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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF
Professor Benjamin W. Bacon

ST PAUL
HIS LIFE, LETTERS, AND CHRISTIAN
DOCTRINE

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
C. F. CLAY, Manager
LONDON . FETTER LANE, E.C. 4
new york : g. p. Putnam's sons
BOMBAY
CALCUTTA ¦ MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD.
MADRASTORONTO : J. M. DENT AND SONS, LTD.
TOKYO : MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA

ALL EIGHTS RESERVED

ST PAUL
HIS LIFE, LETTERS, AND
CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

BY

A. H. IvFNEILE, D.D.
REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF DUBLIN, CHANCELLOR OF ST PATRICK'S, FELLOW
OF SIDNEY SUSSEX COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1920

CKeyoceKAorHC ecTfN moi oytoc

PREFACE
The Christianity of to-day is broadly speaking the
Christianity of St Paul. The influence which he has
exercised on the hearts and lives of men is unequalled
by that of any other writer in the world's history.
The Apostolic Scriptures to which appeal was made
in the perilous times when the early Church was
holding her own against Gnosticism were, in the first
instance, the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles. 'The
extent to which "the Apostle," 6 airoa-roko^, domin
ated through the New Testament Canon the Church
of the second century has not been adequately real
ised1.' Through the third and fourth centuries
Christian thought, and Pauline thought in particular,
was gradually formulated with increasing distinct
ness, until it received at the hands of St Augustine
the systematized shape in which it was preserved in
western Europe, and is largely preserved to this day.
It is natural, therefore, that the Apostle's life and
writings have occupied the attention of innumerable
thinkers and scholars. This little book is not intended
to vie with larger works, but to form an introduction
1 Turner in Swete's The Early History of the Church and
the Ministry, p. 103.

VI PREFACE
to them, by gathering together in a small compass the
best that has been written on the subject in recent
years. The line of thought, however, in Part III is
not directly borrowed from any other work on St
Paul's doctrine. I have tried to map out, as briefly as
possible, the great area of his teaching in the form
which suggested itself to my own mind by inde
pendent study.
A. H. MCNEILE.
Dublin,
July, 1918.

CONTENTS PART I
THE LIFE OF ST PAUL
CHAP. PAGE
I. St Paul's Character and Person . . i
II. Classes of Christian Converts . . 8
III. St Paul's Conversion . , . . n
IV. St Paul's Movements after his Conversion 17
V. St Paul at Antioch with Barnabas . 21
VI. St Paul's Second Visit to Jerusalem . 23
VII. The Dedication of Barnabas and Saul to
wider Work  28
VIII. St Paul's First Missionary Tour . . 29
IX. The Apostolic Council at Jerusalem . 40
X. St Paul's Second Missionary Tour . . 50
XI. St Paul's Third Missionary Tour . . 76
XII. St Paul at Jerusalem .... 95
XIII. St Paul's Imprisonment at Caesarea . 102
XIV. St Paul's Journey to Rome and his Work
there  109
PART II
THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL
Introduction  121
I. I Thessalonians  , 123
II. II Thessalonians  129
III. Introduction to I and II Corinthians . 135
IV. I Corinthians  149
V. II Corinthians.  162
VI. Galatians  168

Vlll CONTENTS
CHAP. page
VII. Romans  181
VIII. Colossians  203
IX. Philemon  211
X. Ephesians ....... 213
XI. Philippians ....... 225
XII. The Pastoral Epistles .... 241
PART III
THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL

Mes

Introduction
i . eschatology .
2. The Holy Spirit
3. The Christian's Transference into the
sianic Kingdom
4. The Nature of Man
5. The Work of the Spirit in the Christian
6. The Spirit of Christ
7. 'In Christ' ....
8. Christians
9. Deliverance from Sin and Law
10. Righteousness, Grace, and Faith
ii. Jew and Gentile
12. The Cross
13. The Sacraments
Literature Index
Maps : illustrating (1) St Paul's life to the end
of the First Missionary Tour, (2) the Second
Missionary Tour, (3) the Third Missionary
Tour and the Journey to Rome .

265
268 274
276279282
283284
286
289 293
295298303308313

at end

INTRODUCTION
i. Apart from Jesus Christ, St Paul is the greatest
figure in the history of Christianity. His character, his
preaching, and his letters made Christianity a world
religion. The fountain of the water of life, offered first
to Jews, ran to Gentiles through channels cut by him.
He appeared, in God's providence, a very few years
after the crucifixion of our Lord, when the mind of the
Church was still young and plastic, and laid his impress
upon it for all time.
Nevertheless none of his contemporaries attempted
to write his biography. The book of the Acts is not a
biography, but a summary sketch of the spread of
Christianity from Jerusalem until it reached Rome, the
head and heart of the Empire. St Paul indeed figures
largely in the latter half of it, but in the former half
St Peter holds the principal place. It is the ' Acts of the
Apostles,' not the 'Acts of Paul,' much less his Life.
No records survive of his childhood and youth; and
for an account of his death we are dependent upon
patristic tradition from the close of the first century and
onwards (see pp. 256, 257).
2. The Trustworthiness of the Acts. The value
of the Acts as a trustworthy source of our knowledge is
being subjected, at the present time, to minute investi
gation. It is not necessary here to deal with the matter
at length. Some writers who have upheld the historical
value of the book have tended to weaken their case by
over-stating it. The historical value, especially of the
«5

X INTRODUCTION
portion dealing with St Paul, is undoubtedly high; but
probably all will agree that however careful the author
may have been to write with accuracy, his work —
written several years after the events — cannot command
quite the same confidence as the apostle's own state
ments about himself in his letters. Where Acts and
epistles agree, our confidence can be complete; where
they differ, the latter must be allowed full weight, while
the former is used with the recognition that it is a
secondary authority. And that recognition must include
the speeches and addresses attributed to St Paul in the
Acts. They may rest, to a considerable extent, upon
traditions of his actual words, or at least of the sub
stance of what he said. But there is little doubt that
St Luke, whom we may assume to have been the author,
followed a well recognised literary method of ancient
authors in writing the speeches which he attributed to
St Paul and others, as a means of representing his own
views of the several situations, and of the character,
aims, and circumstances of the speakers.
3. The 'We '-sections. The passages generally
known as the ' We '-sections, because in them the narra
tive falls into the first person plural, are, according to
the ordinary text, (a) Acts xvi. 10-17, (°) xx- 5-15,
(c) xxi. 1-8, (d) xxvii. i-xxviii. 16. These cover St Paul's
movements (a) from Troas to Philippi on the second
missionary tour, (b) from Philippi to Miletus on the
third tour, (c) from Miletus to Jerusalem at the end of
the same tour, (d) from Caesarea to Rome1.
To what extent the book of the Acts as a whole was
1 The first person occurs also in D and Augustine at xi. 27
(see p. 23) and in D and the Sahidic version at xvi. 10 (see
P- 55)-

INTRODUCTION XI
compiled from written documents or from tradition, or
both, is a difficult problem which is still a subject of
much discussion. But it seems clear that in the ' We '-
sections a written document supplied St Luke with at
least the main facts. With regard to the extent, and
the authorship, of this document opinions differ. It is
generally recognised that the style and vocabulary of
these sections cannot be distinguished from those of
the rest of -the book, and that the whole book in its
present form was the work of one writer. Many have
therefore concluded that these sections formed part of
a diary or travel-document written by St Luke himself
in the actual course of his journeys with St Paul, and
that at a later time he introduced some parts of the
diary, just as they stood, into his narrative. But the
' We '-sections are not quite as free from difficulties and
obscurities as we should expect such a diary to be. And
since the narrative in the first person passes in every
case without a break into a narrative in the third, the
original extent of the ' We '-sections is difficult to deter
mine. The style and vocabulary are not necessarily
decisive of St Luke's original authorship of the sections.
He was quite capable, as we know from his Gospel, of
taking a written document and largely re-writing it,
colouring it with his own style and vocabulary. And
in doing this he might still preserve the first person
plural which he found in his document, much in the
same way as the compiler of Ezra-Nehemiah preserved
in certain passages the first person singular. The original
diary might, therefore, have been made by some un
named companion of St Paul, and have been either a
fairly full narrative or the briefest travel notes. But on
this supposition it is a real difficulty that there is not

XU INTRODUCTION
the slightest indication in the Acts or the Epistles as to
who this unnamed companion could have been. The
facts can best be accounted for by supposing that the
original notes, mostly quite brief records of St Paul's
movements, but with an occasional anecdote added,
were the work of St Luke, and that many years later
he made them the basis of the narrative in its present
form. 4. The Text of the Acts. For some years after its
composition the^lcfe was not considered a sacred writing,
and scribes therefore felt at liberty to treat its text very
freely. In the manuscripts D, E, and some others, in
one or two Old Latin versions, some early Latin writers,
and in the margin of the Harclean Syriac, a number of
more or less interesting variants appear, which are often
referred to by the general description of the '8' text.
Various suggestions have been made as to their origin,
among them that of Blass1 who conjectured that they
represent the first edition of the book, made by St Luke
for Roman readers, while the ordinary text, which is
often slightly shorter, was a revised edition which he
made for Theophilus. Few writers have accepted this
solution. But several have treated these variants very
seriously as being, in many cases, nearer to the original
than the readings in the ordinary text. Of recent years,
however, it has been thought more probable that they
were made gradually by a succession of scribes or
editors. They would not call for special mention were it
not that they are more numerous and striking in the
Acts than elsewhere, and that they occasionally add
what is very possibly reliable information. The more
noteworthy readings are recorded in the footnotes.
Philology of the Gospels, p. 101.

INTRODUCTION X1U
5. Chronology. The reader will not find dates scat
tered throughout this volume; relative dates and the
succession of events are all that is required in the
chronology of St Paul's life. But a short discussion of
the subject must be made here. The exact dates cannot
yet be determined, because no quite certain date has
been discovered in non-Biblical sources which coincides
with an event in his life. But fortunately, with regard
to the dates during the period of his missionary activity
the margin of uncertainty has been reduced to a single
year. A large number of the variations in the schemes
supported by different writers are noted by Moffatt,
Introd. to the Literature of the N.T. p. 62 f. Most of the
material is collected by Turner in his useful article in
Hastings' Diet, of the Bible, i. 403-425. He bases his
dates on ten considerations, of which the following may
be mentioned: (1) Aretas was probably not in possession
of Damascus (cf. 2 Cor. xi. 32) before 37 a.d. (2) The
famine under Claudius (Acts xi. 28) was not before 46.
(3) The expulsion of Jews from Rome under Claudius
(xviii. 2) was perhaps in 49 or 50. (4) Felix married
Drusilla (cf. xxiv. 24) not before 54. (5) Felix was suc
ceeded by Festus (xxv. 1) in one of the years 57-59, pro
bably in 58. Turner's scheme, accordingly, is as follows:

A.D.

The Crucifixion

29

St Paul's Conversion

35-6
ist visit to Jerusalem
.
38
2nd visit to Jerusalem .
46
ist missionary journey .
47
Council at Jerusalem, 2nd
journey
49
Corinth reached late in .
.
5°
4th visit to Jerusalem, 3rd journey
52
Ephesus left
55
XIV INTRODUCTION A.D.
5th visit to Jerusalem, arrest at Pentecost 56
Rome reached early in . . . 59
Acts closes early in . . . .61
Martyrdom of St Peter and St Paul . 64-5
The date of the Crucifixion need not here be discussed.
But Turner's second and third dates are open to serious
doubt, because he identifies the second visit to Jeru
salem (of Gal. ii. 1-10) with the visit for the Council (49),
not with the visit to take relief for the famine (Acts xi.
29 f.) which is much the more probable (see pp. 23-8).
St Paul says (Gal. ii. 1) that he went up to Jerusalem
" after fourteen years,' which Turner feels compelled to
understand, against the natural meaning of the words,
to be fourteen years after his conversion; hence reckon
ing back from 49 he dates the conversion in 35-6. It is
true that to take the words in their natural meaning of
fourteen years since his previous visit causes difficulty.
It throws that previous visit back to 35, which is im
possible if Aretas was not in possession of Damascus
till 27- Conversely, if on this account the first visit is
dated in 37, fourteen years later brings the second visit
down to 51, which throws St Paul's missionary life
altogether too late. Thus it will be seen that to give the
words ' after fourteen years ' their natural meaning, and
at the same time to identify the Jerusalem visit of
Gal. ii. 1-10 with the famine visit of Acts xi. 29 f. lands
us in a dilemma. But an escape from it is offered by a
conjecture revived by Kirsopp Lake1 which deserves
serious consideration, that St Paul originally wrote
'after four years2.' If the two Jerusalem visits were
1 Expositor, Nov. 191 2.
2 AIAAETHN, which an early scribe wrote as AIATA-
ETHN.

INTRODUCTION XV
separated by only four years1, and the second is identi
fied with the famine visit, the first visit (reckoning back
from Turner's date 46) was in 42, and the conversion
three years previously (Gal. i. 18) was in 39.
Turner's last date is uncertain. St Paul's martyrdom
may 'have occurred at any time after the 'two whole
years ' of Acts xxviii. 30 until the Neronian persecution
which broke out in 64 (seep. 257f .). If St Peter's martyr
dom at Rome is historical, which there is no good reason
for doubting, it cannot have been earlier than the
persecution. For the intervening events (from the second Jeru
salem visit to the close of the A cts) one piece of evidence
has been discovered since Turner wrote which enables
us to fix the dates with the uncertainty of only one year
throughout. In 1905 Bourguet2 published four frag
ments of an inscription found at Delphi, which is thought
to have stood originally on an outer wall on the South
side of the temple of Apollo. It appears to contain the
words of a friendly letter from the emperor Claudius to
the city of Delphi, in which Gallio is mentioned as the
proconsul of the country, i.e. Achaia. Many similar
letters from emperors have been preserved, by com
parison with which some of the lost portions can be

1 It should be noticed that if there were ten years between
them nearly nine of them must have been spent at Tarsus,
for only 'a whole year' was spent at Antioch (Acts xi. 26)
before the famine visit. A man of St Paul's temperament,
filled with his new Christian zeal, is very unlikely to have
passed nine years in quiet retirement at home; and if he
preached during that time, St Luke would probably have
given some account of it, since he is so careful to relate the
one year's work at Antioch.
2 De rebus Delphicis imperatoriae aetatis capita duo.

xvi

INTRODUCTION

All

OS

O-KCITT

ATPI

TflNAEA4>

YMO

N0PHZKEI

OYATTO

EITflNEPI

KEINAIH

MOYKA

TTATOS

0

E

restored with some probability. It is much mutilated,
as will be seen from the following transcription1 :
TIBEP ZIAZ TTAA THITT
XHZAETTETHPH NYNAETETAIKAI
NIOITAAAinNO* ETIEEEINTONTTPO
AHNnOAEHNKA
AYTOIZETTITPE ^HNnznOAETAIMETHKI YTOY
For our purpose only four lines are important, with
regard to which there is fairly general agreement.
Deissmann2 restores them as follows:
1. Ti/3epios KAavSios Kato-ap Se/Jaaros Tep/jcaviKos ap^iepeD?
ft,eyurTOs S^/iap^iKijs efov
2. (rias to -1/3 avTOKpartop to -ks' irar-qp ircn-ptSos viraro'S to
•£ Tlft^TJJS AeXtpltiV TTJi 7To\et )(0.ip€I.V
5. Aovkws lov
6. vtos TaWitav o tf>i\oi fiov Kai av^ircraTos ttjs A^atas
' Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus Pontif ex
Maximus, in the twelfth year of his tribunician authority,
saluted as Emperor the twenty-sixth time, Father of his
country. Consul the fifth time, Censor, to the city of Delphi
greeting . . . Lucius Junius Gallio my friend and proconsul of
Achaia. . ..'
The words in italics are certain, and provide the neces
sary clue. The emperor's tribunician authority was
reckoned each year from Jan. 25th. The number of the
year originally given in the inscription is lost; but other
1 It is printed thus for convenience of space, but the lines
in the original inscription were at least twice as long as line 1.
2 St Paul, Appendix 1.

INTRODUCTION XVU
inscriptions enable us to say with certainty that it was
either n or 12, i.e. a.d. 51 or 52. The 26th and 27th
imperial salutations of Claudius are known to belong to
the 12th tribunician year, and the 22nd, [23rd], and
24th to the nth. The 25th also probably fell in the
nth, and just possibly the 26th also. The emperor's
letter to Delphi was therefore written in 52, after (or
possibly just before) Jan. 25th. And Gallio's year of
office consequently included part of a.d. 52.
The inscription, however, does not help in determin
ing the exact date of his entry upon office, to which there
is little doubt that St Luke refers in Acts xviii. 12. The
proconsulate normally lasted a year. In a.d. 43 Claudius
made a rule that every proconsul must leave Rome not
later than the middle of April to take up his office1.
Deissmann therefore places Gallio's arrival at Corinth
at about the beginning of July. We may roughly call
it midsummer. But the question which cannot at pre
sent be solved is whether it was the midsummer of 52
or 51, since we do not know on what day in the year 52
Claudius received his next (27th) salutation; it may
have been either shortly after Gallio entered upon office
or after he had vacated it.
We can now, in the light of the narrative of Acts
xviii., date forwards and backwards from the mid
summer of 52 or 51. The trial took place soon after
Gallio's arrival, some time say in July — September.
St Paul 'tarried after this yet many days' (v. 18), i.e.
probably over the winter, before he started, as soon as
the sailing season began, to journey hurriedly via Ephe
sus to Jerusalem (perhaps for the Passover) in the spring
of 53 or 52. Before Gallio's arrival he had spent 18
1 Dio Cassius ix. 17, 3.

XVlll INTRODUCTION
months in Corinth (v. n) since his vision (vv. 9, 10) ; so
that the vision occurred at the beginning of 51 or 50.
And he had been for a little time in Corinth before that
(vv. 1-7); he therefore arrived in Corinth in the late
autumn of 50 or 49 (or possibly at the beginning of
51 or 50 if the 18 months is intended to include his
whole time in Corinth before the trial). This was soon
after the arrival of Priscilla and Aquila from Rome
owing to the edict of banishment (v. 2). Assuming that
they travelled without delay from Rome to Corinth
this might seem to give a fixed date, for Orosius1, quoting
a certain Josephus2, dates the edict in the 9th year of
the reign of Claudius. This should be a.d. 49; but
Ramsay claims that Orosius is always a year behind in
his dates3, while Deissmann thinks that the very fact
of his giving ' Josephus ' as his authority shews that he
was not reckoning the date for himself. The matter
cannot at present be settled, so that we are still left in
uncertainty to the extent of one year.
St Paul, then, was in Corinth from the late autumn
of 50 or 49 till the early spring of 53 or 52; and the
principal dates of his life till his arrival at Rome may
be calculated as follows, with the alternative of one
year earlier throughout: A.D.
The Conversion .... 39
ist visit to Jerusalem ... 42
2nd visit to Jerusalem ... 46
ist missionary tour .... 47
1 vii. 6, 15.
2 The passage does not occur in the histories of Josephus
that we possess.
3 Taking 50 as the year of the edict Ramsay unnecessarily
delays the arrival of Priscilla and Aquila at Corinth till the
spring of 51.

INTRODUCTION

XIX

Council at Jerusalem, 2nd tour .
Corinth reached late in
4th visit to Jerusalem, 3rd tour .
Ephesus left .....
5th visit to Jerusalem, arrest at Pentecost
Rome reached early in

A.D. 49 50 53 56 57 60

On this basis the epistles, apart from the Pastorals,
can be dated as follows:

A.D.

1 and 2 Thessalonians

51

1 Corinthians .

55 °r 56

2 Corinthians .

56

Galatians

56 (?49)

Romans

57

Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians

c. 61

Philippians

. c. 62 (?54-56)

PART I
THE LIFE OF ST PAUL
CHAPTER I
ST PAUL'S CHARACTER AND PERSON
i. Physical Characteristics. No attempt is made
in the Acts to describe the apostle1. But his letters help
us, to a wonderful extent, to see him as he really was.
Hiswas a great soul which, wpn a life-long triumph over
his body. His physical disabilities were made the most ,
of by his opponents (2 Cor. x. 10), but they were, in fact,
an acute trial to him. On one occasion his ill health
forced him to stay in Galatia, when he would otherwise <
have travelled further (Gal. iv. 13). The exact form of
his complaint is unknown, but he describes it as ' a stake
in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me ' (2 Cor.
xii. 7). It seems to have attacked him at intervals, and
to have begun after he became a Christian. On the occa
sion of the first three attacks he 'besought the Lord that
it might stay away from him,' but God helped him to
realise that it was His will, and that His strength would
support him (vv. 8, 9). It was of so distressing a nature
that it was very trying to those who saw him. But he
thankfully acknowledges that the Galatians did not on
that account despise or reject him in disgust (Gal. iv. 14).
'Luke the beloved physician' (Col. iv. 14) during the
periods of his ministry when he accompanied him no
1 In the Acts of Paul and Thekla he is described as
'short, bald, bandy-legged, strongly built, with meeting eye
brows, with a rather large nose, full of grace, for at times he
looked like a man, and at times he had the face of an angel.'

2 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
doubt did all that he could to give him relief when the
attacks came on. Some have suggested that it was a
weakness of eyesight, and that this would explain his
need of an amanuensis to write his letters, and the 'large
characters' in which he wrote with his own hand his
closing words to the Galatians (vi. n) ; also the account
in Acts xxiii. 1-9 of his trial before the Sanhedrin, at
which he 'looked intently' at the council (v. i), and did
not realise that one of his judges who commanded him to
be struck on the mouth was the high priest (v. 5). But
even if these are to be explained as due to weakness of
eyesight, that alone would not be enough to force him
to postpone a journey and stay with the Galatians, or
account for his language about their welcome treatment
of him. Ramsay suggests malarial fever. A more pro
bable conjecture is that it was some form of epilepsy.
The weakness which occasioned the attacks may possibly
also have affected his eyes. It seems also at times to
have caused him to suffer from depression.
2. Temperament. But nothing could subdue his
unconquerable courage, which carried him through
physical hardships under which many men would have
succumbed. His letters contain many indications that
he had a tensely strung nervous temperament, which
though often a personal trial to him contributed to his
extraordinary force of character. It was as though he
were charged with a spiritual electricity which drew
men like a magnet, but which also repelled. It gave him
an eager, fiery energy — he calls it ' zeal ' — which made
him persecute Christians (Phil. iii. 6) before his conver
sion, but love them and yearn for them afterwards
(2 Cor. xi. 2). He felt tortured when his converts lapsed
into sin or mistakes, arid was flooded with thankful joy

I] CHARACTER AND PERSON 3
when they repented, or took his advice, or did him a
kindness. And this same zeal kept him moving rest
lessly in his missionary work over Palestine, a large part
of Asia- Minor, Macedonia, and Greece; it made him
anxious to visit Rome (Acts xix. 21, Rom. i. 15), and
even Spain (see p. 256 f.).
And beside fitting him to work for others, his tem
perament enabled him to see visions, and to fall into
mystic raptures. Instances of the former are related in
the Acts (ix. 3-6, xvi. 9, xviii. 9 f., xxiii. 11, xxvii. 23;
and cf. xvi. 6 f., xx. 22 f.). The latter he describes him
self in 2 Cor. xii. 1-4, adding that the ' stake in the flesh '
was sent to him to prevent him from being over-elated
by the greatness of the revelation. He also claims in an
unusual degree the power, possessed by many of the
early Christians, of speaking with ' tongues ' (1 Cor. xiv.
18); and, though he does not actually say so, he no
doubt possessed the gift, which he ranked higher than
tongues, of ecstatic 'prophecy' (see 1 Cor. xiii. 2, Acts
xiii. 1) . Apart from these particular instances, his 'zeal'
can be felt in his letters, notably in 1, 2 Corinthians and
Galatians, and seen in his literary style, — rebuke, tender
or stern, white-hot indignation, irony, pathos, a love
which he compares with that of a father, a mother, a
nurse, a tact which shrinks from wounding, and yet a
strength which is willing, when need be, to wound in
order to heal.
Such was the tumultuous complexity of the man
whose life-work we are to study. It was the Spirit of
God that made him what he became; but, as always,
He used the man's natural human temperament for His
divine purposes; His strength was perfected in what
might otherwise have been weakness.

4 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
3. Training and Environment. But St Paul was
complex not only on the emotional but also on the in
tellectual side of his nature. Circumstances printed
their mark upon him 'in letters of Hebrew and Greek
and Latin.' Each of these must be noted.
(a) Hebrew. He was first and foremost 'a Hebrew
sprung from Hebrews ' (Phil. iii. 5) ; he was glad to claim
descent from Abraham, through Israel (i.e. Jacob), and
through the tribe of Benjamin in particular (ib., 2 Cor.
xi. 22). Possibly his name Saul (Shd'ul) was given him
by his parents in memory of the first king of Israel, the
Benjamite warrior chief. Although he was a Jew of
the Dispersion, having been born at Tarsus in Cilicia,
and spoke Greek, he was not immersed in non-Jewish
thoughts and interests. He preserved, until his conver
sion, the strictly orthodox, intolerant attitude of a
Pharisee (Phil. iii. 5 ; cf . Acts xxiii. 6, xxvi. 5) ; he writes
'I advanced in Judaism [i.e. the Jewish religion and
A rules of life] beyond many of mine own age in my race,
being an exceedingly zealous follower of my ancestral
traditions' (Gal. i. 14). Further facts, on which his let
ters are silent, are reported in the Acts. He declared to
the angry mob in Jerusalem, speaking to them in ' He
brew,' i.e. their native Aramaic, that he had been
' brought up in this city at the feet x of Gamaliel ' (Acts
xxii. 3). How long he was under the instruction of this
well-known rabbi is not stated; 'brought up' implies
that he spent most of his youth, perhaps since his 13th
year, in Jerusalem. But whether his stay in the capital
was long or short, it only carried on and deepened the
1 The scene recalls Lk. ii. 46. Cf. Taylor, Sayings of the
Jewish Fathers, p. 14, on Aboth i. 4, 'Let thy house be a
meeting-house for the wise, and powder thyself in the dust
of their feet.'

Ij CHARACTER AND PERSON 5
impressions which he must have received from his home
training; from infancy he must have breathed a Jewish
atmosphere, first in his father's house, and then in the
synagogue at Tarsus where he received the more syste
matic instruction in the Scriptures, especially the Law,
which was given to every Jewish child1. And he de
clared to the same mob (Acts xxii. 4 f .) and to Agrippa
(xxvi. 10-12) that his persecutions of the Christians
were waged from Jerusalem with the authority of the
Sanhedrin. Thus his Jewish training, acting upon his highly
strung temperament, produced in him instincts and a
cast of mind that were Jewish with a peculiar intensity.
And these could not suddenly disappear when he be
came a follower of Jesus. His energies were turned in
a new direction by the driving power of a new motive,
but the inborn Jewish elements were never obliterated
or swamped2. This can be seen in his continued love
for, and pride in, his race (Rom. ix. 1-5, x. 1 f., xi. 1 f.,
12, 15,24, 28, 2 Cor. xi. 22, Phil. iii. 5), in his use of Jewish
haggada, i.e. imaginative or legendary stories about
Old Testament characters and events3, and in certain
aspects of his beliefs and doctrines (see pp. 268-275).
(6) Greek. But born where he was he could not en
tirely escape the influence of Greek thought, literature,
and life given to Cilicia by the victories of Alexander
and the rule of his successors the Seleucids *. Long before
1 See art. 'Synagogue' in Hastings' DB. iv. 642. Schiirer,
Hist, of the Jewish People, 11. ii. 44-89.
2 See Sanday and Headlam, Romans, Preface, pp. vi, vii.
3 See Thackeray, The Relation of St Paul to Contemporary
Jewish Thought.
4 The dynasty of the family of Seleucus, one of Alexander's
three great generals.

6 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
the age of 13 his pagan surroundings must have exercised
some effect upon his child-consciousness, however strict
and careful his home training might be. Tarsus, the
capital of Cilicia, was an important centre of commerce,
and the seat of a celebrated university, hardly inferior
to those of Athens and Alexandria. In Acts xxi. 39 it is
related that in speaking (in Greek) to the chiliarch who
rescued him from the mob he claimed to be ' a Jew, a
Tarsian of Cilicia, a citizen of a distinguished city1.'
Ramsay takes this to mean that he had received the
honour of full citizenship, and no doubt his father and
perhaps his grandfather before him; they were more
than merely inhabitants of Tarsus. If this is the mean
ing of the expression, they may have received this dis
tinction from one of the Seleucid rulers who shewed
considerable favour to the Jewish colonists2- The Greek
which he wrote was such as a Hellenist could learn by
hearing the language spoken around him, and by con
stant study of the Greek Old Testament. That he was
a student at the Tarsus university is quite improbable;
not only would his strict Jewish parents be very unlikely
to allow it, but his Greek style would have been less
Hebraic if he had attended lectures on Greek rhetoric
and composition, though some think that the style and
complexion of his exposition and arguments shew
traces of Greek method3- But if he did not formally
receive a Greek education, he could not escape the
, more subtle, but none the less penetrating, influence
of Greek atmosphere, and that not only in Cilicia but

1 R.V. " A Jew of Tarsus ' is not a strict rendering.
2 See Schiirer, op. cit. 11. ii. 270-6.
3 See Canon E. L. Hicks (now Bishop of Lincoln), Studia
Biblica, iv. 1-14.

I] CHARACTER AND PERSON f
even in Judaea1. His knowledge of Greek thought was
gained 'partly by assimilation of the knowledge which
floated on the surface of a more or less educated society
and became insensibly the property of all its mem
bers2.' He made use in his metaphors of the life of
Greek cities, the stadium, the market-place, the tem
ples. He was probably acquainted with Alexandrian
Jewish thought in Philo and the book of Wisdom. He
knew how fascinating, and yet how unsatisfying, Greek
'wisdom' was (i Cor. i. 21-25, ii. 1-8, iii. 18 f., 2 Cor. i.
12, Col. ii. 23) . He knew something of the angel-worship
ping asceticism affected by Jews in Colossae and the
neighbourhood (seep. 206) ; and he had seen with his own
eyes the terrible sins of paganism and the degradations
of idolatry (Rom. i. 18-32). Lastly he was acquainted
with the aspirations and methods of the Mysteries, some
of the vocabulary of which he adopted, and adapted to
Christian use (see pp. 305-7).
(c) Roman. The rule of Alexander and the Seleucids
was followed by the rule of Rome, with its great pro
vincial system controlled by the central authority in
Rome itself. A Jew by birth and training, and a Hellen
ist by environment, St Paul was also a Roman citizen
(Acts xvi. 37, xxii. 25, 28). In v. 28 he declares that he
was 'born' with this privilege, which implies that his
father had already received it. He bore the Roman
name Paulus, as well as the Hebrew name Saul. It was1
in virtue of this coveted distinction, which the chiliarch
in Jerusalem had gained only by a large payment (v. 27),
that he could appeal to Caesar (xxv. 11). It gave him
a standing and prestige wherever he went, so that when
1 Conybeare in Hastings' DB. ii. 262.
2 Ramsay in Hastings' DB. Extra Vol. 150.

8 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
he came into contact with Roman officials — occasions
which seem to be noticed with special attention by St
Luke — he usually received friendly treatment. And it
may well have exercised, together with his Tarsian citi
zenship, an influence upon his mind, which, in spite of
his zealous Pharisaism, was moulding his ideas, and
making it easier for him, when the crisis of his conver-
; sion came, to open his arms to Gentiles, and to fight
with all his energy for their inclusion in the Christian
Church. Further, his conception of the Church must
have owed something to his citizenship (Phil. iii. 20) ;
the splendid unity of the Empire under the sway of
Caesar doubtless contributed to his picture of the one
Church, united under Christ its Head, each member 01
the Body performing its functions for the good of the
whole (Rom. xii. 4 f., 1 Cor. xii. 12-27, Col. i. 18, ii. 19,
Eph. i. 22 f., iv. 12, 15, v. 30).
St Paul thus combining in one person Jew, Greek, and
Roman, was fitted by natural endowment to be the
champion of the religion which, born in Palestine, was
' destined to conquer the Roman empire.
CHAPTER II
CLASSES OF CHRISTIAN CONVERTS
St Paul's conversion and missionary activity cannot
be rightly understood without a reference to the various
classes of people to whom Christianity came. Six classes
can be distinguished, three of them Jewish and three
Gentile. 1. Orthodox Hebrews. These would mostly be
found in Palestine, especially in and near Jerusalem.

H] CHRISTIAN CONVERTS 9
They were Aramaic-speaking Jews who had never settled
abroad, and in most cases had never travelled to a
foreign country. They were under the ecclesiastical con
trol of the priests, and the moral influence of the Scribes
and Pharisees.
2. Orthodox Hellenists. These were Jews who
had settled abroad — in many cases their families had
lived in foreign countries for generations — and spoke
Greek. They were often loyal and patriotic citizens of
the country of their adoption, much as a modern Jew
can be a loyal Englishman or American. But in religious
matters they kept themselves, as for example the youth
ful Saul and his parents, strictly separate from the
surrounding paganism. Continuous opposition and pro
test tended to create in them a spirit of narrowness,
sometimes of moody bigotry. It was when they re
turned, as they often did, to Jerusalem, that they felt
themselves to be in their true atmosphere, and all the
more zealous for their religion for having seen what they
felt to be the degrading influences of paganism.
3. Liberal Hellenists. Many foreign Jews did not
preserve this spirit of protest. They opened their minds
freely to much that was good in Greek life, its art and
literature and philosophy. They did not renounce their
loyalty to the God of their fathers, but they sat loosely
to the rules and ordinances of the Jewish law and scribal
tradition. Some of them, especially in Alexandria, went
so far as to interpret the Old Testament entirely in an
allegorical and spiritual sense, so that they renounced
the practice of circumcision and the observance of the
Jewish festivals1.
1 Josephus, Ant. xx. ii: 4. Philo, De Migr. Abrah., ed.
Cohn-Wendl. ii. 285 ff.

10 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
4. Proselytes. These were Gentiles who were con
verted to Judaism, and entered into membership of the
Jewish Church by circumcision. They came to Jeru
salem for the festivals, and were allowed to worship in
the Court of the Gentiles.
5. Gentiles more or less favourable to Judaism.
In the welter of idolatry, mysteries, magic, superstitions,
and philosophies of the pagan world many high-minded
Gentiles were strongly attracted by the pure mono
theism and moral life of the litt'e colonies of Jews in
their midst. The latter looked upon them with sym
pathy, and hoped to convert them into proselytes. Of
late years the term ' God-fearers1,' which occurs in Acts
x. 2, 22, 35, xiii. 16, 26, has been employed to designate
them. But it must not be taken to imply that they
formed in any sense a recognised body. Their apprecia
tion of Judaism, either liberal or orthodox, must have
varied greatly, from mere interest and enquiry to the
state of mind which would lead them to become actual
proselytes.
6. Gentiles with no Leanings to Judaism, many
of whom " worked all uncleanness with eagerness ' (Eph.
iv. 19; cf. Rom. i. 21-32, 1 Cor. vi. 9-11, Col. iii. 5-7),
and worshipped 'gods many and lords many' (1 Cor.
viii. 5), or none at all.
To all these six classes came the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, with its message that Jesus the Galilean, who
had been crucified, had risen from the dead, and was
the Messiah— the Christ — expected by the Jews, and
would very soon come from heaven to inaugurate the
1 tpofiovnevoi. rhv 6e6v. Other expressions occur: a-efjouevos
tov 6e6v (xyi. 14, xviii. 7), o-£^6p.evoi (xiii. 50, xvii. 4, 17), o-e/3o-
ficvoi rt pooTjAuroi (xiii. 43).

