders at Jerusalem, and the inti
mate hours with His disciples alone. Moreover, the
Synoptics are narration; the Fourth Gospel is also in
terpretation. The one pictures Jesus as the men to
whom He spoke saw Him; the other sets Him forth
as they might have seen Him had they looked and lis
tened with spiritual discernment. Concerning the
speeches of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel I think we
must agree that, while the thought is Our Lord's the
words are John's. That which Jesus from the nature
of His hearers had to set forth briefly and sometimes
obscurely, John gives us clearly and at length, even as
its meaning has revealed itself to him through years

THE APOSTLE JOHN 349
of increasing growth into the mind of the Master.
Unless we prefer to put ourselves back among those
who listened stupidly or with hostility in the begin
ning, we should rejoice that we can hear the Master
through the lips of one who listened with love, and in
creasingly grew into better understanding.
The Fourth Gospel was early called the spiritual
gospel; and the church has ever found it such. While
there are those who dismiss it with contempt as " mys
tical, poor stuff * * * matter imported from Philo
and the Alexandrian Platonist and put into the mouth
of the Saviour " (J. S. Mill), the verdict of most
Christians is stated by Dr. Philip Schaff when he pro
nounces it " the most, original, the most important, and
the most influential book in all literature."

XXI
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND GOVERNMENT
THE two dominant features of church life in the
Apostolic Age were a constant recognition of
the presence of the Holy Spirit, and an eager
expectation of the coming of Christ. These combined
to create a religious enthusiasm, a consciousness of
divine guidance, and a subordination of temporal mat
ters, which account for the deep spiritual life and
thought of the Christians. They caused also an indif
ference to outward forms and fixed rules and human
authority. Why look to men for guidance and gov
ernment, when the leadings of the Spirit can be di
rectly had ? And why establish laws and create insti
tutions for future generations, when the Lord even now
may be standing at the door? Accordingly, when we
study church organization and government in the Apos
tolic Age, we cannot expect to find authoritative and
final forms. The desire to do so and to show that these
forms are those of some particular church to-day, is
natural and has given rise to heated debates or even
worse; but it is doomed to disappointment unless we
deliberately close our eyes to everything except what
we seek. In the Apostolic Age there was no one fixed
and final form of church life and government, but
there were the possibilities or beginnings of all the
later forms. Moreover, in our study we must ever be
on guard against putting into a New Testament term
some present-day meaning, regardless of the possibility
that in the course of centuries the original meaning
may have changed. For example, because a church
350

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 351
to-day calls certain officers elders, this does not prove
that the elders in an apostolic church were like them
in position or in duties.
1. Admission Into the Church.
The word in the New Testament translated church
is ecclesia, and means literally a convocation. It was
the term for the political assembly of Greek citizens,
and was used in the Septuagint for the meeting of the
congregation of Israel. It was a favourite word with
Paul. Though it is sometimes used in the plural or
with a local -signification, there is but one church, and
all everywhere who by faith are one with Christ belong
to it. As one with Christ each member is also one
with the Father and with all other members. The
church is the present body of Christ, another and con
tinuous incarnation, and is the agent for bringing in
His Kingdom. The qualifications for church member
ship originally were simple, and are summed up in the
word, conversion, — turning around; though that word
is used but once in the New Testament (Acts 15: 3).
A converted person is one who has turned around
squarely from his old life of self and sin to the new
life in Christ. The change involves both repentance
and faith (Acts 20: 21) ; though of the two, faith was
emphasized more often, because it presupposes repent
ance while repentance does not surely lead to faith.
The acceptance of Christ was at once followed by a
request for admission into church membership, because
the convert was forced to leave his old Jewish or
heathen circle, and naturally sought a place in the
group of Christians. The question, Can a man follow
Christ and yet not join the church ? would not arise.
The rite by which a person was received into church

352 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
membership was baptism, accompanied by an open con
fession of faith. Evidently no large amount of instruc
tion was required beforehand (Acts 2 : 41 ; 16 : 33) ;
though as the years went on it was increasingly made
a prerequisite, and in the next century a period of pro
bation was required. Baptism followed belief so
promptly that we nowhere find in the New Testament
an unbaptized believer, but Simon Magus is an in
stance of a baptized unbeliever. He was treated as not
really belonging to the church ; but whether he would
have been rebaptized had he repented and truly be
lieved, we cannot say. The only recorded words of
Jesus instituting the rite of baptism are Matt. 28:19;
for Mark 16 : 16 was not of the original gospel, and
shows the development of the later belief that baptism
is indispensable for salvation. But the work of John
the Baptist in preparing the people for the coming of
the Messiah would naturally be imitated by the apos
tles in preparing them for His second coming. And
at first Christian baptism seems to have had much the
same significance as John's baptism, namely, an open
avowal of faith in Christ as Messiah, involving both
repentance of past sins and determination henceforth
to live as His faithful follower until He come. Paul
gave a deeper meaning to the rite because his whole
conception of the Christian life was deeper. In his
thought the Christian is one with Christ by mystical
union, and baptism is the expression of that union,
especially in His death and resurrection (Col. 2:12;
Rom. 6 : 3-4) . This deeper meaning was not generally
grasped by the later church; yet baptism in the early
centuries marked such a complete change from the
heathen to the Christian circle that its importance and
influence could hardly be overstated. Dean Stanley

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 353
says, " Marriage is the only event in modern life which
corresponds to what baptism was in the ancient
church, — a second birth, a new creation, old things
passing away, all things becoming new."
Concerning the form of baptism discussion has been
so exhaustive and exhausting that to enter upon it
seems unwise. Unquestionably immersion was the or
dinary practice (Acts 8:38; Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:4;
I Cor. 10:1-2), and in the early centuries it was
usually triple immersion; but sprinkling or pouring
may have been used when immersion was not feasible.
The Didache lays down the rule, " If thou hast not
living [running] water, baptize in other water; and if
thou canst not in cold [because of illness], then in
warm: but if thou hast neither, pour water upon the
head thrice." The two strongest arguments against
immersion as the only valid form of baptism are, first,
the difficulty of it in some lands or circumstances: —
as a universal rite baptism ought to be as free from
hindrance as the Lord's Supper, of which the church
never took over the Palestinian practice of reclining at
the table and a preliminary foot-washing. And, sec
ond, the fact that Christianity is a religion of the spirit
rather than of the letter, and one wherein no bondage
to outward forms should be allowed to restrict the
liberty which we have in Christ Jesus. Whatever may
be said about the obligation to follow apostolic prece
dent in the form of baptism, practically all Protestants
have departed from it in ruling that only ordained
officers of the church can administer the rite. In the
early spread of Christianity laymen preached and lay
men baptized. Paul was baptized by "a certain
disciple" (Acts 9:10), and in his own ministry en
trusted the work largely to others (I Cor. 1 : 14-17) ;

354 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Peter commanded that Cornelius should be baptized by
the brethren who had come with him (Acts 10 : 23,
48) ; and the Didache in laying down the form of bap
tism, says to all Christians, " Baptize ye thus."
The question whether infants were baptized cannot
be settled by New Testament records, because the
early converts were adults, and what is said about bap
tism naturally relates to them. The case of infants
would not become prominent until the church settled
down to a prolonged career. We know that by the
third century infant baptism was general, though Ter
tullian opposed it and many thought adult baptism
preferable. Baptism has been represented, perhaps
rightly, as the Christian successor of circumcision; but
there is nothing to indicate that this was recognized in
the Apostolic Age. Jewish Christians continued to ob
serve circumcision; and Gentile believers would not
feel the need of an equivalent for it. The household
rather than the individual was the normal unit, even
as we are once more discovering that it should be, and
whole households were baptized (Acts 16 : 15, 33 ; I
Cor. 1 : 16) ; but even if there were infants in these
households, we cannot be sure that they were baptized,
since the faith of the parent may have been reckoned
as making the child holy (I Cor. 7: 14) and therefore
a member of the church without baptism. Undoubt
edly the later development of superstitious ideas about
the magical efficacy of the rite and its indispensability
for salvation, would cause baptism to be deemed as
necessary for the infant born in the church as for the
adult outside of it; and we must also recognize that
infant baptism was a factor in the struggle against in
fanticide and the general contempt for childhood which
filled the heathen world.