II] CHRISTIAN CONVERTS II
divine Kingdom and to judge the world. It was natural
that the last four classes should be the most ready to
open their hearts to the new influence, but many con
verts were found also in the first two. Apart from the
original apostles chosen by Jesus the most notable con
vert in the first class was James the Lord's brother, who
became the head of the Church in Jerusalem. To the
second class belonged St Paul himself, and Barnabas a
Levite of Cyprus. The chief representatives of the third
class were Stephen and Philip, who with four other
Hellenists and one Gentile proselyte1 were appointed to
look after the provision of food for the poor widows of
Hellenists in Jerusalem (Acts vi. 1-6). Stephen receives
special notice in the Acts because his martyrdom is the
occasion of the introduction of Saul upon the scene.
The significance of this variety of classes will appear
later. We must now study the wonderful phenomenon
of Saul's transformation from an orthodox Hellenistic
Jew to a liberal Hellenistic Christian.
CHAPTER III
ST PAUL'S CONVERSION
i. The Preparation. In none of his letters does St
Paul mention the martyrdom of Stephen2 But in Acts
vii. 58 it is related that the witnesses who stoned him3
1 St Luke nowhere calls them 'deacons,' a word which
does not appear as a designation of a class till Phil. i. 1.
Stephen and Philip soon took part in the apostles' ' ministry
of the word ' instead of the ' ministry of tables,' becoming
energetic and successful Christian preachers.
2 In Acts xxii. 20 St Luke introduces a mention of it in
the apostle's speech to the mob.
3 It should be noticed that the Jews could execute in this
case, although in the case of our Lord they were obliged to

12 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
'laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man called
Saul.' It is not clear whether this means that Saul in
some sense superintended the execution, or whether,
more probably, it merely resulted from his youthful zeal
in urging them on1. We can only guess what effect the
martyr's death may have had on his thoughts. It is not
at all impossible that his mind had already begun to be
torn in two by inward debates as to whether his strict
Pharisaism were after all the highest idea of life. Such
a passage as Rom. vii. 7-25 may reveal struggles against
his lower nature which had already begun to trouble
him before he became a Christian. The Mosaic Law did
not, as a fact, lead him to the ' righteousness ' for which
he yearned; on the contrary, it only made it more diffi
cult to attain. And the heroic martyrdom might well
add a twinge of conscience, though as a rising young
man, and a zealous Pharisee with a reputation to keep
up, he had of course been in favour of the extreme
penalty. ' Saul was consenting to his murder2 ' (Acts vii.
60). But if he felt compunction he tried to drown it in
hand the Accused over to the Roman procurator. The event
may have occurred when the procurator was absent, or when
the office was momentarily vacant. Pilate was sent to Rome
by Vitellius to answer to Tiberius for his conduct. Caius
Caligula on his accession appointed Marullus procurator of
Judaea. Meanwhile ' Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend of his,
to take care of the affairs of Judaea' (Joseph. Ant. xviii.
iv. 2). He is not called 'procurator,' and until the arrival of
Marullus the government of Judaea may have been in an
unsettled state. If the date suggested (on p. xviii) for Saul's
conversion is correct, his persecution of the Christians con
tinued for some two years after Stephen's death.
1 It need not imply 'that he was the principal witness
against the accused' (McGiffert). The principal witness
would have taken part in the act of stoning.
2 St Luke's frequent word for the infliction of violent
death upon innocent persons.

in] HIS CONVERSION 13
strenuous efforts against the Christians. 'Beyond mea
sure I persecuted the Church of God, and made havoc
of it' (Gal. i. 13). A more detailed account is given in
Acts ix. 1 f., xxii. 4 f., xxvi. 9-12: he begged warrants
from the high priest that he might go with official au
thority to Damascus and other towns to require the
synagogue authorities to hand over to him all who had
embraced the new 'Way1,' that he might bring them
bound to Jerusalem.
It is important to remember that every Christian
whom he arrested would be asked questions; some would
make a formal defence before the local synagogue courts
in Saul's hearing, or, like Stephen, before the great
Sanhedrin at Jerusalem. In this way Saul was gaining
a pretty accurate knowledge of what their beliefs were,
and he was learning that an orthodox Jew was not the
only person who could be filled with a flaming enthusi
asm for what he believed to be right. These Christians
were 'filled with the Spirit,' and he found it increasingly
hard to resist the effects which they produced on him.
He 'kicked against the goad-pricks' (Acts xxvi. 14) like
a refractory ox, but that only hurt him more. And at
last he " could no longer resist the spiritual powers which
were urging him into the furrows of the Christian mis
sion-field2.' 2. The Crisis which precipitated into a settled con
viction the mixture of ideas floating in his mind is not
described in any of his letters. A humble reticence seems
to have kept him from putting on paper the experience
1 This use of 'the Way,' as a distinctive term for Christi
anity, is confined to the Acts (ix. 2, xix, 9, 23, xxii. 4, xxiv.
14, 22 ; cf. xviii. 25).
2 Gardner, The Religious Experience of St Paul, p. 28.

Acts ix.
And while he was going it
came to pass
that he drew near to Damas
cus ;
and suddenly there shone
round him a light
out of heaven;
and having fallen upon the
earth
he heard a voice saying to him,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou Me?

And he said, Who art Thou,
Lord? and He [said],
I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest.

Ch. xxii.
And it came to pass while I
was going,
and drawing near to Damas
cus, about noon
suddenly out of heaven
there shone a great light
round me;
and I fell to the ground, and
I heard a voice saying to me,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou Me?

And I answered, Who art
Thou, Lord?
and the Lord said to me,
I am Jesus the Nazarene
whom thou persecutest.

Ch. xxvi.
As I was going
to Damascus,
at midday on the way I saw
from heaven above the bright
ness of the sun a light shining
round me
and them that were going with
me ; and when we had all fallen
to the earth
I heard a voice saying to me
in the Hebrew dialect,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou Me?
it is hard for thee to kick against
the goad-pricks1.
And I said, Who art Thou,
Lord? and the Lord said,
I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest.

Hw

w oenH ?¦d > r-1

o a

¦ But arise
and enter the city
and it shall be told thee what
thou must do.
And the men that journeyed
with him
stood dumb,
hearing the voice but
beholding none.
And Saul arose from the earth,
and when his eyes were opened
he saw nothing;
but leading him by the hand
they led him into Damascus.
[Here follows the account of Ana
nias] 1

Arise
and go to Damascus,
and there it shall be told thee
concerning all things that have
been appointed for thee to do.
And they who were with me

beheld the light but heard not the
voice of Him that was speak
ing to me.
And when I saw not from the
glory of that light,
being led by the hand of those
who were with me
I came to Damascus.
[Here follows the account of Ana
nias]

But arise and stand upon thy
feet.

[No account of Ananias follows ;
but God's commission to Saul to
preach to the Gentiles agrees in
substance, though not in language,
with His words to Ananias about
him in ch. ix. and in a brief form
in ch. xxii.]

ah-4tfiOO< wen
t— (
O 2

A common Greek proverbial expression.

l6 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
of the tempestuous moment when he stepped from bon
dage into liberty. In a single sentence he speaks of it
as an act of God performed for His high purposes: "It
was God's pleasure, who set me apart since my mother's
womb, and called me through His grace, to reveal His
Son in me that I might proclaim the tidings of Him among
the Gentiles' (Gal. i. 15 f.). Ever since his birth he had
been destined for his high office; then came the moment
of his " call,' followed by the lifetime in which it was not
he that lived but Christ lived in him (ii. 20). He does
not here explicitly refer to the crisis on the Damascus
road; but that is probably his meaning, because the
words stand in an account of himself which is intended
to be chronological. The circumstances at the moment
of the crisis are described in narrative (Acts ix. 3-19),
and in two speeches attributed to him, delivered before
the Jerusalem mob (xxii. 3-21) and before Agrippa, Ber-
nice, and Festus (xxvi. 2-23) as on pp. 14, 15.
In the essential facts the three accounts agree, i.e.
that Saul on the road to Damascus saw a light and heard
a voice which made him fall to the ground. St Luke's
traditions also related that those who were with Saul
heard, or saw, something, but he was not concerned to
make the accounts agree in detail; 'hearing the voice'
(ch. ix.) and ' heard not the voice ' (ch. xxii.) are mutually
contradictory. It is not the details that matter, but
only the fact that Saul rose to his feet ready to obey
and not to oppose Jesus the Messiah. The remainder
of the story is omitted in ch. xxvi., but the other accounts
relate, again with many differences of detail, that
Ananias, a Christian in Damascus, visited him, restored
his sight, and baptized him. In ch. ix. only, he is related
to have gone to him in obedience to a vision in which

Ill] HIS CONVERSION 17
he was told that Saul had been prepared by a vision for
his coming. During the period of his blindness, three
days (ix. 9), Saul must have pondered quietly and deeply
about the meaning of it all ; and the restoration of his
eyesight was the physical counterpart of the spiritual
illumination which flooded his soul. Whereas he was
blind, now he saw.

CHAPTER IV
ST PAUL'S MOVEMENTS AFTER HIS CONVERSION
1. Arabia and Damascus. The accounts given by
the apostle and by St Luke are as follows :
Gal. i. 16 b, 17 Acts ix. 19 b, 20
Immediately I conferred not And he was certain days with
with flesh and blood ; neither the disciples who were at
went I up to Jerusalem to Damascus. And immediate-
them who were apostles be- ly in the synagogues he pro-
fore me. But I went away claimed Jesus that He is the
into Arabia, and again I re- Son of God.
turned to Damascus.
Wishing to vindicate his claim to a divinely given
apostleship, St Paul assures the Galatians that he made
no attempt to gain from the apostles at Jerusalem any
authorisation, guidance, or teaching; and his move
ments prove it. Whether the stay in Arabia was long
or short, St Luke does not allow for it. But a marked
characteristic of his writings is his habit of compressing
a series of events in order to bring a particular fact or
consideration into prominence. He is concerned only
to shew the radical effects of Saul's conversion: he
preached Jesus in the very town whither he had gone to
arrest the Christians. Anyone who wishes to harmonize
MCN. 2

18 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [ch.
the two accounts must suppose that the visit to Arabia
occurred after the ' certain days' spent with the disciples,
and before his preaching 'immediately' began.
What St Paul means by Arabia has received different
explanations, (a) Lightfoot1 and others have thought
that he means that part of Arabia in which Mt Sinai
stands, because the name occurs with that meaning in
Gal. iv. 25. He went for a solemn season of communing
with God in the place where the Law was given, before
emerging to preach that men have been released from
that Law by Christ, (b) But the meaning, and text, of
Gal. iv. 25 are both doubtful; and even if that verse
refers to the Sinaitic part of Arabia, there was nothing
to prevent the apostle from mentioning, in an earlier
passage, a brief move to another part. It is probable
that the stay in Arabia was a minor episode in his life.
For his special purpose it was necessary to record to the
Galatians his every movement, but to St Luke it was
unimportant if not unknown. Damascus was at the
time subject to Aretas the king of Arabia Petraea;
'and the natural interpretation is that a person describ
ing incidents in Damascus means by Arabia the adjacent
country on the East2.'
2. His Escape. Returning to Damascus he stayed
there until three years had elapsed from his conversion
(Gal. i. 18); these are the 'many days' of Acts ix. 23.
His preaching roused to fury the Jews in the town, and
they plotted to murder him, guarding the gates day and
night. In 2 Cor. xi. 32 St Paul says that 'the ethnarch
of Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damas-
1 Galatians, p. 88 f.
2 Ramsay, St Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen,

IV]

AFTER HIS CONVERSION

19

cenes to seize me.' The Jews had managed to persuade
him to take their side against the troublesome preacher.
But the troublesome preacher had won some staunch
converts by that time, and they let him down by night
through a window in the wall, hidden in a large basket.
To such humiliating straits was the honoured young
Pharisee of three years ago reduced ! It was one of ' the
things concerning his weakness' of which he boasted
(2 Cor. xi. 30).
3. His First Visit to Jerusalem, and Departure
to Tarsus. The following accounts are to be compared :
Gal. i. 18-24
I went up to Jerusalem to
make the acquaintance of
Kephas, and abode with him
fifteen days. But none other
of the apostles did I see, ex
cept James the brother of
the Lord. (What I write un
to you behold before God I
lie not !) Then I came to the
regions of Syria and Cilicia.
But I remained unknown by
face to the churches of Ju
daea which were in Christ,
only they heard that ' he who
at one time persecuted us,
now proclaims the faith of
which he at one time made
havoc,' and they glorified
God in me.

Acts ix. 26-30
And having arrived at Jeru
salem he tried to join him
self to the disciples. And all
feared him, not believing
that he was a disciple. But
Barnabas took him, and
brought him to the apostles,
and related to them how on
the road he had seen the
Lord, and that He had spo
ken to him, and how in Da
mascus he had preached
boldly in the name of Jesus.
And he was with them going
in and out at Jerusalem,
preaching boldly in the name
of the Lord; and he spake
and disputed with the Hel
lenists ; but they purposed to
murder him. But when the
brethren were aware of it,
they brought him down to
Caesarea, and sent him away
to Tarsus.
§ The difficulty of harmonizing the two accounts is here
greater than before. St Luke's does not simply differ
from the other in details; it conveys quite a different

20 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
impression of the nature of the visit. It was not merely
the spending of a fortnight in making the acquaintance
of Kephas, but a definite attempt on Saul's part to get
into touch with the Christian community in Jerusalem.
St Luke simply desired to shew, as in the story of Da
mascus, the effects of Saul's conversion; he attached him
self to the Christians, and preached, in the very Jewish
capital where he had formerly been an arch-persecutor1.
And from Jerusalem as from Damascus he was obliged
to flee, his fellow Christians getting wind of the plot and
hurrying him away2.
Three of St Paul's statements should be noticed.
(a) 'None other of the apostles did I see, except
James ' ; or it can be rendered ' . . . did I see ; I only saw
James.' In the former case 'the apostles' include not
only the Twelve but also other leading Christians in
Jerusalem; in the latter the word seems to be confined
to the Twelve. St Luke also may use the term in either
sense3, but his account does not tally with St Paul's.
The latter says that he saw either one apostle or two,
but no more; St Luke certainly gives the impression
that he saw more than two*.
(b) ' I remained unknown by face to the churches of
Judaea.' St Luke's account so far agrees with this that
it does not relate any preaching by St Paul in Judaea,
i Cf. Acts xxii. 19, 20, where the same thought occurs.
2 In Acts xxii. 17, 18 it is related that the Lord warned
him to escape while he was in a trance in the temple. Ramsay
(St Paul the Traveller, etc., pp. 60-63) needlessly places this
vision in the second visit to Jerusalem.
3 Though the narrower sense seems to be implied in viii. 1.
4 Ramsay, op. cit. p. 381, explains that St Luke 'speaks
loosely of "the apostles," meaning the governing body of
the Church, without implying that they were all present in
Jerusalem.' But this does not overcome the difficulty that,
according to St Paul, there were only two present.

IV] AFTER HIS CONVERSION 21
in the sense of the surrounding country as distinct from
Jerusalem: 'going in and out at Jerusalem' seems to
mean simply that he moved freely about within the city.
(c) 'I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.' The
expression is probably intended to couple these into
one district1, and they were in fact united into one Ro
man province. Syria is probably mentioned the first as
the more important2. Treating them as distinct, some
have felt it a difficulty that St Paul names Syria first,
since his work, in Antioch, the capital of Syria, followed
his retirement to Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia. If by
naming Syria first he implies that he travelled via Syria
to Cilicia, i.e. that he went round by land (cf. Acts xv.
41), he does not necessarily differ from St Luke, who
relates that the brethren 'brought him down to Caesarea.'
This might indeed mean 'brought him down to the
coast' so that he could cross to Cilicia by boat; but
' down ' can mean simply ' away from Jerusalem,' a jour
ney to which was always thought of as a going up.
How long Saul remained at Tarsus depends upon the
view taken of the chronology (see p. xiv f.).

CHAPTER V *
ST PAUL AT ANTIOCH WITH BARNABAS
Acts xi. 19-26
The martyrdom of Stephen was the beginning of a
severe persecution which scattered the Jerusalem Chris
tians, with the exception of the apostles (Acts viii. 1).
But the wrath of man turned to God's praise, because
1 rfjs Svpias ical ty]s KiXikIos. In X and three minuscules the
omission of the second article unites them more distinctly.
2 So Lightfoot.

22 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
the Christian teaching was thus spread over a consider
able area (v. 4). Through Philip the Gospel reached
Samaria (vv. 5-25), an Ethiopian eunuch near Gaza
(vv. 26-39), and cities along the coast from Azotus to
Caesarea (v. 40). St Peter is related to have worked in
Lydda (ix. 32-35), and Joppa (vv. 36-43), and above all
he received into the Church a God-fearing Gentile, the
centurion Cornelius (x. i-xi. 18). Others had preached
to Jews as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch
(xi. 19). In the last town some Hellenist Christians had
been preaching also to Gentiles1 (v. 20). The preaching
would be, as usual, in the synagogues, to which Gentiles
would be attracted to hear them. The number of con
verts increased rapidly, so that Antioch was becoming
an important Christian centre (v. 21). Barnabas was
sent from Jerusalem to see whether the movement was
satisfactory and ought to be encouraged (v. 22). What
he saw there delighted him (vv. 23 f.). He felt it to be
of supreme importance to further it with all his power:
so he determined to get the help of the strongest man
he knew, and the best fitted for work in the great pagan
city. Accordingly he went to Tarsus, and fetched Saul
back (v. 25). How he knew that he was at Tarsus is
not told us: but he was probably one of the brethren
who sent him off thither to escape the plot in Jerusalem2.
For a full year they carried on a splendid work together
in the corrupt and beautiful Syrian capital. Their con-
1 There is little doubt that "EWr/vas ('Gentiles,' R.V.
'Greeks') in XCAD* arm is the true reading, not 'EXKrjvicrras
('Hellenists') as in BD2EHLP. St Luke evidently relates it
as a new stage in the Church's development.
a D has 'And hearing that Saul was at Tarsus he went
forth seeking him ; and when he fell in with him he exhorted
him to come to Antioch.'

V] AT ANTIOCH WITH BARNABAS 23
verts became popularly known as a sect or party by
the nickname 'Christians1,' the followers of Christos of
whom they so often spoke (v. 26).
The chief importance of the Antioch community lay
in the fact that it was predominantly Gentile. Many of
the converts were no doubt circumcised proselytes : but
as time went on an increasing number entered the Chris
tian Church without circumcision.

CHAPTER VI
ST PAUL'S SECOND VISIT TO JERUSALEM
1. The following passages probably deal with the
same visit :
Gal. ii. 1-10 Acts xi. 27-30
Then after fourteen years I And in those days there
again went up to Jerusalem came down from Jerusalem
with Barnabas, taking with prophets to Antioch2. And
me also Titus. And I went oneof them, byname Agabus,
up according to a revelation, arose and signified through
And I communicated to the Spirit that a great famine
them the gospel which I was about to take place over
preach among the Gentiles, the whole [civilized] world,
but privately to those who which took place under Clau-
were recognised as impor- dius3. And the disciples, in
tant, lest perchance I was proportion to the prosperity
1 K has Xprfo-Tiavovs (' Chrestians ') from the adj. chrestos,
which was a not uncommon proper name. Cf. Suetonius,
Claud. 25 : ' Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes
Roma expulit.'
2 The next words in D are ' And there was great exulta
tion. And when we were gathered together [d has ' returned ']
one of them, by name Agabus, spake signifying etc' (see
p. x). The writer of the sentence in this form may have
known a tradition, or may simply have conjectured, that
St Luke was already a Christian, and present at the scene.
3 This is supported by Josephus, Ant. xx. ii. 5, v. 2, and
Orosius vii. 6.

24 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
Gal. ii. i-io Acts xi. 27-30
running or had run in vain, of each of them, determined
. . .For to me those who were to send [money] for ministra-
recognised as important add- tion to the brethren which
ed nothing; but on the con- dwelt in Judaea; which also
trary... James and Kephas they did, sending it to the
and John who were recog- elders by the hand of Barna-
nised as pillars [of the bas and Saul.
Church] gave to me and
Barnabas pledges of fellow
ship [in work], that we
should go to the Gentiles,
and they to those who were
circumcised ; only that we
were to remember the poor,
¦ — which was the very thing
that I was eager to do.
St Paul, still continuing his line of argument to the
Galatians (see p. 17 f.) to prove that his apostleship
received no official authorisation from the leaders of the
Church, is relating his every movement until the time that
they fully and freely acknowledged the validity of his
teaching to the Gentiles. He therefore relates his next
visit to Jerusalem, in the course of which he held, not
a public or official consultation, but merely some private
conversations with the leading spirits, to find out whe
ther they were in sympathy with the aims and methods
of his work at Antioch. That they were, is proved by
the joint scheme of work on which they agreed with him,
so as to reach both Jews and Gentiles1. All that they
asked of him was that he would remember the needs of
the poor Jews. He was not only willing but anxious to
do that, because he must already have realised that alms
from Gentile churches would form a strong bond of
1 Notice that this was intended to include uncircumcised
Gentiles. Circumcised proselytes had been among their con
verts from the first (Acts ii. 16), and one of them had actually
been given a public office in the Church at Jerusalem (vi. 5).

VI] SECOND VISIT TO JERUSALEM 25
union with the Jewish Christians, and would lessen the
danger of the division of the Church into two parties.
St Luke's narrative gives the occasion which sug
gested this reference to almsgiving. St Paul's words
'I went up according to a revelation' can perhaps be
explained as referring to the inspired prediction of Aga
bus. At any rate it was not owing to any command or
request of the apostles.
How long Barnabas and Saul stayed in Jerusalem is
not stated. Ramsay thinks that they were there some
time, superintending the actual distribution of food.
But this is hardly probable. The ' presbyters ' to whom
the money was taken were the proper officials for the
purpose. It is not at least required by the statement in
Acts xii. 25: 'Barnabas and Saul returned from Jeru
salem when they had completed the ministration.'
2. Titus. One statement made by St Paul is omitted
in the passage printed above : ' But not even Titus who
was with me though he was a Gentile was compelled to
be circumcised. But on account of false brethren brought
in secretly, who came in secretly to spy out our liberty
which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might enslave
us — to whom not even for an hour did we yield in obedi
ence, that the truth of the Gospel might abide with you.'
In the last part (' But on account of etc. ') St Paul in his
indignant excitement breaks off in the middle of a sen
tence, and starts a fresh one ('to whom etc.'), so that
it is impossible to determine what he originally intended
to say. But it is probable that knowing the true char
acter of the opposition of the Judaizers who had come
to Antioch (' on account of the false brethren ') he reso
lutely opposed a suggestion made in Jerusalem that,
whatever he might teach in Gentile countries, he should

26 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
at least circumcise his Gentile companion Titus if he
wished to take him about with him in Palestine. To
lay the emphasis on 'compelled,' as though Titus was
circumcised voluntarily, but not by compulsion, is pos
sible but unnecessary1.
3. Another View of Gal. ii. i-io. Many writers,
notably Lightfoot, think that the Jerusalem visit of
Gal. ii. 1-10 was not the famine visit, but the visit to
attend the Apostolic Council (Acts xv. 6-29)2, which
occurred later than St Paul's first evangelizing journey
to the churches of Galatia. (1) It is thought that his
private consultation with the leading Christians was a
preliminary to the public conference. But for this there
is no sort of evidence. (2) St Luke, it is said, does not
mention that St Peter and James the Lord's brother
were present at Jerusalem on the occasion of the famine.
But neither does he say anything to make it clear that
they were absent. He expressly states that the apostles
did not flee from the city when persecution scattered
the rest of the Christians (viii. 1) ; that St Peter and St
John, after their brief visit to Samaria, returned to
Jerusalem (viii. 25) ; and that St Peter returned to Jeru
salem after his visit to Cornelius (xi. 2). 'James and
the brethren' were still in Jerusalem when St Peter
escaped from prison: and he, after appearing at the
house of Mary the mother of Mark, 'went to another
place' (xii. 17), which, according to the natural inter
pretation of the words, means ' another place, or house,
1 It becomes, indeed, necessary if oh ovSe (' to whom not
even ') be omitted with D d c Tert, and one or two other Latin
authorities. But the reading is improbable.
2 McGiffert, History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age,
p. 171, attempts a solution of the problem by assuming that
Acts xi. and xv. both refer to the same event.

VI] SECOND VISIT TO JERUSALEM 27
in the city.' Cf. iv. 31, where 'place' seems to mean
'house.' But even if it means another city, the length of
his absence is not stated, nor the time at which Agrip-
pa's persecution occurred. No other movements of the
apostles are related. (3) Barnabas and Saul, it is pointed
out, brought the famine contribution not to the apostles
but to the elders. But this need not imply that the
apostles were absent. If ' elders ' is not used loosely for
all the leading Christians, including the apostles, it must
be remembered that the latter had expressly refused to
spend their time in 'serving tables' (vi. 2), and had ap
pointed others for the purpose: and the 'elders,' as the
local officials, would naturally carry out the distribu
tion. An important consideration in favour of the famine
visit may be added. St Paul, as already said, is relating
to the Galatians his every movement till the time when the
leading Christians in Jerusalem fully and freely recog
nised his claim for the Gentiles. If he took the trouble
to mention an incidental visit to Arabia, where he could
not have met any apostles, it would be extraordinary
if he had omitted a visit to Jerusalem, and scarcely less
strange if he had passed over the whole of his first mis
sionary tour.
There is really nothing to connect the visit of Gal.
ii. 1-10 with the Council1. When Barnabas and Saul
brought the alms to the city, they had already been
1 Gal. ii. 5, 'that the truth of the Gospel might continue
with you ' need not mean that the Gospel had by that time
been preached in Galatia. St Paul is thinking of the blessings
which had, by the time that he wrote, accrued to the Gala
tians from the firmness which he shewed at this juncture.
He could have written the same words to any of his Gentile
converts at any period of his life.

28 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
converting and receiving into the Church uncircumcised
Gentiles1. And St Peter's account of his own action
with regard to Cornelius had already gone far in con
vincing the leading Jerusalem Christians that an un
circumcised Christian was not quite impossible (Acts
xi. 1-18). When Barnabas and Saul came, therefore,
James, Kephas, and John expressed, in a private con
versation, their willingness to agree with their methods,
and to recognise them as missionaries2 to the Gentiles, —
i.e. all Gentiles, not only circumcised proselytes. Ac
cordingly on their first missionary tour, which now fol
lows, they preached to and converted Gentiles in large
numbers, to the indignation of the Jews.
CHAPTER VII
THE DEDICATION OF BARNABAS AND SAUL
TO WIDER WORK
Acts xiii. 1-3
His right to preach to, and receive into the Church,
uncircumcised Gentiles having now been privately ac
knowledged by the leading Christians in Jerusalem, St
Paul's restless energy could not long be content to re
main at Antioch: he must strike further afield. And
Barnabas was of one mind with him. St Luke, looking
back at it, realised that it was the work to which the
Holy Spirit had called them. He relates that while some
of the Christian prophets and teachers in Antioch (among
1 Titus for example, whether he was circumcised or not
after his reception into the Christian Church, was certainly
not circumcised before it.
2 It is not said that they recognised St Paul as an ' apostle ' ;
he claimed that authority himself as having been given him
'through Jesus Christ, and God the Father' (Gal. i. 1).

VII] DEDICATION OF BARNABAS AND SAUL 29
whom he reckons Barnabas and Saul) were engaged in
fasting and religious devotions, perhaps at some special
season, one of the prophets, under the influence of spiri
tual ecstasy, declared ('the Holy Spirit said') that the
two missionaries were to be set apart for their special
work. Accordingly after another interval 'when they
had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they
sent them away.' The subject of the verbs may be the
particular prophets and teachers named (Symeon called
Niger, Lucius the Cyrenaean, and Manaen who had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch), or the Christians
in general. This is not equivalent to what we now call
ordination. Saul and Barnabas had been filled with the
divine Spirit long before, and had already done impor
tant missionary work. But they were formally com
mitted by the laying on of hands to be the Church's
representatives in the larger work which lay before them.
In v. 4 St Luke goes on to say, with solemn emphasis,
that they were 'sent forth by the Holy Spirit.'

CHAPTER VIII
ST PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY TOUR
Acts xiii. 4-xiv. 28
1. It is customary to speak of the three missionary
' journeys ' ; but ' tours ' is a more suitable word. St Paul
had already, according to the Acts, made two journeys
to places where he preached, to Jerusalem from Damas
cus, and to Antioch from Tarsus. And in the course of
the travels which he now undertook, he sometimes
stayed in a place for a considerable time. St Luke does
not seem to have thought of dividing his work formally

30 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
into three tours: notice the rapidity with which he
passes from the second to the third (xviii. 22, 23). This
was because he wished, not to construct a biography
but to trace progress. Nor is there any indication that
the apostle was officially sent in any given direction, or
mapped out his route beforehand; he followed the divine
impulse of the moment, and the divine guidance of cir
cumstances. Hence some recent writers are inclined to
discard the usual scheme of three tours, and prefer to
divide the apostle's activity into two periods, before and
after the Council at Jerusalem, in which he worked in
two main mission spheres: (1) the 'regions of Syria
and Cilicia ' (Gal. i. 21) with Antioch and Tarsus as the
centres, and with Barnabas as his principal companion,
(2) the larger area of Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia,
accompanied chiefly by Silas and Timotheus. Three
tours, however, are distinguished in this volume as a
matter of convenience, though they must not be regarded
as of importance for the understanding of St Paul's
work. 2. Cyprus, xiii. 4-12. Attended by their young
companion John Mark, a relation1 of Barnabas (Col. iv.
10) whom they had brought back from Jerusalem (Acts
xii. 25), they went from Antioch westward some dozen
miles to the coast, to the harbour Seleucia, — probably
in the spring when the sailing season began. Thence
they took ship to Salamis, on the east of the island of
Cyprus. The reason for this move no doubt was that
Cyprus was Barnabas' native place (iv. 36).
1 Probably not 'sister's son' (A.V.) but "cousin.' How
close the relationship was is not known. He seems to have
acted simply as their attendant. It is not stated that he was
filled with the Spirit, or that he was commissioned by the
laying on of hands.

VIII] THE FIRST MISSIONARY TOUR 31
Although St Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, yet
he loved his own nation, and made a regular practice of
preaching, as far as possible, to Jews first. To ignore
them, and to speak exclusively to Gentiles would have
been to cut himself off from the possibility of influencing
Jews, and to a large extent those Gentiles who were
favourable to Judaism and offered the most promising
material for his work. There were probably several
Jewish communities in the island: and they preached
in the synagogues, where, however, Gentiles must fre
quently have been present. In this way they moved
through the island about 50 miles to Paphos on the S.W.
coast. Here St Luke relates an incident which he pro
bably felt to be of importance. The Roman governor
of tfie island was in the town, a proconsul named Sergius
Paulus1, whom St Luke describes as 'a sensible man,'
because of his readiness to listen to the missionaries.
They had no doubt preached, as usual, in the synagogue :
and the proconsul, hearing of them, may have taken
them to be teachers of rhetoric or philosophy such as
used to travel about to lecture in the important towns
of the Empire. At any rate he commanded them to
come and speak to him about the word of God. But a
certain man who was present with him disputed what
they said, and tried hard to prevent him from being
convinced2. [Who this opponent was is very uncertain.
In v. 6 he is described as ' a certain magian, a Jewish
false prophet, whose name was Barjesus.' But in v. 8 it
is said ' But Elymas the magian (for so is his name inter-
1 Perhaps the same as 'the proconsul Paulus ' named, un
fortunately without a date, in an inscription found at Soloi
in the north of the island.
2 DE syrhcl add 'because he was listening to them with
pleasure.'

32 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
preted) withstood them.' Other forms of both names
occur in some MSS and early writers1- Some think that
the accounts of two different magians have been con
fused. The whole passage is obscure, especially the
name Elymas and the parenthesis attached to it.] But
'Saul who is also called Paul,' filled with the Spirit,
gazed at him, and rebuked him vehemently, addressing
him as ' son of the devil ' — perhaps drawing a contrast
with his name Bar-jesus ('son of Jesus') — and telling
him that he would be blind for a time. This came to
pass immediately, and he needed someone to lead him
by the hand. Thus Saul's blindness on the Damascus
road repeated itself in the case of his opponent. The
proconsul was so much struck by the catastrophe
that he was convinced of the truth of the Christian
teaching. It is interesting to notice that whereas till this point
St Luke has always named Barnabas first, or pictured
him as more important than Saul (Acts ix. 27, xi. 25, 30,
xii. 25, xiii. 1, 2, 7), from now onwards their positions
are reversed2 Marking this new departure, St Luke at
this point introduces the Roman name for the first time :
Sha'ul who is also called Paulus. Ramsay suggests that
at this first preaching of the Gospel to a representative
of the Roman government, Saul made the proconsul
aware of his Roman citizenship, and took, instead of
Barnabas, the leading position to which that dignity
entitled him. That the apostle took his Roman name
at this time from Sergius Paulus, as Jerome suggested,
1 D Bapirjcrovdv (d — suam), syrPesh Barshuma, vulgcodd
Barieu, Hier. Berieu, Lucif. Bariesuban, D 'Eroipas, Lucif.
Etoemus. 2 With two exceptions, xiv. 14 and xv. 12; see pp. 38
and 43.

VIII] THE FIRST MISSIONARY TOUR 33
is very improbable. He had been a Roman citizen, and
therefore probably had borne his Roman cognomen, all
his life. Perhaps Paulus was the name of the official
who had given the civitas to his family.
3. Passage through Pamphylia. xiii. 13, 14 a. The
length of time spent in Paphos is not stated. 'Paul's
party,' as St Luke here calls them, next took ship for the
mainland of Asia Minor. Having landed, no doubt at
Attalia, though that is not stated, they reached Perga
in the Roman province of Pamphylia. Here, for some
unexplained reason, John Mark suddenly deserted them,
and returned to Jerusalem. Ramsay ingeniously sug
gests that St Paul intended to stay and preach in and
around Perga; but that in the enervating climate of
Pamphylia, facing southward and sheltered by the high
ground of the Taurus range, he suffered from a severe
attack of his recurrent illness, and felt obliged to strike
northward at once to reach higher ground and better air;
and that John Mark did not approve of this change of
plan, and so went home. St Luke's expression, however,
that Mark 'went not with them to the work' (xv. 38)
hardly supports the idea that the northward journey
was for the purpose of convalescence. The absence of
any account of preaching at Perga does not necessarily
mean that they left the place at once. If St Paul con
tracted the disease in a malarial region near Perga, it
may not have made its appearance till Pisidian Antioch
was reached (McGiff ert) . This town lay in Phrygia within
the Roman province of Galatia. If his illness forced him
to stay there awhile, his words in Gal. iv. 13 receive a
good explanation, ' Ye know that because of an infirmity
of the flesh I preached the Gospel unto you formerly1.'
1 On the last word see p. 169.
m«n. 3

34 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
4. Pisidian Antioch1. xiii. 14 b-52. According to
his usual custom St Paul went with Barnabas to the
synagogue on the Sabbath. After the reading of the
two lessons for the day from the Law and the Prophets,
the rulers of the synagogue noticing some strangers in
the congregation asked them to speak. St Luke gives
St Paul's sermon. He sketches (as Stephen had done,
vii. 2-50) the history of Israel, but he begins with the
Exodus. God 'brought up2' (R.V. exalted) the people,
i.e. nourished them when they were in Egypt, and 'bore
them as a nursing father 2 ' in the wilderness, and gave
them the land of Canaan3. He gave them judges till
1 The best MSS (KABC) at v. 14 have rfv Uio-ihiav, an
adjective. DE etc. have rrjs riio-ifi/as. 'Gradually that part
of Phrygia, which was included in the province of Galatia
and separated from the great mass of Phrygia (which was
part of the province of Asia), was merged in Pisidia'
(Ramsay in Hastings' DB. i. 104). Hence the name Pisidian
Antioch afterwards gave place to the name Antioch of Pisidia.
2 The two verbs are interesting. The former, {fyao-ev,
would not have this meaning in classical Greek, but it occurs
four or five times in the LXX, including Is. i. 2 to which
St Paul seems to refer. The latter, iTpotpotpopjjtrev , occurs
only twice in the LXX, 2 Mac. vii. 27 (of a mother), and
Deut. i. 31 (of God as a Father) to which, again, St Paul
seems to refer. This is the reading in AC*E and several
minuscules, d e syrP"11 memph. sah. arm. aeth. But in
KBC2DHLP and the mass of minuscules, vulg. syrhclma,E
(which is strong evidence) it is irponocjioprfCTav, a commoner
word meaning ' bore with their behaviour ' which occurs no
where in the LXX, except as a variant in B* for Tpotpotpopjia-ei
in Deut. i. 31. But though the weight of the MS evidence is
against it, the reading tsTpotpotpoprjtrev can claim a possible
support of a different kind. In later times, and very possibly
in St Paul's day, Deut. i. and Is. i. were lections appointed
for the same day in the synagogue services ; and St Paul is
perhaps referring to the two lections which had just been read.
3 The best MSS have 'He gave them their land about 450
years. And after this etc' DE and others place ' And after
this ' before ' He gave them etc.,' which is more in accordance
with the history as given in the Old Testament.

VIII] THE FIRST MISSIONARY TOUR 35
Samuel, then Saul the first king, and then David. At
the mention of David he passes suddenly to the Son of
David, the Saviour Jesus heralded by John the Baptist.
At this point he indicates (v. 26) the mixed audience whom
hewras addressing in the synagogue: (1) Children of the
stock of Abraham, i.e. Jews, (2) those among you that
are fearers of God, i.e. devout Gentiles. He goes on to
say that the Jews in Jerusalem, not understanding their
own Scriptures, demanded from Pilate1 the death of
Jesus. They took Him down from the tree, and laid
Him in a tomb 2. But God raised Him from the dead,
and He was seen by many who are now witnessing to
the fact. The Resurrection is the fulfilment of promises
made in the Old Testament to David, but which could
not find their true fulfilment in David himself 3 Through
this Jesus can be gained remission of sins, and that jus
tification from sin4 which the Mosaic Law cannot give.
He ended with a warning to them, drawn from Habak.
i. 5, not to despise the divine work which had been done.
On the conclusion of the sermon, as they went out,
the congregation begged to hear the same wonderful
message on the next Sabbath, and Jews and proselytes
in considerable numbers followed the two missionaries
to hear some more of their teaching. During the week
rumours of the sermon got about; and on the next Sabr
bath the synagogue was crowded with a congregation
1 This suggests that they are not St Paul's actual words,
since the majority of a Galatian audience would probably
have no idea who Pilate was.
2 In the Gospels it was not the hostile Jews who took Him
down and buried Him, but the Lord's disciple Joseph of
Arimathea. 3 Cf. the similar argument in St Peter's sermon, ii. 22-35.
4 The construction 'to be justified from (dn-o) ' recurs only
in Rom. vi. 7. 3—2

36 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
of which the large majority must have been Gentiles,
'almost the whole city.' This made the Jews jealous of
St Paul's popularity, and they opposed him angrily in
public. St Paul and Barnabas were roused to an out
burst of indignation, and they declared that they would
now, for the first time, confine their preaching to the
Gentiles in the city, i.e. they would preach elsewhere
than in the synagogue1. Cf. St Paul's similar action at
Corinth (xviii. 6) and Ephesus (xix. 9). The Gentiles
were delighted, and many throughout the whole region
became believers. But the Jews stirred up the wealthy
ladies (who took a more prominent part in Greek and
Roman than in Jewish life, cf . xvii. 4, 12), and the local
officials, to persecute the apostles, and drove them out
of the place2. They ' shook off the dust of their feet against
them,' and went away 50 miles S.E. to Iconium.
5. Iconium. xiv. 1-7. The apostles' indignant action
at Antioch did not mean a cessation of their regular
habit of preaching to Jews first ; they at once taught in
the synagogue at Iconium, gaining both Jews and Gen
tiles to the Christian faith. But there were also Jews
who remained unconvinced, and these stirred up the
Gentiles against them. (In v. 3 it is stated parentheti
cally that the apostles made a long stay there, preaching
and working miracles 3.) Opinion in the town was sharply
1 This does not mean that the apostle now preached for
the first time to Gentiles; see p. 22 f.
2 It is possible that this persecution included a beating
with rods by the magistrates' lictors, which would be the first
of the three beatings recorded by St Paul in 2 Cor. xi. 25.
3 The verse stands somewhat awkwardly in the middle of
the description of Jewish hostility. Some think it is a later
addition to the narrative, perhaps due to a marginal note.
An early attempt was made to form a link after v. 2; D
Syrhci.maru a(j(i • £,ut the Lord quickly gave peace,' E 'but

VIII] THE FIRST MISSIONARY TOUR 37
divided; 'part held with the Jews and part with the
apostles.' The former, at last, with the authorisation
of the magistrates, made preparations to assault and
stone them; but the plot leaked out, and they fled 'unto
the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the neigh
bourhood; and there they were preaching1.'
St Luke here follows local native usage in implying
that Iconium was not in Lycaonia. Officially it had been
united by the Romans with Lycaonia for administrative
purposes. But since the days of Persian dominion it
had been the frontier city of Phrygia, and the local
native officials were different from those in the towns
of Lycaonia proper. Thus the district in which Iconium
stood was popularly called Phrygia, or Galatic Phrygia,
because it was that part of Phrygia which was included
in the Roman province of Galatia. The apostles now
fled into Galatic Lycaonia (as distinct from Antiochian
Lycaonia further East, governed by king Antiochus).
Thus, although Lystra was only 18 miles distant, they
came under a different jurisdiction, and entered upon
a new sphere of work 2.
6. Lystra and Derbe. xiv. 6-21 a. In vv. 6, 7 their
work in the district generally is stated. Two incidents
in Lystra are now described.
A man crippled from birth was healed by St Paul;
and the native population thought that he and Barnabas
were gods come down from heaven. St Paul took the
the Lord made peace,' thus dividing the time into two dis
tinct periods of disturbance with an intervening period of
peaceful and successful work.
1 D adds ' And the whole multitude was disturbed at the
teaching; but Paul and Barnabas remained at Lystra'; and
E similarly.
2 Ramsay, op. cit. pp. 109-113.

38 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
lead, as always, in preaching; so they called him Hermes,
the messenger of the Gods. Barnabas, who remained
more passive, was for that very reason, according to ori
ental ideas, taken to be the superior, great Zeus himself1.
The priest2 of the local temple of Zeus was actually
about to offer sacrifice in^heir honour; but the apostles3
ran to the crowd, tearing their clothes at the thought
of the blasphemy, and with difficulty persuaded them
that they were ordinary mortals. St Luke relates that
they exhorted them to turn from these pagan ideas and
practices to the living God, ' who made heaven and earth
and sea and all that is in them' (cf. Exod. xx. n), who
even though He allowed Gentiles in the past to make
these mistakes, yet revealed something of what He was
by His work in nature*.
But the Jews in Antioch and Iconium, from whom
they had fled, followed them over the Lycaonian border,
stirred up the populace, and stoned St Paul (cf. 2 Cor.
xi. 25, 'Once was I stoned'). They dragged him out of
the city, and left him there, supposing him to be dead.
But while his sorrowing Christian companions stood
round him he revived enough to go back into the town,
and next day moved on more than 20 miles to Derbe.
1 These gods in their Latin forms, Mercurius and Jupiter,
were said to have wandered in Phrygia in human shape, and
to have been given hospitality by Baucis and Philemon
(Ovid, Metam. viii. 631 ff.).
2 D has 'priests.'
3 St Luke's order of the names * Barnabas and Paul ' (v. 14)
may have been due to the greater honour given by the priest
to Barnabas (see p. 32).
4 St Paul would not have spoken so to a Jewish synagogue
audience, but as St Luke represents his words they are not
unsuitable for simple-minded Gentiles. Somewhat similar
language occurs in the speech at Athens (xvii. 24) ; and cf .
Rom. i. 19 f., iii. 25.

VIII] THE FIRST MISSIONARY TOUR 39
What that walk must have been to him in his pain and
weakness it is difficult to imagine. Ait Derbe he stayed
long enough to convert many to Christianity.
7. The Return Journey, xiv. 21 b-28. They did
not go further East and return to Antioch by the land
route through the Cilician Gates and Tarsus, but, regard
less of the perils through which they had passed, de
liberately returned through Lystra, Iconium, and
Pisidian Antioch, preaching in each city1 and encou
raging their recent converts to endure persecution. For
the care of these Galatian churches 'having appointed
[or elected] for them elders in each church praying with
fastings they committed them to the Lord on whom
they had believed.' Then they went down, through the
Taurus range, to Perga in Pamphylia, where they de
livered the Christian message which St Paul is not re
lated to have preached there before (see p. 33). Lastly,
having reached the port of Attalia, now mentioned for
the first time, they took ship back to Antioch in Syria
from which they had started on their tour. There they
gave an account of all that they had done, or as St Luke
truly puts it ' all that God had done with (i.e. in company
with) them' (cf. xv. 4), ' and that He had opened to the
Gentiles a door of faith.' At Antioch they stayed some
time2, resuming their previous pastoral work.
1 They perhaps avoided causing disturbance by confining
themselves to private Christian assemblies,
2 As to the length of time see p. xviii f .

40 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
CHAPTER IX
THE APOSTOLIC COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM
i. The Events leading to it. (a) Acts xv. i, 2 a.
Their pastoral work at Antioch suffered an important
interruption. The student should, at this point, read
again what was said in ch. 11 about the different classes
of Christian converts. Many of those who had been
orthodox Hebrews or orthodox Hellenists still clung
tenaciously to a Judaistic form of Christianity. That is to
say they remained, in all outward respects, strict Jews,
practising circumcision, and observing the festivals and
other regulations of the Law. They differed from the
Jew pure and simple, in believing that the Messiah
expected by their nation was Jesus, who had died and
risen, and would soon come to inaugurate the divine
Kingdom and to judge the world. In a word, they were
a Jewish sect marked by some new and peculiar beliefs;
and they were admitted to membership in the sect by
baptism in the name of Jesus. The sect was kept in
existence by the addition, from time to time, of fresh
converts — Jews and circumcised proselytes. Thus their
conception of true religion was the Jewish religion (in
which, of course, circumcision was a necessity) with
some Christian beliefs and baptism superadded. On the
other hand, in Antioch and elsewhere, largely owing to
the activity of St Paul, many Gentiles had been received
into the Christian Church by baptism without circum
cision. Some of these Gentiles had been God-fearing
sympathizers with Jewish monotheism and morals1, but
1 A notable instance of the God-fearing Gentile was the
centurion Cornelius, whom St Peter, some time before, had

IX] APOSTLES COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM 41
some had not, and were sheer pagans when they were
converted to Christianity. This conflict of opinion be
tween Jewish and non- Jewish Christians at last came
to a head by the action of some of the former, who came
from Jerusalem to Antioch and opposed the line taken
by the apostles of the Gentiles1 (xv. 1, 2 a).
(b) Gal. ii. n-142. But a further problem was be
ginning to make itself felt. The private agreement
between St Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and
Kephas and James on the other (vv. 7-9) involved the
separation and mutual recognition of the two parties;
and St Paul loyally observed his side of the agreement.
(In Acts xxi. 26 his action shewed that he repudi
ated the false charge brought against him of teaching
Jews to abandon the Mosaic Law.) The difficult ques
tion now arose as to social intercourse. If Jewish Chris
tians were to eat meals with Gentile Christians, they
might be given food which had been sacrificially offered
in idol temples, from which they shrank as from dire
pollution, while the Gentiles did not feel it to be pollu
tion. This matter, in turn, was brought to a head by the
action of St Peter (Gal. ii. 11-14). He paid a visit to
received into the Church without previous circumcision
(ch. xi.). But he had been treated as an exceptional case
which had no bearing on the general principle. It was ex
ceptional because he and his family had visibly and
undeniably received an outpouring of the Spirit before
baptism. 1 According to the view which places the writing of Gala
tians at this time (see pp. 171-3) they extended their
activities beyond Antioch, and tried to subvert St Paul's
converts in the Galatian churches.
2 Some (e.g. Zahn, Galatians, p. nof., and Turner, Hast
ings' DB. i. 423 f.), who identify the visit of Gal. ii. 1-10
with the Council visit, nevertheless feel the necessity of dating
ii. 11-14 before it.

42 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
Antioch, perhaps before St Paul and Barnabas returned
from their first tour. And interpreting his private agree
ment with them in its full natural sense, he waived Jewish
scruples and ate meals with Gentile Christians. But
after St Paul's return, some emissaries from James took
the stricter attitude; and St Peter suddenly became
afraid of his own wide-mindedness, and refused further
intercourse with the Gentile Christians. Other Jewish
Christians in the place were led astray by his example,
among them Barnabas who had so long and eagerly
worked with St Paul among the Gentiles. St Paul real
ised that it was a critical moment for the Church, and
boldly rebuked St Peter in public, i.e. probably in a
Church assembly. He took the line that he afterwards
took in his epistles, that charity must be the supreme
principle. The recognition of Jewish and Gentile Chris
tians must be mutual. Gentiles must, at meals with
Jews, respect Jewish scruples in the matter of food,
but, he declared to St Peter, Jews, on their part, must
not force those scruples upon Gentiles. ' If you, a Jew,
have been willing to join with Gentiles in meals, why
do you compel them to Judaize? ' Why, that is, do you
compel them to respect your scruples by abstaining from
•all possibility of taint from idol foods before you con
sent to have meals with them? They are new converts
in all the joyful enthusiasm of Christian liberty, which
you have yourself conceded to them. You ought to have
been the one to shew some Christian charity and for
bearance. Thus on both these aspects of the problem, circum
cision and foods, friction had reached a point when a
definite public settlement was urgently needed. So the
Church at Antioch, or perhaps the Judaizers from Jeru-

IX] APOSTLES' COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM 43
salem1, 'determined that Paul and Barnabas and some
others of them should go up to the apostles and elders
to Jerusalem.' Escorted a little way by the Christians
they travelled via Phoenicia and Samaria, spreading en
route the good news of the conversion of Gentiles (Acts
xv. 2 b, 3).
2. The Debate. Acts xv. 4-18. The apostles and
elders received them, and heard their report of 'all
things that God had done (in company) with them'
(cf. xiv. 27). But some Jewish Christians, Pharisees who
had joined the Church, insisted on circumcision and
obedience to the Law for all Gentile converts; and a
keen debate was soon in progress.
St Luke relates the three points in the discussion
which turned the scale in favour of Gentile freedom:
(a) A speech by St Peter (vv. 7-11) in which he referred
to the Cornelius incident, and asked why the Gentiles,
if they had (as was undeniable) received the outpouring
of the Spirit, should be burdened with the yoke of
Jewish observances which the Jewish nation itself had
found too heavy. (6) An account (v. 12)2 by 'Barnabas
and Paul8' of the miracles which God had wrought
through them among the Gentiles, (c) A speech by
James the Lord's brother, the president of the confer
ence (vv. 13-21). He pointed out that Symeon's (i.e.
Simon Peter's) action with regard to Cornelius was, after
1 The subject of the verb is not clear. It is made so in D
gyj-hci.marg wi1ic]1 rea(i ' for Paul said strongly that they ought
to remain as they were when they became believers; and
those who came from Jerusalem commanded Paul and Bar
nabas and certain others to go up etc'
2 At the beginning of v. 12 D syrhd insert 'And the elders
agreeing with the things spoken by Peter.'
3 Before the Jerusalem audience Barnabas was still the
more important of the two (see p. 32).

44 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CR
all, in keeping with the words of Amos ix. ii, 12. (St
Luke represents him as quoting the passage in accord
ance with the LXX, ' that the residue of men may seek
the Lord,' which was more suitable to his purpose than
the Hebrew, 'that they may possess the residue of
Edom.') And then he pronounced his own opinion.
3. The Opinion of St James. Acts xv. 19-21. This
consists of two distinct parts, corresponding with the
double problem of circumcision and foods which had
made the conference necessary, (a) With regard to the
former, which was the primary matter, he decided (v. 19)
against the Judaizers ; Gentile Christians were not to be
'troubled' with it. (b) But widely spread in Gentile
countries, ' in every city,' the Mosaic Law had for genera
tions past been ' read in the synagogues every Sabbath '
(v. 21) ; in other words St Paul's mission to the Gentiles
had not been the only one, for it had been anticipated
by the far older Jewish missions. What, then, was to
be the relation of Jew to Gentile? The former learnt
from the Mosaic Law that distinctions of food were im
portant for the preservation of ceremonial purity.
Therefore, for the sake of the Jews supplementary
injunctions must be added, bidding the Gentiles to
abstain from the four things mentioned in v. 20. Both
parts of this decision are embodied in the decrees in
vv. 28, 29.
4. The official Action, vv. 22-35. This decision
having been reached, the Church at Jerusalem acted
promptly. They selected as official representatives two
of the most prominent of their number, Judas called
Barsabbas and Silas, to accompany St Paul and Bar
nabas back to Antioch, and to carry with them a letter
to the Gentiles in Antioch and in the whole Roman

IX] APOSTLES' COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM 45
province of Syria-Cilicia1. The letter stated that the
Judaizers who had come from Jerusalem to Antioch and
troubled the Gentile Christians (see v. i) had not come
with the authority of the Church; but that Judas and
Silas were fully authorised, and they would endorse
the contents of the letter by word of mouth. Then
followed the injunctions which St James had pro
posed. Arrived at Antioch the bearers duly delivered the
letter, which naturally caused great delight. Judas and
Silas spent some time there, giving much spiritual help
by their preaching, and then the former returned to
Jerusalem, and St Paul and Barnabas resumed their
interrupted pastoral work. (In v. 33 St Luke says that
Silas as well as Judas returned, and yet in v. 40 Silas is
evidently still at Antioch, with no statement that he
came back again from Jerusalem. The account has
undergone a slight confusion2.)
Such is St Luke's account of the crisis. Of one thing
we may feel sure: had the Council arrived, as regards
circumcision, at the opposite result and upheld the
Judaizers, it would not have moved St Paul a hair's-
breadth from his purpose. He would have continued his
successful work among the Gentiles on the lines that he felt
sure had been drawn for him by God. But the Christian
Church would have been split into two parties even
1 In Acts xvi. 4 St Luke says that St Paul and Silas de
livered the decrees even in Galatia. This was going beyond
those addressed in the apostolic letter, and it is possible that
St Luke received an erroneous tradition.
2 In accordance with CD and many minuscules, vulg'16"1
sah. arm. aeth. v. 34 is added in the A.V., 'Notwithstanding
it pleased Silas to abide there still,' to which D vulgclem arm.
further add ' and Judas went alone.' These are glosses which
rightly correct v. 33.

46 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
more sharply defined than they continued to be in fact
— circumcised Christians and uncircumcised Christians.
In the long run the latter was bound in any case to
prevail, but it would have taken much longer for
the Judaizing party to dwindle and die out. As it was,
although St Paul was opposed for a time by Judaizers,
it was in defiance of, and not in accordance with, the
carefully considered decision of the first heads of the
Church. But what was St Paul's attitude to the second part
of the apostolic decision — the four prohibitions laid on
the Gentile Christians? To understand that, we must
examine a rather complicated problem.
5. The Nature of the Apostolic Prohibitions.
Acts xv. 20, 29 ; cf . xxi. 25. The ordinary text1, followed
in the English versions, contains four prohibitions:
(1) Things sacrificed2 to idols (in v. 20 ' the pollutions
of idols'). (2) Blood. (3) Things strangled2 (4) Forni
cation. The first three are usually explained as referring to
food3. If Jew and Gentile were to be Christians together
and join in meals, the latter must avoid eating things
from which the Jew shrank with a religious abhorrence.
The prohibitions were in that case of the nature of a
compromise. But some have felt difficulties in the way of this inter
pretation : (a) The mention of fornication is thought to
1 Uncials (except D), vulgMSS, MSS known to Jerome, pesh.
memph. sah. arm. aeth. Clem.-Al. Orig. Cyr.-Jer. Didym.
Epiph. Chrys. al.
2 Singular in xxi. 25.
3 Some earlier explanations which have now been dis
carded are not given here. See Hort, Judaistic Christianity,
pp. 68-73.

IX] APOSTLES' COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM 47
be strange and unexpected in conjunction with a com
promise on the subject of foods, (b) 'Blood' is often
explained to mean the eating of flesh from which the
blood has not been drained. But this includes things
strangled, which is only a particular instance of it, so
that the third prohibition becomes superfluous1.
With another reading there are not four but three
clauses, the words 'and from things strangled' being
omitted in several authorities2-
Further, after the word 'fornication' a few authorities8
add ' and whatsoever ye wish not that it should happen
to yourselves, do not to another4.' This addition cannot
be original (it is not found e.g. in Tertullian), but it is
useful as helping to make clear what was understood by
scribes to be the nature of the three-clause prohibition,
i.e. that it is a moral injunction; it forbids — not certain
foods, or certain idolatrous practices, but — three great
crimes against ordinary morality, idolatry, murder, and
fornication. But it is very difficult to suppose that the apostles
took the trouble to press upon Christians elementary
moral precautions such as would be entirely obvious to
everyone. And ' abstain from blood ' is a strange equi
valent for 'thou shalt do no murder.' Even if the original
1 This difficulty would be removed if the true reading
were that suggested by the strange rendering 'et sanguine
sufiocato' in the best MSS of the Vulgate, i.e. ko.1 atparos
¦n-viKTov (or rrviKTav), and the adjective had the force of a
substantive, 'and from the blood of a strangled beast (or
beasts).' 2 D d gig. Irenlat Tert. Cypr. Aug. Hier. Ambrst.
3 D and some minuscules, syrhcl sah. aeth. Iren1"' Cypr.
4 This is a negative form, found variously in Jewish and
Christian writings, of the positive injunction, known as the
Golden Rule, in Mat. vii. 12, Lk. vi. 31.

48 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
text in v. 29 omitted "and from things strangled1' (and
the singular in v. 20, and xxi. 25), the three-clause pro
hibition need not be merely moral. It is probable that
all the prohibitions, whether three or four, refer to hea
then practices. The eating of idol-foods, the partaking
of blood2, and the ritual practice of fornication (in idol
temples with women consecrated for the purpose), were
all heathen customs by which the worshippers believed
that they received into themselves the fife of their gods
or demons. And the eating of ' things strangled ' (if it is
part of the true text) probably had the same purpose
though the exact meaning is doubtful. Gentile Chris
tians in close contact with their heathen brethren were,
according to the Jewish ideas at the time, in daily peril
of pollution ; and Jews felt it their sacred duty to keep
themselves strictly free from contamination. Therefore
the apostolic decrees laid down, not * substitutes for cir
cumcision' (Hort) but, as said above, supplementary
injunctions that for the sake of Jews living among Gentiles
the latter must abstain from these practices if they were
to enjoy social intercourse with each other.
6. St Paul's Attitude to the Prohibitions. The
popular idea that there was a real pollution inherent in
heathen food is contrary to what St Paul says in 1 Cor.
viii. 4-6. The Christian 'strong' in his 'freedom' knows
that an idol god is non-existent, and therefore idol-foods
in no way differ from other foods. But for the " weak,'
1 It is possible that an early non-' Western' scribe with
antiquarian interests, misunderstanding 'and from blood,'
and remembering passages in the Old Testament which for
bid 'eating with the blood,' may have added 'things strangled'
as a marginal explanation, which afterwards crept into the
text as a separate prohibition.
2 Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and others
say that this was avoided by Christians in their day.

IX] APOSTLES' COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM 49
who believe that in eating idol-foods they are partaking
in the life of demons, they do constitute a source of
pollution. A partaking of demons and a partaking of the
Body and Blood of Christ are contrary to one another
(1 Cor. x. 14-21; cf. 2 Cor. vi. 14-vii. 1). He therefore
enjoins with great urgency upon Gentile converts that
the ' strong ' must bear with the ' weak ' in this matter,
and not put a stumbling-block in their way (1 Cor. viii.,
x- 23_33i Rom. xiv.). And that must have been his
state of mind when he agreed to the apostolic decisions,
and published them in Syria-Cilicia. He had won the
supreme point for which he had fought, i.e. that Gentile
Christians need not be circumcised and observe the
ordinances of the Jewish Law. And therefore, after
rebuking St Peter at Antioch for want of charity, in
compelling Gentiles to observe Jewish scruples, he now
accepted, in a spirit of charity, the corollary added by
the Council for the sake of Jews 1
With regard to fornication he must have agreed whole
heartedly. Marriage in his eyes was of the nature of a
Christian sacrament, a reproduction in human life of
Christ's union with His Church (Eph. v. 22-33); and
fornication meant union with a harlot, a ' Satanic sacra
ment.' Cf. 1 Cor. vi. 13 b-20, where the close conjunc
tion of the passage with the words about 'foods' (vv.
12, 13 a) suggests that he had the decrees in mind. And
in v. 9 he bids his converts keep themselves separate
1 Sanday, Theol. Studien for Zahn, p. 331, writes: 'I do not
doubt that St James took the initiative in all this; St Peter
and St Paul were just consenting parties. Itis probable enough
that St Paul gave what was really a careless consent; he was
indifferent to such matters, but at least he would not stand in
the way of an agreement that made for peace.' But careless
indifference is hardly to be expected in a champion of St
Paul's character and temperament.

50 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
from any Christian who is a fornicator, covetous, an
idolater etc., — 'with such an one, no not to eat1.'

CHAPTER X
ST PAUL'S SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR
Acts xv. 36-xviii. 22
1. The Quarrel, xv. 36-41. St Luke, as often, does
not state clearly the interval before the next phase of
the history. He says only that 'after some days' (i.e.
since St Paul and Barnabas returned from the Council)
St Paul proposed to revisit the Christians in the towns
where they had preached on their first tour. Barnabas
wanted to take his cousin John Mark with them again;
but St Paul had felt so keenly his desertion at Perga
(see p. 33) that he refused. A sharp quarrel was the
result. Their friendship, already strained by the incident
at Antioch (Gal. ii. 13; see p. 42), now gave way, and
they parted, Barnabas taking his cousin to Cyprus2,
1 This discussion of the decrees owes much to an article
by B. W. Bacon in the Expositor, Jan. 1914, pp. 40—61. He
draws, however, the unnecessary conclusion that since St
Paul must have been hotly opposed to the decrees, he cannot
have been present at the Council. The subject is variously
treated by Hort, Judaistic Christianity, pp. 68-73, Bp. Chase,
The Credibility of the Acts of the Apostles, pp. 93-98, Sanday,
Expositor, Oct. 1913, Kirsopp Lake, The Earlier Epistles of
St Paul, pp. 48-60, McGiffert, Apostolic Age, pp. 208-216.
2 There is no evidence that they ever met again, nor is
Barnabas again mentioned in the Acts. He probably settled
for a time at his own home in Cyprus with Mark. 1 Cor. ix. 6
suggests that the Corinthians, and therefore probably other
churches, knew enough of him to be aware that he worked,
Uke St Paul, for his Hving. Some think he was probably
dead by the time that St Paul wrote to the Colossians, so
that Mark was free to come to Rome (Col. iv. 10; cf. 2 Tim.
iv. 11).

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 5 1
and St Paul taking Silas round by land through Syria-
Cilicia, 'strengthening the churches1.'
2. Galatic Lycaonia and Galatic Phrygia. xvi.
1-6. From the province of Syria-Cilicia St Paul and
Silas went into the province of Galatia. They struck
northward through the Taurus mountains by the fam
ous narrow pass, the 'Cilician Gates,' through which
the younger Cyrus, and Alexander, had marched to
wards the East. This brought them to the Galatian
portion of Lycaonia, St Paul's eastern limit on his first
tour; and they followed his former route in the converse
direction, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Anti
och. The last two are not named, but are implied ac
cording to the most probable explanation of v. 6. In
that passage 'the region of Phrygia and Galatia' (R.V.),
and still more ' Phrygia and the region of Galatia ' (A. V.)
fail to express the force of the Greek, in which both
names are adjectival and agree with the one word
'region.' It was the Galatic-Phrygian region, as dis
tinct from the larger portion of Phrygia, which lay in
the province of Asia. The churches, then, according to
this explanation, visited up to the point indicated in
v. 6, were those of the first tour2, and St Paul now visited
them for the second time. They lay in the southern por
tion of the large Roman province of Galatia; and hence
this is often called the ' South-Galatian ' view of the
apostle's movements. The ' North-Galatian ' view, at
one time widely held, in England notably by Lightfoot,
but now given up by a growing number of scholars, is
i D (and similarly vulgedd syrhl:lmars) adds 'delivering the
commands of the presbyters' in accordance with vv. 23, 25.
2 In his account of the first tour St Luke does not use the
name Galatia.

52 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
that St Paul at this point, and again in xviii. 23 (see
p. 77 f.), visited a district further to the North, once the
Kingdom of the Galatae (from which the large Roman
province afterwards took its name), a Celtic people who
had lived in the centre of Asia Minor, whose chief cities
were Ancyra, Pessinus and Tavium; and that it was to
the Christians in this district that he wrote the Epistle
to the Galatians.
The problem is complicated by the question of the
date of that epistle (see pp. 168-173) ; but independently
of that> the following considerations against the North-
Galatian view may be noted: (a) Apart from the geo
graphical expressions in Acts xvi. 6, xviii. 23 which
themselves require discussion, St Luke nowhere gives
any hint of a journey into North Galatia. (b) It would
be very strange if, while St Luke gives a detailed account
of work in Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe and
none in North Galatia, St Paul should write with the
deepest concern to dearly loved converts in the North,
and in none of his epistles1 make the slightest reference
to his labours in the South, (c) St Paul first preached
in Galatia 'because of an infirmity of the flesh' (Gal.
iv. 13). This means either that he went thither because
he fell ill, or that, having intended to go on elsewhere, he
stayed because he was ill. But it is difficult to suppose
either of these in the case of North Galatia. (d) Galatia
took part in the collection for the poor at Jerusalem
(1 Cor. xvi. 1) . But among those named in Acts xx. 4, who
accompanied St Paul with the money, North Galatia
has no representative while South Galatia has two
— Gaius and Timothy, (e) Barnabas, who accompanied
i Except in 2 Tim. iii. n, of which the Pauline authorship
is disputable.

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 53
St Paul on the first tour, but not later, is mentioned as
though personally known to the Galatians (Gal. ii. 13).
(/) Ramsay1 points out that as early as the latter half
of the fourth century, Asterius of Amaseia in Pontus,
in describing St Paul's third tour, makes 'Lycaonia'
equivalent to 'the Galatic region' (see p. 37).
3. Timothy. A young Christian was at Lystra named
Timotheus (Timothy), whose mother was a Jewish
Christian, and his father a Gentile — whether Christian
or not is not stated. His mother Lois, and his grand
mother Eunike (2 Tim. i. 5) had probably been converted
by St Paul on his first tour, two years before, having
previously been pious Jews who had taught Timothy
the Scriptures since his infancy (iii. 15). St Paul thought
that the young man would be useful as an attendant in
the place of John Mark2. He felt sure, also, that his
usefulness would be increased if he were circumcised.
He knew only too well, from his experience on the first
tour, the bitterness of Jewish hostility; and in circum
cising him3 he was only carrying into practice the prin
ciple expressed in 1 Cor. ix. 19-23, 'To the Jews I
became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews.' He felt no
incongruity in doing this to a half Jew for the sake of
Jews, immediately after he had fought at Antioch and
Jerusalem for the freedom of Gentiles from the necessity
1 Expositor, May 1895, p. 391.
2 His confidence was justified, for Timothy remained one
of his most faithful companions and supporters to the end ;
cf. 1 Cor. iv. 17, xvi. 10, Rom. xvi. 21, Phil. ii. 19-22; and
the first verse of 1, 2 Thes., 2 Cor., Col., Philem., Phil.
3 If Galatians was written later than this, he perhaps
refers in the epistle to the insinuations of Judaizers, who
may have held up his action against him, representing him
as untrue to his own principles, chiefly intent on ' pleasing
men' (i. 10), 'building up again the things which he had
destroyed' (ii. 18), 'still preaching circumcision' (v. 11).

54 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
of circumcision. St Luke, indeed, relates (v. 4) that
he was at that very time publishing the apostolic
decrees1. 4. The Route to Troas. xvi. 6-10. Having reached,
or approached, Pisidian Antioch, St Paul had nearly
completed the plan which he had proposed to Barnabas
(xv. 36), and might, as on the first tour, have dropped
down through Pamphylia to the port of Attalia, and
taken ship back to Antioch in Syria. But longings
stirred within him to go further afield. Where should he
go? His first, and natural thought was, as we gather, to
make westward for the great cities in the Roman pro
vince of Asia, such as Apameia, Laodicea, Hierapolis,
Philadelphia, Ephesus and others. But he and his two
companions were ' forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak
the Word in Asia.' An inward impulse, or a vision seen
by one of them, or a message delivered in a state of
spiritual ecstasy (cf. xiii. 2), made them turn in another
direction. Exactly when this prohibition by the Spirit
was given is uncertain. According to the best reading
in v. 62 (followed in the R.V.) it was not after but before
they had completed the journey through the Phrygian-
Galatic region. This cannot mean that they went through
that region because they had previously received the
prohibition about Asia, but that they went through it
with the prohibition — at some point or other en route —
laid upon them, so that when they arrived at the borders
of the province of Asia they did not preach in it. St
Luke in summarising quickly a series of movements or
1 This, however, is possibly erroneous. See p. 45, n. 1.
2v8iijXdov ('They passed through') is read in all the best
MSS. Sit.\66vTns ('Having passed through') in HLP is an
attempt to lessen the obscurity.

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 55
events is apt to be tantalizingly obscure as to their
chronological sequence.
As they had come from the East, and were prevented
from going West, and did not want to go South, the
only remaining direction was North. So they travelled
northward along a road part of which ran ' over against
Mysia' (v. 7), i.e. parallel with the eastern boundary of
the district of Mysia, which was also in the province of
Asia. Then they 'tried to go into Bithynia,' no doubt
with the important town of Nicomedia in view. But
again ' the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not.' Thus they
were debarred from preaching in Asia and Bithynia
alike. But nothing daunted, they obeyed the divine
guidance, and struck westward through Mysia1. But
since this also was in the province of Asia, ' they passed
by Mysia' (v. 8), i.e. they passed through it without
preaching, till they reached the coast at Troas (ib.).
What did all this mysterious but unmistakeable gui
dance mean? Further spiritual direction was at once
given, in the dream in which St Paul saw a man of
Macedonia who said ' Come over to Macedonia and help
us2.' As before, they accepted the guidance without
hesitation (v. 10). In this verse the ist person plural
suddenly appears, as though the writer had joined St
1 They perhaps turned westward at Kotiaion. But the
words 'they tried to go into Bithynia' may imply that they
approached nearer to the Bithynian border, in which case
they may have reached Dorylaion, and then travelled west
ward. In either case there was no great Roman road to
Troas, and they must have travelled by smaller roads and
paths. In these unfrequented tracts there were rivers to
ford, and probably brigands to encounter, the 'perils of
rivers' and 'perils of robbers' mentioned in 2 Cor. xi. 26.
2 For the first part of v. 10 D has 'Having arisen, there
fore, [from sleep] he related the vision to us, and we con
sidered that etc' Somewhat similarly the Sahidic version.

56 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
Paul immediately on the latter's arrival at Troas. But
assuming that the ' We '-sections (see pp. x-xii) are taken
from, or based upon, a travel-document, it is difficult
to suppose that it actually began with the words of
v. 10, or with those in D in the preceding verse; and
therefore it is impossible to feel sure that the writer of
the document was not with St Paul prior to this point.
5. Philippi. xvi. 11-40. It is difficult for us to judge
whether St Luke, to whom Asia and Macedonia were
two provinces within the same Roman empire, had the
same feeling that we have, that it was an epoch-making
step for St Paul to pass from the continent of Asia to
the continent of Europe.
A helping S.E. wind brought them, apparently in one
day's sail, half the distance across, i.e. to the island of
Samothrace. It had no good harbour1, but the ship
probably anchored for the night at the town of the same
name at the N. of the island. Next day they reached
the port of Neapolis on the Macedonian coast, whence
they went inland along the great Via Egnatia some 10
miles N.W. to Philippi, where St Luke, indefinite, as
often, in Ms chronology, says that they stayed " certain
days.' Philippi is described (v. 12) in the words "which is
[the] first of the district [lit. portion], a city of Mace
donia, a colony.' It had recently been given the dignity
of a Roman colonia, with the name 'Colonia Augusta
Julia Philippensium,' and had received the 'jus Itali-
cum2.' The first part of the sentence is obscure. ' First '
1 Pliny speaks of it as ' importuosissima omnium.'
2 Ramsay, who thinks that St Luke was a native of Philippi,
finds in the words an indication of his pride in this Roman
privilege.

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 57
in the sense of 'chief1' was applied to Greek cities in
Asia, but there is no evidence of its use elsewhere.
Lightfoot (Philippians, p. 50) understands it to mean
'the first city in Macedonia at which St Paul arrived,'
explaining why he did not stop at Neapolis, ' which was
generally spoken of as a Thracian town2.' The text is
perhaps corrupt, and the true meaning yet to be dis
covered3. Even in a Macedonian town, where the population
was mostly Greek, but possessing the Roman citizen
ship, St Paul did not desert his regular practice of seek
ing out the Jewish synagogue (v. 13). They 'supposed'
or 'expected*' that there was one outside the city gate
by the river side5. The narrative is not quite clear. The
next words seem to imply that there was no synagogue :
1 D has 'which is the head of Macedonia.' But both
Thessalonica and Amphipolis were more important than
Philippi. 2 By Pliny for example; but Strabo and Ptolemy connect
it with Macedonia.
3 For npcoTi) rijs pepioos Blass and others suggest irpcorios
pt-pihos, 'a city of the first portion of Macedonia,' referring
to the division of Macedonia into four political districts
which the Romans had made long before. But Amphipolis
was the chief city of this district, and pepls nowhere else has
this meaning. Hort conjectures UiepiSos for ptpibos, 'a chief
city of Pierian Macedonia ' ; but he admits that the name does
not occur elsewhere, ' and would be more naturally applied
to the more famous Pieria in the S.W. of Macedonia.'
4 A.V. 'where prayer was wont to be made' follows the
reading ivopifrro irpotrevxri elvai in the lesser MSS EHLP and
most minuscules. D has iSoKtu [e vulg. videbatur] npoaevxv
tUvax. But the best MSS XABCE 13. 40. 61 memph, followed
in the R.V., have £vopi£opt;v irpotrtivxriv etvai. The word irpo-
o-evxr} for ' synagogue ' is found chiefly in Philo, but also in
3 Mac. vii. 20, Josephus, Vita, 54, and in inscriptions. It
appears in Latin in Juv. Sat. iii. 296.
5 Lightfoot refers to the 'orationes littorales' mentioned
by Tert. adv. Nat. i. 13, and other passages.