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 355
What is meant by baptism for the dead (I Cor.
15: 29), we cannot discover. Paul's reference to it is
simply by way of argument without endorsement or
condemnation; and all we can gather from his words
is that it was some rite that would have no significance
if there were no resurrection of the dead. It seems to
have been confined to Corinth and to Paul's day; at
least, we hear nothing of it elsewhere or later.
2. Church Fellowship.
While the unity of all Christians was clearly taught
by Paul and others, the practical problem was how to
maintain it. In the individual church this was not
difficult, because the inevitable isolation of Christians
from their unconverted neighbours bound them to one
another, and the meeting for worship, which brought
all the members of a church together frequently in
closest communion, was an agency for creating a sense
of unity, such as few heathen cults possessed. There
were those who were tempted to forsake this assembling
of themselves together (Heb. 10:25), either in times
of persecution when meeting was dangerous, or in days
of peace when apathy, self-sufficiency or bitterness
toward a neighbour had been allowed to rise. Separa
tion of this sort was then as now the sure road to ulti
mate loss of faith; for this reason the Didache says,
" Thou shalt seek out daily the faces of the saints that
thou mayest be refreshed by their words." But when
members of one church were closely united, the prob
lem still remained as to how the widely scattered
churches could be kept in touch with one another, and
held as one in life, doctrine and worship.
The first years in Jerusalem, when the whole church
centered in that city, and every member was close to

356 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
every other, did much towards initiating fellowship.
We can hardly overestimate the service of those years
in creating a sense of unity as well as in establishing
a common creed and cult. And until the destruction"
of Jerusalem by Rome, Jewish Christians everywhere
continued to look to the mother church for guidance
and example. We have noticed how instructions or
advisors were sent from Jerusalem to churches in
Samaria (Acts 8:14), Antioch (11:22), and Syria
and Cilicia (15:23). In the case of the Gentile
churches, those of each Eoman province looked to the
metropolitan church of which they were the children
for advice, sympathy and oversight ; and this kept each
group united. Ephesus and the churches of Asia,
Corinth and the churches of Achaia, are examples of
this form of union. The several provincial groups
were bound to one another in various ways. Paul held
his churches together, widely as they were scattered,
through frequent letters and personal visits; and his
journeys to Jerusalem and gifts to the poor of that
church, were intended to promote brotherly relations
between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile. Other
apostles doubtless were doing similar work towards
unifying the church; and there were, as we shall
presently remark, certain brethren who, either ap
pointed by the church or impelled by the Spirit, jour
neyed among the churches preaching and teaching.
More fruitful in fellowship than any of these agencies
was the intercourse of Christian laymen. When they
travelled on special errands or regular business from
city to city, they would take with them letters of com
mendation or introduction from their own church, and
in each stopping-place would seek out the Christians.
Here in the home of some hospitable brother, or at the

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 357
gathering-place for worship, they would report what
the brethren in other cities were doing, compare church
practices, discuss doctrines and difficulties and dan
gers, — in short, have a most profitable exchange of
Christian thought. In this way the churches were kept
intimately acquainted with one another, and unity of
faith and practice, as well as brotherly feeling, was
strongly though almost unconsciously promoted. A
church located outside the great lines of travel lacked
this constant source of sympathy and help, and suffered
accordingly. 3. Church Officers.
The key to the whole vexed subject of church gov
ernment is this: — leadership grows out of service — he
who renders the greatest service is the highest officer
(Mark 10 : 42-45 ) ; and service is rendered according
to gifts, i.e., natural capacities strengthened and con
secrated by the Spirit (I Peter 4: 10 f.). Evidently
the field of service might be some particular church
or the church universal; but the division would be ac
cording to gifts and opportunity, and a person might
pass from the smaller field to the larger or the reverse.
Likewise, he might have more than one gift, and use
different ones at different times. It is in connection
with the subject of spiritual gifts that Paul sets forth
two lists, illustrative rather than exhaustive, of what
seem to be church officials. " God has set some in the
church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teach
ers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, govern
ments, divers kinds of tongues" (I Cor. 12:28; cf.
Id. 9-11), and "He gave some to be apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers" (Eph. 4: 11; cf. Eom. 12: 6-8).

358 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
The apostles stand preeminent. They were, as the
name signifies, missionaries; and their office corre
sponded closely to that of the foreign missionary of
to-day. In the narrower sense of the term an apostle
was one who had been appointed by Jesus directly, and
had been prepared for his work by being with Him
during His public ministry and by having seen Him
after His resurrection (Mark 3:14; Acts 1:21 f.;
I Cor. 9:1). The number would be limited to the
Twelve, among whom Matthias took the place of Judas,
and Paul ; though since Paul had not received the full
preparation he reckoned himself as " one untimely
born." In the broader sense of the word an apostle
was anyone whose special gift was the ability to labour
at planting the church in new fields, and to act as an
ambassador for Christ, i.e., His representative in a
foreign land. He might be sent forth by some church ;
in which case he would be given a special appointment
and be reckoned an apostle only while he was under
that appointment, perhaps holding another office at
another time ; or he might go forth independently. The
ceremony of laying on of hands which accompanied his
appointment is thought by some to have imparted apos
tolic powers, e.g., to work miracles (II Cor. 12:12),
and by others to have beeh either an act of ordination
or benediction. The need of missionary work was
great, and many a believer must have given himself to
it as his life mission. Barnabas (Acts 14:14), An
dronicus and Junias (Eom. 16: 7), Silvanus and Tim
othy (I Thess. 2 : 6), Apollos (I Cor. 4: 9) and Epaph
roditus (Phil. 2:25) are termed apostles; and the
Didache speaks as if the number at the close of the
century was large.
The apostles were pioneers, and their authority was