58 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
' we sat down and were speaking unto the women who
were come together,' as though it were a favourite
spot for strolling and gossip ; this can hardly mean ' we
sat down in the synagogue,' since there would be men
present as well as women. And yet in v. 16 St Luke
says ' And it came to pass as we were going to the pro-
seuche1,' i.e. the prayer-house, the synagogue.
A convert was won (v. 14), a seller of purple-dyed
garments fromThyatira inLydia, her name Lydia having
no doubt been given her from her native land. She and
her whole household were baptized; and she eagerly
persuaded the missionaries to stay at her house (v. 15).
But, as in Phrygia and Lycaonia, trouble followed im
mediately, vv. 16-18. While walking one Sabbath day
to the synagogue, they were met by a slave girl who
was in an abnormal condition of excited susceptibility.
She was a ventriloquist (' she had a spirit of Python ' as
St Luke puts it) and a fortune teller, and her owners
made considerable profit out of her. The character of
St Paul, with its electric energy and intense spiritual
fervour2, at once had a psychological effect upon her,
and she shouted out after them on the road for several
days words corresponding with the thoughts that must
have been uppermost in St Paul's mind — 'These men
are servants of God the Most High, who proclaim to you
the way of salvation.' St Paul, like other people of his
time, explained all such abnormal states as due to the
presence of a ' demon ' who had entered into and gained
possession of the victim. When he cured the girl by
1 DHLP and many minuscules have 'going to prayer,'
omitting the article.
2 St Luke says ' he turned in the spirit [i.e. filled with a
spiritual fervour or ecstasy], and said, I charge thee etc'

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 59
invoking the name of Jesus Christ (an act of exorcism of
which there are many authentic examples in the early
Christian centuries), he exercised a power over her weak
ened will which had a sudden and lasting effect upon her,
and St Luke, in the language of his day, says that the
demon went out of her. vv. 19-24. It cannot have been
long before her owners discovered that her power of
making money for them had left her. They seized St Paul
and Silas and dragged them to the local magistrates to
the agora. The hearing of the case before the magistrates
is not described. St Luke's next statement is that they
were handed on to the Roman officials, the strategoi,
i.e. the duum viri or praetors, on the charge of having
broken the Roman law by introducing, as Jews, into a
Roman colony religious teaching which was not com
patible with the state religion. At about this time all
Jews were expelled from Rome by Claudius, and they
no doubt suffered from local hostility in various parts
of the Empire, so that it was easy in Philippi to rouse
popular feeling against the missionaries, the pagans
being unable to distinguish Christianity from Judaism.
The praetors yielded to the clamour, stripped St Paul
and Silas, and ordered the lictors to beat them. (This
is the only recorded instance of the three beatings with
rods mentioned in 2 Cor. xi. 25.) It was a grievous insult
to Roman citizens1, to which St Paul afterwards re
ferred in 1 Thes. ii. 2, ' having suffered before, and been
insulted, as ye know, at Philippi.' They did not protest
at the moment ; perhaps the rush and clamour gave them
1 That Silas was a Roman citizen as well as St Paul is
shewn in v. 37. The Lex Valeria (b.c. 509) had laid it down
that no citizen could be beaten; cf. Cic. in Verr. 11. v. 170:
'facinus est vincire civem Romanum, scelus verberare.'

60 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
no opportunity1 They were then confined in an inner
dungeon, and their feet were secured in the stocks.
[vv. 25-34. They sang hymns at midnight, and a
sudden earthquake opened the prison doors and broke
the stocks which held all the prisoners; none of them,
however, attempted to escape. The gaoler awoke, and
being responsible for their safe-guarding was about to
commit suicide on seeing the doors standing open; but
St Paul reassured him. He then sprang down the steps
to the lower dungeon with a torch, crying 'Sirs, what
must I do to be saved? ' Possibly he meant no more
than ' What must I do to escape punishment from the
authorities? ' But St Paul's answer was on a higher
plane — 'Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be
saved, thou and thine house.' He at once brought them
out to some place, perhaps the courtyard, where there
was water, with which he washed their bleeding stripes,
which had been left untended since the terrible beating.
And he and all his household were immediately bap
tized. Then he took them into his house, which no
doubt adjoined the prison, and gave them a meal.]
vv. 35-40. The praetors having for the moment satis
fied the popular outcry sent the lictors next morning
to tell the troublesome Jews that they could go. But
now St Paul stood upon his dignity as a Roman citizen,
whose rights had been flagrantly violated. He demanded
that the praetors themselves should come and release
them with due formality, — which they did2, in a great
1 Cf. Acts xxii. 24 f. where St Paul managed to protest
only just in time to escape the scourging.
2 D (and similarly 137 syrhcl) has 'And coming with many
friends to the prison they besought them to depart saying,
We did not know the facts concerning you that ye are
righteous men. And having brought them out they besought

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 6l
state of fear at having beaten Roman citizens. St Paul
and Silas went to Lydia's house to say farewell, and
then departed.
From Phil. i. 7, 28-30 we learn that after St Paul
had left them his converts continued to share in his
sufferings. The paragraph above has been placed in brackets be
cause vv. 25-34 appear to be derived from a source other
than that of the rest of the narrative. (1) The praetors
act in the morning with no reference to the earthquake;
they simply send the lictors to tell the gaoler to release
the two prisoners. This was noticed by the scribe of D,
who tried to rectify it by writing, 'The praetors came
together into the agora, and remembering the earth
quake which had occurred they were afraid, and sent
the lictors etc' (2) The narrative of vv. 25-34 itself
contains . difficulties. An opportune earthquake alone
would not be a difficulty. But that the criminals im
prisoned with the missionaries were so deeply impressed
by hearing them singing hymns that they were ready
to forgo all attempt to escape is very surprising. And
it is also strange that when the gaoler leapt into the
dungeon, and had heard the Christian message, he
brought St Paul and Silas out regardless of the rest of
the prisoners, all of whom the earthquake had freed from
their bonds. The scribe of D again sees the difficulty,
and adds 'having secured the rest.' The probability
must be recognised that in the growth of the Christian
tradition received by St Luke some elements were added
which can hardly claim the same historical value as the
preceding 'We '-section (see p. ix f.).
them saying, Depart out of this city, lest they again gather
together to us crying out against you.'

62 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
6. Philippi to Thessalonica. xvii. 1-9. From
Philippi they travelled S.W. along the Via Egnatia by
nearly equal stages of about 30 miles to Amphipolis
and Apollonia, and then about 37 miles W. to Thes
salonica. Why they did not stop and preach at the
first two, especially at so important a town as Amphi
polis, we cannot tell1. Perhaps, indeed, they did, though
St Luke's narrative contains no account of it. They
may also have stopped at other places not named, since
the three stages were unusually long day's walks for
pedestrians. At Thessalonica St Paul, 'as his custom
was' (v. 2), preached for three Sabbaths in the syna
gogue. As in other towns Gentiles who were sympathetic
towards the Jewish religion2 were present at the services,
and St Paul converted a large number of them, together
with some Jews, and several of the leading women. In
iThes.i.9f.,ii. if. he speaks of his successful work among
them. Their Christian devotion became known not only
in Macedonia and Achaia, but 'everywhere,' i.e. far and
wide. Probably, therefore, after the three Sabbaths he
preached for some time elsewhere than in the synagogue.
A longer stay than three weeks is rendered almost cer
tain by the fact that while he was in Thessalonica the
Philippian Christians sent him supplies at least twice
(Phil. iv. 16), and also that he found it worth while to
settle down to his hand labour (cf. Acts xviii. 3, xx. 34),
1 That there was no synagogue in either town, and there
fore no opportunity of preaching, can hardly be deduced
from the next words, ' Thessalonica where was a synagogue
of the Jews.'
2 See p. 10. AD 13 al vulg. memph. read tS>v re trepoptvav
Kai 'eXXtJi/wi', i.e. not only Gentiles who were devout, or God
fearing, but others also. Possibly this is the true reading. At
any rate the conversion of actual heathen is implied in
1 Thes. i. 9, 'ye turned to God from idols.'

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 63
in order not to be burdensome to the Thessalonians
(1 Thes. ii. 9, 2 Thes. iii. 8). It is possible that the period
included missionary work as far as the borders of Illyri-
cum (Rom. xv. 19). It is not likely that he travelled so
far afield on his next visit to Macedonia, when he was
in deep anxiety about the Corinthian Church (p. 86),
or when he returned from Corinth (p. 87) on his way to
Jerusalem with the money for the poor.
His great success at Thessalonica, as at Pisidian An
tioch (p. 36) enraged the Jews. They collected the rabble
of the town and attacked the house of Jason, where the
missionaries apparently lodged, and perhaps held their
services. Unable to find them they arrested Jason and
some other converts, and took them before the magis
trates, who axe here called politarchs, which inscriptions
shew to be their correct title. The complaint against
them (different from that at Philippi, where Roman
citizens charged them with being Jewish propagandists)
was that brought by the Jews against our Lord, i.e.
sedition against the emperor, because they spoke of
' another king, Jesus.' As the actual preachers, St Paul
and Silas, were not caught, they were no doubt con
demned by default, which must have given a handle to
the Jews in their further endeavours to make the Greeks
persecute the Christians for sedition (1 Thes. ii. 14 f.).
Jason and his fellow Christians were bound over by a
money payment to ensure that such a disturbance
should not occur again. Meanwhile St Paul's converts
managed to get him and Silas safely away by night, and
they went another 20 miles or more W. to Beroea.
7. Beroea. xvii. 10-15. Events here were very simi
lar. They taught in the synagogue, where, however, the
Jews were of a much better type than those in Thessa-

64 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
lonica. St Luke says that they listened eagerly, and
studied their Bibles during the week to satisfy themselves
of the truth of St Paul's teaching. Many were converted,
together with Gentiles, both men and the rich Greek
ladies. But again the storm broke. The Jews from
Thessalonica, hearing of the apostle's successful preach
ing, came and stirred up the rabble as before. His con
verts had to get him out of the town as fast as possible,
and hurried him S.E. some 20 miles to the coast, leaving
Silas and Timothy behind. His escort went with him,
probably by boat, to Athens1, and then returned to
Beroea with his instructions to Silas and Timothy to
come to him as soon as they could.
During his stay at Beroea, or perhaps afterwards at
Corinth, he seems to have made more than one attempt
to return to Thessalonica, but 'Satan hindered' him
(1 Thes. ii. 18), which some explain as meaning that he
received news that the feeling there was still too strong
for him, and the politarchs would not allow him to re
turn. If he had, he would have endangered not only
his own life but also that of Jason and the others who
had been bound over to keep the peace. Some, however,
think that he would not have spoken of the action of
Roman authorities as a hindrance of Satan, and explain
it as illness (cf. 2 Cor. xii. 7) or the pressure of local cir
cumstances at Corinth. In 1 Thes. iii. 1-5 he shews his
intense sympathy and anxiety for his converts in the
trials that they must be suffering.
8. Athens, xvii. 16-34. (a) Preaching and Dis
cussion. In the beautiful centre of pagan intellectual
thought, where St Paul passed an anxious interlude of
1 D adds " And he passed by Thessaly, for he was forbidden
to preach the Word unto them.'

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 65
waiting, he had practically no success at all. The gods
and goddesses of the old religion of Greece were dead,
killed by the pitiless questionings of philosophers, though
their temples, statues, and altars still decorated the
city in profusion. Everyone was ready to listen to the
latest philosopher, and to engage in dialectical dis
cussions; but it was for the most part in a purely aca
demic spirit, with little moral earnestness or real desire
to reach truth. Waiting at Athens for Silas and Timothy,
St Paul with his burning religious enthusiasm was stirred
to the depths of his soul as he sadly wandered about
looking at the sights. St Luke's account is as follows.
He preached, as usual, in the synagogues to Jews and
to any Greeks who came there, but he also held discus
sions in the agora with any chance comers who were
willing to hold discussions with him. Among these were
some Stoics and Epicureans, representatives of the two
chief schools of Greek philosophy at the time. Some
condemned him at once with a contemptuous epithet
implying that he was merely 'an amateur who had
picked up some crumbs of learning1.' Others were rather
more interested. When they heard him preach 'Jesus
and the Resurrection' (Anastasis), they thought that
he was introducing yet another god and goddess to the
Athenian pantheon. So they took him to the Areopagus,
the ' hill of Ares (Mars),' which stood on the South of the
agora, the acropolis being on the West. It was the place
where trials in the high Court were held in the open air,
the seats being cut in the rock. But the narrative is far
from suggesting that St Paul was taken before the Court.
They took him by the hand2 in a friendly manner, and
led him to some spot on the hill, in, or more probably
1 tnrfppoktyyos. 2 iirthu(iupevoi avrov.
M«N. 5

66 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
near, the site of the Court, where they could have a
quiet discussion with him.
(b) St Paul's Speech. This is the last of the three
occasions on which St Luke gives the contents of a
missionary address delivered by the apostle. ' All things
to all men that I might win some' was his motto in
missionary work. And St Luke preserves the thought.
To Jews at Pisidian Antioch (xiii. 16-41) he naturally
sketched the history of Israel; to ignorant pagans at
Lystra (xiv. 15-17) he spoke of Nature and the God of
Nature; and to cultured pagans in 'Athens the eye of
Greece, mother of arts' he attempts a philosophical
strain. His text was an inscription which he had seen
on an altar in the city, 'To an Unknown God.' He
would tell them about this God, of whom the3r were
ignorant while they gave Him reverence. He does not
need temples made with hands (cf. vii. 48), for (as he
had said at Lystra, xiv. 15) He is the Creator (alluding
to Exod. xx. 11), and the Source of all life (perhaps
alluding to Is. xiii. 5 b), and the Appointer of the bound
aries of all nations (cf. Deut. xxxii. 8). He wanted men
to 'touch Him and find Him,' though He is at the same
time an immanent Being (as the Greeks taught), the
spiritual Principle 'in Whom we live and move and
exist ' ; or, to quote one of their own poets, ' For we are
also His race.' God, then, being spiritual like ourselves,
obviously cannot be represented by gold, silver, or
stone, graven by art and man's device. — Having so far
spoken in a philosophical vein, he suddenly brought be
fore his hearers the Christian truth. This transcendent
Creator, Who is also the immanent Principle of life,
overlooked pagan ignorance in the past (as St Paul had
said at Lystra, xiv. 16); but He now calls men to re-

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 67
pentance, because a day of judgment is very near when
He will judge the world in righteousness in the person
of a Man appointed for the purpose; and has assured
men of the certainty of this by raising this Man from
the dead (cf. ii. 24-32).
As before, the mention of Anastasis made some of
them treat him with ridicule, while others, perhaps with
only a thin veil, of politeness, said they would like to
hear him again another time. A few converts are men
tioned, among them a woman named Damaris, and a
member of the high Court named Dionysius, both other
wise unknown1. The apostle's work at Athens was much
less successful than elsewhere; and from what he after
wards wrote to the Corinthians (1 Cor. ii. 1-6) about
' persuasive words of wisdom,' ' the wisdom of men,' ' the
wisdom of this world,' he shews that he realised, what
is as true to-day as then, that mere academic argument
on behalf of Christianity seldom converts anybody.
There can be little doubt that St Luke rightly repre
sents the tone of the speech. That it is in any sense a
verbatim report is, of course, impossible; St Paul under
such circumstances would speak at considerable length,
while St Luke compresses it into nine verses and a half.
But it is probable that the shape and outline are St
Luke's. Parallels are to be seen in other Greek writings;
and there are similarities not only with St Paul's own
words at Lystra, but also with the speeches of St Peter
and St Stephen. A certain conventionality of form (if
it may be so called) has been observed in religious
1 St Luke made use of a tradition which apparently con
flicts with St Paul's statement that the household of Ste
phanas* was 'the firstfruits of Achaia' (1 Cor. xvi. 15). If
that statement is to be taken literally, no converts were won
at Athens.

68 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
speeches of ancient times1, by which St Luke is perhaps
to some extent influenced. He has well caught the
Stoic tone in some of St Paul's remarks: 'He is not
served by human hands as though He needed anything';
the 'feeling' or 'touching' God; 'though He is not far
from each one of us ' ; ' for in Him we live and move and
exist'; and the quotation 'for we are also His race' is
from a Stoic poet Aratus. It is also interesting to note
that in the Dialogue concerning Sacrifices, attributed
by Philostratus to Apollonius, the religiousness of Athens
is indicated by an altar 'Of unknown Demons'; and
Pausanias (i. i. 4) speaks of 'altars of Gods called Un
known.' The singular which St Luke gives affords the
opportunity for St Paul's words about the one true
God. (c) The Movements of Silas and Timothy. It is not
easy at this point to trace their movements clearly.
St Paul had sent them a message, by the Beroeans who
had brought him to Athens, to rejoin him as soon as
possible. According to Acts xviii. 5 Silas and Timothy
came to him from Macedonia after he had gone on to
Corinth from Athens. But in 1 Thes. iii. 1-6 St Paul
says that in his deep affection for the Thessalonians,
and his longing to hear that they had remained true to
him under trial, he had made up his mind to deny him
self Timothy's presence and help: 'we thought it good
to be left at Athens alone, and sent Timothy ... to es
tablish you. . . .For this cause I also, when I could bear
it no longer, sent to know your faith. But when Timothy
1 This is the principal result reached by Norden, Agnostos
Theos. He provides much interesting material in a little
known field of study, though, like many writers with an
original theory, he tends to run it to death, and to prove too
much.

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 69
came even now unto us from you. . . we were comforted.'
That is to say, while St Paul was still at Athens Timothy
had joined him, and was sent back to Thessalonica, and
then rejoined him at Corinth. The statement, there
fore, about Timothy in Acts xviii. 5 omits his first
arrival from Thessalonica and his return thither.
With regard to Silas, who came, according to Acts
xviii. 5, with Timothy to Corinth (cf. 2 Cor. i. 19, 'the
Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you
by us, by me and Silvanus [Silas] and Timothy '), it is
uncertain from St Paul's language whether he came with
Timothy to Athens or not. The ist person plural in
1 Thes. (' we thought it good to be left at Athens alone ')
may imply that he did so, and was left with St Paul at
Athens when Timothy went back. But (1) it is probable
that like other late Greek letter writers St Paul not infre
quently wrote in the plural when he meant 'I' only; in
v. 5 he uses the singular, and in v. 6 the plural again.
(2) If Silas was left with St Paul at Athens, and if at
the same time Acts xviii. 5 is correct, Silas also must
have been sent back to Macedonia for some purpose,
and then he and Timothy came to Corinth together,
whither St Paul had meantime gone alone. But of this
sending of Silas nothing whatever is said either in the
Acts or by St Paul. The difficulties, which are not of
serious importance, and of which other possible solu
tions have been suggested1, arise from St Luke's char
acteristic vagueness in matters of chronology. The chief
fact which St Paul makes quite clear is that Timothy
had been sent back to Thessalonica, and that on his
return to St Paul he reported to him the condition of
1 Lake, The Earlier Epistles of St Paul, p. 74 f., gives
the above solution and mentions others.

70 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
the Christians in that town, and that the report led the
apostle to write i Thessalonians (see p. 123). Trusting
in Acts xviii. 5 we can add that he wrote it when he was
at Corinth. And the close similarities of style and lan
guage make it probable that he wrote 2 Thessalonians
(see p. 129) almost at the same time.
9. Corinth, xviii. 1-17. (a) The City. Corinth had
three main attractions for its mixed and shifting popu
lation. (1) Commerce. It stood on a narrow isthmus1,
1 J miles from Lechaeon its western port, for Italian
trade, and 9 miles from Cenchreae its eastern port, for
Asiatic trade. (2) The Isthmian games, which drew
crowds of visitors. (3) The worship of Aphrodite, an
integral part of which was immorahty. Thus there were
to be found there hard-headed merchants, fashionable
patrons of sport, and decadent devotees of systematized
vice. Nationalities were no less mixed. The masses were
Greek, but the aristocrats — descendants of the original
colonists under Julius Caesar — were Roman, together
with government officials and many merchants. And
these were interspersed with commercial Jews and a
motley of representatives of every nation in the Empire.
St Paul seems to have considered earnestly within him
self in what form he could best present his message to
such a population; and he determined (1 Cor. ii. 1-6)
not to follow the academic method that he had adopted
at Athens, but to put before them the very heart and
kernel of the Gospel — 'Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,'
and to trust not to argument but to ' the demonstration
of Spirit and of power.'
(b) Aquila and Priscilla. Corinth being thus a main
artery of cosmopolitan pagan life, St Paul's work there,
1 Hence Ovid and Horace both speak of it as ' bimaris.'

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 71
which lasted 18 months, must have been of great im
portance for Christianity. But St Luke's account of it
is very brief. On his arrival the apostle found living in
Corinth a Jew named Aquila and his wife Priscilla1 (or
Prisca, as she is called in the epistles, Rom. xvi. 3, 1 Cor.
xvi. 19, 2 Tim. iv. 19). He was from the country of
Pontus in the N.E. of Asia Minor. They had lately (see
p. xviii) been banished from Rome by the decree of
Claudius2. St Paul took up his lodging in their house
because they were of the same handicraft as himself,
'tent -makers,' the exact meaning of which is uncertain3.
As at Thessalonica (see p. 62), though engaged the
greater part of the day in mission preaching, he laboured
during the fest of it, and far on into the night, in order
to be independent of help from others (cf. Acts xx. 34).
(c) Separation from the Synagogue. He began his mis
sion work, as always, in the synagogue, preaching to
Jews and Gentiles (v. 4). And the arrival of Silas and
Timothy from Macedonia (see p. 68), with their report
of the faithfulness of the Thessalonians in the face of
Jewish persecution, roused his feelings to the highest
pitch, so that he felt more than ever ' gripped ' by the
1 Various conjectures have been made with regard to
them. See Ramsay's art. 'Pontus,' and Headlam's 'Prisca'
in Hastings' DB.
2 ' Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes Roma
expulit.' Suet. Claud. 25.
3 Syrpesh, an Old Latin MS h, and Chrysostom contain a
tradition that they were workers in leather. Possibly they
sewed strips of skin together to form material for tents.
The manufacture of felt was a flourishing industry in Cilicia,
where St Paul could have learnt it. And in Rome the taber-
nacularii formed themselves into a corporation. The Jews,
who mostly provided that their sons should learn a trade,
thought of hand labour very differently from the Greeks, to
whom it appeared mean and slavish. D omits 'for by their
trade they were tent-makers.'

72 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
message which he had to deliver1 (v. 5). But the more
vehemently he preached the stronger grew the Jewish
opposition. At last in a burst of indignation he declared,
as at Pisidian Antioch (p. 36), that he would now con
fine his work to the Gentiles in the city (v. 6). From
this time he preached2 in the house of Titius3 Justus
adjoining the synagogue, a Gentile who had already been
one who reverenced God (v. 7). The close proximity of
the house must have made endless opportunities for the
Jews to shew their hostility. Crispus the ruler of the
synagogue and many others were converted (v. 8). St
Luke then relates that St Paul had a vision in which the
Lord encouraged him to preach boldly, for no one in the
city would harm him (vv. 9, 10). So he stayed in Corinth
for 18 months* (v. 11).
(d) Gallio. Some time ('many days,' v. 18) before his
departure an incident occurred (vv. 12-17) which gives
St Luke the opportunity, which he never fails to use,
of illustrating the favourable attitude of Roman officials
towards St Paul. Gallio had just become proconsul of
Achaia, — so v. 12 seems to imply, though the words
1 The true reading ' by the Word ' is more vivid than ' in
the spirit' which is found in HLP, most minuscules, syrhdmarg
arm. 2D* and the minuscule 37 have ' he removed from Aquila,'
i.e. he not only preached but henceforth lodged in the house
of Titius Justus. Whether the reading is correct or not, it
relates what is possibly a fact. It would further emphasize
the apostle's renouncement of contact with the Jews. It
need not have prevented Aquila and Priscilla from being
converted afterwards. There is nothing to shew that they
were Christians when St Paul went to lodge with them.
3 Not Titus, as in the English versions, following xE, five
minuscules, vulg. peshMSS. memph. sah. arm.
4 This seems to mean 18 months after the vision; but St
Luke possibly intends to include the whole time of his stay
in Corinth till Gallio's arrival.

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 73
strictly mean only 'in the proconsulship of Gallio' (see
pp. xv-xvii). He was the brother of the philo
sopher Seneca, who sums up his character in the word
dulcis, "gentle.' The Jews apparently thought that the
new official would let them have their way. So they
brought St Paul before him on the charge of ' persuading
men to worship God contrary to the Law' (v. 13). This
can hardly have been the exact charge that they brought ;
but St Luke expresses the sort of thing that their com
plaints actually amounted to, as Gallio discovered in
the course of the examination. But when St Paul was
about to make his defence, Gallio declared that he was
there to judge criminal offences and not religious squab
bles of Jews; and he drove them1, with true Roman
scorn, out of the court (vv. 14-16). V. 17 is difficult:
'And all laid hold on Sosthenes the ruler of the syna
gogue, and beat him before the judgment seat.' Sos
thenes, we may suppose, succeeded Crispus in his office
when the latter became a Christian. But it is impossible
to suppose that the Jews beat their own synagogue
official. ' All ' may mean the whole audience of Gentiles
who were listening to the trial. (The reading ' all the
Greeks ' in several authorities is probably a correct gloss,
if not the true reading.) But Gallio still treated this
as part of the squabble, and refused to take any notice
of it. If Sosthenes was the same person that joined with
St Paul at a later time in writing 1 Corinthians (i. 1),
he must have been converted after this incident. But
there is no evidence of it; nor that he was already a
Christian, nor that the Jews beat him in a rage for
having been foiled in their attempt on St Paul.
1 attrfkatrev. D* (not d) 1 33 have the less strong arrekva-ev ,
' dismissed.'

74 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
10. The Return to Syria, xviii. 18-22. Having
founded the Church in Corinth St Paul travelled without
delay back to Antioch in Syria. The traditions which
reached St Luke contained practically no incidents in
connexion with the journey; he therefore gives an ex
tremely rapid sketch, so condensed as to be obscure.
And he no longer mentions Silas and Timothy1.
St Paul 'sailed for Syria,' i.e. started by boat on his
journey back to Syria, in company with Aquila and
Priscilla. That they had become Christians is shewn by
a later incident (v. 26), but St Luke nowhere relates the
fact of their conversion. They went to the eastern har
bour, Cenchreae. St Luke's words are ' he sailed thence
for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, havingshorn
his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow.' The meaning
of this is entirely doubtful. The sentence, thrown in
by St Luke in a curiously incidental manner, is usually
explained to mean that St Paul cut his hair because he
had completed a period of a Nazirite vow (cf. Num. vi.
18). But though, for a special purpose, he afterwards
played a part in a similar ceremony with four Jewish
Christians in Jerusalem (xxi. 23-26), it is very doubtful
if he would have submitted himself voluntarily to a
Jewish ordinance at any time, still less in a pagan town
after he had publicly renounced the Jews. It is also
improbable that he would have allowed his hair to grow
long, in view of his words to the Corinthians (1 Cor. xi. 14),
' Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have
long hair it is a dishonour to him? ' Some suggest that
1 Of the movements of the former nothing more is heard.
In 2 Cor. i. 19 St Paul alludes to his preaching with himself
and Timothy at Corinth, but does not mention him again.
The next appearance of Timothy is with St Paul at Ephesus
(Acts xix. 22).

X] THE SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR 75
it was the beginning of a vow1, the hair being closely
shaved as an offering. Others think that the words
' having shaved his head etc' are said not of St Paul but
of Aquila, as indeed the grammar of the sentence
strictly requires. The matter remains at present an un
solved problem.
They sailed straight across the Aegean Sea to Ephesus
(xviii. 19-21), where the apostle had never yet preached.
There he left Aquila and Priscilla, and hurried away,
perhaps in the same boat as before, which had given him
only a short time on land while it unladed and took in
cargo (cf. xxi. 3, 4). In that short time, however, he
preached in the synagogue and reasoned with Jews.
They wanted him to stay longer, but he said he would
come back to them again, God willing. In xix. 21 we
see St Paul hurrying to Jerusalem for Pentecost, and it
is possible that he was now hurrying similarly to be in
time for the Passover2. The account gives the impres
sion of haste, and is itself slightly obscure, since it re
lates that St Paul left Aquila and Priscilla before he
went into the synagogue.
Then came the longest part of the voyage — round the
S.W. coast of Asia Minor, probably to Patara or Myra
(cf. xxi. 1), and then across the open sea to Syria, where
he finally landed at Caesarea (v. 22 a). If St Paul was
hurrying to Jerusalem for the Passover, it was in the
early spring, when the weather might be very stormy.
In any case it is quite possible that in the course of this
1 Josephus, Jewish War, 11. xv. 1, speaks of this ceremony
at the beginning of a thirty days' vow as usually performed
by those in sickness or other distresses.
2 This is actually suggested in DHLP, most minuscules,
pesh. aeth., ' I must by all means' keep the coming feast at
Jerusalem.'

76 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
voyage one of St Paul's three shipwrecks (2 Cor. xi. 25)
took place. This is his last voyage recorded in the Acts —
though not the last that he actually made (see p. 140) —
before he wrote that passage.
Arrived in Syria ' he went up and saluted the Church.'
Apart from the conjecture that he was going for the
Passover, this probably means the mother Church in
Jerusalem. 'Went up' was the usual expression for
going to Jerusalem. The corresponding ' went down ' in
the following clause renders very improbable the ex
planation that he simply went up from the harbour at
Caesarea to visit the Christian community in that town.
The slight obscurity is owing to the speed with which
St Luke carries the reader over the ground. Finally he
relates that the apostle 'went down to Antioch1' in
Syria, merely stating the bare fact with no incidents,
though it was a journey of some 350 miles from Jeru
salem.
CHAPTER XI
ST PAUL'S THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR
Acts xviii. 23-xxi. 16
1. The greater part of this period was spent at the city
of Ephesus, a place of first-rate importance, the Asiatic
counterpart of Corinth. St Paul seems to have worked
here on a larger scale than elsewhere, and the city
1 Some early scribes made the curious mistake of confus
ing this with Pisidian Antioch. Hence the scribe of D, who
has the reference to the feast at Jerusalem in v. 21, is forced
to add a gloss (found also in syrhclmars') in xix. r: 'And when
Paul wished, according to his own plan, to go to Jerusalem,
the Spirit told him to turn aside into Asia. And passing
through the upper parts he cometh etc. ' This confusion of the
two Antiochs is made also by Asterius of Amaseia in Pontus,
c. 360-400, and Euthalius an Egyptian deacon, c. 458.

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 77
became through his influence the centre of Christian
mission work over a wide area (xix. 10), and that in the
face of the most violent opposition and danger to himself
(i Cor. xv. 32; see p. 85 f.) and to some of his converts
(Rom. xvi . 4, Acts xix. 29) . But of all this activity St Luke
tells us very little. The rapidity of his narrative in the
last section continues, and he confines himself to a few
striking incidents which tradition preserved for him,
until the next 'We '-section begins (xx. 5), when his
story at once becomes full of interesting details.
Beside the work at Ephesus, the period of the third
tour is one of great interest for the student of St Paul,
because in it more than in any other period we gain a
picture of him from his own letters, his sufferings for
the Cross of Christ, his restless energy, and his alter
nating extremes of human emotion. He paid a visit to
the Corinthians which is not recorded in the Acts, and
wrote no less than four letters to them (see pp. 137 f.,
143 ff .) ; he wrote also to the Romans (p. 181 f.), and
perhaps to the Galatians (pp. 168-173), and the Philip
pians (pp. 226-232).
2. The Route to Ephesus. xviii. 23. After spending
some time at Antioch, St Paul re-traversed the route
(here described as the Galatic region and Phrygia1)
1 Ramsay lays stress on the difference between the ex
pression used here and that in xvi. 6, 'the Phrygian-Galatic
region.' There it described the district in which Iconium
and Antioch lay, through which St Paul and Silas passed
after leaving Derbe and Lystra which lay in the Lycaonian-
Galatic region, when they confined their work to the province
of Galatia because they were forbidden] to preach in that
of Asia. But now the apostle being under no such prohibition
was able to work not only in Galatia but also in 'Phrygia,'
i.e. that part of it which lay in Asia. Whether the geographi
cal term was intended to convey precisely this distinction or
not, it suggests clearly enough the route that he took.

78 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
which he had taken with Silas on the second tour, visit
ing and strengthening in their Christian life the converts
in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. This
was his third visit to the Galatian churches. From thence
he passed on further westward, into the country where
the divine Spirit had prevented him from preaching on
the second tour, on the way to Ephesus.
3. Apollos. xviii. 24-28. Before stating St Paul's
arrival at Ephesus, St Luke relates events which had
previously occurred there, and which he seems to view
as having a connexion with St Paul's action in xix. 1-7.
More important is their connexion with the work and
influence of Apollos at Corinth, evidenced in 1 Cor. i.-iv.
Apollos (an abbreviated form of Apollonius), a learned
Alexandrian Jew, well versed in the Scriptures, i.e. the
Greek Old Testament, had come to Ephesus. He had
been ' instructed1 in the way of the Lord, and being fer
vent in spirit he spake and taught accurately the things
concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John.'
What this exactly means is not clear. But probably he
had learnt the manner of life, the morals and duties of
Christians ('the Way,' see p. 13, n. 1), and also the pri
mary truths of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and
of His Messiahship and near Advent to inaugurate the
divine Kingdom and to judge the world2 But he had
not learnt that Christian converts were baptized into
the name of Jesus, and all that that meant for the cor
porate life of the Church, having heard only of the
baptism of John. This important part of 'the Way'
1 D and an Old Latin MS add 'in his own country.'
2 Cf. xxviii. 31, where 'the things concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ' is explained in syrhd by the words 'saying that
this is Christ Jesus the Son of God through whom the whole
world is about to be judged ' ; and similarly in two Vulg. MSS.

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 79
was now taught him by Priscilla and Aquila whom St
Paul had left at Ephesus. When Apollos departed to
go to Achaia1, the Ephesian Christians wrote a commen
datory letter on his behalf to the Christians at Corinth,
and there he preached with convincing eloquence to the
Jews. 4. Disciples at Ephesus. xix. 1-7. After Apollos
had left Ephesus St Paul reached it2, ' passing through
the upper parts,' i.e. probably along the high ground
nearly due West from Pisidian Antioch3, instead of
along the lower main road, through Apameia, Colossae,
and Laodicea.
During his stay in the city, the apostle found certain
men, about twelve (v. 7), who were 'disciples,' i.e. ad
herents of Christianity, but in much the same semi-
instructed state as Apollos before Priscilla and Aquila
taught him. These disciples had not received an out
pouring of the Spirit when they 'believed,' i.e. became
believers in Christ, and knew nothing of the possibility
of such an outpouring. They had been baptized with
John's baptism. St Paul now taught them a fuller
Christianity, they received Christian baptism 'into the
1 D has ' And certain Corinthians staying in Ephesus, and
having heard him, besought him to go with them to their
country. And when he consented, the Ephesians wrote to
the disciples at Corinth that they should receive the man.'
2 Dhas 'And when Paul wished, according to his own plan,
to go to Jerusalem, the Spirit told him to turn aside into
Asia. And passing through the upper parts he cometh etc'
3 This is the meaning suggested by Ramsay for the vague
expression. It might simply mean the higher parts of the
province of Asia, i.e. those remote from the sea. But the
expression is unique, and St Luke seems to have intended it
to bear a more definite meaning. Those who adhere to the
North-Galatian theory (see p. 51 f.) usually explain it as a
route S.W. through Lydia.

80 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
name of the Lord Jesus,' and when the apostle laid his
hands on them they received the outpouring of the
Spirit, and spake with tongues and prophesied. It is
not stated that they had been converted by Apollos.
If they were, it is natural that they were not better
instructed than he had been. But St Luke seems merely
to have placed together two passages in which his tradi
tions spoke of people who had received John's baptism1.
5. Separation from the Synagogue, xix. 8-10.
Having related this incident, St Luke describes St Paul's
work as a whole, during the time that he stayed in the
city. He started, as always, in the synagogue, where
he taught for three months. But, as at Pisidian Antioch
and Corinth, the opposition of the Jews forced him to
go elsewhere. He held daily discussions2 in the lecture
room of a certain Greek teacher of rhetoric or philosophy
named Tyrannus. This continued for two years, and
the knowledge of Christianity was spread by his con
verts far and wide among both Jews and Gentiles in
the province of Asia. This is the only hint that St Luke
1 These were not necessarily 'disciples of John.' There
was such a body in our Lord's day (Mk ii. 18, vi. 29, Lk. vii.
18, xi. 1), but it by no means included all who had been
baptized by John, and clear evidence is wanting that as a
body it survived so long, or was extended beyond Palestine.
The marked emphasis laid in the Fourth Gospel on the sub
ordination of the Baptist to our Lord, particularly in iii.
22-36 where the Baptist's declaration of his inferiority arises
out of a dispute on the values of different kinds of baptism,
suggests that some persons, at the time when that gospel
was written (which a widespread early tradition connected
with Ephesus), either called themselves 'disciples of John,'
or, more probably, preferred the simple ' baptism of John ' —
'a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins' — to
Christian baptism in the name of Jesus.
2 D adds 'from the fifth hour [11 a.m.] until the tenth
[4 p.m.].'

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 8l
gives of what must have been important and carefully
organized mission work. It was no doubt by this means
that Christian communities were formed in the towns
of the Lycus valley, such as Laodicea and Colossae (see
p. 203 f.). In xx. 31 St Paul is represented as saying that
he taught in Ephesus ' for three years.' That is a round
number. As we shall see (p. 140 f.), he did not remain
there quite continuously even during the two years and
three months mentioned in the present chapter.
6. Miracles and their Effects, xix. 11-20. St
Luke here inserts further illustrations of the success of
St Paul's work. The first which he gives is in character
not unlike the cure of the woman with the issue of
blood who touched the tassel on our Lord's cloak (Mk
v. 25-34). The power of a strong spiritual character was,
in each case, so great that those who were diseased felt
certain that to touch the garments of the wonder-worker
would procure healing; and the co-operation of their
faith did really gain what they wished. In St Paul's
case handkerchiefs and aprons were made to touch him,
and on being carried to the sick brought about the cure.
Since the diseases were understood to be the result of
possession by evil spirits or demons, the cure is described
as consisting in their expulsion.
But a similar faith was put, quite as effectively, in
'exorcism,' wrought by invoking over the diseased the
name of Jesus. This was of course seriously liable to
abuse. Jewish charlatans or quacks used to go about
exorcising, often probably for payment. The present in
stance was one in which seven sons of a certain Sceva,
a member of a high-priestly family, tried to exorcise by
means of the name of Jesus, and failed disastrously,
because the invalid, who was subject to violent fits,
MCN. 6

82 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
was only roused to rage by their attempt; he 'leaped on
them, and mastered all1 of them, and prevailed against
them, so that they fled out of that house naked and
wounded.' This failure of unauthorised persons only en
hanced the prestige of St Paul, and, as St Luke relates,
convinced many of the truth of Christianity. Magical
arts were so widely practised in Ephesus that writings
containing magical formulas and incantations came to
be known as 'Ephesian writings.' Many magicians now
brought their copies of these writings and burnt them
in public. They were so highly valued that their price
was reckoned as 50,000 pieces of silver, i.e. denarii, or
about £1980.
7. St Paul's Plans, xix. 21, 22. St Paul intended
to pass through Macedonia and Achaia. He would reach
the former by sailing up the coast to Troas, and thence,
as on the second tour, across to Neapolis. After that,
he hoped to go to Jerusalem (for Pentecost, xx. 16), and
then to reach the goal of his ambition by visiting Rome.
Meantime he sent to Macedonia Timothy and Erastus
(see p. 139). The latter can hardly have been the 'trea
surer ' of the city of Corinth named in Rom. xvi. 23 (cf .
2 Tim. iv. 20). He has not hitherto been mentioned,
and was probably a resident in Ephesus, recently con
verted by St Paul. He seems to have been a young man,
since he and Timothy are described as 'two of those
who were ministering to him.'
8. The Riot. xix. 23-41. Ephesus was specially de
voted to the worship of Artemis, the Latin Diana, as
1 The word is aptportipcov, which in classical Greek means
' both ' (so R. V.) ; hence abrav (' them ') is read in HLP, many
minuscules, and syrPesh. But papyri shew that in late Greek
' all ' was a possible meaning. See Moulton-Milhgan, Vocab.
of the Greek Test. s.v.

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 83
Corinth was to that of Aphrodite. The city is described
on inscriptions and coins as the ' neokoros (temple-keeper
or slave) of Artemis1.' The pride which the citizens felt
in the title is shewn in v. 35. A guild of silversmiths
made large sums by the manufacture of silver models2,
'small shrines (naoi) for votaries to dedicate in the
temple, representing the Goddess Artemis sitting in a
niche or naiskos, with her lions beside her' (Ramsay).
One of these silversmiths, Demetrius, called the mem
bers of the guild together, and by an inflammatory speech
roused them against St Paul, who, he said, was making
so many converts that the worship of Artemis, and
therefore their trade, was beginning to suffer. They
raised a general riot, arrested Gaius and Aristarchus,
Macedonians3 whom St Luke speaks of as ' Paul's fellow
travellers*,' and rushed into the theatre, most of the
crowd being quiteignorant of the real cause of the disturb
ance. St Paul wanted to go into the theatre to address
the mob, but was dissuaded by the Christians in the city,
and by some of the local officials called ' Asiarchs5.'
1 See J. T. Wood, Discoveries at Ephesus, Append. 6, p. 50.
2 ibid., Append- 6, p. 10 f.
3 Possibly the singular should be read, referring only to
Aristarchus (see p. 88 n.) .
4 They have not been hitherto mentioned as accompany
ing St Paul. They may have joined him at some previous
stage of his tour, and St Luke in his hasty sketch of the
apostle's movements up to this point omitted to mention the
fact. But perhaps it means that they accompanied him from
this point. They may have been recently converted in
Ephesus, and had now arranged to travel with him back to
their own country. The mob evidently found them some
where without St Paul, but knew them to be friends of his.
5 They were religious officials, appointed by Rome to
superintend the imperial religion in the province of Asia.
They were therefore not in sympathy with the native Artemis
worship, and were willing to act favourably towards a Roman
citizen. 6 — 2

84 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
The Jews in the crowd put up one of their number,
named Alexander, to make a speech. The narrative at
this point is a little obscure, and St Luke does not seem
to have received a precise account of all the details1.
But Alexander was probably put forward to state that
although the Christian missionaries were Jews, the Jew
ish inhabitants of the city repudiated their teaching.
But the Greeks who formed the larger part of the crowd
would not distinguish between Jews who were Christians
and Jews who were not. For two hours they shouted
'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians2!' Then the town
clerk, an important native official, who must have been
held in high respect, managed to still the shouting, and
made a speech which put an end to the trouble. In the
words which St Luke attributes to him he makes four
points, (i) He put them into a good humour by saying
that everyone was agreed as to the honourable position
of Ephesus as temple-keeper of Artemis, the goddess
who fell from Zeus3; since this was obvious and undeni
able, there was no need for excitement. (2) The prison
ers whom they had arrested had committed no crime,
either by robbing temples or by speaking evil of Artemis4-
1 Alexander is introduced as though he were already
known to the reader. It is possible that he followed a trade
similar to that of Demetrius. If, as Ramsay suggests, the
silversmiths were only one of the trade guilds concerned, and
models of Artemis were made also in other materials than
silver, his conjecture that Alexander may have been the
worker in bronze (E.V. 'coppersmith'), mentioned in 2 Tim.
iv. 14 as doing St Paul much harm, is attractive (see p. 259).
2 The first hand of D has 'Great Artemis of the Eph.,'
omitting the predicative article.
3 Or perhaps 'from the sky.'
4 The first and the last two points are such as might well
have been made in the circumstances ; but in the second St
Luke rather than the town clerk seems to speak. Demetrius
had no doubt been quite correct in saying that the mission-

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 85
(3) If a complaint was to be made against anyone, the
municipal courts were available, and the Roman officials
also could take cognisance of it. Formal legal action
and not angry rioting was the right procedure. (4) The
Roman officials might very likely hold the city respon
sible for the riot, and in that case they would find
themselves in a serious predicament, because they could
offer no good excuse for it.
9. Sufferings in Ephesus. With the exception of
the riot St Luke says nothing of St Paul's sufferings in
Ephesus. But from the epistles to the Corinthians we
gather a vivid picture of them. In 1 Cor. xv. 32 the
apostle says ' If after the manner of men I fought with
beasts at Ephesus etc' This is perhaps not literal, for
a Roman citizen could not be condemned to fight with
beasts in the arena. If it is metaphorical, he refers to
the wild unreasoning opposition that he encountered1-
But the words may mean ' If . . . I had fought with beasts
at Ephesus, what advantage would it have been to me? '
He may actually have been condemned to the arena,
but managed to escape by convincing them that he was
a Roman citizen. In that case it is very likely that he
was for a time in prison (see p. 231). If the words refer
to the riot, he suffered from it as well as Gaius and
Aristarchus, which St Luke does not relate. But his
aries preached that ' they be no gods which are made with
hands' (v. 26). This would be speaking evil of Artemis, and
was, in fact, the cause of the riot. The town clerk's denial
of this ' crime ' would only have roused greater fury. That
Jews were sometimes guilty of robbing temples is shewn in
Rom. ii. 22.
1 Ignatius, on his way to Rome to be thrown to the beasts,
uses the words ' I fight with wild beasts ' metaphorically of
the soldiers ('leopards' as he calls them) who guarded him
on the journey (Rom. 5).

86 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
agonies of mind and body were, in fact, incessant during
his stay at Ephesus. He calls them (2 Cor. i. 8) 'our
affliction which befell us in Asia,' which drove him almost
to despair of life. And in 1 Cor. iv. 9-13, 2 Cor. iv. 8-12
he reiterates with anguish all that he had to undergo.
See also 2 Cor. vi. 4, 5, xi. 23-27, where he speaks more
generally of his sufferings in the course of his missionary
work up to this point. If St Luke knew these passages,
he omitted all the details because his object was to
write, not a biography of the apostle but, a sketch of
the expansion of Christianity. But very possibly he did
not know them. He sums up the period at Ephesus in
the colourless words that St Paul after sending away
Timothy and Erastus 'himself stayed in Asia for a
while' (Acts xix. 22).
10. Macedonia to Greece and back. xx. 1-4. In
these four verses, before the next ' We '-section begins,
St Luke continues his lightning sketch of St Paul's move
ments. St Paul said farewell to the Christians at Ephe
sus, and, in accordance with the intention of which St
Luke spoke in xix. 21, went to Macedonia and Greece.
The route is not stated; but he no doubt sailed north
wards, coasting along the western shore of Asia Minor
to Troas (see 2 Cor. ii. 12, and cf. the converse route
described in Acts xx. 13-15), and across to Neapolis.
Thence he may have followed the route which he took
on the second tour, by land via Philippi, Apollonia,
Thessalonica and Beroea. But possibly, though not pro
bably (see p. 63), he broke away from this route at
some point, and journeyed further inland to the borders
of the district of Illyricum, which he soon afterwards
(Rom. xv. 19) names as the limit of his missionary
work before the time that he wrote. While passing

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 87
through Macedonia he gave 'much exhortation' to his
former converts, to whom he was greatly attached. And
before he reached Greece he wrote 2 Corinthians (see
p. 136). St Luke's sketch is so hasty that we are not
even told at what town in Greece he arrived, but it was
doubtless Corinth, where he stayed three months, and
wrote perhaps Galatians and probably Romans (see pp.
172 f. and 181 f.).
At the end of the three months he was preparing to
start by sea for Syria, still in accordance with the plan
mentioned in xix. 21, when he learnt that Jews in the
city were plotting against him. The nature of the plot
is not told us, but it made him change his mind, and
instead of going by sea, which would perhaps have in
volved waiting a few days for a ship, he travelled back
by the land route through Macedonia1.
He journeyed2 with seven companions: Sopater a
Beroean (who may be the Jew, St Paul's ' kinsman '
Sosipater, who sends greeting from Corinth in Rom. xvi.
21) ; two from Thessalonica, Aristarchus and Secundus
(the latter otherwise unknown) ; two from Galatia, Gaius
a Derbaean and Timothy (whose native town Lystra is
not named, having been already stated in Acts xvi. 1) ;
and two from the province of Asia, Tychicus and Tro-
phimus. It is natural to suppose that these were re
presentatives of the several churches to carry their
contributions for the poor in the Christian community
at Jerusalem. St Paul had suggested to the Corinthians
that their money should be carried by delegates, and
1 D syrhclmars have 'he wanted to sail to Syria, but the
Spirit told him to return through Macedonia.'
2 The words 'as far as Asia,' added in R.V., must be
omitted with KB vulg. memph. sah. Aristarchus at least
went further than Asia (xxvii. 2).

88 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
that he might perhaps accompany them (i Cor. xvi. 3, 4).
But it is curious that among these seven companions
no Corinthians are included1; also that Tychicus and
Trophimus, if they were the Asiatic delegates, must have
sailed across to St Paul at Corinth carrying their money
with them, instead of waiting for him at Ephesus or
meeting him in Syria, as we should have thought more
natural. St Luke makes no reference to the contribution,
which was St Paul's principal object in going to Jeru
salem (Rom. xv. 25-27), except in the words which
he attributes to the apostle in his speech before Felix
(Acts xxiv. 17).
11. Philippi to Troas. xx. 5-12. At this point begins
the second of the ' We '-sections (see p. x). Since in
the first the events are related as far as Philippi on the
second tour, and this one begins at Philippi on the third
tour, many have drawn the rather precarious conclu
sion that St Luke had stayed in that town during the
intervening period, or even that he was himself a Phi-
lippian. St Paul's seven companions sailed to Troas without
him, and there waited for him and St Luke. The apostle
probably found it difficult to tear himself away from
his favourite converts, and therefore postponed his de
parture till the end of the days of Unleavened Bread.
When he sailed, the wind must have been against him,
1 One Corinthian would be included if Gaius were the
person whom St Paul names as his 'host' in Corinth (Rom.
xvi. 23) ; but in that case St Luke is mistaken in calling him
a Derbaean, unless the text is corrupt. The Gaius who was
one of St Paul's ' fellow travellers ' was a Macedonian accord
ing to Acts xix. 29. But the plural MaKfHAvas should pro
bably be corrected (as is done in a few minuscules) to the
singular MaKfUova, referring only to Aristarchus, the <r of the
following avvt;K8fipovs having been accidentally doubled.

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 89
since the crossing to Troas occupied five days, whereas
he had, on the first tour, covered the distance in the
converse direction apparently in two (xvi. 11).
At Troas (vv. 7-12), where they stayed a week, a
glimpse is afforded of a Christian assembly. On the
Sabbath St Paul may have preached in the synagogue,
but on Sunday, the day before his departure, he preached
to Christians in a house. They gathered to ' break bread,'
i.e. to partake of the Lord's Supper, according to the
custom of the Church from the earliest days. It was
evening, many lamps were lit, and St Paul discoursed
at great length, until a young man named Eutychus,
sitting in a window seat (the room was on the third
storey), was 'borne down with deep sleep' and fell to
the ground. St Luke says he was ' taken up dead.' This
may mean that he was actually dead, and that St Paul
raised him to life. But it may equally mean that when
he was lifted up everyone thought he was dead (cf . Mk
ix. 26, Acts xiv. 19), but St Paul went down and dis
covered that he was not. So they returned to the room,
and St Paul 'broke bread,' after which they all conversed
with him till daybreak, when he departed.
The fragmentariness of the record in the Acts is illus
trated by the fact that St Luke nowhere tells us when
and how a Christian community was formed in Troas.
It was not on the first tour, when St Paul saw the vision
of the man of Macedonia (xvi. 9), for he had been for
bidden to preach in the province of Asia (v. 6) in which
Troas lay. Of the second time that he went there St
Luke says nothing (see xx. 1). But St Paul himself
relates (2 Cor. ii. 12, 13) that he 'came to Troas for the
gospel of Christ,' and that ' a door was opened unto me
n the Lord.' He did not stay long because he was over-

90 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
whelmed with anxiety about the Corinthians (see p. 143),
and therefore passed on to Macedonia to find Titus. But
even in his short stay he made some converts.
12. Troas to Miletus, xx. 13-16. St Paul now bade
his companions, for the second time, to go on ahead.
They went by a coasting vessel (cf. xxvii. 2) round the
promontory of Lectum to Assos, while he walked across
by himself1, perhaps starting a little later than the boat.
He would no doubt enjoy the solitary walk as an oppor
tunity for restful thought and prayer. He joined them
at Assos (v. 13), and they sailed to Mitylene (v. 14), the
chief town in the island of Lesbos, lying on its eastern
coast2. An early start would be made each morning
before sunrise, to get the full benefit of the North wind
which in the Aegean Sea generally falls in the afternoon
during the summer. On the three following days they
reached successively (v. 15) a point on the mainland
opposite the island of Chios, the eastern coast of the
island of Samos, and the town of Miletus on the main
land. Notice that the words are we ' came ' opposite
Chios, and we 'came' to Miletus, but we 'touched at'
Samos, implying that they did not stay the night there.
This led to the reading in some manuscripts3, followed
in the A.V., 'and having stayed at Trogyllium, on the
next day we came to Miletus.' The writer of the words,
if they are not original, may have known by experience
that it was the usual stopping-place for voyagers down
the coast. The promontory of Trogyllium on the main
land projected opposite the eastern promontory of Samos,
forming a strait less than a mile in width.
1 For the suggestion that this was the occasion on which
he left his cloak with Carpus (2 Tim. iv. 13) see p. 259 f.
2 The whole island is now called Mitylene.
3 DHLP, most minuscules, syrpeshhd sah.

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 91
St Luke's remark (v. 16) that in order to save time
'Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus' possibly
implies that the boat was a hired one, and at his disposal.
The Christians at Troas might have chartered it for
him, or he and his companions pooled their funds. But
it is simpler to suppose that he had purposely chosen a
boat which was not due to put in at Ephesus. The
channel up the river to the city was at that time be
coming narrow and difficult, and boats mostly avoided
it (Ramsay). Not only would it occupy time to reach
the city, but once there the apostle might find it difficult
to hurry away from his numerous friends. That he was
afraid of violence or disturbance St Luke in no way
suggests, but says that he was hurrying in hopes of
reaching Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. The chief
reason for this hope probably was that he wished the
crowd of Jewish Christians who would come up to the city
to realise that he was one who loyally observed the Jewish
festival. It is not stated whether he managed to arrive in
time, but there are indications that he probably did1.
1 The spending of "several days' at Caesarea (xxi. 10),
probably the last stage but one before Jerusalem, may indeed
imply either that he had arrived at that town with plenty
of time in hand, or that being too late for Pentecost he had
no need to hurry. But the former is more probable for three
reasons : (1) St James expected that a multitude would as
semble (u . 22) , and they must have been there for the festival.
(2) So also were the 'Jews from Asia' (v. 27) who were in the
city after St Paul's arrival. (3) The mention of 'worship'
in xxiv. 11 seems to be a reference to Pentecost. St Luke
gives the length of most of the stages in the journey from
Philippi, but not of the stay at Miletus, the voyage from
Patara to Tyre, and the stay at Caesarea. Ramsay, by as
suming that St Luke's figures are inclusive, in each case, of
the days of departure and of arrival, and giving four days
at Miletus and four for the crossing to Tyre, reckons that
St Paul reached Caesarea a fortnight before Pentecost.

92 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
13. Miletus, xx. 17-38. At Miletus the boat stayed
for a few days, no doubt unloading and taking in cargo.
So St Paul had time to send a messenger to Ephesus to
summon the presbyters to come to him.
In vv. 18-35 St Luke gives a speech addressed to
them (see p. x), in which the apostle holds up for their
example his own conduct during his stay1 at Ephesus
(vv. 18-21). And since he has received divine intima
tions2 that he is about to suffer bonds and afflictions in
Jerusalem, and is sure that he will not see the Ephesians
again3 (vv. 22-25), ne protests that he is free from the
responsibility of not having done his utmost to save
their souls (vv. 26, 27), and solemnly charges them in
regard to their work as overseers of the Church (v. 28),
for enemies from outside ('grievous wolves') and also
from within the Church itself will try to ruin and pervert
their flock (vv. 29, 30). They must remember the grief
and anxiety with which he admonished them for three
years (v. 31). He commends them to God (v. 32), and
reminds them again of his example, in particular of his
hand labour for his own living in order not to be a bur
den upon them, emphasizing it with a saying of our
Lord not elsewhere recorded (vv. 33-35).
Then they all knelt down and St Paul prayed, and

1 The words 'from the first day that I set foot in Asia'
disregard the fact that St Paul passed through a portion of
Asia on his second tour (p. 55), long before he visited
Ephesus. D here gives the time at Ephesus as ' three years or more.'
In v. 31 St Paul speaks of 'three years.' But in xix. 8, 10 it
is stated to be two years and three months.
2 No instances of this are recorded till later, at Tyre (xxi.
4), and Caesarea (xxi. n).
3 This does not entirely exclude the possibility that he
did after all see them again, but see p. 258.

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 93
after a sorrowful and affectionate farewell they escorted
him to the ship (vv. 36-38).
14. Miletus to Tyre. xxi. 1-6. That day they
reached Cos, a town on the N.E. shore of the island of
Cos, and on the two successive nights they anchored
at Rhodes, a town at the N.E. corner of the island of
Rhodes, and at Patara on the Lycian mainland1. Their
little coasting vessel perhaps turned at this point to re
trace its course; at any rate it could not do the long
crossing to Phoenicia, so they changed into a larger ship.
With the prevailing West wind they were able to take
the shortest course, S.W. of Cyprus, instead of sailing
under the lee of the island round its eastern shore; and
the ship landed at Tyre to unload her cargo. Here they
stayed a week with the Christians in the town, one of
whom, filled with the spirit of ecstasy, advised St Paul
not to venture into Jerusalem2. On their departure
their hosts, with their wives and children, escorted them
out of the town to the shore, and as at Miletus knelt for
prayer and then bade them farewell.
15. Tyre to Jerusalem, xxi. 7-16. They sailed3 to
Ptolemais, where they spent the night with the Chris
tians, and thence on the next day to Caesarea. There
they lodged 'several days' (see p. 91 n.) with Philip the
evangelist, one of the Seven (cf . vi. 5) ; he had four un-
1 In D sah. the words ' and Myra' (cf. xxvii. 5) are added
after Patara. This would be another stage of one day along
the Lycian coast.
2 R.V. 'that he should not set foot in Jerusalem,' and
A.V. 'that he Should not go up to Jerusalem' convey a
wrong impression of the meaning.
3 Since the Christians at Tyre escorted them to the shore,
and, as on the stages along the coast of Asia, they stayed
only one night at Ptolemais, it may be concluded that they
reached Caesarea by sea, not by land.

94 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
married daughters who ' prophesied ' in a spirit of ecstasy.
They were joined by the 'prophet' Agabus1 from Jeru
salem, who declared that the Jews at the capital would
hand St Paul over to the Gentiles, i.e. the Romans,
emphasizing his words, like some of the Old Testament
prophets, by a symbolic action, binding his own hands
and feet with St Paul's girdle. The Christians in the
place, and his companions, entreated the apostle not to
go, but he replied unshaken that he was ready even to
die for the name of the Lord Jesus. So they acquiesced
saying 'the will of the Lord be done.'
Accompanied by some of the Christians from Caesarea
they now set out for Jerusalem, a journey of about
64 miles. They may have ridden on animals, since they
can have had very little time at their disposal. Ramsay
thinks that the word2 rendered 'took up our baggage'
(R.V.), for which the A.V. has the archaic 'carriages,'
means 'equipped, or saddled, animals.' It can mean
that, or more generally (as Chrysostom explains it3)
'provided ourselves with necessaries,' which might in
clude animals. In v. 16 St Luke says 'Some of the
disciples came from Caesarea with us, bringing [us to
someone] with whom we might lodge4, a certain Mnason,

1 No doubt the same who predicted the famine (xi. 28) .
2 imo-Kcvatrdpcvoi. R.V. margin 'made ready' follows the
Vulgate 'praeparati'; similarly Wiclif and Tyndale.
3 ra irpbs ttjv ohoi-rropiav \a/36vT€s.
4 This is a legitimate rendering of ayovrcs nap" <» ^uvurdmpev
Mvdo-covi ktX. E. Vv. following the Peshitta have ' bringing
[A.V. and brought] with them one Mnason etc' But to bring
their intended host with them would be rather a strange
proceeding. The rendering adopted above is supported by
a gloss added in D syr"*1-"* before Mnason's name, irapaye-
vdpevoi eir Tiva Ktopr/v iyevopt-Bairapa Mvatrcovi, 'having arrived
at a certain village we came to [the house of] Mnason.'

XI] THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR 95
a Cypriot, an original1 disciple.' Where Mnason lived
we have no means of knowing; it may have been any
where en route, so that they broke their journey at his
house for the night, or perhaps more probably in or close
to Jerusalem, in which case he was to be their host
throughout their visit to the capital.

CHAPTER XII
ST PAUL AT JERUSALEM
Acts xxi. 17-xxiii. 30
1. The Prospect of Danger. St Paul's fearlessness
in appearing openly at Jerusalem at the time of the
festival is remarkable. His Gentile converts would not
be there to support him, since they did not observe
Jewish festivals. The Jewish Christians, present in large
numbers, would include the Judaizers who had tried to
pervert his converts in Antioch, Galatia, Corinth, and
other places; and there was also in the city a multitude
of Jews, including those who had tried to kill him at
Damascus (ix. 23), Jerusalem (ix. 29), Pisidian Antioch
(xiii. 50), Iconium (xiv. 5), Lystra (xiv. 19), Thessalonica
(xvii. 5), Beroea (xvii. 13), Corinth (xx. 3), and else
where (2 Cor. xi. 24). He was fully prepared for trouble
(Rom. xv. 31; cf. Acts xx. 23, xxi. 4, 11).
2. Reception by the Church, xxi. 17-20 a. On
arriving at the city St Paul and his party were gladly
received by 'the brethren2,' which probably means that
1 apxal.tj> padrjTjj, a Christian since the beginning (apxh) °f
the Church's history, which now seemed so far off.
2 Whether St Paul's nephew (see xxiii. 16) was of their
number we do not know.

96 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
some of the resident Christians welcomed them and per
haps gave them hospitality. Next day they were inter
viewed by St James the Lord's brother, the chief of all
Jewish Christians, who had summoned the elders of the
Jerusalem Church to meet them. Nothing is said about
the handing over of the collection from the Gentile
Churches, which St Paul had regarded as a matter of
the utmost importance. Those present at the meeting
received with gladness his detailed account of what God
had done through his ministry among the Gentiles; and
the collection which he no doubt presented would serve
as an outward sign of it.
3. The four Nazirites. xxi. 20 b-26. But his rela
tions with the 'myriads' of Jewish Christians needed
adjustment, as St James pointed out. His opponents
had been going about spreading the false report that in
his mission work in Gentile countries he had been teach
ing the Jews of the Dispersion to give up their Judaism.
The Jewish Christians in the city would hear that he
had arrived, and it would be wise if he could do some
thing to prove to them that he was not so hostile to
Judaism as was reported1. As suggested on p. 91, that
had probably been his purpose in hurrying to the city
for Pentecost. But an opportunity offered of giving
them a more distinct object lesson 2.
1 It would hardly prove as much as v. 24 b suggests, and
was in fact not enough to allay Jewish hostility,
2 At this point St James is represented as saying, in a
curiously parenthetical manner (v. 25), that the decrees of
the Council (cf. xv. 28, 29) had been sent to (or enjoined
upon) the Gentile Christians. He states it as though St Paul
had not known all about it, and himself published the decrees.
In D an attempt seems to be made to smooth the difficulty
by the reading, 'But concerning the Gentiles who have
become believers they have nothing to say to thee, for we
sent etc'

XII] AT JERUSALEM 97
It was no doubt distinct to them, but unfortunately
it is somewhat obscure to us. Four Jewish Christians
were in the city who were under a vow, which they had
probably timed to come to an end before the festival.
And St Paul was advised to shew his loyalty to Jewish
customs by joining with them in taking upon him for
a short period a similar vow, so that he could share in
the public ceremony which would form the conclusion
of it. 'Be at charges with them (i.e. pay money for
them) that they may shave their heads ' suggests that it
was a Nazirite vow, and that he was to pay for the
animals etc. for the necessary sacrifices (see Num. vi.
13-20) 1. What he did is described in v. 26 : 'Then Paul
having taken the men on the following day having been
purified with them went in [the verb is imperfect] to
the temple declaring the completion of the days of puri
fication until the offering was offered on behalf of each
one of them.' The expressions 'having been purified'
and 'the days of purification' do not refer to an act of
ceremonial cleansing; the former means that St Paul
took the vow upon him, the latter means the whole
period of their vow. St Luke adopts the language of
Num. vi. 2, 52. The imperfect ' went in3,' and the words
'declaring etc' seem to refer to a custom otherwise
unknown; they appear to describe a repeated action, as
though the four men completed their vows on different
days, all of which fell within St Paul's short Nazirite-
i In Josephus, Antiq. xix. vi. 1, Agrippa I is said to have
done the same for a large number of Nazirites.
2 In v. 2 dtpayvlo-ao-dai dyvelav is the equivalent of Hebrew
words which mean 'to separate himself as a Nazirite,' and in
v. 5 tcls rjptpas rov dyvitrpov stands for ' the days of the vow of
his separation.'
3 eltrjjei.

98 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
ship, and he entered the temple on those four days, and
made a public declaration on behalf of each man that
the period of his vow had expired. A further difficulty
is caused by the opening words of v. 27 : ' But when the
seven days were about to be accomplished.' St Luke
has previously said nothing about seven days, but as
sumes that his readers will understand the allusion. It
perhaps implies that, according to the custom of the
time, of which however there is, again, no other evidence,
seven days was the shortest time for which the Nazirite
vow could be taken.
4. The Riot. xxi. 27-40. Among those who had
come up for the festival were some Jews 'from Asia,'
i.e. from Ephesus, as v. 29 suggests. They were the
same who had tried in the Ephesian riot to put up
Alexander to tell the mob that, as Jews, they repudiated
all connexion with St Paul (xix. 33). They recognised,
or perhaps thought they recognised, Trophimus in his
company, whom they had seen with him in Ephesus,
and mistakenly imagined, or falsely pretended, that he
had taken him into the temple, which would be a defile
ment to the sacred building, since Trophimus was a
Gentile. They ought, by Jewish law, to have arrested
and killed Trophimus if they had really found him there,
but they only made it an opportunity of catching St
Paul. They stirred up the mob by saying that he taught
everywhere against the chosen people, the Mosaic Law,
and the temple (cf. vi. 13), and that he had taken Gen
tiles into the temple. The crowd rushed upon him in
the temple, dragged him out, and would have beaten
him to death had not the Roman authorities intervened1.
1 The events in Jerusalem give St Luke a good opportunity
of introducing his favourite theme, that the Romans were

XII] AT JERUSALEM 99
A cohort under command of a ' chiliarch ' or tribune
was permanently quartered in the castle of Antonia for
the purpose of keeping the turbulent Jews in control.
The castle stood at the N.W. corner of the temple court,
connected with it at two points by steps. And during
the great festivals guards were stationed in the corridors
surrounding the temple, ready to act at a moment's
notice1. When the disturbance, therefore, became known to
the chiliarch (who was named Claudius Lysias, xxiii. 26),
he ran down the steps with some soldiers, and the mob
ceased beating St Paul. He ordered him to be chained
by the wrists, and asked what he had been doing. Un
able to get a coherent answer from the crowd he ordered
the soldiers to take the prisoner into the castle. A rush
was made at him, so that the soldiers had to carry him
up the steps to keep him from being lynched. At the
door of the castle he surprised the chiliarch by asking
him, in Greek, to give him leave to address the mob.
The chiliarch supposed that he was a notorious Egyp
tian rebel, who, as Josephus2 relates, had recently given
himself out as a prophet, and had drawn after him a
band of desperate followers whom St Luke describes as
sicarii or assassins. Many of them had been killed or
captured, but the impostor himself had escaped. St
Luke gives their number as 4000, Josephus as 30,000.
St Paul replied that he was no Egyptian, but 'a Jew,
a Tarsian of Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city.' And with
the chiliarch's permission he stood on the stairs and
usually favourable to St Paul; and this perhaps accounts
for the large space occupied with events connected with
Roman authorities (chs. xxi.-xxvi.).
1 Josephus, Jewish War, v. v. 8.
2 Antiq. xx. viii. 6, Jewish War, 11. xiii. 5.
7—2

100 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
addressed the crowd, attracting their attention by speak
ing in 'Hebrew,' i.e. their native Aramaic (xxii. 2).
5. St Paul's Speech and its Sequel, xxii. 3-29.
He told them that he had been a strict Jew, taught by
Gamaliel, and that he had persecuted the Christians
with the authority of the Sanhedrin, until he was con
verted by the vision on the way to Damascus. See p. 14 f .
He reached the point where God told him to preach to
the Gentiles. But at that, the mob interrupted with
furious shouts, and the chiliarch ordered him to be
taken into the castle, that a confession might be forced
from him by the terrible torture of scourging. He was
being bound, probably to a pillar1, when he startled
the chiliarch by claiming to be a Roman citizen, and
that by birth and not, as the chiliarch had gained
the privilege, by a large payment2. The scourging, of
course, did not take place. Even to have bound him
was a punishable offence3.
6. St Paul before the Sanhedrin. xxii. 30-xxiii.
11. Next morning the chiliarch summoned the Sanhe
drin, the chief Jewish court of judgment, consisting of
the high priests, and some scribes and elders, and St
Paul was brought up before them. He had just begun
his speech when the high priest Ananias, the president
of the court, commanded him to be struck on the mouth.
St Paul replied very angrily, but then apologized, saying
1 irpoireivav suggests that his arms were stretched and
tied at full length above his head. The victim of the punish
ment was sometimes suspended with the feet above the
ground; cf. Terence, Phorm. 1. iv. 43.
2 ' For a great sum I obtained the citizenship.' D has ' I
know for how great a sum etc' He seems to have thought
that St Paul could not possibly have afforded to pay for the
privilege, and that he was telling a lie.
3 Seep. 59m

XII] AT JERUSALEM 101
that he did not know it was the high priest1. He soon
realised that beside the priestly, Sadducean, members
of the court there were also Pharisees present among
the number of the scribes and elders, so he decided on
a tactical move, and cried out that he was a Pharisee,
and that he was being tried 'concerning the hope
and the resurrection of the dead2.' This split the court
into two opposing parties, since a resurrection was
one of the subjects on which Pharisees and Sadducees
were in strong disagreement. And St Luke draws the
strange picture of the august Sanhedrin transformed
i The circumstances are not told clearly enough for us to
understand how St Paul (even if, as some conjecture, his
eyesight was bad) could make this extraordinary mistake.
But whatever the circumstances were, his retort is in strong
contrast with the patient and dignified silence of our Lord
at His trial. St Paul was very human, and highly strung;
he had been beaten by the mob on the previous day, and
must have been still in pain ; and at the gratuitous insult he
momentarily lost his self-control.
2 'The hope' seems to be a reference to the Messiah (cf.
xxvi. 6 'the hope of the promise made by God unto our
fathers,' xxviii. 20 'the hope of Israel'). It is omitted in St
Paul's subsequent reference to his speech (xxiv. 21), but an
assertion of the resurrection of Jesus formed part of the
charge against him as it reached the ears of Festus (xxv. 19).
St Paul's statement here is difficult. He was arrested by the
Jews not on a charge of believing in a resurrection — which
was an accepted doctrine of the Pharisees and most orthodox
Jews, as the narrative itself shews — but of teaching things
contrary to the Jewish religion, and of defiling the temple.
The Sanhedrin could not have been unaware of the causes
of his arrest, but the narrative seems to represent St Paul
as trying to divert their mind from the real issue by raising a
side question. Some have thought that St Luke must have
compiled his story of the events in Jerusalem from different
sources. The question of the resurrection probably came up
in the course of the enquiry as to St Paul's teaching, and he
seized upon it as a way of escape; but St Luke, who was, of
course, not present at the trial, received in his traditions
confused accounts of what took place.

102 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
into a mob which would have torn St Paul in pieces
between them if the chiliarch had not rescued him a
second time by soldiers who took him back into the
castle. But that night St Paul received the encouragement
of a vision, in which the Lord told him that he would
witness for Him at Rome as he had at Jerusalem.

CHAPTER XIII
ST PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT AT CAESAREA
Acts xxiii. 12-xxvi. 32
1. St Paul sent to Caesarea. xxiii. 12-30. The
Jews were furious at being baulked of their prey, and
more than forty of them bound themselves by a vow
not to eat or drink till they had killed St Paul. But a
nephew of his told him of the plot1, and St Paul con
trived, probably by payment, to persuade a soldier to
take the young man to the chiliarch. Lysias, hearing
his news, ordered a body of soldiers to take him to
Caesarea to Felix the procurator, and to start at 9 p.m.
in order to travel by night. He sent a letter by them to
Felix, stating that he had rescued the prisoner from the
violence of the Jews, 'having learned that he was a
Roman ' (naturally concealing the fact that he had bound
and nearly scourged him !) ; that the Jewish court charged
him only with matters concerning their law, which did
1 This need not imply that his nephew was a Christian;
he might naturally wish to rescue his uncle. It is possible
that St Paul's family came to live in Jerusalem while he was
learning from Gamaliel, and that his sister was married
there.

XIII] IMPRISONMENT AT CAESAREA 103
not constitute a crime worthy of death, or even a mis
demeanour deserving of imprisonment ; but that because
they were plotting against him he was now sending him
to Felix, and had ordered the Jews to state their accu
sations in his court.
The cavalcade travelled all night to Antipatris, which
lay about 40 miles from Jerusalem between Lydda and
Caesarea, and the horsemen took the prisoner on, while
the rest returned to Jerusalem. He was handed over to
the procurator, who asked to what province he be
longed1 ; and then, until the arrival of his accusers, con
fined him in Herod's palace which he used as his own
'praetorium' or official residence.
2. Felix, xxiv. The Jews were not long in discover
ing that the prisoner had again escaped their dutches.
In five days the high priest and certain elders arrived
at Caesarea, bringing with them a professional counsel
for the prosecution, a Roman causidicus named Ter-
tullus. He made a speech (vv. 2-8) in which, after a
formal compliment to the procurator, he charged St
Paul for the first time with a really indictable offence,
that of being the ringleader of an insurrectionary sect
named Nazarenes, one who had caused disturbances in
all parts of the Empire2, his latest exploit being the pro
fanation of the temple, — which Tertullus treated as only
another instance of deliberate creation of disturbance.
And the Jews, of course, agreed with what he said.
St Paul's reply falls into two parts (vv. 10-16 and
17-21) which cover almost entirely the same ground,
1 Roman law allowed the trial to take place either in the
native country of the accused, or in that in which the alleged
crime was committed.
a Tip> oIkovp4vtjv, the civilized world.