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 359
much like that of a pioneer missionary to-day. Some
exercised great influence; others, even of the original
Twelve, probably very little; much would depend on
the degree of their qualifications for the work. Neces
sarily they had to organize churches, appoint office
bearers and act autocratically in many ways; yet it
was expedient to persuade rather than dictate, and to
entrust to a newly formed church all the power it could
wisely use. Some scholars, dwelling on certain state
ments in Acts and Paul's letters, insist that the apostles
directed all church affairs; others, dwelling on other
statements in the same documents, declare that the
apostles had nothing to do directly with government,
leaving it to the individual church. " Six months spent
in watching a missionary at work would have taught
them how to combine their views" (Lindsay).
A prophet was one whose mission was to speak for
God, giving to his fellow-Christians messages of edifi
cation and exhortation and comfort (I Cor. 14:3).
His particular gift of the Spirit — inspiration — was
the ability to receive and proclaim dynamic truths.
He might foretell the future, yet he would do this, not
to satisfy idle curiosity, but to build up, stir up or
cheer up the church. The gift of prophecy was pos
sessed by many a man who used it only in his own
local church, and also by those who went forth as apos
tles. Paul and Barnabas were ranked as prophets or
teachers in the church at Antioch before their first
missionary journey (Acts 13:1). But as a special
and universal officer the prophet travelled from church
to church, rousing his brethren to higher spiritual
living by glowing words which came hot from his
heart. Agabus, of whom we hear at Jerusalem and
Antioch and Caesarea, is an example. The Didache

360 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
has much to say about those who come " speaking in
the Spirit."
A teacher had as his gift the ability to instruct his
brethren in Christian truth. The opportunity to
learn and the power to impart constituted his call to
this important office. He might not be able to estab
lish new churches, or to preach with compelling power;
but he could patiently and clearly expound the teach
ings of Jesus and the Christian doctrines. And there
was great need of such teaching among men who had
been received into the church with little instruction
and no previous acquaintance with Christianity. Like
the prophet he might exercise his gift in his own
church, or go forth among the churches. Doubtless
at first the oral gospel would be the basis of his in
struction, and later he might bear with him some writ
ten gospel, or any writings of the apostles which he
had been fortunate enough to secure. Whether we
should place " the evangelist " in this group or in that
of apostles of the second class, is an unimportant ques
tion. Though the office is recognized by Paul as a
distinct one, Philip is the only person named in the
New Testament as holding it (Acts 21:8), except as
Timothy is exhorted to " do the work of an evangel
ist" (II Tim. 4:5); and in the post-apostolic age it
is not mentioned. An evangelist is one who tells the
good tidings, the gospel of Christ; and all who went
forth bearing the words of eternal life to those who
had not heard them, were evangelists (Acts 8:4).
Although these officers were sent out by the
churches, and carried letters of commendation, they
were under no supervision as they laboured, and there
was nothing to prevent incompetent or base-minded
men from joining their number, either with forged let-

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 361
ters or with none at all. " It was the age of wander
ing preachers and teachers, of religious excitements,
of curiosity about new faiths, when all who had some
thing new to teach hawked their theories as traders
dragged and exposed their merchandise." The inex
perience and interest and hospitality of the young
Christian churches offered a fertile field for such men;
and we are not surprised to read of false apostles,
prophets and teachers (II Cor. 11:13; Gal. 1:7;
II Peter 2:1). The harm these men might work is
evident, and is dwelt upon strongly in the Epistle of
Jude. The safeguard against it was the ability and
duty of each church to test all who came, and to deter
mine whether their messages were of God or not
(I John 4:1; Rev. 2: 2; I Cor. 10: 15). There was
a gift of " discernings of spirits" (I Cor. 12:10),
which its possessor could use to guard his church
against imposters. In its purely spiritual form this
gift was sensitiveness to the truth that is in Christ
Jesus whereby the brethren could detect whether one
who came in His name really represented Him or not
(I Cor. 12:3; I John 4:1-6); but when the church
began to sink to a lower level of spiritual life, it
trusted more in its ability to discover by outward signs
whether the stranger was working for the food that
perisheth or for that which abideth unto eternal life.
The tests laid down in the Didache are of this later
sort, e.g., "Not every one that speaketh in the spirit
is a prophet, but only if he have the ways of the Lord.
* * * whoever in the spirit saith, Give me money
or something else, ye shall not hear him."
sThus far we have considered only the work of
spreading the gospel and building up the church in the
faith. But how about the administration of the affairs

362 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
of the local church? Who were the officers to whom
this was entrusted? Here Paul's list gives us little
aid, though " helps and governments " are gifts out of
the use of which offices may arise. In the beginning
the only person outside its own membership to whom
a church can look for counsel and direction, is the
apostle who founded it; and though he retains his
fatherly interest in it, he is seldom where he can be
consulted. Really there is very little need at first of
any officers. Any member can baptize or, if he has the
gift, can teach and preach; there is no church build
ing; the gatherings for worship are most informal;
discipline, as we shall see, is administered by the whole
little group of believers ; there are no funds to be cared
for. Organization comes later, as the church develops;
and it arises out of special needs. And in forming it,
the pattern is naturally some organization with which
the believers are already familiar, — the synagogue for
Jewish-Christians, the club of some sort for Gentile
converts. Bearing in mind that church government is
a gradual development based on need, shaped some
what by environment, and with dignity of service ac
cording to special gifts, we can conjecture its probable
rise, though no exact dates can be assigned because
some churches would progress much faster than others.
1. The infant church has no officers; it is a little
brotherhood with all members equal. Any matter
affecting it is talked over and arranged at its frequent
meetings. Of course, if the missionary (apostle) is
present or can be consulted, he may exercise supreme
authority; and yet, if he is a wise father, he will do
this as little as possible. There is no definite organiza
tion, partly because the group is so small that it is not
needed and partly because the expectation of Christ's

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 363
speedy coming makes organization seem absurd. Yet,
since every member uses the gifts he possesses —
"healings, helps, governments" (I Cor. 12:28), and
the like, — there will be certain persons whose ability
makes them leaders, active and wise in caring for all
the interests of the church. And the apostle will
naturally commend such to the confidence and follow
ing of the rest. Such seems to be what Paul was
doing when he wrote the Thessalonians (as Frame
translates it), — " Furthermore, we ask you, brothers,
to appreciate those who labour among you, both acting
as your leaders in the Lord and warning you; and to
rate them very highly in love for the sake of their
work" (I Thess. 5:12-13), — an exhortation called
forth by the presence of dissensions, as the command
which immediately follows, " Be at peace among your
selves," reveals. The statement that Paul and Barna
bas as they revisited the churches on their way home
ward from the first missionary journey, " appointed
for them elders in every church" (Acts 14:23), can
hardly mean more than this, unless those Galatian
churches had advanced remarkably fast in organ
ization. 2. The burden that would first be felt most press-
ingly and perplexingly by any church was the care of
its poor. Not only was the proportion of dependent
members often so large as to tax the resources of the
rest; but there was also constant danger that the
charity of the little church would be abused by un
worthy claimants. Constant foresight and careful dis
crimination were needed in the matter. Accordingly,
the first recorded step in church organization is the
selection of seven men by the church at Jerusalem, fol
lowing the advice of the apostles, to look after the poor

364 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
widows. The qualifications for this office are carefully
laid down, — " men of good report, full of the Spirit
and of wisdom" (Acts 6:3); and the apostles induct
the Seven into office with prayer and the Jewish rite
of laying on of hands. Two of these men, Stephen
and Philip, we know to have been of marked ability;
and doubtless the others were the same. Though this
order of the Seven soon was ended by the scattering
of the church, that which was done at Jerusalem would
be done elsewhere as need arose. The leading men in
a church, those who were older in years or Christian
experience, would be selected and set apart for the
difficult work of caring for the poor and, naturally, for
any other matters that arose. The term elder, again
with Jewish precedent, would be applied to them,
partly as a title and partly as describing their age
(See I Peter 5:1-2, 5; I Tim. 5:1-2, 17). They
might be selected by the apostle, if present, but more
often by the church itself. We notice that when Paul
and Barnabas brought aid from Antioch for the
famine-stricken church at Jerusalem, it was given to
" the elders " (Acts 11 : 30), a body that seems to have
then taken the place of the Seven.
3. As church life grew more complex, a further
division of duties became necessary. Some of these
elders would still continue to look after the poor, and
in this service would be definitely recognized as dea
cons; while others would devote themselves to gov
ernment of the church as its overseers, — episkopoi,
bishops (Phil. 1:1). All would still continue to be
elders, but they would be set apart by ordination to
these special offices. The ordination would be deemed
a recognition of gifts already bestowed by the Holy