104 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
and are possibly different versions of the same speech.
Four chief points appear in both: (a) St Paul's reason
for going to Jerusalem was a religious one, in harmony
with, and not opposed to, the Jewish religion, (b) Denial
of making a disturbance, (c) Challenge to the prosecu
tors, (d) Admission regarding a resurrection.
(i) vv. 10-16. St Paul began, like Tertullus, with a
compliment to Felix. He was happy to make his defence
before him because, having governed Jews for so long, the
procurator would understand that it was only twelve
days since he (a) went to Jerusalem for worship, i.e. to
attend the festival of Pentecost, (b) He denied having
made any disturbance in the temple, the synagogues,
or in any part of the city; and (c) challenged the pro
secutors to prove their accusations. He admitted being
a member of a body of people who followed a certain
' Way ' of living and teaching, and were called by their
opponents a 'sect,' but he believed in the Scriptures,
and (d) hoped, as did his accusers, for a resurrection of
righteous and unrighteous.
(2) vv. 17-21. After many years, i.e. after a long ab
sence from Jerusalem, he came (a) to do the Jews a
kindness by bringing them alms, and also to make offer
ings in the temple1, (b) He was in the temple with no
desire to make a disturbance, but ' purified ' and stirring
up no crowd or tumult. ' But certain Jews from Asia2
1 The alms were the contribution from the churches, to
which this is St Luke's sole reference in the Acts. The offer
ings were probably the sacrifices for himself and the four
Nazirites; but the verse is so condensed that it makes it
appear as though these offerings, as well as the alms, were part
of the apostle's previous intention in coming to Jerusalem.
2 St Paul probably related their violent and unwarranted
act in arresting him. Their absence from the court now made
conviction impossible.

XIII] IMPRISONMENT AT CAESAREA 105
[the sentence is here broken, and something has pro
bably been lost] — who ought to have been here before
thee, and to make accusation if they had aught against
me.' (c) But he challenged Ananias and the elders to
declare any wrong-doing of which the Sanhedrin had
convicted him, unless (d) it were his plea that he believed
in a resurrection.
Felix, who knew enough about the ' Way' — the Chris
tian manner of life — to understand that it was not the
prisoner's Christianity which could make him a criminal,
adjourned the trial till Claudius Lysias the chiliarch
should come from Jerusalem, and ordered that St Paul,
as a Roman citizen, should receive favourable treatment1
while in custody, and be allowed to receive visits from
his friends (vv. 22, 23). So far as we are told, the chili
arch never appeared, and no further trial under Felix
took place. But one other incident is related.
Some time afterwards Felix, who had left Caesarea,
came back with his wife Drusilla, a beautiful young
Jewish girl, daughter of Agrippa I, whom he had, with
the help of a magician, enticed to marry him, deserting
her husband Azizus, king of Emesa2. He made St Paul
talk to him about Christianity. To a man of his infamous
character3, ' righteousness and self-control ' were abhor-
1 As said above, this attitude of Roman officials towards
St Paul is a favourite theme of St Luke.
2 Josephus, Antiq. xx. vii. 2.
3 He was a freed slave of Claudius, over whom he had
gained such an influence that he was actually given a pro-
curatorship, to the disgust of properly minded people. Two
sentences of Tacitus illustrate what was thought of him:
Hist. v. 9, ' With all manner of cruelty and lust he exercised
royal functions in the spirit of a slave.' Annals, xii. 54,
'Backed by such influence [that of his powerful brother
Pallas], he thought he could commit all kinds of enormities
with impunity.'

106 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [ch.
rent, and St Paul's warning of the near approach of the
divine Judgment was frightening. But cupidity being
stronger than conscience, he did not release the prisoner
during his remaining two years of office, but talked with
him frequently, hoping he would bribe him. Failing in
this, he tried to curry favour with the Jews by leaving
him imprisoned when Nero recalled him and Festus suc
ceeded to the procuratorship (vv. 24-27).
3. Festus and Agrippa. xxv., xxvi. Porcius Festus
was a man of a much better type. He went to Jerusalem,
where the Jews at once brought charges against St Paul,
and asked him to bring him to Jerusalem, hoping to
waylay and assassinate him. But Festus said they must
come to Caesarea, and he would put him on his trial
(xxv. 1-5). Eight or ten days later, therefore, the trial
was held. The old charges were brought up again —
offences against the Mosaic Law and the temple, and
sedition against the Emperor. But no proof of these
things could be brought. Festus who, like all Roman
governors of Judaea, was anxious to gain the goodwill
of the difficult nation, asked St Paul if he would go and
be tried before him at Jerusalem. But St Paul, who had
been virtually acquitted at one trial after another, now
saw that his only chance was to get away from Palestine ;
so he boldly appealed to the Emperor, as every Roman
citizen had a right to do. Festus consulted with his
assessors in the court1, and decided to allow the appeal
(vv. 6-12).
Some days afterwards Agrippa II arrived at Caesarea
with his sister Bernice (or Berenice)2, probably to pay
1 Sueton. Tiber. 33. See Schiirer, Hist, of the Jewish People,
1. ii. 60.
2 Agrippa II was the son of Agrippa I, and brother of
Drusilla; he held the tetrarchy of Trachonitis, Gaulonitis,

XIII] IMPRISONMENT AT CAESAREA 107
their respects to Festus on his succeeding to the pro-
curatorship. The latter told them about the prisoner
whom Felix had left in his charge, stating that the com
plaint against him was concerned with questions of the
Jewish religion, in particular with the resurrection from
the dead of a certain Jesus1. Not knowing how to deal
with such a matter, he had asked the prisoner if he would
go to Jerusalem for trial2; but he had appealed to the
Emperor, so he was keeping him till he could send him
to Rome (vv. 13-21). On Agrippa expressing a wish to
hear him himself, St Paul was brought before the two
rulers on the next day, when Festus formally repeated
the facts, and asked Agrippa to examine him, so that
he might have something definite to report to the
Emperor (vv. 22-27).
Receiving permission to speak, St Paul stated, as he
did to the mob at Jerusalem, that he had been a strict
Pharisee, adding that he was now on trial for adhering
to the universal Jewish hope of the Messianic kingdom
and the resurrection. In support of the latter he related
his vision of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus
(see p. 14!), and his subsequent preaching in Damascus,
Jerusalem, Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, of the
great facts which formed the basis of Christianity, and
which had been foretold throughout the whole of the
Old Testament (xxvi. 1-23).
It had become more of a sermon than a speech in self-
and other districts. Bernice was the widow of her uncle
Herod of Chalcis, and a woman of infamous reputation.
1 This is not the charge to which St Paul replies in v. 8,
but is analogous to that which he states to the Sanhedrin
before Claudius Lysias (xxiii. 6) and to Felix (xxiv. 15).
2 The reason which St Luke gives (v. 9) for his asking this
question is very different.

108 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
defence. As one inspired, St Paul seems to have raised
his voice higher and higher as he tried with all his fervid
spiritual energy, pent up during two years' imprison
ment, to persuade these two rulers, the Gentile pro
curator and the Jewish king, to accept the truth which
filled his own soul. To Festus this seemed only the
raving of one whose brain was turned by excessive study,
and he harshly broke in by saying so in a loud voice.
St Paul dropped from the high plane of his speech, and
shewed that he was not mad by the quiet dignity of his
reply, adding that Agrippa would bear him out as re
gards the facts that he had stated, since they were ' not
done in a corner,' but were widely known. And he then
appealed to Agrippa' s Jewish knowledge of, and belief
in, the prophets who had foretold these things. The
exact force of Agrippa's reply is uncertain, but the
general meaning is probably represented better by the
R.V. than the A.V.1 St Paul's earnest and pathetic
rejoinder closed the conversation (vv. 24-29).
After consulting with Festus in private, Agrippa de
clared that the prisoner could have been set at liberty
if he had not appealed to the Emperor (vv. 30-32).
1 R.V. 'With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain
make me a Christian.' A.V. ' Almost thou persuadest me to
be a Christian.' The best reading (followed by the R.V.) is
iv oXiyo) pe irelBcis Xpicrriavov noirjcrai. Apart from the first two
words, which can mean 'in a short time,' the only gram
matical rendering is ' Thou persuadest me to make a Chris
tian,' i.e. either 'to make a Christian of myself or 'in order
to make a Christian of me.' A reads irciBj) 'Thou art per
suaded, or confident,' EHLP read ysvkaBai (taken from the
following verse) for troiTJo-ai. Both are corrections to smooth
the difficulty. For an ingenious suggestion see /. Th. S.
Oct. 1913. Notice that Agrippa does not use the term 'Naza-
rene' which Jews usually applied to the 'sect,' but the
contemptuous nickname which had come into use in early
days at Antioch.

XIV] THE JOURNEY TO ROME IOg

CHAPTER XIV
ST PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME AND HIS
WORK THERE
Acts xxvii., xxviii.
i. Caesarea to Myra. xxvii. 1-5. St Paul and some
other prisoners who were to be sent to Rome — some of
them perhaps criminals to be exposed to wild beasts in
the arena — were placed in charge of a centurion named
Julius of the ' Augustan cohort1.' He put them on board
a vessel which had come round the shore of Asia Minor
from Adramyttium, and was about to make the return
voyage. Aristarchus from Thessalonica and St Luke
accompanied the apostle, — according to Ramsay as his
slaves, since they would not be allowed to travel with
a prisoner in any other capacity. They sailed up the
coast to Sidon, where St Paul, no doubt in charge of a
soldier, was allowed to visit his friends till the ship was
ready to proceed. The prevailing westerly wind forced
them, as was often the case, to go to the East of Cyprus2,
and they reached Myra on the Lycian coast.
2. Myra to Fair Havens, to. 6-8. There they found
a larger vessel, hailing from Alexandria, perhaps carry-
1 Authorities are divided as to whether this was one of
the legionary or the auxiliary cohorts. The latter bore names
(cf. x. 1), and consisted of Romans living in the provinces.
Ramsay (St Paul the Traveller, p. 315) contends that an
auxiliary centurion would not conduct prisoners, and thinks,
following Mommsen, that St Luke inaccurately describes a
frumentarius, ' a legionary centurion on detached service for
communication between the Emperor and his armies in the
provinces.' 2 Not to the West of that island, as St Paul had previously
sailed, with the same wind, from Lycia to Syria (see p. 93).

HO THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
ing corn, on her way to Italy. At first they coasted
along very slowly westward in the teeth of the wind, till
they reached the outermost point of a long narrow pen
insula where the town of Cnidus stood. When there was
no longer any shelter from the land they could not keep
a straight course further westward, but were obliged
to run nearly South to get under the lee of Crete, the
first point which afforded them shelter being Cape
Salmone. To coast along the southern shore of the
island was an operation as difficult as to coast from
Myra to Cnidus, but they managed to reach a harbour
named Fair Havens near the town of Lasea.
3. Cauda and the open Sea. vv. 9-26. The Fast,
i.e. the Day of Atonement, was already past; it was
therefore well into October, and sailing was becoming
daily more dangerous. St Paul, though not a sailor, was
at any rate an experienced traveller; and he advised
them to lay up the ship there for the winter. But since
the harbour was inconvenient — it afforded little pro
tection from winter storms — the ship's pilot and com
mander1 disagreed with him, and the centurion naturally
accepted their expert opinion. A discussion was held,
and the majority of those who took part in it were in
favour of moving to the harbour of Phoenix2, a few
1 The " owner of the ship ' (E. V.) correctly represents the
word vavKXqpos; but he commonly acted as his own com
mander or skipper.
* The harbour is described by St Luke as 'facing down
the S.W. and down the N.W. wind' (see R.V. margin). But
if it is rightly identified with the modern Lutro, which is
said to be the only harbour in the neighbourhood capable of
sheltering a large ship for the winter, it faces East. It is
sometimes explained as facing down the direction in which
the two winds blow, i.e. N.E. and S.E.; but that is against
the ordinary usage of the Greek preposition Kara. If St Luke
has not made a mistake, he may be referring to a smaller

XIV] THE JOURNEY TO ROME III
miles further up the coast, and to winter there. When
a gentle South wind sprang up they seized their chance,
and edged close along the shore. But they had not gone
far, probably just beyond Cape Matala into the Gulf of
Messara, when 'a typhonic wind called Euraquilo1' (i.e.
a N.E. wind) suddenly burst upon them. They could
do nothing but run before it, being thus driven S.W. to
the little island of Cauda (or Clauda), under the lee of
which they managed to haul in the small boat which
had been towing behind when the squall struck them,
and also 'used helps, undergirding the ship,' which is
explained to mean that they placed girders round her
from stem to stern to strengthen the timbers. The
'helps' may have been some mechanical contrivance
for manipulating the ropes, or a term used for the ropes
themselves. The next expression is also obscure. ' They
lowered the gear2' (R.V.), 'strake sail' (A.V.) is ex
plained by Jas. Smith (The Voyage and Shipwreck of
St Paul, p. 112) to mean that they lowered the yard
with the sail attached to it ; nothing but a minimum of
storm sail was set. Others think it means the letting
down from the stern into the sea (and dragging along
the bottom) of some heavy weight, to retard the pace3.
Whichever it was, St Luke gives it as a method of avoid
ing what was their chief fear, the certain destruction
which they would meet if they were driven upon the
harbour which lies, facing West, on the other side of the
narrow Lutro isthmus. In that case it must have been a
larger and better harbour than it is now.
1 'Euroclydon' (A.V.) is a mere corruption in some late
MSS. 2 ^aAao-aires to arKevos. Cf. the use of ctkhvos, a 'sheet' or
'sail' (R.V. 'vessel ) in x. 11, 16.
3 Plutarch, Moral, de Garrulitate, x., speaks of the use of
ropes and anchors for this purpose.

112 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
Syrtes, the quicksands on the coast of Africa. But
neither operation in itself, necessary as it might be in
any storm, would avoid this. St Luke as a landsman
describes what struck his eye, but he does not mention
the all-important steering. With a N.E. wind the only
thing that would prevent the ship from being driven
straight across to the African coast was to keep her
head as close to the wind as safety would allow, so that
she would drift to port, as much North of West as pos
sible. On the next day they lightened the ship by heaving
the cargo overboard; and on the following day all the
ship's fittings. Sun and stars were blotted out for days,
and the gale blew as hard as ever. None on board could
bring himself even to take food. But St Paul told them
that in a vision that night God had assured him that
no lives would be lost, but only the ship; and he pre
dicted that they would be cast upon an island.
4. The Shipwreck, vv. 27-44. F°r a whole fortnight
they had been storm-tossed1 in Adria2, i.e. the sea be
tween Crete and Sicily, when the sailors began to perceive
at midnight that land was near3- On sounding they
found that they were in 20 fathoms, and soon afterwards
in 15 ; and in fear of dashing upon rocks they anchored
with four anchors at the stern, so that the ship could
1 R.V. ' as we were driven to and fro ' gives a wrong im
pression. If the suggestion made above is correct, that the
ship was kept drifting to port, it would move in a uniform
direction, though tossed about.
2 The name was extended from the northern portion of
the Adriatic so as to include first the Ionian Sea and then
also the Sicilian or Ausonian Sea. Using the name in its early
narrow meaning, some have held very improbably that an
island called Melita (now Meleda) off the Illyrian coast was
the scene of the shipwreck.
3 Lit. 'was approaching them,' a picturesque expression
which led to alterations in some MSS.

XIV] THE JOURNEY TO ROME 113
not turn towards the wind, and when the longed-for
daylight arrived she could at once run straight ahead.
Having done this, the sailors lowered the ship's boat,
pretending that they were going to pull out the bow
anchors as far from the ship as they could before drop
ping them, but in reality to escape. St Paul discovered
their real object, and pointed out to the centurion and
the soldiers that with only landsmen left to manage the
ship destruction was certain. They therefore cut the
boat adrift before the sailors entered it.
When dawn was approaching, St Paul encouraged
them all to eat some food. And everyone1 on board was
strengthened for the coming peril by joining in the meal2.
Then they threw overboard the last thing that could be
sacrificed, the wheat. Day dawned, but the land which
appeared was unknown to any of the sailors. Perhaps
if they had visited the island before, which was probably
the case, they had never approached it from this point.
But daylight revealed a bay3 — still called St Paul's Bay
— with a beach; and the question was whether they
could control the ship enough to steer it to this beach,
instead of being driven straight across the mouth of the
bay. The conditions make it clear that the point aimed
at must have been on the western side of the bay, not,
as some early interpreters supposed, on the eastern
1 B sah. have ' about seventy -six ' from some earlier MS
in which it was written numerically as flCOr; others have
'two hundred and seventy-six,' i.e. COr.
2 St Luke's language suggests that in those moments of
terrible danger it seemed to him like a sacred act, as though
St Paul were celebrating the Lord's Supper, although he and
his two companions, Luke and Aristarchus, were perhaps the
only Christians on board (see, however, p. 260, n. 3). This
led to the addition in 137, syrhcl, sah. 'giving also to us.'
3 On the northern coast of the island.
mcn. 8

114 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
side.. They decided to make the attempt. They cast
off the four stern anchors and let them drop. The two
paddles which served as rudders had been lifted out of
the water while the ship was at anchor, and lashed by
bands; these bands were now unfastened, so that the
rudders could be used. Then they hoisted the small
foresail (not 'mainsail' A.V.), and steered as best they
could for the beach. But they could not see a ridge or
bank of mud covered by shallow water, or perhaps
usually visible but now concealed by the driving storm.
Deep water raged on each side of it1, so that when, in
steering for the beach, they accidentally ran the ship
aground at the outermost end of this ridge, and the
bow stuck fast in the mud, the stern was soon broken
in pieces. The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to
prevent them from escaping; but Julius the centurion,
wishing to save St Paul, refused, and ordered everyone
to save himself as best he could. By swimming, or with
the help of pieces of wood from the wreck, all managed
to reach land in safety.
5. Melita. xxviii. 1-10. They soon learnt that they
were on the island of Melita, the modern Malta. The
inhabitants, who were mostly of Punic origin, and there
fore spoken of by St Luke as 'barbarians,' hospitably
made a large fire to warm the perishing company,
drenched with sea water, in the cold of mid November,
and in pouring rain. All helped to gather wood, includ
ing St Paul. But as he was arranging on the fire an
1 Other less simple explanations have been suggested of
the 'place where two seas met' (twos' SiBaKacrcros). That
such a ridge does not now run out from the western side of
St Paul's Bay matters nothing; it would be subject to con
stant change from the action of wave and tide, and may
long have disappeared.

XIV] THE JOURNEY TO ROME 115
armful that he had collected, a deadly viper feeling the
heat slipped out and curled round his arm; but he shook
it off into the fire before it stung him. The simple in
habitants thought he must be a murderer1, whom the
goddess Dike, 'Justice,' having failed to kill by ship
wreck was now about to kill by other means. But when
they saw that no harm followed, they thought he had
worked a miracle, and said that he was a god.
The governor of the island, named Publius, whose
title was 'the Primus*' (R.V. 'the chief man'), gave
them hospitality for three days. St Paul cured his father
of dysentery, and then all who were ill in various parts
of the island were brought to him, and he healed them.
The inhabitants in return could not do enough to shew
their gratitude3, and provided their visitors with supplies
when the time came to depart.
6. Melita to Rome. vv. 11-16. They remained on the
island for three months, from the middle of November
till the middle of February. Ships usually did not sail
between November n and March 5, but the wind being
favourable they started rather earlier. They embarked
in an Alexandrian ship, named Dioscuri*, probably a
large corn ship, which had been laid up for the winter
in the principal harbour of the island, not far from
St Paul's Bay. They sailed, no doubt with a South
1 They may have seen that he was under guard as a
prisoner. 2 In an inscription a certain Prudens is given the title
irptoTos MfXiTalav.
3 'They honoured us with many honours.' St Luke does
not explain to whom the pronoun refers, nor the nature of
the honours; but St Paul, as the public benefactor, must
have been the chief recipient.
4 In Latin Gemini, 'the Twins,' i.e. Castor and Pollux
(A.V.), two stars which served as a guide to mariners, and
were reverenced as deities. 8 — 2

Il6 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [cH.
wind, to Syracuse on the East coast of Sicily. After
three days there, they proceeded1 to Rhegium on the
mainland of Italy, near the narrowest point of the Straits
of Messina; and within two days after that, again with
a South wind, they crossed to Puteoli (the modern Poz-
zuoli, in the Bay of Naples) where they landed. There
they found some Christians, by whom they were invited
to stay with them for a week2. 'And so we came to
Rome' — 'the Rome,' the object of the arduous journey,
and the great goal of all St Paul's longings and labours3.
During his stay at Puteoli, the Christians had probably
sent to the city announcing the day on which the apostle
was to arrive, so that Christians from Rome met him
i R.V. 'made a circuit,' A.V. 'fetched a compass' repre
sent 7repieX<?dVres-, which is very possibly the true reading.
Instead of coasting along the Sicilian shore, they stood out
to sea and tacked, because the wind had shifted. N*B read
nepiekovTes, the word rendered 'casting off in xxvii. 40;
some therefore understand it to mean 'weighing anchor.'
But this is a superfluous remark which St Luke nowhere else
makes in his descriptions of St Paul's voyages; and it is
doubtful if the word can have this meaning with the word
'anchor' omitted.
2 napt-K\i)Br]pt;v nap' avro'is impeivai. This is strange, since
St Paul was a prisoner. But if Julius could allow him
to visit friends for a night in Sidon (xxvii. 3), he might do
so again here; he could be left under guard of a soldier or
two, who would bring him to Rome, the centurion having
gone straight on with the other prisoners. In H and a few
minuscules an attempt is made to lessen the difficulty by
reading irapuKKf^B-qpev in' (or nap') avrois impeivavrt-s, 'we
were comforted, staying with them etc.,' which might be
supposed to mean that the whole company of prisoners with
Julius and the soldiers stayed for a week (which is extremely
improbable), and St Paul was allowed to lodge with his
friends. 3 This anticipates the actual entrance into the city in
v. 16, where Rome is without the article. Ramsay improbably
suggests that 'the Rome' means the whole Roman district,
the ager Romanus, while 'Rome' means the city itself.

XIV] THE JOURNEY TO ROME 117
at the Forum of Appius1, 43 miles from Rome on the Via
Appia, and the Three Taverns2, 10 miles nearer the city.
It was a moment of crisis for the apostle which he
must have felt acutely, and perhaps with some des
pondency and depression, when he contrasted his con
dition as a prisoner with the missionary activity in Rome
to which he had so often looked forward. But the
welcome which he received at these successive points
on the road put new courage into him, and he entered
the city with thanksgiving to God in his heart. He was
allowed, no doubt owing to the report sent by Festus,
to lodge by himself, except that he was always guarded
by a soldier, to whom he was chained by the wrist (see
v. 20). In v. 16 after the clause 'And when we entered
into Rome' some late MSS3 insert the words 'the cen
turion delivered the prisoners to the stratopedarch.' St
Luke's thoughts were centred on the apostle, and he
did not trouble to speak of the other prisoners. If he
arrived with St Paul a week later than they, he might not
even know what had been done with them. But a scribe,
acquainted with the military arrangements in Rome,
added what is very probably an accurate statement*.
1 It was a place where horses were changed ; see the descrip
tion in Horace, Sat. 1. v. Since Puteoli is nearly 100 miles from
Rome, StLuke evidently does not name all the stopping-places.
2 Mentioned by Cicero, Ep. ii. 10, 12, 13.
3 HLP, most minuscules, syrhcI.
4 If Julius was a centurion of the frumentarii (seep. 109),
and he handed over the prisoners to his superior officer, the
latter was not the prefect of the praetorian guard (see R.V.
margin), Afranius Burrus, but the chief commander of the
detached legions, who, when in Rome waiting to be sent
abroad on duty, were quartered in the castra peregrinorum.
In this case ' the stratopedarch ' was the ' princeps castrorum
peregrinorum' pr 'princeps peregrinorum,' both of which
occur in inscriptions, and the latter in g (Gigas), an Old
Latin MS of the Acts. But this means only that the cen-

Jl8 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH.
7. Imprisonment at Rome. vv. 17-31. St Paul could
have no idea how soon his trial might come on. But he
was not one to waste time. He had not been in Rome
more than three days when he began his missionary
work. Following his invariable custom he gave the Jews
the first opportunity; and since he could not go to their
synagogue, he invited their principal representatives
to his lodging or inn1.
Before he could preach Christianity to them, it was
necessary to explain why he was a prisoner. He told
them that he had committed no offence against the
Jewish nation or their religious practices, and the Roman
officials had declared him innocent; but that Jewish
opposition compelled him to appeal to the Emperor, —
not in order to complain against the Jews, but simply
to save his life2. He was a prisoner really because he
was a Christian, believing that Jesus was the Messiah,
'the hope of Israel' (see p. 101). The Jews replied that
they had received no report against him3, and would
like to hear what he had to say about Christianity, i.e.
the views of the growing Jewish sect, because they knew
that Jews were everywhere opposed to it.
This was hopeful so far as it went ; and they arranged to
come back on a given date. A large number came, and he
spent the day proving to them — as he had tried to prove
turion reported himself, with his prisoners. The 'princeps'
no doubt handed them over to the praetorian guard, whose
duty it was to keep them in custody in the praetorian camp;
and St Paul would be guarded in his lodgings by a succession
of praetorian soldiers.
1 £fvia, v. 23; cf. Philem. 22.
2 Two minuscules and syrhcI make this clearer by adding
' but in order that I might save (lit. redeem) my life from death.'
3 This shewed clearly enough that the Sanhedrin at Jeru
salem could not even concoct a plausible case against him.

XIV] HIS WORK AT ROME Ilg
to Agrippa— that the whole of the Old Testament, the
Jewish Scriptures, pointed forward to Jesus. As his dis
course went on, some of them were gradually convinced,
but some continued to disbelieve; and they left him dis
puting with one another. St Luke relates that he delivered
a parting shot by quoting Is. vi. 9, 10, which describes the
obtuseness of those to whom the prophet was commis
sioned to preach, and added that 'to the Gentiles has
been sent this salvation of God, and they will listen1.'
St Paul hired, no doubt as soon as he could, a house
of his own, where he conversed with all who were willing
to visit him, teaching them about the coming Kingdom
of God, and about the Lord Jesus Christ2, ' openly3 with
out hindrance.'
Thus St Luke reached the end of his task. He had
shewn how Christianity, starting among Jews in Jeru
salem with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the
outpouring of the Spirit, and proclaimed in other parts
of Palestine by the first Jewish Christians, had then —
helped rather than hindered by the Roman authorities
in various parts of the Empire* — spread among Gen
tiles, chiefly through the labours of his hero St Paul, in
Damascus, Antioch, Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, and
now at last in great Rome itself. The triumphant ring
in his closing words 'openly without hindrance' shews
the line of thought along which he had planned his
writing. The addition of anything further about the
1 The best MSS omit v. 29, added in A.V. ; see R.V. margin.
It repeats the substance of v. 25 a.
2 See p. 78, n. 2.
3 pera ndo-rjs napprjtrias, i.e. with all the boldness due to
unfettered freedom of speech.
4 No doubt St Luke, for apologetic purposes, recorded as
many instances of this as he could ; but it is too much to say, as
some writers have said, that itwas his main purpose in writing.

120 THE LIFE OF ST PAUL [CH. XIV
apostle of a personal kind, however interesting or im
portant, would have been a literary blemish such as
St Luke was too good an artist to commit; having
planned a sketch of the expansion of Christianity (cf . Acts
i. 8), he would not allow it to become a biography, even
of St Paul himself. No other explanation is needed of
the fact that the book ends where it does. The explana
tion that St Luke laid down his pen because he had
carried his narrative up to the time of writing is impos
sible. The Acts, according to its opening words, was
written later than the Third Gospel, and it is doubtful
if the latter can be dated earlier than 80 a.d. Other
guesses have been made, as for example that St Luke
intended to add more to the Acts, or that he intended
to write a third volume after the Gospel and the Acts,
but was prevented by death, perhaps martyrdom1; or
that the true ending of the Acts has been lost by the
mutilation of a manuscript. These unnecessary conjec
tures can be allowed no weight in deciding the problem
of the closing events of St Paul's life. It has been held
by many writers, patristic and modern, that there are
indications which point to the fact that he was released
from imprisonment, and after a period of missionary
activity was again imprisoned, condemned and executed.
This is discussed on pp. 253-261, where the conclusion is
reached that the imprisonment recorded in Acts xxviii.
ended with his death. After a formal trial, probably on
the charge of creating disturbances, he was beheaded in
the reign of Nero, before the persecution of Christians
in 64 a.d. began to rage.
1 A tradition as to his martyrdom, given by Gregory of
Nazianzus (Migne, Patr. Graec. xxxv. 589), dates it in the
reign of Domitian, i.e. some 30 years after the events with
which the Acts closes.

PART II
THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL
INTRODUCTION
i. Their Character. To understand St Paul's epis
tles rightly it is important to realise that they are not
treatises, or essays, or sermons, but letters. He had no
idea that he was writing instruction for future ages. If
he had, it is probable that the man himself would not
have been so clearly revealed. On the other hand, though
letters, arising out of the real circumstances of the mo
ment, they were not, with the single exception of the
letter to Philemon, written to individuals1. If they had
been, much of incalculable value to us must have been
absent. They were spiritual letters, written by a pastor
to his flock, and falling, as all of them do, within the last
quarter of his life, they represent his ripe experience.
They were designed for public reading (cf. i Thes. v. 27,
Col. iv. 16), and were intended to apply to each com
munity as a whole. Many of the rebukes and warnings
which he offers would not apply to every individual who
heard them; and conversely when he writes with joyful
acknowledgement of virtues and graces in his flock,
there must have been some individuals who were far
less worthy of his approbation than others. The wide
1 To this exception must probably be added the fragments
of personal communications embodied in the Pastoral Epistles,
though it is doubtful if those epistles, in their present form,
were from his pen.

122 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL
variety among them often helps to explain the sensitive
alternations of his tone and feeling.
St Paul made a practice of writing by an amanuensis1,
and of adding a few words in his own handwriting at the
end of the letter as an assurance of its genuineness
(2 Thes. iii. 17; cf. Gal. vi. 11, 1 Cor. xvi. 21, Col. iv. 18).
Shorthand was a not infrequent accomplishment in
those days, and the apostle must sometimes have poured
out his thoughts with rapid vehemence, — so rapid that
he was sometimes grammatically incoherent; but the
incoherence was faithfully reproduced by the amanu
ensis, and not always corrected by the apostle.
2. Their Preservation. There can be no doubt
that as a great spiritual leader, with ' the care of all the
churches' resting on him, St Paul must have written
many more letters than we possess. In 2 Thes. iii. 17
he can write 'which is the token in every epistle,' al
though that is only the second, or possibly the third, of
those which have come down to us. At the same time
we must not exaggerate their probable number. There
was no cheap postage; letters could be sent only by
hand, so that he would often be obliged to wait till a
Christian messenger could be found who was travelling
in the desired direction. Still there are clear indications
that some of his letters have been wholly or partially
lost. Those which we possess owe their preservation to
the love and reverence felt for the apostle by his converts,
though his letters when first received were not, of course,
regarded as sacred scripture, and were therefore not all
kept with equal care; of some, only mutilated fragments
1 On this and other points connected with ancient letter
writing see Milligan's interesting note on ' St Paul as a Letter-
Writer' (Thessal. pp. 121-130).

INTRODUCTION 123
survived. But soon after his death a desire was felt to
collect every available letter or fragment which had
come from his pen1- And some of these fragments have
reached us attached to, or embedded in, some of his
other epistles (see pp. 137, 138, 144-9, 182-4, 234-6).

CHAPTER I
I THESSALONIANS
1. Circumstances and Place. St Paul's doings at
Thessalonica and his subsequent movements as far as
Corinth on his second missionary tour are related in
Acts xvii.-xviii. 1 (see pp. 62-70). Of all his converts
those that remained nearest to his heart were the simple
and devoted Christians of Macedonia. When he was
banished fromThessalonicaitwasabereavement (iThes.
ii. 17) which he felt as an acute sorrow. And when
Timothy and Silas (Silvanus) rejoined him at Corinth
(Acts xviii. 5; see pp. 68-70), he wrote, adding their
names with his in the opening salutation (i. 1), a letter
to the Thessalonians which is the earliest, or perhaps
the earliest but one (see pp. 168-173), of those which we
possess. The letter was the result of the report, and
possibly a letter from them, brought to him by Timothy,
relating their spiritual and temporal condition.
1 Compare the request made by the Philippians to Poly-
carp regarding the letters of Ignatius immediately after his
martyrdom. Polycarp replies to them, ' The letters of Igna
tius which were sent to us by him, and others as many as
we had by us, we send unto you according as ye enjoined'
(ad Phil. 13). He would, of course, send copies, not the
originals, and the same thing would be done by the churches
that circulated St Paul's letters.

124 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
2. Analysis. i. i. Salutation1.
A. i. 2— iii. 13. Personal matters.
i. 2-10. Thanksgiving for the zeal and endurance
of the readers.
ii. 1-12. An apologia for his teaching and for his
manner of life among them.
ii. 13-16. Renewed thanksgiving.
ii. 17— iii. 10. His relations with them since his
banishment. The mission of Timothy and
his joyful report.
iii. 11-13. A Prayer.
B. iv. i-v. 22. Exhortations.
iv. 1-8. Warning against immorality.
iv. 9-12. Advice:
(a) to increase in mutual love,
(b) to keep quietly to themselves,
(c) to labour with their hands.
iv. 13-v. 11. Instructions on Christ's Advent:
(a) iv. 13-18. The dead in Christ, no less
than the living, shall share in it,
(b) v. 1-1 1. It will be sudden, and there
fore demands sober watchfulness.
v. 12-22. Miscellaneous Injunctions.
v. 23-28. Conclusion.
1 Milligan (op. cit. p. 127) shews by examples from papyri
that the general form of the Pauline letters, which 'consists
as a rule of an Address or Greeting, a Thanksgiving, Special
Contents, Personal Salutations, and an Autographic Con
clusion,' closely resembles the structure of an Ordinary Greek
letter.

I] I THESSALONIANS 125
3. Contents. A. After the salutation (i. 1) the apostle
thanks God for their Christian devotion (vv. 2, 3), and
for the zeal with which they had responded to his teach
ing, and had made themselves an example to other
Christian communities (vv. 4-10). This in itself was
enough to disprove false charges which had been laid
against his preaching. He offers an apologia (ii. 1-12) :
his teaching had been free from error, uncleanness, and
guile (v. 3), from all wish to be pleasing to men rather
than to God (v. 4), from flattery, under which covetous-
ness might be concealed (v. 5), from a desire for praise,
and finally from the domineering spirit which might
have insisted on their providing for his maintenance
and giving him honour as to an apostle (vv. 6, 7 a)1. On
the contrary, he had been like a nurse treating children
with tender sympathy (vv. 7 b, 8) ; he had laboured with
his hands that he might not burden them with his
maintenance (v. 9); and he had exhorted them as a
father does his children (vv. 10-12).
Having done so much for them, he is the more thank
ful for the readiness with which they received his teaching
(v. 13), andfor their patience under persecution from their
fellow Greeks, stirred up by the Jews who had similarly
persecuted the Judaean Christians, had killed the Lord
Jesus and the prophets, and had caused his own banish
ment from Thessalonica (vv. 14, 15), whose wicked oppo
sition will very soon receive divine punishment (v. 16) 2.
1 His self-defence in vv. 1-7 a perhaps had the further pur
pose of contrasting his own behaviour with that of other
teachers who, as he may have learnt from Timothy, had
foisted themselves upon the Thessalonians.
2 Some have thought that the last clause is a later addi
tion, written after the fall of Jerusalem. But the aorist
etpBao-tv can be prophetic or proleptic as in Mat. xii. 28.

126 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
He speaks of his thought for the Thessalonians since
his banishment. He had longed to return, but was pre
vented (vv. 17-20) ; so he had sent Timothy to establish
and comfort them, and was overjoyed at the report
which he had brought back (iii. 1-10).
This part of the letter ends with a prayer that he may
some day see them again (v. 11), and that they may
advance in Christian love, in readiness for the near
'Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His holy ones1 '
(vv. 12, 13).
B. In the second portion of the letter he turns his
attention to certain shortcomings which needed correc
tion and advice.
[It must be remembered that his readers were for the
most part converts from heathenism, and a few weeks
were not enough to lead them to Christian maturity.
They were among the best examples of the early Chris
tians — fresh, open-minded, full of spiritual zeal, and
personal devotion to their father in God. But they were
by no means all on the same level of intellectual or
spiritual progress. Some definite instruction, therefore,
on particular points was needed.]
The apostle deals with the temptation to immorality
with which Christians, living in the midst of pagans, were
constantly assailed, especially when they had learned
something of the meaning of Christian 'liberty,' but
not enough to understand it rightly. He holds up a high
ideal of marriage. A man ought to marry a wife (' obtain
his vessel ') not for the purpose of gratifying his physical
lust, but in a state of Christian sanctification, ready to
1 I.e. the angels ; cf. Zech. xiv. 5 to which St Paul here
alludes. Some think that holy men who have died are also
to be included in the term.