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 365
Spirit (Acts 20: 28, cf. 13:2) rather than an imparta-
tion of new gifts.
4. Still later, and probably not until the close of
the Apostolic Age, a further specialization of work
would arise. The several churches in a city, or the
city church and those that had been founded by it in
the vicinity, would need general supervision. And
some one of the overseeing elders possessing pre
eminent ability and experience would be appointed to
that office (III John, 1, 9 f.). Inevitably in any body of
administrators such a leader arises, whether recognized
officially or not. The usefulness of such an arrange
ment would justify its existence and cause its exten
sion. And in the second century we meet everywhere
the " monarchical episcopate."
Thus we find in the church at various stages of its
development the forerunners of the great forms of
church polity adopted by various denominations to-day.
To pronounce any one of them the final and divinely
appointed form is more than we have a fight to do.
Different conditions call for correspondingly different
forms of organization and government ; and that which
under the circumstances most fully promotes the har
mony and growth of the church, bears in this very fact
the stamp of divine approval.
4. Church Discipline.
The problem of dealing with unworthy members was
forced upon the church from its beginning, as we have
seen in the case of Ananias and Sapphira and of
Simon Magus. Many of the members had previously
held very low moral standards (I Cor. 6:9-11), and
had been received with little instruction. Naturally
their lives were not always such as to avoid censure

366 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
and correction. "Let him that stole steal no more"
(Eph. 4 : 28) seems a strange injunction to give a
church member, but, alas! it was sometimes needed.
One of Paul's most lasting works was the ethical teach
ing he constantly promulgated.
Theoretically the discipline was administered by the
whole church, and was considered to be by the Great
Head of the church, unseen but actually in their midst
(Matt. 18: 20). This could be carried out practically
when the church was small in numbers and intimately
acquainted with each member (II Cor. 2:6); but
more often discipline was administered by apostles,
prophets, elders and others who would best know the
mind of Christ (I Cor. 4:21; 5:3 f.; I Tim. 3:4).
The forms of discipline were based upon Christ's in
struction (Matt. 18:15-20). There would be private
admonition (Gal. 6:1), public correction (I Tim.
5:20) and excommunication (I Cor. 5:5) with the
possibility of restoration after due penitence and
amendment (II Cor. 2:7).

XXII
CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
THOUGH the little band of Christians in any
heathen city delighted to meet together and
join in worship of their common Lord, the op
portunities to do so were limited. Poverty kept many
at hard toil through long hours, and slavery forbade
others from counting any hour their own. There was
no special time or place that could be reckoned sacred ;
the church must meet when and where it could, usually
in the late evening or early morning, and at the house
of any member who had a room large enough. In the
meetings for worship all took part as desire prompted
and spiritual gifts enabled; there was neither a fixed
order of service nor a recognized leader. Evidently the
same causes that kept church government undeveloped,
operated to make church worship most informal. Light
foot declares the Christian ideal to be " a holy season
extending the whole year round, a temple confined only
by the limits of the habitable globe, a priesthood coex
tensive with the human race." And this ideal may be
said to have shaped Christian worship in the Apostolic
Age more fully than it ever has since.
1. Sacred Days.
In the weeks immediately following Pentecost the
new converts met daily for worship and the communion
meal (Acts 2:46). Filled with enthusiasm they gave
themselves entirely to the work of proclaiming Jesus as
367

368 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Messiah, and they counted all days as holy through His
presence. Since they still were holding strictly to Jew
ish practices, they would keep the Jewish Sabbath as
hitherto, though with something of the new spirit con
cerning it which the apostles had gained from Jesus.
The first day of the week also would be a day of sacred
significance to them, because on that day their Lord
rose from the dead. It came presently to be known as
"the Lord's Day" (Eev. 1:10). As time went on
and the church in Jerusalem settled down to a more
regular life, meetings for worship became less frequent
because daily tasks and duties must be performed. The
Jewish observance of Saturday would make that day
preeminently the time for worship, even after the doors
of the synagogue were closed against Christians; but
Sunday would be in a special sense the Christian day.
When Christianity went out into Gentile lands it bore
these tAvo days with it, and in the Eastern church they
were long observed with nearly equal honour. For
Gentile believers, however, the Jewish Sabbath was less
significant than the Lord's Day, and in the battle
against Judaizers its observance was decried (Col.
2 : 16) ; so Ave find the first day of the week selected as
the time for Christian assemblies (I Cor. 16:2; Acts
20:7). Nevertheless, the constant teaching of Paul
was that all days alike are holy, and that to esteem one
more sacred than another is contrary to Christian lib
erty (Eom. 14 : 5 ; Gal. 4 : 10 ; Col. 2:16). It marks a
decline in the high religious level Avhen the church
began to teach that one day in seven, instead of all
days, belongs to the Lord, and that certain occupations
are secular and certain others sacred.
Friday was a day of sacred and sad associations be
cause on this day Jesus was crucified. As early as

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP 369
the second century, and possibly still earlier, the custom
arose of observing it with fastings and prayer ; and from
its semi-sacred character the Christians felt that no new
enterprise should be begun on that day; work already
in hand could be carried on, but other work would not
receive the blessing of God — a feeling surviving in the
present-day superstition against entering upon a jour
ney or the like on Friday. Wednesday, when Judas
bargained to betray Jesus, was also a day for fasting.
These two days later were called " station days," a name
applied to the Roman soldier's days of sentry duty.
There is no indication in the New Testament that any
annual Christian festival was observed; but Good Fri
day, Easter and Whitsunday would presently arise from
the blending of Christian association with Jewish fes
tivals. In the second century there was heated discus
sion over the proper date for observing Easter. Christ
mas did not begin to be celebrated until the fourth cen
tury. 2. Sacred Places.
The temple and the synagogues remained dear to
Jewish Christians, and they attended the services in
them; but from the first they gathered in their own
houses for distinctly Christian worship and the cele
bration of the Lord's Supper (Acts 1 : 13 ; 2:1, 46 ;
4: 31; 12: 12 et al.). Gentile believers — and also Jew
ish, when the synagogue was closed against them — had
only the house as a meeting-place. Any member of the
little church whose rooms were suited for the gathering
would place them at the use of his brethren; and the
group who met there would be known as " the church in
the house " of that brother (Rom. 16 : 5 ; I Cor. 16 : 19 ;
Col. 4: 15). The home of Mark in Jerusalem is a no-