I] I THESSALONIANS 127
treat her honourably (iv. 1-5). And he must not wrong
a fellow Christian by his action (v. 6 a). He gives as a
reason for this that God will punish (v. 6 b), but then
lifts the subject on to the highest plane. The divine
purpose in their life, God's 'call,' is sanctification not
uncleanness (v. 7) ; to thwart that purpose is to despise
God, whose Holy Spirit has been poured upon them for
the purpose of enabling them to be true to their calling
(v. 8).
Then follows advice of a different kind. St Paul says
he has no need to exhort them to love their fellow Chris
tians; they do that conspicuously already; but still he
asks them to abound in it increasingly (vv. 9, 10). But
a warning which they really did need was to 'be quiet,'
i.e. not to mix themselves up with public pagan life,
and to 'do their own business,' i.e. to keep themselves
to themselves; also to work with their hands, a duty
from which pagans shrank as mean and slavish (v. 11).
The objects of both pieces of advice are that as Chris
tians they may create a good impression among non-
Christians, and that they may be independent of charity
(v. 12).
[This injunction to be independent may be intended
as a further warning against those teachers who tried
to live at the expense of the community (see note above
on ii. 1-7 a). But it seems also to be connected with the
following section. St Paul had taught them that the
Advent of Jesus the Messiah would occur in the near
future. Why then, they may have asked themselves,
should they trouble to go on with their work if there was
no need to lay by for the future?1]
1 Cf . v. 14, where after his teaching on the Advent St Paul
returns to the subject of the 'disorderly.'

128 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
The next two sections deal with Christ's Advent. A
difficulty had arisen, as Timothy had no doubt reported,
in the minds of some of them. Certain members of the
Thessalonian Church had died, probably since the apostle's
banishment, and perhaps as victims of the persecution
from which they suffered. If the Messiah was destined
to descend from heaven, as some of the Jewish apoca
lypses had taught, and St Paul also in his preaching at
Thessalonica (cf. i. 10, 'to await His Son from heaven'),
He would descend upon this earth and its living inhabi
tants. What, then, was to be the fate of those who had
died? St Paul heard that they were seriously troubled
about this, thinking that their departed brethren would
have no share in the glories of the Advent; they were
sorrowing as hopelessly as 'the rest,' i.e. the pagans.
St Paul meets this by declaring that Christ's Resurrec
tion is a pledge of the resurrection of Christians, and
therefore of their advent with God (v. 14). They will
have the first share in the glories of the Advent, and
then we that are still alive shall be caught up to meet
the descending Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with
the Lord (iv. 13-18).
The teaching on the Advent is continued. That it
would be as sudden as a thief in the night, or the pangs
of childbirth, the apostle had already taught his readers
when he was with them. But some of them needed the
exhortation to live in accordance with their belief. The
allurements of pagan life were making them unready
for the great moment as though they belonged to the
night darkness instead of being sons of the light of day.
And he rouses them with the warning that they were
in danger of forfeiting their Christian privilege, i.e. their
divine appointment — not to ' wrath,' the punishment of

I] I THESSALONIANS 120.
sinners at the Last Day, but — to the obtaining of salva
tion through our Lord Jesus Christ (v. i-ii).
Some miscellaneous injunctions on Christian life and
behaviour are added, instances of the ways in which
they could 'build each other up' (v. ii) in view of the
nearness of the Advent. Obey and honour your Church
rulers (vv. 12, 13 a). Do not quarrel (v. 13 b). Help one
another in the Christian life, according to the needs of
each (v. 14). Do not retaliate when another does you
harm, but do your utmost to do good to him and to
everyone (v. 15). Rejoice, pray, give thanks (vv. 16-18).
If you see in any Christian the rush of enthusiasm caused
by the outpouring of the Spirit, do not quench it (v. 19).
If it takes the form of ecstatic 'prophesying' do not
despise it (v. 20). At the same time test these outbursts,
for some may not be genuine (v. 21) ; and avoid every
sort that is not (v. 22).
The epistle then ends with a solemn commendatory
prayer (vv. 23, 24) ; a request for their prayers (v. 2$) ;
a salutation (v. 26); an injunction to read the letter
publicly (v. 27); the Grace (v. 28).
CHAPTER II
II THESSALONIANS
1. Circumstances and Place. The close similarity
between parts of this epistle and parts of 1 Thessalonians
makes it practically certain that if it was written by
St Paul it was at the same time and place as the First
epistle, i.e. at Corinth in the second missionary tour,
when Timothy had reached him bringing his report, and
when Timothy and Silas (Silvanus) were both with him
(see i. 1).
mcn. g

130 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
2. Analysis. i. i, 2. Salutation.
A. i. 3-5. Thanksgiving for the zeal and endurance
of the readers. This leads to
i. 6-10. Instruction on Christ's Advent. They will
receive their reward at the Advent of the
Lord Jesus with His angels, when sinners
shall be destroyed.
i. 11, 12. A Prayer.
B. ii. 1-12. Instruction on Christ's Advent. The
Advent must be preceded by the Lawless
One, who is at present checked by a
hindering power, but whom Jesus will
destroy when He comes. This leads to
ii. 13-15. Thanksgiving for the spiritual privileges
of the readers, and an exhortation to
hold fast the Christian tradition.
ii. 16, 17. A Prayer.
C. iii. 1-5. A request for their prayers, and expres
sions of confidence.
iii. 6-15. Injunctions to work quietly for their
own living, and to avoid and admonish
those Christians who do not.
iii. 16. A Prayer.
iii. 17, 18. Autographic conclusion.
The two passages on Christ's Advent are discussed
in the following section; but the remainder of the epistle
bears in general so close a similarity to passages in the
First epistle that further detailed exposition here is
hardly necessary.

II] II THESSALONIANS 131
3. Genuineness. Some writers have denied that this
is a genuine letter written by St Paul, for two main
reasons : (1) The dissimilarity of its teaching on Christ's
Advent to that of the First epistle ; (2) the similarity of
its remaining portions to portions of the First epistle.-
(1) In the First epistle the teaching on the Advent,
as we have seen, is one of encouragement regarding
Christians who have died and of warning to be in readi
ness for the great event. Of the dead and of the living
alike the future bliss is to be 'ever with the Lord.' In
2 Thes. i. 6-10 much is added to this. The future state
of things is described as 'the kingdom of God,' and the
bliss spoken of is in particular that of the persecuted
Thessalonian Christians, to whom God will recompense
'rest with us,' the writer looking forward joyfully to the
future unity with his converts which is at present denied
him. The explanation of Schmiedel that the words are
due to a later writer who places St Paul on a loftier
plane than other Christians is improbable and entirely
unnecessary. With regard to the fate of the wicked, the
First epistle only hints in the words ' the wrath to come '
(i. 10) and 'wrath' (v. 9). But in the Second it is de
scribed as 'punishment, eternal destruction from the
presence1 of the Lord, and from the glory of His might
. . .in that day.' The other passage, ii. 1-12, is thought
to contain even clearer marks of spuriousness. It is said
to contain teaching (a) implying a date later than St
Paul, (b) not only supplementary but contradictory to
that in the First epistle.
(a) This passage speaks of 'the Man of sin,' 'the Son
of perdition,' 'the Lawless One,' a being who sets him
self in the place of God, and imitates Him in his advent,
1 Lit. 'face,' a Hebraic expression. 9—2

132 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
and self -exaltation, and by false miracles, so that he se
duces many to worship him. It is maintained that this
is a reference to the belief, current after Nero's death,
that he would come to life again and return. If that
were the true explanation, its Pauline authorship would
be impossible. But it is now generally admitted that
the reference is to 'Antichrist' (though St Paul does
not use the term), the mysterious Figure which the Jews
had long thought of as about to come in order to resist
God, as the dragon in the ancient Babylonian legend
had resisted the Creator at the beginning of the world1.
The hindering power, which is spoken of both as neuter,
'that which hindereth,' and masculine, 'he who hin-
dereth,' is probably the Roman power which diffused
law and order throughout the civilized world, and which
could be thought of also as personified in the Emperor.
(b) The contradiction to the teaching in the First
epistle is thought to be as follows. In i Thessalonians
St Paul shews that he and his readers expected that the
Advent would take place very soon indeed; but here
he says that it must be preceded by the general falling
away from God2, and by the coming of the Lawless
One, both of which had long been Jewish expectations.
And the supposed contradiction is further emphasized
in ii. 2 if it is translated 'to the end that ye be not
quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled . . .
as that the day of the Lord is near.' The words in this
form deny that the day of the Lord is near, whereas in
i See Bousset, The Antichrist Legend.
2 This is probably the best explanation of f/ dnooratrta.
It is not specifically a Jewish apostasy from the Mosaic Law,
nor, as some early fathers explained it, a rebellion against
Rome. The article 'the apostasy' implies that it was a well-
known expectation.

H] II THESSALONIANS 133
the First epistle St Paul said that it was. The last word1,
however, means rather ' is present.' Some persons had
tried to persuade the Thessalonians that the ' day of the
Lord,' i.e. the final series of events and catastrophes
culminating in the Advent, had actually begun to arrive.
This the apostle denies. But he does not thereby con
tradict what he said in i Thessalonians. There he wrote
as though the End would be soon ; here he writes that,
though near, it is still strictly in the future, and that
certain events must precede it. It is now largely re
cognised that though the teaching in the two epistles is
of a different character, it presents no contradiction.
(2) The other argument against the genuineness of
the Second epistle, i.e. its similarity to the First, sounds
paradoxical. It has been truly said that if the First
epistle had been lost we should have no reason to doubt
the genuineness of the Second; it is in every way so
thoroughly and unmistakeably Pauline. But it is, in
fact, difficult, at first sight, to understand why St Paul
should have written two letters at the same time to the
same church, containing portions so closely similar in
language, and yet why he should have left pieces of
teaching about the Advent so striking and important
as those in 2 Thes. i. 6-10 and ii. 1-12 to be given in a
second letter.
Those who deny the genuineness of the Second epistle
suppose that a later writer composed these verses and put
them into an epistolary framework made up of passages
imitated from the First epistle.
But there are features which make the theory of an
imitator improbable. His imitation is not really as close
as we should expect. For example he makes no refer-
I ivitJTr)Kfv.

134 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
ence to Christ's death and resurrection (contrast i Thes.
i. 10, ii. 15, iv. 14, v. 10). Instead of repeating the
injunction in 1 Thes. iv. 11, 12 about working quietly
with the hands, he adds warnings against those who do
not. Apart from this he gives no exhortations as to
morals and conduct such as those in 1 Thes. iv. 1-10,
v. 12-22. In iii. 17, in which, according to this theory,
he impersonates St Paul, he ventures to add ' which is
the token in every epistle ; so I write ' — words which find
no parallel elsewhere. He says not a word about his past
relations with his readers; and, more generally, he has, on
the theory of imitation, failed to reproduce the warmth
of friendliness and joy which mark the First epistle.
If, then, St Paul is the author, the question still re
mains to be answered how it was that he wrote to the
same church, at the same time, two letters so similar
in language, both treating of the Advent, but treating
it differently, and with a somewhat cooler and more
official tone in the Second than in the First.
Harnack's explanation is attractive, that while the
First epistle was written, as we have seen, to converts
from paganism, the Second was written not to the Greek
but to the Jewish Christians in Thessalonica. They
would understand much more readily than Greeks the
allusions to Antichrist, which was a Jewish expectation;
and the passage, ii. 1-12, which treats of it contains
several echoes of Old Testament language. The word
'traditions' (2 Thes. ii. 15, iii. 6), which does not occur
in the First epistle, is one to which Jews were well ac
customed. And perhaps the emphasis on ' all ' in iii. 16,
18, 1 Thes. v. 26, 27 reveals the fact that the Jewish
and Gentile Christians were not on very friendly terms.
In 2 Thes. ii. 13 there may be a further support for the

II] II THESSALONIANS 135
theory. If the reading given in R.V. margin is right,
'God chose you as firstfruits unto salvation,' it could be
explained by the fact that Jews in Thessalonica were
converted to Christianity before Gentiles. Without this
explanation the reading is difficult, since the Thessa
lonians as a whole were not the first converts even in
Macedonia, and scribes easily altered it to the reading
adopted in R.V. text 'from the beginning,'1 i.e. in His
divine purpose from the beginning of the world.
If Harnack's suggestion is not right, we are forced to
adopt either the view that the Second epistle is not by
St Paul, or the difficult alternative that St Paul learnt
from some source that the Thessalonians needed the
additional teaching about the Advent, and that he wrote
off at once, framing the teaching in several remarks
similar to those which he had written in the First letter2.

CHAPTER III
INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS
i. Place, i Corinthians was written, during the
third missionary tour, at Ephesus or in the immediate
neighbourhood. This is indicated by xvi. 8, 9, 'I will
tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost, for a great door and
effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adver
saries ' ; also by the salutations in xvi. 19 from the churches
of Asia, and from Aquila and Prisca3 who had travelled
1 The two readings are dnapxyv BFGP, a few minuscules,
f. vulg. syrhcl, and an' dpxns KDEKL, most minuscules,
d e g syrpesh memph. arm. aeth.
2 For another suggestion see Journal of Theol. Studies,
Oct. 1913.
3 At the end of the verse DEFG add nap' ols koi £evl£opai
'with whom also I lodge.'

136 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
with St Paul to Ephesus and had stayed on there (Acts
xviii. 18, 19, 26). It is improbable, therefore, apart from
other considerations, that the epistle was written, as
some have thought, from Macedonia after he had left
Ephesus. 2 Corinthians was written from Macedonia after he
had left Ephesus. He traces his movements: i. 8, Asia;
ii. 12, Troas; v. 13, Macedonia; and then relates the
arrival of Titus in Macedonia (vii. 5, 6), speaks of his
own boasting 'to them of Macedonia' (ix. 2), and says
that he is now sending Titus back to Corinth to arrange
for the collection, together with two other brethren
(ch. viii.).
2. Time. How long St Paul had been at Ephesus be
fore he wrote 1 Corinthians is uncertain. In calculating
it we must travel back from a fixed date. He left Philippi
on his final journey towards Jerusalem 'after the days
of Unleavened Bread' (Acts xx. 6), i.e. about the end
of March. Previously to that, he had been for three
months in Greece (xx. 3), i.e. Corinth, to which, there
fore, he had gone early in January or late in December.
Before reaching Corinth, as he passed through Mace
donia, he had 'given much exhortation' (xx. 2); he
cannot, therefore, have arrived in Macedonia from
Ephesus later than perhaps the beginning of November;
and it may have been earlier. 2 Corinthians, then, was
written during November or perhaps earlier. So far, all
is fairly clear.
Now, in 2 Cor. viii. 10, ix. 2 he speaks of the collection
for the poor of Jerusalem which the Corinthians, as he
boasts, had begun 'last year1 ' (not as R.V. ' a year ago,'
and 'for a year past'). Did he think of the year as be-
1 dno nipvai.

Ill] INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS 137
ginning according to our (Roman) reckoning in January,
or did he as a Jew think of it as beginning in the autumn ?
If the former, he boasts that the Corinthians had begun
at least by the December before he left Ephesus for
Macedonia. If the latter, there are two possibilities:
(a) If he reached Macedonia and wrote 2 Corinthians
before the autumn New Year began, his boast meant,
as in the last case, that they had begun by the previous
December; (b) if after the autumn New Year, he may
have thought of any time up to September, just over a
month before he wrote.
Lastly, still moving backwards, he clearly implies in
1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2 that when he wrote that epistle the
Corinthian collection had not yet been begun. This
was written in the spring shortly before Pentecost (v. 8),
i.e. probably early in May. Thus the two alternatives
are that 1 Corinthians was written 5 or 6 months before
2 Corinthians in the spring of the same Roman year, or
17 or 18 months before it in the spring of the preceding
Roman year.
3. The Previous Letter. The letter that we call
1 Corinthians was not the first that St Paul wrote to
them. In^r. 9 he says ' I wrote to you in my letter to
have no company with fornicators.' Such advice does
not occur in 1 Corinthians before this point. He is clearly
referring to a previous letter1, written probably because
the news had reached him that his converts were treat -

t This letter was not known widely enough to have come
to the notice of Clement of Rome (96 a.d.). In Cor. xlvii. he
writes : ' Take up the epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle.
What wrote he first unto you in the beginning of the Gospel ?
Of a truth he charged you in the Spirit concerning himself
and Kephas and Apollos, because that even then ye had
made parties.'

138 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [ch.
ing the sin of immorality, with which Corinth was per
meated (see p. 70), in a manner unfitting for Christians.
Having received his advice on the subject, some of them
misunderstood it, and needed the explanation which he
gives in v. 10-13, viz. that he did not mean that they
were to separate themselves entirely from all fornicators:
to do that, they would have to leave the world altogether;
he meant that they must keep clear of any brother, i.e.
any Christian, who was guilty of the sin. It is far from
improbable that though this previous letter as a whole
has been lost, yet a fragment of it is to be found in
2 Cor. vi. 14-vii. 1. A brief study of that passage will
shew that it might have been misunderstood in the way
indicated. Moreover it breaks the close connexion of
thought between vi. n-13 and vii. 2-4, both of which
are parts of the apostle's appeal to the readers to open
their hearts to him more widely in affection.
4. Timothy sent to Corinth. St Paul heard from
'them of Chloe1,' i.e. probably some of her servants,
that the Corinthian Church was split by party factions
(1 Cor. i.-iv.). He heard also, perhaps from the same
source, that a Christian in Corinth had committed a
gross act of immorality (ch. v.), that Christians were
bringing lawsuits against Christians before heathen, i.e.
Roman, courts (vi. 1-11), and, generally, that immor
ality was to be found among them (vi. 12-20). These
were very serious matters ; and with regard to the first,
at least, he made up his mind, if it could not be set right
by other means, to go himself to deal with it sternly
(iv. 18-21). But before doing so, he sent Timothy to
1 We may suppose that she was a wealthy Greek lady,
living either in Corinth or Ephesus, and sending slaves to
one or the other city for commercial or other purposes.

Ill] INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS 139
try to put an end to the evil (iv. 17). In xvi. 10, 11 he
asks them not to despise Timothy, probably on account
of his youth, or youthful appearance, ' but set him for
ward on his journey in peace, that he may come unto
me; for I expect him with the brethren.' These brethren
were probably the intended bearers of theletter (1 Corin
thians) which he was then writing. The wording seems
to imply that the bearers would reach Corinth before
Timothy, which they could do if they went straight
across from Ephesus by sea while Timothy took the
longer route round by Macedonia. St Luke perhaps
refers to this mission of Timothy in Acts xix. 22, where
he relates that St Paul sent Timothy and Erastus to
Macedonia, though, if so, it is curious that he says
nothing about Corinth, which was Timothy's real desti
nation (see below). And St Paul says nothing about
sending Erastus.
5. The Return of Timothy. It is nowhere stated
that Timothy returned to Ephesus. We know only that
when St Paul wrote 2 Corinthians in Macedonia, Timothy
joined with him in his salutation (i. 1). There are two
divergent views about it, dependent partly on the mean
ing given to 1 Cor. xvi. to: ' If Timothy come ' does not
necessarily express a doubt as to whether he would reach
Corinth; 'if can mean 'when,' as e.g. in 2 Cor. xiii. 2,
'if I come again I will not spare.' But if it expresses a
doubt, Timothy may not have reached Corinth, which
would be in accordance with Acts xix. 22 where, as said
above, Timothy and Erastus were sent to Macedonia,
nothing being said about the continuance of their jour
ney to Corinth. In the former case, Timothy may have
returned to Ephesus, bringing a report that the party
factions and other abuses at Corinth were very bad; he

140 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
had been unable to improve matters, and had perhaps
made them worse. In consequence of his report, St Paul
paid the visit to Corinth discussed in the next section.
In the latter case, Timothy did not return to Ephesus,
and brought no report; and St Paul's visit must have
been due to a disquieting report which reached him
from some other source.
6. St Paul's Visit to Corinth. (The painful visit.)
His long absence, or some other cause, had made some
of the troublesome Corinthians to be 'puffed up,' and
to think that he would not visit them. ' But I will come
to you shortly if the Lord will' (i Cor. iv. 18). 'Shall I
come to you with a rod, or in love, and a spirit of meek
ness? ' (iv. 21). 'The rest will I set in order when I come'
(xi. 34). And when he came, he would arrange for the
transport to Jerusalem of the collection for the poor
Christians which he asked them to begin to make; and
he would come via Macedonia, and perhaps stay the
winter at Corinth, but he wanted to stay at Ephesus till
Pentecost (xvi. 1-9). But the report which he received
about them, either from Timothy or some other source,
made him change his plan, and determine to come to
them not in the first instance via Macedonia, but to
visit them twice, first from Ephesus straight across the
sea, and then, after moving on from them into Macedonia
to return to them from thence (2 Cor. i. 15, 16). The
former of these two visits to Corinth was paid, but
circumstances postponed the latter. For this postpone
ment, which was his second change of plan, some of the
Corinthians accused him of fickleness, against which he
defends himself in 2 Cor. i. 17— ii. 1. The reason was that
the former visit was so painful that he could not bring
himself to return to them until their relations with him

Ill] INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS 141
were improved: 'to spare you I came no more1 to
Corinth ' (i. 23) ; ' for I determined this for myself that
I would not come again to you in sorrow' (ii. 1), i.e. he
would not risk another visit as painful as that which he
had just paid. This painful visit (which is not mentioned
by St Luke in his brief sketch of the apostle's activities
at Ephesus, Acts xix.) is indicated also by St Paul's
words ' This is the third time2 1 am ready to come to you '
(2 Cor. xii. 14) ; ' This is the third time I am coming to
you. . .1 say beforehand, as [I said] when I was present
the second time' (xiii. 1, 2)3-
The painful visit was a sad failure. St Paul for some
reason was unable to act forcibly. The opposition against
him was so strong that authoritative action was, for the
moment, rendered impossible. He returned to Ephesus
burdened with the miserable sense of failure, and wrote
a letter to Corinth expressing his feelings (see section 8).
1 Not 'I forbare to come' (R.V.), or 'I came not as yet'
(A.V.). The former is an incorrect paraphrase, the latter an
incorrect rendering, of ovk4ti rfkBov, — both due to the wish
to avoid the conclusion that St Paul paid a visit which is not
recorded in the Acts.
2 The first visit, of course, had been that in the second
missionary tour when he had first evangelized Corinth (Acts
xviii. 1-17).
3 The latter passage shews that the former cannot mean
that he had previously been twice ready to come, and had
been twice prevented. Those who so explain it are forced to
the very unnatural explanation of the latter passage that
' the third time I am coming to you ' means ' the third time
I am planning to come to you,' which ignores the words
'when I was present the second time.'
No objection can be raised against a visit between 1 and
2 Corinthians on the ground that there was no time for it.
Not less than five or six months intervened between the two
epistles (see above), which gives plenty of time. So painful
a visit cannot have lasted long, and the voyage from Ephesus
would not occupy much more than a week; three weeks, at
any rate, would be ample for the voyage to Corinth and back.

142 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
7. The Reason for the Visit. What the abuse was
which St Paul tried to rectify cannot be determined
with certainty. It was apparently a wrong-doing by an
individual towards another individual (2 Cor. vii. 12:
'he that did the wrong,' and 'he that suffered the
wrong'). The apostle's subsequent letter, and the per
sonal efforts of Titus who carried it, finally persuaded
the Corinthians, or rather a majority of them, to punish
the offender severely (2 Cor. ii. 6). There are three
possibilities as to the nature of his offence. (1) It was
the crime mentioned in 1 Cor. v. 1, 2: a Christian had
committed fornication with his father's wife, and the
Corinthians were, at first, puffed up, and shewed no
regret in the matter. ' He that suffered the wrong ' was
in this case the man's father. St Paul said that they
ought, publicly and officially, 'to deliver such a one
unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus ' (vv.
3-5). If, after writing thus, the apostle on his visit tried
to insist on this same punishment of extreme public
excommunication, and they refused, it would explain
the complete failure of the visit. (2) It was connected
with the party factions rebuked in 1 Cor. i.-iv. But
though the division of the Corinthian Church into parties
might explain the fact that the offender was punished
by a majority and not by the whole Church, it does not
easily explain his offence, unless, indeed, ' he that suffered
the wrong ' (2 Cor. vii. 12) was St Paul himself. In this case
the heat of party spirit had led one of his opponents, i.e.
one of those who refused to say 'I am of Paul' (1 Cor. i.
12), to make a violent, possibly an insulting, attackupon
his teaching or reputation. (3) It was connected with liti
gation in heathen courts, which he rebukes in 1 Cor. vi.

Ill] INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS 143
The first of these is perhaps the most probable; but
it may be that the true explanation is entirely lost to us.
8. St Paul's Sorrowful Letter to Corinth. After
his brief unsuccessful visit the apostle (as said above)
did not, as he had intended, go to Macedonia from
Corinth and back again (2 Cor. i. 16), but returned
straight to Ephesus. There he poured out his heart in
a letter of sorrowful remonstrance, " out of much afflic
tion and anguish of spirit, with many tears ' (2 Cor. ii. 4).
This sad letter was carried by Titus. St Paul was in an
agony of mind as to how it would be received ; he even
had qualms that it had been too stern (vii. 8). He felt
so restless and upset that he could not stay at Ephesus
surrounded by enemies and perils ; so he went to Troas.
But Titus had not arrived; and though opportunities
for missionary work offered themselves there, he could
not stay still, but went on into Macedonia (ii. 12, 13).
Even there ' our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted
on every side; without were fightings, within were fears '
(vii. 5). But at last Titus met him, and brought him the
comforting news that the Corinthians had submitted1,
and had punished the offender. The sorrowful letter
had done its work ; it had made them sorry, but it was
the sorrow of repentance issuing in zeal, which caused
the apostle a deep feeling of relief and joy, in which
Titus shared (vii. 6-16).
It is difficult, however, to determine exactly what
had occurred. A majority had inflicted a punishment
which St Paul declares 'adequate,' 'so that on the con
trary ye should rather forgive him and comfort him,
1 In vii. 15 he speaks of 'the obedience of you all.'
His thankful joy makes him for the moment disregard the
minority who were still opposed to him (see next section).

144 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up
with his excessive sorrow' (ii. 6, 7). The infliction of
the punishment by a majority might imply that the
minority wanted to inflict either a lesser punishment —
perhaps none at all — or one still more severe. In the
latter case 'ye should rather forgive ' is addressed to the
minority, which is awkward; in the former, more simply,
it is addressed to the Corinthian Church as a whole, to
whom the letter is written. Those who explain ' ye ' as
the minority who wanted severer measures, think that
they may have been the Paul-party (1 Cor. i. 12) who
wished jealously to uphold the apostle's authority to
the uttermost. But if the minority, as is more probable,
still adhered to the attitude rebuked in 1 Cor. v. 2, and
refused to acquiesce in St Paul's authority, it is easier
to understand the sternness displayed in 2 Corinthians,
especially in chs. x.-xiii. (see section 9), in spite of the
relief and joy which the report of Titus had caused him.
9. Is the Sorrowful Letter lost? Again there are
divergent views.
(1) The sorrowful letter is thought to be partly pre
served in 2 Cor. x.-xiii. 10.
(a) It is pointed out that in chs. i.-ix. St Paul writes
in a friendly tone, as though the trouble were all over,
and he were quite satisfied with the Corinthians :' I re
joice that in everything I am of good courage concerning
you ' (vii. 16) ; but in chs. x.-xiii. he writes in a tone of
indignant remonstrance, anger, satire, and self-defence.
(b) According to this view he speaks in xii. 20-xiii. 2
of a severe visit that he was shrinking from the necessity
of paying, because the former visit had been so painful,
and he was relieved from it by the report that Titus
brought of the effect of his sorrowful letter.

Ill] INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS 145
(c) Three passages in chs. x.-xiii. are thought to point
forward to the possibility of this visit, while three pas
sages written later in chs. i.-ix. point backward to the
fact that he had not been obliged to pay it.
' Being in readiness to avenge 'For to this end also did I
all disobedience when your write that I might know the
obedience shall be fulfilled.' proof of you, whether ye are
— 2 Cor. x. 6. obedient in all things.' —
2 Cor. ii. 9.
' If I come again I will not ' To spare you I came not to
spare.' — 2 Cor. xiii. 2. Corinth.' — 2 Cor. i. 23.
' For this cause I write these " And I wrote this same thing
things from a distance, that I that when I come I might
may not when I come deal not have sorrow.' — 2 Cor.
sharply.' — 2 Cor. xiii. 10. ii. 3.
(d) ' Did I take advantage of you by any one of them
whom I have sent unto you? I asked Titus to go, and
I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advan
tage of you? Walked we not by the same spirit, in the
same steps?' (2 Cor. xii. 17, 18). According to this view
these words occur in the sorrowful letter which Titus
himself was taking, and therefore cannot refer to the
conduct of Titus in Corinth on the occasion when he
took it. Lake paraphrases it thus : ' You know that from
the beginning of my intercourse with the Corinthians I
have never had a penny of profit from them, and the
same is true of my representatives. Titus, who is now
coming to you, has never made any profit. Can you deny
that he always behaved in this respect in exactly the
same way as I did myself? '
(e) 'Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? '
(iii. 1). 'We do not again commend ourselves to you'
(v. 12). In chs. x.-xiii. St Paul commends himself
with the utmost energy. These two passages therefore,

146 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
according to this view, refer to the sorrowful letter of
which chs. x.-xiii. form a part.
(2) The other view, which seems to the present writer
on the whole the more probable, is that the sorrowful
letter is entirely lost to us, and that 2 Corinthians was
a complete letter as it stands1. The five points noted
above can all be explained as easily on this view as on
the other.
(a) Though the tone of chs. i.-ix. is happier than that
of chs. x.-xiii., the former chapters are by no means
without indications that all was not yet right at Corinth.
St Paul has to defend himself against opponents who
brought against him the charge of fickleness (i. 17-22).
Some, 'the many,' were still insincerely making profit
out of the word of God (ii. 17). Some of his opponents
are sharply satirized for needing, and bringing, com
mendatory letters with them to Corinth (iii. 1). Some
still handled the word of God deceitfully (iv. 2), and in
complaining that St Paul's preaching was obscure only
shewed that their own hearts were still in obscurity
(vv. 3, 4); and they 'preached themselves, not Christ
Jesus as Lord' (v. 5). The Corinthians needed an answer
'to them that glory in appearance and not in heart'
(v. 12), and scoffed at St Paul as being 'beside himself
(v. 13). He still felt that he must as Christ's ambassador
intreat them to be reconciled to God (v. 20), and not to
receive His grace in vain (vi. 1). The hearts of some of
them were not opened wide towards him in love (vi. 12,
13, vii. 2). And lastly he was afraid that the collection
for the poor of Jerusalem which they had begun, and of
which he boasted to the Macedonians, had not really
advanced (ix. 6, 10, 11).
1 With the probable exception (see section 3) of vi. 14-vii. 1.

Ill] INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS 147
While the submission of the Corinthians caused St
Paul profound relief, and he spent much of the first nine
chapters in expressing it in a tactful and friendly way,
yet he was compelled, even in these chapters, to rebuke
the serious opposition to his authority and teaching
which still remained in a minority of them; and in chs.
x.-xiii. he directs his attention mainly to them.
(b) In xii. 14, xiii. 1 St Paul definitely states his pur
pose of coming to the Corinthians for the third time.
On the other view this was explained to mean ' I may
be obliged to come to you, but I shrink from it, and will
not do so if this sorrowful letter that I am writing, and
Titus' exhortations, prove successful.' But if 2 Corin
thians is a unity, these passages are given their straight
forward natural sense. St Paul was about to come to
Corinth from Macedonia.
(c) In the passages printed above in parallel columns,
the echoes of language are not in themselves a proof
that the passages in the first column were written earlier
than those in the second. The former may look forward
to the visit which St Paul did in fact pay when he went
South from Macedonia (Acts xx. 2, 3, ' He came to Greece ;
and when he had spent three months etc.') ; the latter
may look back to the visit which he had refrained from
paying, and had substituted for it the sorrowful letter.
(d) The more natural explanation of xii. 17, 18, quoted
above, is that St Paul is referring to the conduct of
Titus when he carried the sorrowful letter.
(e) In iii. 1, v. 12 St Paul deprecates the necessity
of commending himself afresh to the Corinthians. This
is in opposition to some of his opponents who armed
themselves with commendatory letters, whom he attacks
in both parts of the epistle (iii. 1, x. 12, 18). The meaning

148 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
of iii. 1 is explained in v. 2 : the only recommendation
that the Corinthians ought to need is the work that he
had done among them; they were themselves his letter
of recommendation, written not with ink but with the
Spirit of the living God.
To these considerations two more must be added:
(/) The apostle's description of the writing of his
sorrowful letter is as follows: 'Out of much affliction
and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears;
not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might
know the love which I have more abundantly unto you '
(ii. 4) . This does not really apply very well to chs. x.-xiii.
It is difficult to find in them the trace of tears of one
who longed to exlubit his love. They are composed for
the most part of three ingredients — burning indignation,
scathing satire, and vehement self-defence. It is not
the letter of one humiliated bj' failure, and yet writing
more in sorrow and heart-ache than in anger.
(g) His words in ii. 5-10 shew that the sorrowful letter
had been chiefly concerned with the wrong-doing of an
individual offender, 'he that did the wrong,' and the
attitude of the Corinthian Church towards him. But of
this offender, or this attitude, there is not one word in
chs. x.-xiii. The supporters of the opposite view are
compelled to suppose that those chapters are only the
latter portion of the sorrowful letter, and that the
former portion (containing that which is most crucial
to the theory) is lost.
They urge that the Corinthians probably did not take
the trouble to preserve with much care a letter of that
nature, or may even have suppressed the portion dealing
with the offender; but at a later time, when the offender
and most of his contemporaries were dead, and when

Ill] INTRODUCTION TO I AND II CORINTHIANS 149
anything that St Paul wrote was considered valuable
simply because he wrote it, all available fragments of
his letters were combined.
This is not, in itself, impossible. We have already seen
the probability that 2 Cor. vi. 14-vii. 1 is a fragment of
the earliest of all the apostle's letters to Corinth of which
we have any knowledge. That in neither case do our
MSS or versions afford any textual evidence to support
the conjecture is not a difficulty, since the collection of
Pauline material must have taken place much earlier
than any of our documents. But a careful study of the
points noted above will shew that the arguments are
by no means conclusive for the theory that chs. x.-xiii.
contain a mutilated fragment of the sorrowful letter,
which has lost its most important part. A large number
of scholars is found on both sides of the question, and
complete certainty will perhaps never be reached.

CHAPTER IV
I CORINTHIANS
1. Causes of Writing. The epistle was written solely
to meet the needs of the moment in the Corinthian
Church. St Paul deals (1) with matters for blame of
which he has received reports from ' them of Chloe ' and
perhaps from other sources; (2) with questions addressed
to him by the Corinthians in a letter he had just received
from them; (3) with matters reported to him probably
by the bearers of their letter, Stephanas, Fortunatus,
and Achaicus. The questions asked by the Corinthians
seem to be indicated by a recurring formula, as follows :

150 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL LCH-
'Now concerning what you wrote' vii. i.
virgins' vii. 25.
idol-foods' viii. 1.
Spirit-filled persons ' xii. 1.
the collection' xvi. 1.
Apollos' xvi. 12.
The remainder, therefore, of chs. vii.-xvi. (except
xvi. 5-11, 13-24) will have been due to the reports
brought by the three bearers of their letter:
(a) The Corinthians remembered St Paul, and were
faithful to the traditions which he had taught them (xi.
2); but some women were committing an irregularity
with regard to dress at public worship (xi. 3-16).
(b) Some of the richer Christians were guilty of an
abuse in their manner of eating food at the Eucharistic
feasts (xi. 17-34).
(c) Some Christians, probably Gentiles only, denied
that there would be a Resurrection of the dead, because
the material body could not inherit the divine Kingdom
(ch. xv.; see v. 50).
2. Analysis. i. 1-3. Salutation.
i. 4-9. Thanksgiving.
A. i.-vi. Matters for blame of which the apostle has
heard.
i. 10-iv. 21. Party divisions.
v. 1-13. A case of gross immorality.
vi. 1-1 1. Litigation in heathen courts.
vi. 12-20. Fornication.
B. vii. i-xvi. 12. Matters on which the Corinthians
had asked for advice, and others of which he
had heard from the bearers of their letter. _
vii. 1-24. Concerning Marriage.