370 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
table illustration of this (Acts 12: 12). We have seen
that in Ephesus Paul secured for Christian work and
worship the lecture-room of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9);
and possibly James when speaking of "your syna
gogue " may refer to the place for worship rather than
to the assembly (James 2:2); but such public places
would seldom be available, and in times of persecution
would be most undesirable. A church in the modern
sense of a building devoted exclusively to Christian as
semblies, is not mentioned before the third century.
3. The Public Religious Service.
This was intended primarily for believers but was
open to the unconverted, even as the synagogue service
was intended for Jews but was open to Gentiles (I Cor.
14: 23). It was more like our modern prayer-meeting
than like our church service: — the Christians in the
neighbourhood gathered in some private home ; we hear
of no official leader ; and each person took part accord
ing to his gifts (14:26). The chief end of the meet
ing was edification (14: 12) and not divine service in
the sense of a formal, obligatory meeting for worship.
The temple continued to be the place for such service,
at least in the thought of the Jewish Christians.
There was no fixed order of exercises at these meet
ings; each member took part as the spirit prompted;
more than one might be taking part at the same time ;
and eagerness sometimes gave rise to disorder
(14:26 f.). A gathering might be devoted wholly to
prayer (Acts 12:5, 12), but generally there were sev
eral or all of the following exercises:
(a) Prayers. The meeting seems to have begun
with a series of prayers. These were offered by differ
ent persons as the Spirit moved, but were considered to

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP 371
be by all (I Cor. 14: 16). No special forms of prayer
are enjoined, nor is there any mention of the Lord's
Prayer, though some think that Rom. 8:15 and Gal.
4 : 6 refer to it, because the original Aramaic " Abba "
is retained. But the stereotyped forms of salutation
and benediction which appear in the epistles, and the
injunction to establish definite kinds of prayer (I Tim.
2:1 f.), hint of the beginnings of a liturgy; and the
liturgical service of the Jewish synagogue would furnish
a pattern. In the Didache we have set forms of prayer,
and the direction that each Christian repeat the Lord's
Prayer three times daily.
(b) Singing. This was a regular part of the syna
gogue worship, and was taken over into Christian wor
ship (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). The songs might be
either Old Testament psalms or Christian hymns ; pos
sibly we have fragments of these early hymns in such
passages as Eph. 5 : 14 and I Tim. 3 : 16. The music
was little more than intoning, so that there was no great
difference between prayer and song (cf. Eph. 5 : 19-20 ;
I Cor. 14:15); indeed, Weizsacker thinks that
" psalm " in I Cor. 14: 26 means a prayer of praise.
(c) Public Reading. The Bible of the early church
was the Old Testament, inherited from the Jews and
opened to the Gentiles by its Greek version, the Septua
gint. It was the sacred text-book of life and doctrine;
and its authority was recognized as the same as that
of the Spirit dwelling in each believer. When the two
Seemed to disagree, the allegorical method of interpret
ing the Scriptures was used to produce harmony. Since
the Old Testament was publicly read in the synagogue,
we may be sure that it would be in the Christian meet
ings, though there is no clear indication of this (cf. I
Tim. 4:13). The writings of the apostles were also

372 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
publicly read (I Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16; Eev. 1 : 3) as
profitable and of the same authority as the words of
the author if he had been present, and accounts of
Jesus would be read or still earlier recited ; but none of
these would be deemed sacred like the Old Testament.
(d) Teaching. Those peculiarly fitted by the Spirit
for this work constituted, as we have seen, a special
order in the church at large (I Cor. 12: 28) ; but cer
tain persons in each church might act as teachers (Id.
14: 26). Systematic instruction in the doctrines was
much needed, and could be given only by the thoughtful
and educated. Paul (I Cor. 12:8) recognizes two dif
ferent gifts that fit for teaching, namely, the word of
wisdom, probably reflective thought, and the word of
knowledge, probably intuition. The passage, I Tim.
5 : 17, referring to certain elders " who labour in the
word and in teaching," is used now to establish the
Presbyterian distinction between ruling elders and min
isters. (e) Prophecy. This formed a very important part
of the service. It was, as we have seen, the utterance
of a message held to be directly inspired, whether re
ceived at the moment of utterance or earlier. The mes
sage might be about the present or the future: but it
must tend to " edification, exhortation, and consolation "
(I Cor. 14:3). Anyone could utter a prophecy, but
evidently the truth of what he said must be tested by
the spiritual discrimination of the church. Prophecy
was a much more general gift than teaching, and was
specially to be desired (I Cor. 14: 1, 5, 39). The help
fulness to all of a frank statement of real spiritual ex
perience by any, explains why.
(/) Speaking with Tongues or in a Tongue. This
was the exercise of a special and showy gift which pres-

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP 373
ently ceased, partly through the strong check placed by
Paul upon its use, and partly through the decline of
religious enthusiasm. About all we know of it is gained
from Paul's description (I Cor. 14:1-33) and from
religious psychology. It occurred in prayer or was a
kind of prayer (14:2, 14), and to the unbelieving it
seemed like the utterance of an insane person (14: 23).
There were divers lands of tongues (12 : 10) ; and what
was said was unintelligible (14: 2), unless either the
speaker or some other person could interpret
(14:13, 28), — there being, also, a gift of interpreta
tion of tongues (12 : 10 ; 14 : 26). The tongues are best
explained as ejaculations in one's native language or in
foreign languages subconsciously possessed, or else as
mere broken outcries. The speaker who uttered them
might afterwards state what passed through his mind,
or some sympathetic brother might be able to follow
the windings of thought thus obscurely expressed, and
reveal them to the rest.
(g) Other features of the meeting are less certain.
There may have been giving of alms, — there was in the
synagogue, — since there was constant need of contribu
tions to the poor; but, though Paul directs the Corin
thians to lay aside an offering for the poor in Jerusalem
each week, he does not say that this should be brought
to the public meeting (I Cor. 16:2). Something in the
form of a creed may have been recited, even as the
Shema was in the synagogue; but we do not know its
form, — the so-called Apostles' Creed was a gradual
growth in later days. And the meeting may have
closed with a benediction and a " kiss of peace."
Concerning the public meeting Lindsay says, "For
eign as it may seem to us, the like can still be seen in mis
sion fields among the hot-blooded people of the East. I

374 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
have witnessed everything but the speaking with tongues
in meetings of native Christians in the Deccan in India,
when European influence was not present to restrain
Eastern enthusiasm and condense it in Western molds."
4. Women and Public Worship.
While the great fact, " Ye are all one in Christ
Jesus " did away with the old separations of race and
class and even sex (Gal. 3 : 28), the church very wisely
did not undertake to abolish all established distinctions ;
to do so would have been to create confusion and dis
aster. The rule was laid down, " Let each man abide
in the calling wherein he was called " (I Cor. 7: 20) ;
and the gradual operation of Christian principles was
trusted to work any desirable changes. We have seen
this illustrated in the case of the slaves ; it held likewise
in the case of the women. There was no question as to
woman's spiritual equality with man, or her right to
be his fellow-worker in Christ Jesus. The list of noble
Christian women who laboured much with Paul in the
gospel is a long one ; to give it in detail would be almost
to repeat the story of Christian origins. Nevertheless,
in that age, as unfortunately in most of those that have
followed, Avomen had very scanty opportunities to gain
an education, and consequently were not intellectually
the equals of men. Moreover, they were bound by
social restrictions that prevented them from mingling
freely with men under penalty of being misjudged
ethically. This was not equally so in all lands. In
Palestine and also in certain parts of Asia Minor women
had much freedom and exerted much influence in public
matters; but in Greece they were largely restricted to
the home, and only women of questionable character ap
peared in public assemblies. This diversity of condition

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP 375
may explain in part the seemingly contradictory injunc
tions concerning woman's share in the public meetings.
Women freely attended the meetings for Christian
worship, and there is no indication that they were
separated by a screen from the men, as they were in a
Jewish synagogue. Of course, these meetings were held
in private houses where special arrangements for seclud
ing the women worshippers wepe lacking. Very prob
ably, however, the women sat together in one part of the
room. Spiritual gifts were bestowed upon them as well
as upon men (Acts 2 : 4, 17-18 ; 21 : 9) ; and since they
possessed these gifts, they could use them, certainly in
prayer and prophesy, at public meetings, provided (at
least, in Corinth) they did not discard the head-cover
ing which every modest Greek woman wore in public
(I Cor. 11:5). The uncovering of the head in public
is condemned on the ground, not of immodesty but of
insubordination ; it expressed the claim " to have do
minion over man" (I Tim. 2:12), and this Paul
stoutly denounces. Whatever be said about his rea
sons for denying the social equality of the sexes — and
certainly he does confuse us as he gives them — the
danger of throwing off long-established restraints and
claiming liberties when almost unprepared to use them,
is evident. It has been illustrated more than once since
Paul's time when women, long held in seclusion and
Enforced ignorance, have been granted the freedom that
is in Christ Jesus, and have supposed that spiritual
equality in itself brings social equality. This same
principle of subordination produces the statement, "I
permit not a woman to teach" (I Tim. 2: 12) — a re
striction justified by the difference in character between
praying or prophesying and teaching. A devout but
uneducated person may most profitably pray or testify

376 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
in a meeting, while the same person attempting to ex
pound doctrines would work much mischief.
More difficult of explanation is the absolute command,
" Let women keep silence in the churches, for it is not
permitted unto them to speak" (I Cor. 14: 34) ; since
this seems to contradict the permission to pray and
prophesy. It is, perhaps, best explained as a restriction
from speaking with tongues, the subject which Paul is
specially treating in the chapter where it occurs. The
emotional temperament of untrained women, and the
conspicuousness and comparative uselessness of speak
ing with tongues, would account for the prohibition.
Men were to use this gift with great restraint; women
not at all. Nevertheless, the desire to learn, which is
indicated in the following verse, would not seem to have
anything to do with speaking in tongues. Whatever
interpretation we may put upon this and Paul's other
restrictions of woman's part in public meetings, most
of us would agree that they are binding to-day only in
so far as woman's position intellectually and socially
is the same as when they were uttered.
A difficult problem which must often have arisen,
and which may be discussed briefly here, though apart
from our general subject, is, What should be done with
a polygamous household or a member of it when con
verted to Christianity? Jesus had taught monogamy.
Should this be insisted upon? If a polygamist was
forced to put away all his wives except the first, would
not innocent women thus deprived of home and the
almost indispensable protection of a husband, suffer
unjustly? Or if the wife of a polygamist was con
verted, was it her duty to leave him and also probably
her little children ? The only reference to a restriction
of polygamy lies possibly in the rule laid down that a

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP 377
church officer — bishop, elder, deacon — must be the hus
band of one wife (I Tim. 3 : 2, 12 ; Titus 1:6); though
Brigham Young, defending polygamy, expounded this
as meaning "one wife, at least." The church of the
second century, like the Greek church of to-day, con
sidered it a command against second marriages. Though
a second marriage is recommended for young widows
(I Tim. 5:14; cf. I Cor. 7:39), it does not seem to
have been regarded as the highest ideal, since I Tim.
5 : 9 admits into the order of widows cared for by the
church only those who have been " the wife of one man."
Others would understand by the husband of one wife
the man who did not indulge in heathen licentiousness ;
but would not all truly Christian husbands be such?
The fact that the restriction is laid down for church
officers alone, and that nothing else is said about
polygamous households, seems to indicate that polygamy,
entered into before conversion, was tolerated as a sad
consequence of previous ignorance. No Christian, of
course, would be allowed to take more than one wife;
but if he had taken more than one in heathen days, he
need not put any of them away. Nevertheless, his con
dition would be anomalous, and he must not be placed
in office by the church, lest this might look as if the
church endorsed polygamy. Whether the same rule
should be followed to-day is much discussed, and can
not always have the same answer because the charac
ter of polygamy, and the position of a woman sepa
rated from her husband, differ so greatly in different
polygamous lands.
5. The Private Religious Service.
The spirit of Christian brotherhood, which made
each little group of believers feel itself to be one

378 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
family, found expression in a common meal, held at
first daily and afterwards at regular times. Such
meals were usual in both Jewish and Gentile circles;
but the poverty of some of the Christians may have
helped on the practice. To the room where such a
meal was held, only those who had already confessed
Christ were admitted. The central thought of the
gathering was fellowship in Christ and thanksgiving
for His redemption. Concerning the meal Tertullian
says, " Our feast explains itself by its name ; the
Greeks call it Agape, i.e., love." It is referred to by
that name, " love-feast," in Jude 12. To it each mem
ber according to his ability brought food which was
shared by all in a truly brotherly manner. The poor
who were unable to be present would have portions sent
to them; and from this practice, as well as from John
13 : 29, arose the present-day custom of an offering for
the poor of the church at the sacramental service. The
hour of meeting would depend upon circumstances;
but in churches where the majority were not free to
come during the working hours it would have to be in
the evening. While the meal was a social one, it was
also a sacred one; the remembrance of the meals that
Jesus shared with his disciples, the belief that though
unseen He was sharing this with them, and the sacra
ment of the Eucharist with which it closed, would
make it such. Evidently anything that marred the
spirit of brotherhood and devotion, would destroy the
true character of the meal; and of a gathering thus
marred the apostle said, " It is not possible to eat the
Lord's Supper" (I Cor. 11:20 f.; Gal. 2:12).
The most sacred moment in the Agape came when
the bread and the cup were blessed and the Lord's
death celebrated by partaking of them. From the

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP 379
prayer of thanksgiving this celebration was known as
the Eucharist ; but it was also called " the breaking
of bread." It is thought by some that Acts 2 : 46,
" breaking bread at home," indicates that at the out
set the daily meal in each private Christian home was
made a sacramental meal after x this manner; and a
possible precedent is found in the Jewish custom on
Friday evening of consecrating with a prayer of
thanksgiving the bread and wine on the family table,
and distributing them to all present. However this
may be, the Agape with its accompanying Eucharist
presently came to be held only on a special day, prob
ably Sunday, and was a community meal. Still later,
perhaps on account of Paul's stern rebuke of the dis
orders at Corinth, and the difficulty of preserving a
high spiritual tone to the meal because of the decline
in religious life, the Eucharist was separated from the
common meal, and celebrated at a separate time, and
the term " the Lord's Supper " was restricted to it.
But just when in the second century this separation
took place we cannot determine, — probably at different
times in different localities. The Didache lays down
the rule, " On the Lord's Day do ye assemble and
break bread and give thanks, after confessing your
transgressions, in order that your sacrifice may be
pure;" and it gives a prayer, a very beautiful one, to
be used before distributing the cup, and another for
the close of the service. The warnings of Paul against
failure to realize the true significance of the service,
have had the unfortunate result in many instances of
casting about the eucharistic service an atmosphere of
solemnity rather than the original one of rejoicing,
and of making participation in it to some an anxious
and almost fearful act. The spiritual meaning and

380 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
value of the Eucharist, concerning which there has
been endless discussion, does not come within the scope
of the present volume.
One other private meeting of the Christians was
when they met to transact the business of the church.
Since all affairs were settled by the joint action of all
members, occasions would constantly arise when they
must assemble for discussion and decision. The re
ception of some unknown prophet or apostle, the grant
ing of a letter of commendation to some member who
was about to make a journey, the relief of a case of
poverty and suffering, the despatch of a letter asking
apostolic advice on some disputed matter, the appoint
ment of a delegate to represent the church, — these are
instances given in the New Testament of joint action
by the church. And Paul urges upon the Corinthians
the even more delicate and difficult task of acting as a
law-court for settling disputes between brethren (I
Cor. 6:1 f.). While we may not rightly call these
gatherings meetings for worship, the consciousness that
Jesus was in their midst, and the constant looking to
Him for guidance in all matters, made them not far
from such.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE APOSTOLIC AGE
LUKE gives, though not clearly, the relative posi
tion of events in his narrative; but there are only
two of these that we can place with fixed dates in
contemporaneous history, viz. : the death of Herod
Agrippa I in 44 a.d. and the coming of Gallio as pro
consul to Corinth in the summer of 51 a.d. The death
of Jesus was formerly placed at 30 a.d. but now more
often is assigned to 29 a.d. With these three dates
we can fairly well construct a chronology of Acts ; but
other dates of the Apostolic Age must remain largely
conjectural. a.d.
29 (30). Death of Jesus (Passover). Descent of
the Holy Spirit (Pentecost).
31. Death of Stephen. Conversion of Saul
(fourteenth year before Gal. 2:1).
34. Paul returns to Jerusalem, and then goes
to Syria and Cilicia.
32-43. Spread of Christianity as far as Antioch.
Conversion of Cornelius.
43 (44). Barnabas and Saul working together at
Antioch.
44. Martyrdom of the apostle James. Death
of Herod Agrippa I.
45. Famine visit of Barnabas and Saul to Jeru
salem. Events of Gal. 2 : 1-10.
46-47. First missionary tour of Paul and Barna
bas. Epistle of James.
381

382 THE APOSTOLIC AGE
48. Paul in Antioch. Visit of Peter (Gal.
2:11 f.). Council at Jerusalem.
49-51. Second missionary tour of Paul. I and II
Thessalonians.
52. Felix procurator of Judea. Paul at An
tioch writes Galatians.
52-56. Third missionary tour of Paul. I and II
Corinthians. Eomans.
56-58. Paul arrested in Jerusalem and imprisoned
in Caesarea.
58. Festus procurator. Paul winters at Malta
on his way to Eome.
59-61. Paul at Eome writes Philemon, Colossians,
Ephesians and Philippians.
61-67. Paul released, continues his mission tours,
writes I Timothy and Titus.
61 (62). Death of James, brother of the Lord.
64. Nero's persecution.
66. Jewish revolt against Eome. Gospel of
Mark. Hebrews.
67 (68). Paul again imprisoned and put to death.
II Timothy.
70. Siege of Jerusalem finished in September.
Destruction of temple.
70-80. Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Epistle of
Jude. I Peter.
81-96. Domitian emperor. Book of Acts. Apoc
alypse of John.
90- ? . Epistles and Gospel of John. II Peter.

INDEX

Acts, 17f, 221, 231.
Agabus, 93, 218, 359.
Agape, see Love Feast.
Agrippa, see Herod Agrippa.
Ananias the high-priest, 223.
Ananias of Damascus, 81, 166.
Ananias of Jerusalem, 41, 48.
Ananus, 160, 271.
Antioch, Pisidian, 108.
Antioch of Syria, 90.
Apocalypses, 316f.
Apocalypse of John, 314f.
Apollos, 67, 178f, 191, 193.
Apostles, 358.
Apostolic Age, 13f.
Aquila, see Priscilla.
Arabia, Paul in, 84.
Areopagus, 144.
Aretas, 85.
Aristarchus, 228.
Artemis, 177.
Asiarch, 177, 180.
Athens, 142f.
Baptism, 352f.
Baptism with the Holy Spirit,
32f, 60, 65, 180.
Barnabas gives a field, 41;
endorses Paul, 86; labors
at Antioch, 91; aids in
famine, 93f; defends Titus,
94f; journeys with Paul,
104; sides with Peter, 121;
attends council, 126; jour
neys with Mark, 131.
Bernice, 227.
Beroea, 141.
Bishops, 364. '
Christians, origin of name, 92.
Church, birth of, 28; rapid
growth, 37f; membership,
350f; fellowship, 355; offi
cers, 357; discipline, 365;
worship, 367f.
" Church in the house," 369.

Circumcision, Party Of, 66, 117,
121f, 125.
Claudius, 16, 92, 137.
Clement, First Epistle of, 15.
Codex Bezae, 22.
Collection for Jerusalem, 97,
157, 185, 190, 205f, 219.
Colony, Roman, 108, 136.
Colosse, 237.
Colossian heresy, 237, 242.
Colossians, Epistle to, 237f.
Communism in Jerusalem, 41.
Conversion, 351; of Paul, 75f.
Corinth, 145, 189.
Corinthian foes of Paul, 200.
Corinthians, Epistles to, 188f.
Cornelius, 64f.
Council, Jerusalem, 124f, 170.
Crete, 254.
Crispus, 145, 147.
Cyprus, 105.
Damascus, 83.
Days, Sacred, 367.
Deacons, 44, 363f.
Dead, Baptism for the, 355.
Demetrius, 186.
Demoniacal possession, 136.
"Devout, The," 59.
Diana, of the Ephesians, 177.
Didache, 16, 353, 361, 379.
Diotrophes, 336, 344. _
Dispersion, see Hellenists.
Domitian, 304f.
Drusilla, 225f.
Ebionites, 272.
Elders, 336, 364.
Elymas, 106.
Emperor worship, 102, 303f.
Epaphras, 237.
Epaphroditus, 245.
Ephesus, 134, 155, 176.
"Ephesian letters," 182.
Ephesians, Epistle to, 242f.
Epistles of Paul, 149, 233.

883

384

INDEX

Erastus, 185, 192.
Ethiopia, 62.
Eucharist, see Lord's Supper.
Eunice. 112.
Eunuch* Ethiopian, 62.
Eutychus, 217.
Evangelists, 344, 360.
Felix, 225, 268.
Festus, 226, 268.
Flesh and Spirit, 173.
Friday, saeredness of, 368.
Galatia, 108, 133, 168.
Galatian controversy, 165f.
Galatians, Epistle to, 168f.
Gallio, 148.
Gamaliel, 47, 54, 71.
Gentiles and Judaism, 58, 83.
Gnosticism, 61, 237f, 255.
Gospels, Discarded, 298f; Oral,
42, 285f, 290; Synoptic, 284,
346.
Grecians, see Hellenists.
"Greeks," 91.
Hebrew Christians, 44, 55, 90,
96f, 266, 270f, 276, 294.
Hebrews, Epistle to, 273f.
Helena, 92.
Hellenists, 44, 54, 56f, 87, 162.
Herod Agrippa I, 93, 267.
Herod Agrippa II, 227.
Holy Spirit, see Baptism with.
Iconium, 40.
Infants, Baptism of, 354.
James the Apostle, 93.
James the Just and Titus, 95;
and the Law, 119; at the
council, 126; head of church,
160; attitude to Paul, 220;
patriotism, 270.
James, Epistle of, 161f..
Jason, 139.
Jewish Christians, see Hebrew.
Jerusalem, 29, 36, 53, 129, 266,
268.
Jesus, 24f. 34, 264, 284, 341.
Jesus, Sayings of, see Logia.

John in Samaria, 60; and
Titus, 95; later labors and
death, 331f.
John, Gospel and Epistles of,
334; authorship, 335f; rela
tion to Apocalypse, 337f;
I John, 339f; II and in
John, 342f; Gospel of John,
345f.
John, Apocalypse of, 314f,
337f.
Josephus, 16, 21.
Judaism and Rome, 56; and
Gentiles, 58; and women, 83
Judaizers, 165.
Judas Barsabbas, 128.
Judas, vacant place of, 30f.
Jude, 281.
Jude, Epistle of, 281f, 311f.
Julius, 228.
Law and Christians, 43, 96,
116f, 191, 279f.
Logia, 287f, 294, 296.
Lord's Day, 32, 368.
Lord's Supper, 30, 45, 301,
378f.
Lot, use of, 31.
Love feast, 120, 196, 378.
Luke, probable author of Acts,
18f; possibly at Antioch,
109; joins Paul at Troas,
135; remains at Philippi,
138; goes with Paul to Jeru
salem, 217; and Rome, 228.
Luke, Gospel of, 295f.
Lydia, 136, 139.
Lysias, 222.
Magi, 60f.
Malta, 229.
Mark, John, 103, 107, 131f,
289.
Mark, Gospel of, 290f, 294,
296, 346.
Miletus, Paul at, 218, 258.
Miracles, 38f.
Mystery Religions, 101.
Nero, 260, 300, 320.
Old Testament, use of, 30, 371.

INDEX

385

Onesimus, 234.
Oral Gospel, 42, 285f, 290.
Palestine and Rome, 267f.
Pamphylia, 107, 114.
Paphos, 40, 105.
Parousia, 152f.
Pastoral Epistles, 249f.
Patmos, 333.
Paul, importance of, 67; boy
hood, 68; with Gamaliel, 71;
return to Tarsus, 72; a per
secutor, 54, 74; conversion,
75f; in Damascus and Ara
bia, 80, 83; returns to Jeru
salem, 86; in Syria and Cili
cia, 88; with Barnabas at
Antioch, 92; defends Titus,
94f; goes on first mission
ary tour, 104; in Cyprus,
105; change of name, 69,
107; in Pisidian Antioch,
108; in Iconium, Lystra,
Derbe, 111; appearance, 111;
returns to Antioch, 113; re
bukes Peter, 123; atten'ds
council, 125; parts from
Barnabas, 131; goes on sec
ond tour, 132; takes Tim
othy, 133; at Troas, 135;
Philippi, 136; Thessalonica,
139; Beroea, 141; Athens,
142; Corinth, 145; writes I
and II Thess., 150f; sails to
Ephesus, 155; visits Jerusa
lem, 157; at Antioch writes
Galatians, 168; labours
in Ephesus, 180f; writes
repeatedly to Corinthians,
188f; visits Macedonia, 201,
208; writes again to Corin
thians, 202; at Corinth
writes Romans, 208; bears
collection to Jerusalem,
216f; arrested, 222; prisoner
of Lysias, 222; of Felix,
225; of Festus, 226; voyage
to Rome, 228; in prison at
Rome, 230, 246; writes
Phile., Col., Eph., Phil., 233f ;
probable release, 348; pos

sible later work, 254; letters
to Timothy and Titus,
255f; second imprisonment,
259; death, 262; services to
Christianity, 263f.
Pella, 272.
Pentecost, 32.
Perga, 107, 114.
Persecutions, in Jerusalem,
46f, 54; by Nero, 300; by
later emperors, 302f, 320f.
Peter initiates choice of Mat
thias, 31; preaches at Pente
cost, 34; "heals lame man,
39; labours in Samaria, 60,
63; converts Cornelius, 65;
host to Paul, 86; imprisoned
by Herod, 93; confers about
Titus, 95; visits Antioch,
119f; at Jerusalem council,
125; later labours and death,
305f.
Peter, First Epistle of, 307.
Peter, Second Epistle of, 311.
Pharisees, 47, 49, 72 224.
Philemon, 234.
Philip, 59, 62, 360.
Philippi, 136.
Philippians, Epistle to, 245f.
Phoebe, 184.
Pliny, 16, 102, 304.
Polygamy, 376.
Prayers in public worship, 370.
Priscilla, 146, 156, 179, 184,
275.
Procurators, Roman, 268.
Prophets, 359, 372.
Proselytes, 58, 64.
Q, 289.
Rabbinical teaching, 71.
Rome, burning of, 260, 301.
Roman world, 98f; citizenship,
68.
Romans, Epistle to, 209f.
Romans XVI, 183, 216.
Revelation of John, 314f.
Sabbath, 368.
Sadducees, 46, 224.
Samaritans, 59.

386

INDEX

Sapphira, 41, 48.
Saul, see Paul.
Sayings of Jesus, see Logia.
Sergius Paulus, 106.
Services, Religious, 370f.
Seven, choice of the, 43f, 363.
Silas sent to Antioch, 128;
travels with Paul, 132; in
prison at Philippi, 137; at
Thessalonica, 141; sent to
Philippi, 142, 146; returns
to Jerusalem, 157.
Simon Magus, 60f, 238, 352.
Simon Peter, see Peter.
Simon the Tanner, 64.
Singing in worship, 371.
Slavery and Christianity, 235.
Sosthenes, 148.
Spain and Paul, 155, 205, 248.
Stephen, 49f, 54, 74, 77.
Suetonius, 16.
Symeon, 161.
Synagogue services, 44, 57.
Syria and Cilicia, 88, 124, 132.
Tabu, 122.
Tacitus, 16, 301.
Tarsus, 68.
" Teaching of the Twelve Apos
tles," see Didache.
Teachers, 343, 360, 372.
Text of Acts, 22.
Thekla, 111.
Theophilus, 20.
Thessalonians, Epistles to, 149.
Thessalonica, 138,

"Thorn" of Paul, 88, 108, 140,
146.
Timothy at Lystra, 112; joins
Paul, 133; sent to Thessa
lonica, 142, 146; reports
state of Galatians, 168; at
Ephesus, 182; sent to Co
rinth, 185, 192, 200; with
Paul at Rome, 232; in
charge at Ephesus, 254f;
summoned to Rome, 259;
mentioned in Hebrews, 274.
Timothy, Epistles to, 253f,
258f.
Titus, controversy over, 94f;
sent to Corinth, 190, 200,
202; at Crete, 257.
Titus, Epistle to, 257f.
Titus, Emperor, 268f.
Titus Justus, 147.
Tongues, 33f, 65, 196, 372f.
Troas, 135, 187, 201, 217, 258.
Trophimus, 222.
Tychicus, 239.
Tyrannus, 22, 181.
Vespasian, 268.
Visions of Paul, 77, 81, 87, 88,
135, 147, 224.
"We" passages, 17f.
Widows, care for, 43.
Women in public worship, 196,
374.
Worship, Christian 29, 44,
367f.

Printed in United States of America

3 9002