IV] I CORINTHIANS 151
vii. 25-40. Concerning Virgins.
viii. i-xi. 1. Concerning Idol-foods.
(a) viii. The Higher Expediency.
(b) ix. The Higher Expediency illustrated
in the apostle's own manner of life.
(c) x. 1-22. The peril of presuming upon Chris
tian privileges by partaking in Idol-feasts.
(d) x. 23-xi. 1. Advice in three other cases
connected with Idol-foods.
xi. 2-16. The, covering of the head in public
worship.
xi. 17-34. The Holy Eucharist.
xii. -xiv. Concerning Spirit-filled persons.
xv. Resurrection.
xvi. 1-11. The Collection (with some Personal
Matters).
xvi. 12. Apollos.
xvi. 13-18. Personal Matters.
xvi. 19-24. Salutations and Autographic Con
clusion.
3. Contents.
i. 1-3. Salutation, in which 'Sosthenes the brother'
joins.
i. 4-9. Thanksgiving for the spiritual condition
of the readers.
A. i.-vi. Matters for blame of which the apostle has
heard.
i. 10-iv. 21. Party Divisions.
Party divisions condemned. St Paul expresses his
thankfulness that he had never made a practice of bap
tizing, which might have encouraged them (i. 10-17).
Worldly wisdom is not divine wisdom (vv. 18-25). ^

152 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
is not the worldly wise whom God has chosen to be
Christians (vv. 26-31). The apostle did not pieach
among them worldly wisdom (ii. 1-5) ; and yet he does
preach divine wisdom, taught by the Spirit of God
(vv. 6-16). Party spirit shews that they are like babes,
spiritually immature, and incapable of understanding
that he and Apollos are only God's ministers, each doing
his appointed work in God's husbandry (iii. 1-9). Or
to use another metaphor, the work is that of a builder,
the permanence of whose work will be tried by fire at
the Last Day (vv. 10-17). Worldly wisdom, as he said
before, is not God's wisdom (vv. 18-21) . Apollos' preach
ing and his are to be reckoned only as a fraction of the
infinite privileges bestowed upon the readers as Chris
tians (vv. 22, 23). He and Apollos are only God's ministers
and stewards to dispense His mysteries. No test of their
work is of any value except the divine test at the Last
Day (iv. 1-5). He has spoken of himself and Apollos as
illustrative instances, but he means it equally of them
all, that they may not be proud of their individual gifts
and personal importance, — they who are so gifted and
rich, while the apostles are subject to every imaginable
hardship and indignity! (vv. 6-13). An earnest appeal
to his spiritual children, with a statement that he has
sent Timothy, and will probably come shortly himself
to deal with the trouble (vv. 14-21).
v. 1-13. A case of gross immorality.
The apostle hears that one of their number has com
mitted a sin which unconverted pagans would not toler
ate, and they are not even grieved about it enough to
expel him (v. 1, 2). As though present with their whole
Christian community, he solemnly condemns him to

IV] I CORINTHIANS 1 53
excommunication in hope that the fearful consequences
may be effectual to the saving of his spirit (vv. 3-5).
They boast that such a sin is an expression of Christian
'liberty'; but evil spreads like leaven, and must be
purged out as leaven is purged out at the Passover; for
since Christ our Victim was sacrificed, Christians must
keep a perpetual Passover (vv. 6-8). When he speaks of
purging out, he does not mean, as they seem to have
thought from his first letter, that they must entirely
avoid all immoral persons; if they did that, they would
have to leave the world altogether. But they must
avoid the company of any Christian who is guilty of im
morality (vv. 9-11). It is only Christians, not heathen,
that they can judge (vv. 12, 13) V
vi. 1-1 1. Litigation in heathen courts.
How can they so degrade themselves as to take one
another up before heathen judges, when they know that
very soon Christians will be the judges of men and
angels! (vi. 1-6). Christians ought not to have lawsuits
against one another at all ; better suffer injury than that
(v. 7). Nay, but they injure other Christians, although
they know that those who lead evil lives shall not inherit
the coming Kingdom. Some of them were once of their
number, but having been washed, sanctified, and justi
fied, they ought no longer to behave like them (vv. 8-n).
vi. 12-20. Fornication.
Christian liberty does not mean slavery to fleshly lust
(vi. 12). Five reasons against fornication: 1st. Man's
1 Archbp. Bernard (Studia Sacra, ch. ix.) , with some earlier
writers, sees in this a link between chs. v. and vi., and thinks
that the injured father (v. 1) brought the matter (npaypa)
before a heathen court.

154 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
body in its true inner nature is made for the Lord, and
will share in the Resurrection (vv. 13, 14). 2nd. Man's
body in its true inner nature is made to be united with
Christ as one of His members, not with the body of a
harlot (vv. 15-17). 3rd. Other sins are external to the
body, but fornication is an offence against the true inner
nature of the body (v. 18). 4th. Their body is the temple
of the Holy Spirit (v. 19). $th. They are not their own
property to do what they like with, since they were
bought with a price (v. 20).
B. vii.-xvi. 12. Matters on which the Corinthians had
asked for advice, and others of which he had heard from
the bearers of their letter.
vii. 1-24. Concerning Marriage.
The best condition is to remain unmarried. But the
demands of natural instincts make marriage imperative
for some ; and husband and wife must accordingly fulfil
to each other their functions. God's will is different for
different people (vii. 1-7). The principle in the last
words is applicable to a variety of cases: The unmarried
men, and widows, had better remain, the apostle says,
as he is. But marriage may be necessary for some (vv.
8, 9). The married must not leave one another by di
vorce. If they do, the wife must not marry anyone else
(vv. 10, 11). If a Christian man has a heathen wife, or a
Christian woman a heathen husband, St Paul's private
opinion is that they need not separate. The Christianity
of either makes their children Christian (vv. 12-14). But
if the heathen partner wishes separation, let it be done;
for in calling men to be Christians, God intended them
to live in peace. It is far from certain that the Christian
man or wife will be able to convert the other (vv. 15,

IV] I CORINTHIANS 155
16). Everyone must follow his God-given opportunities
and vocation (v. 17).
There are quite other cases in which the principle
applies. Some were circumcised before they became
Christians, some were not. Let them remain as they
were; neither condition is of any value in itself1 (vv.
18-20) . Some were slaves before they became Christians.
Some of these may have the opportunity of gaining
their freedom, in which case they had better take it2
(v. 21). But earthly slavery is a matter of no moment,
and among Christians the relationship of master and
slave is virtually done away, in view of the fact that
Christ has bought us all to His bond-service (vv. 22, 23).
Let everyone follow his God-given vocation (v. 24).
vii. 25—40. Concerning Virgins3
St Paul says he has no divine command, but gives
his personal opinion (v. 25) .
Because the distress accompanying the Last Day is
so near, it is better for a man to remain single4 (v. 26).
A married man must not, indeed, cancel his marriage;
but a widower should not seek a wife. It is not sinful
for him to marry, but only unadvisable. Similarly it is
not sinful for a virgin to marry (vv. 27, 28 a). But married
people will have more trouble in the last days than the
unmarried (v. 28 b). The Last Day being so near, life
1 Cf. Gal. v. 6, vi. 15.
2 This is probably the meaning of the words, though
grammatically they could also mean that the slave, even if he
has the chance of being free, should 'rather make use of his
slavery. See Lightfoot, Coloss. and Philem. p. 322, footnote.
3 This section is loosely strung together ; virgins as a class
are dealt with only in the last three verses, though they are
mentioned in vv. 28, 34.
4 Lit. 'to be so,' i.e. unmarried, in reference to the word
napBev&v, 'virgins,' in the preceding verse, which can apply
to men as well as women.

156 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
in all respects should be treated as about to pass away
(vv. 29-31). The unmarried, whether man or woman,
can [in the terrible circumstances that are soon to come]
wait upon the Lord without distraction, while the mar
ried are torn asunder between attending upon the Lord
and attending upon their wives andhusbands (vv. 32-35).
A parent or guardian in charge of a virgin had better
allow her to marry if she feels the necessity for it. But
if he can adhere to his determination that she shall re
main a virgin, he does well. The former action is right,
but the latter is preferable (vv. 36-38) x
A woman is bound by the marriage tie while her hus
band is alive. When she has become a widow she can
be married again, provided she is married to a Christian;
but she will be happier if she remain a widow (vv. 39, 40).
viii.-xi. 1. Concerning Idol-foods.
(a) viii. 1-13. The Higher Expediency.
Enlightened knowledge [of the nothingness of idols]
must yield place to Christian love (vv. 1-3). The enlight
ened Christian knows, of course, that an idol is a mere
nothing; he acknowledges only one God and one Christ
(vv. 4-6) . But this knowledge is not shared by all. Some,
in eating idol-foods, are conscientiously convinced that
the foods have been consecrated to real beings. Christian
liberty must not be allowed to wound the conscience
of others (vv. 7-12). Rather than do that, St Paul says,
he would renounce meat for the rest of his life (v. 13).
1 Another explanation of this difficult passage is that some
Christians at that period were adopting the custom of ' spiri
tual marriage' with virgins; and the apostle says that a man
and his virgin (not 'virgin daughter' as R.V.) may marry if
necessity demands it, but if he can adhere to his spiritual
attitude towards her it is preferable. See Lake, The Earlier
Epistles of St Paul, pp. 188-191.

IV] I CORINTHIANS 157
(b) ix. 1-27. The Higher Expediency illustrated in
the apostle's own manner of life.
He holds the position of an apostle, at least to the
Corinthians whose conversion is the seal of his work
(vv. 1-3). He can therefore claim the right of an apostle
to receive maintenance (vv. 4-12 a). All ministers in
sacred things have the same right, but he forbears to
insist on it (vv. 12 b-18) : firstly, that he may win as
many as possible to Christianity by being ' all things
to all men ' (vv. 19-23) ; secondly, that he may gain the
heavenly prize, for which he must keep his bodily desires
in control as an athlete in a race or a boxing match
(vv. 24-27).
(c) x. 1-22. The peril of presuming upon Christian
privileges by partaking in Idol-feasts. The Israelites had
received a foretaste of Christian Baptism in the cloud and
the crossing of the sea, and a foretaste of the Eucharist
in the manna and the water from the rock (vv. 1-4);
and yet they fell (v. 5). The Corinthian Christians are
in a similar danger (vv. 6-11). If they think they are
strong and enlightened enough to run spiritual risks,
they will probably fall, and it will be their own fault
(v. 12) ; for otherwise, God has never, and will never, let
a temptation assail them that is too hard for them
(v. 13) 1. Therefore they must shun idolatry, for it is
idolatry to partake of idol-feasts, in spite of their en
lightened knowledge (vv. 14, 15, 19-22), just as to par
take of the Christian cup and bread is to share in the
Blood and the Body of Christ (vv. 16, 17), and to partake
of Jewish sacrificial feasts is to share in the altar (v. 18).
1 This line of thought, which leads naturally to v. 14, is
drawn out by Godet. Other less satisfactory explanations
will be found mentioned in commentaries.

158 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
(d) x. 23-xi. 1. Advice in other cases connected with
Idol-foods. No eating of food can be wrong in itself, but it may
sometimes be unadvisable (vv. 23, 24). All meat sold in
the shops may be eaten freely, for the whole world be
longs to God (vv. 25, 26). A Christian at dinner with a
heathen may eat his meat if nothing is said about its
being idol-food (v. 27). But if anyone draws attention
to the fact that it is idol-food, it should be declined,
for the sake of the conscience of others, and to prevent
Christian liberty from being misunderstood (vv. 28-30).
They should aim, therefore, at the higher expediency,
as the apostle does himself (v. 31-xi. 1).
xi. 2-16. The covering of the head in public worship.
He is glad that they preserve the traditions which he
taught them; but they must not lose sight of woman's
status in the divine order (vv. 2, 3). In public worship
men dishonour their heads if they veil them, and women
if they do not (vv. 4-6). Woman is by nature in subjec
tion to man (vv. 7-9). Man's authority over her ought,
therefore, to be symbolized by a veil, 'because of the
angels1 ' (v. 10). It should be remembered, however, that
in their union with the Lord neither man nor woman
is complete without the other (vv. 11, 12). Common
decency, if nothing else, requires the veiling of woman
(v. 13). And nature itself teaches the same, by the in
stinctive feeling that long hair is a dishonour to a man
but a glory to a woman (vv. 14, 15). If anyone disputes
the advice here given, he must simply submit to the
universal custom in the Church (v. 16).
1 The meaning of this verse, which is much disputed, must
be studied in commentaries.

IV] I CORINTHIANS 159
xi. 17-34. The Holy Eucharist.
(a) The apostle has heard of abuses. They come to
gether in a wrong spirit (v. 17). Unity is destroyed,
firstly by their party divisions (vv. 18, 19), secondly by
their habit of each one eating the food that he has
brought, instead of waiting till all are present, so that
rich and poor can share alike (vv. 20-22).
(b) The origin of the feast was in the commands of
the Lord Jesus (vv. 23-25), so that it is a perpetual
declaration of His death until His Advent (v. 26).
(c) In view, then, of the nature of the feast, they
should test their practice and their attitude towards it,
because unworthy participation is perilous (vv. 27-32).
Let them wait till all are assembled; if they are too
hungry to wait, let them eat at home (vv. 33, 34 a).
Other matters he will put right when he visits them
(v. 34 b).
xii.-xiv. Concerning Spirit-filled persons1.
(a) He is anxious that they should understand this
matter rightly (xii. 1). Before their conversion they used
to be carried away by the obsession of idol-demons
(v. 2). The test to distinguish divine from demoniacal
inspiration is that with the former none can say 'Jesus
is anathema,' and without it none can say ' Jesus is
Lord' (v. 3). '
(b) The several charismata possessed by inspired per
sons are many and various; but the variety is due to
the action of the one and self-same Spirit, Lord, and
1 nepl t&v nvevpaTixav. This may be either masculine (cf.
ii. 15, iii. 1, xiv. 37, Gal. vi. 1) or neuter, 'spiritual things,
or charismata' (cf. xiv. 1). Elsewhere, however, the neuter
has a different force (cf. ii. 13, ix. 11, Rom. xv. 27).

160 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
God (vv. 4-6), for the advantage of the community (vv.
7-11). The nature of the community as the Body of
Christ is illustrated by the human body and its mem
bers, shewing what should be the attitude of individuals
with their respective charismata (vv. 12-30).
(c) But the readers are eager1 to know which are the
greatest charismata (v. 31 a). There is one thing which
far excels any ordinary charisma (v. 31 b), i.e. Love
(ch. xiii.) :
All charismata are worthless without Love (vv. 1-3).
The value of Love (vv. 4-7). The permanence of Love
(vv. 8-13).
(d) If, and only if, they follow this supreme principle
of corporate life, it will be right for them to desire the
spiritual charismata, especially that of Prophesying
(xiv. 1). For prophecy [ecstatic utterance that is intelli
gible] is preferable to 'tongue-speaking,' glossolalia
[ecstatic utterance that is unintelligible]: the former
edifies all who hear it, the latter only the speaker (vv.
2-6). Tongues are as useless to others as music with no
tune (vv. 7-9), or a foreign language unknown to the
hearer (vv. 10, 11). Tongue-speaking must therefore be
regulated for public edification (vv. 12-19). It is right
to be childlike in spirit, but that must not mean
to be lacking in common-sense (v. 20). As the Old
Testament suggests (v. 21), tongues are a sign to un
believers; prophecy to believers. The former looks like
madness, the latter can be a means of conversion (vv.
22-25). Practical regulations that charismata may be
used for public edification (vv. 26-33). Women must
not speak at all in church (vv. 34-36).
1 Or imperative, as in xiv. 1 : By all means be eager for
the greatest charismata.

IV] I CORINTHIANS l6l
Conclusion: The genuinely Spirit-filled person will
realise that the advice here given is good (tw. 37, 38).
Prophecy is to be eagerly desired, but tongues are not
to be forbidden (v. 39), prov.ided seemliness and order
are preserved (v. 40).
xv. Resurrection.
vv. 1-34. The Fact. Christian development of Jew
ish belief.
(a) Christ's Resurrection is a fundamental article of
apostolic preaching: The fundamentals which the apostle
delivered to the Corinthians (vv. 1-4). The witnesses of
Christ's Resurrection (vv. 5-9). The preaching of St
Paul and all the apostles (vv. 10, 11).
(6) The Resurrection of Christ and that of Christians
are complementary aspects of one truth: to deny either is
to deny the other (vv. 12, 13), a denial which does away
with a life after death, and therefore makes apostolic
preaching false, and Christian faith and hope futile (vv.
14-19). But if Christ has been raised, dead Christians
will be brought to life in Him as all men are brought
to death in Adam (vv. 20-22).
(c) The course of final events from Christ's Resurrec
tion till His ultimate subjection to the Father (vv. 23-28).
(d) Further considerations: If there is no Resurrec
tion [and therefore no life after death], why baptize
living persons for the benefit of the dead? (v. 29), and
why does the apostle endure daily perils and persecu
tions, instead of enjoying himself while he can? (vv. 31,
32) . They must not be led astray from their faith by
bad influence (vv. 33, 34).
vv- 35-58. The Nature of the risen body. A reply to
Gentile objections.

162 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
(a) Analogies from Nature (vv. 35-42) offer illustra
tions of the truth that the ' spiritual ' body differs from
the ' psychic ' body as the Second Adam from the First
(vv. 43-49)-
(b) It is true [as Gentiles in Corinth had probably
objected] that material flesh and blood cannot inherit
the divine Kingdom (v. 50) ; but the Christian mystery
is that a change of the material flesh and blood will take
place at the moment of the last trump (vv. 51-53), and
the final victory will be won in Christ over sin and death
(vv. 54-57). Concluding exhortation (v. 58).
xvi. Personal matters.
The Collection (vv. 1-4). Intended movements, of
himself1 (vv. 5-9), of Timothy2 (vv. 10, 11), of Apollos3
(v. 12). Exhortation to stedfastness and love (vv. 13,
14). Commendation of the household of Stephanas (vv.
15, 16) ; his mission to the apostle at Ephesus, with the
other bearers of the letter from the Corinthians (vv. 17,
18). Salutations (vv. 19, 20), and Conclusion (vv. 21-24).
CHAPTER V
II CORINTHIANS
This letter, though addressed not only to the Church
at Corinth but also to " all the saints which are in the
whole of Achaia,' was called forth, as 1 Corinthians was,
1 See p. 140. 2 See p. 139.
3 The words 'Now concerning (R.V. 'But as touching')
Apollos' suggest that the Corinthians in their letter had
asked that Apollos might visit them again. This was pro
bably the wish chiefly of the Apollos-party. But at any rate
his presence would only have intensified the party spirit; and
in complete loyalty to St Paul he refused to go, which the
apostle states with incisive brevity.

V] II CORINTHIANS 163
entirely by the circumstances of the moment. These
have been discussed on pp. 136-9. As regards its teach
ing in detail it has less bearing on the subsequent life
of the Christian Church than any other of St Paul's
epistles. But on the other hand, far more than any other
it affords a living picture of the man himself. It is his
character that here speaks to us, rather than his doctrine
or advice.
1. Analysis. i. 1, 2. Salutation.
i. 3-1 1. Thanksgiving.
i. 12-14. The ground of his confidence.
A. i. 15-vii. 16. Self-vindication.
i. 15— ii. 13. Of his dealings with them.
ii. 14-vii. 4. Of his apostleship. ;,
(a) ii. 14-iv. 6. His office.
(b) iv. 7-v. 10. His sufferings.
(c) v. 11-vi. 10. His life.
(d) vi. 11-13 and vii. 2-4. His personal feelings
for them. [vi. 14-vii. 1. Warning to separate them
selves from the uncleanness of heathen
idolatries1.]
vii. 5-16. Of his dealings with them.
B. viii., ix. The Collection.
viii. 1-15. An appeal to their liberality.
viii. 16-24. The mission of Titus and two other
brethren.
ix. 1-5. The same.
ix. 6-15. An appeal to their liberality.
1 On this passage, which is probably a fragment of an
earlier letter, see pp. 137 f.

164 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
C. x.-xiii. 10. Rebukes to opponents.
x. 1-1 1. He can act as sternly as he writes.
x. 12-xi. 15. A comparison of himself with his
opponents.
xi. 16-xii. 12. His right to boast.
xii. 13-18. He has not been, and will not be,
burdensome.
xii. 19-xiii. 10. He will act sternly if necessary.
xiii. 11-13. Conclusion.
2. Contents. i. 1, 2. Salutation, in which Timothy joins.
i. 3-1 1. Thanksgiving for the comfort which God
has given him in his recent tribulations.
i. 12-14. The ground of his confidence is his be
haviour when he was at Corinth, to which both
his own conscience and their acknowledgement
bear witness.
A. i. 15-vii. 16. Self-vindication.
i. 15— ii. 13. Of his dealings with them.
His change of plan did not involve fickleness (vv. 15-
17 a). His Yea and Nay in earthly matters, like his
teaching in spiritual matters, were in accordance with
the Truth which exists in the divine Nature (vv. 17 b-
22). His change of plan was in order to spare them
(v. 23— ii. 1). That he might be gladdened by the peni
tence of the offender (v. 2), and that he might have joy
and not sorrow from them, he wrote his sorrowful letter
(vv. 3, 4). Having punished the offender adequately,
they must not be over-severe, but must forgive him as
the apostle himself does (vv. 5-11). His agony of mind
at Troas, and his relief and joy when Titus met him in
Macedonia (vv. 12, 13).

V] II CORINTHIANS 165
ii. 14-vii. 4. Of his apostleship.
(a) ii. 14-iv. 6. His office. His work is like a sacri
ficial odour rising to God, life-giving to those who are
being saved, death-bringing to the perishing (vv. 14-
16). The sincerity of his teaching (v. 17). His indepen^
dence of human commendation, since the Corinthians
by their conversion are his true commendation (iii. 1-4) .J
His ministry is that of the New Covenant, which is in
comparably greater in glory than the Old, although the
Old, being of divine origin, had a temporary glory (vv.
5-18). The high character of his ministry is in keeping
with this (iv. 1-6).
(6) iv. 7-v. 10. His sufferings. They are necessary
to the spiritual efficiency of his ministry (vv. 7-15). They
are a preliminary stage in the stripping off of the tent
or garment of this earthly body, that he may be clothed
with heavenly life (v. 16-v. 5). They therefore free him
from all preference for earthly life, and help to prepare
him for the coming Judgment (vv. 6-10).
(c) v. 11-vi. 10. His life. The motive of his life is not^
self-commendation, but the fear of the Lord1, and the \
love of Christ because He died for us (vv. 11-15). The 1
nature of his life is that of a newly created being in
Christ, through whom God reconciles the world to Him
self ; and He commits to the apostle the office of pro
claiming this, so that he intreats the Corinthians as an
ambassador of Christ and of God (v. 16-vi. 2). The
earthly marks that his life is of this nature are sufferings
(w. 3-5), character (vv. 6, 7), and a spiritual indepen-^)
dence of circumstances (vv. 8-10).
(d) vi. 11-13, vii. 2-4. His personal feelings for the
Corinthians. His heart was wide open to them, and he
1 Sc. because of the coming Judgment.

166 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
longs that they should open their hearts to him (vv. n-
13, vii. 2 a). He had wronged none of them because he
loved them (vv. 2 b, 3). And now he was full of glorying
and joy about them (v. 4).
[vi. 14-vii. 1. For a Christian to be in close relation
with idolatrous non-Christians is incongruous and im
possible. They must therefore separate themselves from
this defilement, as Israel was commanded to do.]
vii. 5-16. Of his dealings with them.
After reaching Macedonia in intense anxiety, he was
comforted by the arrival of Titus (vv. 5, 6). His joyful
relief at the report of the effect of his sorrowful letter
as shewn in their treatment of the offender (vv. 7-12).
His joy was increased by the joy which Titus felt about
them (vv. 13-16).
B. viii., ix. The Collection.
May the example of the Macedonian churches stir
them to a like liberality (viii. 1-7). Inspired by Christ's
example of self-sacrifice may they be liberal, that they
and other churches may contribute in just proportions
(vv. 8-15). He is sending Titus and two other brethren
whom they can safely trust (vv. 16-24). He is sending
them to bring their collection to a successful issue, that
his boast of them to the Macedonians may not be dis
appointed (ix. 1-5). He asks them to give liberally, not
only for the relief of the poor, but as a thankoffering to
God for all His goodness to them (vv. 6-15).
C. x.-xiii. 10. Rebukes to opponents.
x. 1— 11. He can act as sternly as he writes.
He hopes that he will not have to act sternly, when he
comes, against some who treat him as an ordinary man
not filled with the Spirit (vv. 1, 2). For his warfare is

V] II CORINTHIANS 167
spiritual, and therefore powerful (vv. 3-6). To anyone
who self-confidently boasts that he belongs to Christ,
the apostle replies that he also belongs to Christ (v. 7).
But he will not boast of it in writing, for fear of appear
ing to support those who scoffed at him as being stern
on paper but weak when present in person (vv. 8-10).
Let such a scoffer take note that he can act as sternly
as he writes (v. 11).
x. i2-xi.i5. A comparisonof himself withhis opponents.
They must not imagine that his estimate of himself —
like that of some — is exaggerated, or that he oversteps
rightful limits in the area of his authority (vv. 12-18).
There are those who would lead them astray from Christ
to whom he had married them; and when this occurs
they put up with it remarkably well ! (xi. 1-6). Or per
haps it was the apostle himself that wronged them by
accepting help from Macedonia, and refusing to make
his maintenance a burden upon them! (vv. 7-10). His
reason was that if, in his love for them, he had accepted
their help, false apostles among them, doing Satan's
work, would have made it an opportunity of misrepre
senting his motives (vv. 11-15).
xi. 16-xii. 12. His right to boast.
They put up with it remarkably well when other?
people injure and enslave them, make gain of them, and
insult them; so he asks them to put up with him also,
while for a moment he speaks like a fool, and indulges
in a little boasting ! (vv. 16-21). He can boast of as good
a Jewish pedigree as they (v. 22), of far more labours
and sufferings in Christ's ministry (vv. 23-33), an(i of
visions and revelations, though here it is of another self
that he speaks (xii. 1-7 a). To prevent his being over-y'

168 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
elated by the revelations, a stake in the flesh was sent
him, which God, for his spiritual good, would not remove;
gladly therefore will he confine his boasting to his in
firmities and sufferings for Christ (vv. 7D-10). They
must forgive him this folly! It was they who forced
him to shew that he is at least up to the level of those
'apostles' who think so much of themselves; his work
among them proves it (vv. 11, 12).
xii. 13-18. He has not been, and will not be, burdensome.
They must forgive him for wronging them more than
other churches by not making his maintenance a burden
upon them! (v. 13). When he now comes he will be no
more burdensome than before, or than Titus was, or
anyone else whom he had sent to them (vv. 14-18).
xii. 19-xiii. 10. He will act sternly if necessary.
He is afraid that when he comes he will find many
abuses among them (vv. 19-21) ; and if so, he warns them
that he will act unsparingly (xiii. 1-6). But he prays
that they may shew themselves approved, not for his
credit but for their own (vv. 7-9). That is why he writes
thus, that he may not be obliged to use the authority
which the Lord has given him (v. 10).
xiii. 11-13. Conclusion.
CHAPTER VI
GALATIANS
1. Time and Place of Writing. We are here met
by complicated difficulties. The two views on the locality
of 'Galatia' (p. 51!) should be carefully read at this
point. It will then be clear to the reader that if, as may
be assumed, St Luke means by 'Galatia' the same dis-

VI] GALATIANS 169
trict as St Paul (1 Cor. xvi. 1, Gal. i. 2, 2 Tim. iv. 10),
the epistle must, on the North-Galatian view, have been
written later than the visit of Acts xvi. 6 ; on the South-
Galatian view it must have been written later than the
double journey of Acts xiii. 14-xiv. 24. In favour of the
South-Galatian view is the fact that St Paul habitually
uses the names of Roman provinces in geographical
statements: cf. Achaia (Rom. xv. 26 and elsewhere),
Macedonia (ibid., and elsewhere), Judaea (1 Thes. ii. 14,
2 Cor. i. 16, Rom. xv. 31), Arabia (Gal. i. 17, iv. 25),
Syria and Cilicia (Gal. i. 21), Asia (1 Cor. xvi. 19, 2 Cor.
i. 8, Rom. xvi. 5). It may also be noted that Barnabas,
who accompanied St Paul on his first tour but not after
wards, is mentioned as though known to the readers of
the epistle (ii. 13) x.
In iv. 13 St Paul says that because of an infirmity of
the flesh he preached to the Galatians 'the first time'
(R.V.),— 'at the first' (A.V.). The word2 would, in
strictly classical Greek, mean 'the former of two times.'
If this is the meaning, St Paul had paid two visits to the
Galatians before he wrote. On the North-Galatian view,
this would date the epistle after the visit of Acts xviii. 23
on the third tour; on the South-Galatian view, after the
visit of Acts xvi. 6 on the second tour. The former is
adopted by Lightfoot, who thinks that it was written
at Corinth during the third tour, the latter by Zahn and
Rendall, who think that it was written at Corinth during
the second tour, and by Ramsay, who prefers Antioch
between the second and the third tour. But in the Greek
1 Zahn ingeniously suggests a connexion between iv. 14
('ye received me as an angel (or messenger) of God') and
Acts xiv. 12 ('they called. . .Paul, Hermes,' i.e. the messenger
of the gods).
2 to nporepov.

170 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
of the Empire the meaning was often nearer to that in
the A.V., 'formerly,' ' originally,' a meaning found else
where in the New Testament1. In this case the expres
sion gives us no help in fixing the date, and we are
thrown back on our previous pair of alternatives.
Of these the North-Galatian alternative need not be
further discussed2. Accepting the South-Galatian view,
we can enter upon the study of the date of the epistle,
starting with the single fact that it was written after
the first tour, to those churches in Asia Minor which
the apostle had evangelized during that tour (Acts xiii.
14-xiv. 24).
The first important event recorded in the Acts after
the first tour is the Council of Jerusalem (Acts xv. 6-29).
Kirsopp Lake3, Emmet4, Bartlet5 and others would
date the epistle just before the Council, which would
make it the earliest of all St Paul's letters of which we
have any knowledge. In that case the Judaizers who
troubled the Christians in Antioch (xv. 1) must — though
there is no evidence of it — have travelled on further and
acted similarly in Galatia; and St Paul, receiving news
of it, wrote off at once. There is no chronological diffi
culty in this. The length of the first tour is not told us
in the Acts, nor of the 'no little time' that they stayed
at Antioch after their return (xiv. 28). But if the first
tour began in the spring or early summer, and ended,
say, in the early autumn of the next year, some nine
1 Cf. John vi. 62, ix. 8, 1 Tim. i. 13, and nporepov (without
the article), 2 Cor. i. 15, Heb. iv. 6; see also Heb. x. 32, 1 Pet.
i. 14. 2 Most of the necessary material will be found in Askwith,
The Ep. to the Galatians : an Essay on its Destination and Date.
3 The Earlier Epistles of St Paul, pp. 297-302.
4 Epistle to the Galatians.
5 The Apostolic Age, pp. 84, 85.

VI] GALATIANS 171
months may have elapsed before the Council. And if
the Judaizers went to Galatia before St Paul reached
the end of his tour, as they may very likely have done,
they would have a full year in which to 'pervert the
Gospel of Christ.'
The student should here recall what was said about
St Paul'svisits to Jerusalem (pp. 23-25). Intheepistle he
does not, according to the most probable view, mention
the Council visit. And that is the strongest argument
adduced for this early date. St Paul is thought to be
enumerating the events in his career, either which oc
curred up to the time of his writing, or ' which played a
part in the campaign between him and the Judaizers,
either for attack or defence' (Lake). In either case his
silence as to the apostolic decrees formulated at the
Council is inexplicable. Lake suggests that he wrote
the epistle after leaving Antioch, en route for the Council,
and that ' all the brethren who are with me ' (Gal. i. 2)
are his travelling companions1. Antioch itself is also
possible; but the words 'when Kephas came to Antioch'
do not make this certain.
This view has much in its favour. But it cannot be
considered conclusively proved, for two reasons:
(1) St Paul's object in writing Gal. i.-ii. 14 may not
have been quite as Lake describes it. The apostle was
concerned to meet the attacks which his opponents
made upon him. He wanted to prove (a) that he was
not an unauthorised upstart, and (b) that he did not
seek to "persuade' and 'please men' (i. 10). The former
(a) he proves by enumerating the events of his career,
1 If so, Barnabas was among them ; but the apostle is un
likely to have shewn him the letter he was writing, in view
of ii. 13.

172 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
not up to the time of writing but, up to the point at
which the apostles pledged themselves to recognise his
mission to the Gentiles; the latter (b) he illustrates by
the boldness with which he rebuked Kephas himself
when he made a mistake. If this is the right point of
view, his silence as to the apostolic decrees is not in
explicable. (2) Galatians is linked in language and thought with
Romans almost as closely as 1 Thessalonians with 2 Thes
salonians, or as Ephesians with Colossians. The Galatian
and the Roman Christians both needed the apostle's
teaching in opposition to Judaizers. Romans was written
at Corinth during the third tour (p. 181 f.). If, then,
Galatians was written before the Council, the Judaistic
controversy must have broken out at a later date at
Rome. But, as Lake says, there is no other evidence
that the controversy had first a lull and afterwards a
recrudescence ; and he concludes that ' the choice seems
to be between Lightfoot's date [i.e. shortly before
Romans], which satisfies the literary problem caused by
the resemblance of Galatians to Romans, but fails to
meet the historical difficulties raised by St Paul's silence
as to the Council and its decrees, and the theory placing
Galatians before the Council, which satisfies these his
torical difficulties, but fails to meet the literary pro
blem1.' If, however, as suggested above, the historical
difficulties connected with the Council are by no means
insuperable, Lightfoot's date gains in probability. And
this date in no way depends on his North-Galatian view.
On the contrary, if Acts xvi. 4 is trustworthy (which,
1 On Lake's conjecture that Rom. i.-xiv. was originally
a circular letter written at the same early date that he claims
for Galatians, see p. 187.

VI] GALATIANS 173
however, is doubtful), St Paul, according to the South-
Galatian view, had published in Galatia the decrees of
the Council before he wrote the epistle, which rendered
it still less incumbent upon him to mention them when
writing. Other minor considerations can be urged on
both sides, which cannot be discussed here. In a pro
blem so complex certainty is perhaps impossible. But
no other dates which have been suggested can be so well
supported as these two. Any intermediate date fails,
no less than the early one, to account for the close
affinity which the epistle bears to Romans. We conclude,
therefore, that Galatians was written either immediately
before the Council, between the first and the second tour,
or shortly before Romans in the course of the third tour,
and that the latter is on the whole the more probable.
If the latter date is correct, Ephesus1 can hardly have
been the place of writing, as several scholars have held,
since in iv. 20 he implies that it is impossible for him to
visit the Galatians in person, which, in his anxiety about
them, he would like to do; but from Ephesus he could
have gone to Galatia as easily as he did to Corinth (see
p. 140). The epistle may have been written en route
from Macedonia, in which case 'all the brethren that
are with me' (i. 2) were probably the travelling com
panions named in Acts xx. 4 as journeying with him back
from Corinth. Or he may have written soon after his
arrival at Corinth, and the brethren may have been the
Christians in that city. He does not give salutations
1 Barton, Journal of Biblical Lit. June 1915, revives the
theory of Wieseler that 'years' in Gal. iv. 10 refers to the
observance of a Sabbatical year. From some references to
Sabbatical years in 1 Mace, and Josephus he reckons that a
Sabbatical year began in the autumn of 53 a.d., and that
Galatians was written in 54, when he thinks that St Paul
was at Ephesus. But the argument is very precarious.

174 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
from particular persons, perhaps because no individual
Christians in Galatia were known to the brethren that
were with him.
2. Causes of Writing. There is no epistle of St Paul
in the study of which we have more need to remember
that it was a letter, called forth by the circumstances of
the moment. It contains much that was clear to his
readers, but obscure to us. Fortunately his main object
in writing, which is the chief thing that we want to
know, is clear.
He had himself founded the churches of Galatia. In
iv. 19 he compares himself with a mother who has, with
pangs of travail, brought to birth the Christ that is
in them ; and in i. 8, 9, iv. 13 he speaks of his preaching
in Galatia. In i. 8 'we preached' perhaps refers to the
fact that Silas was with him when he first visited them.
The Galatians were, for the most part, Gentiles, and
St Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles had taught them the
Gospel, which included the great truth that men are
saved, not by their obedience to the Jewish or any other
law, but through the Spirit, by faith in Jesus Christ.
But though they had received him enthusiastically, ' as
an angel of God, as Jesus Christ' (iv. 14, 15), they had
since begun to be led astray by false teachers (i. 7), who
troubled and unsettled them (i. 7, v. 10, 12). This they
did in two ways: (1) by trying to undermine his influ
ence and reputation, (2) by persuading them that they
could not rightly become Christians without also accept
ing Judaism.
(1) They seem to have told the Galatians that St Paul,
after his conversion, had held a position in the Church
quite subordinate to that of the apostles in Jerusalem;
that he was an unauthorised upstart, who took too much

VI] GALATIANS 175
upon him; and that in order to 'please men' (i. 10), he
made religion easier by omitting some of its essential
elements. (2) They tried to curry favour with them by flattery
and fair speech (iv. 17), so that they 'bewitched' them
(iii. 1), and hindered them when they were "running
well' (v. 7) on their Christian course. Their chief object
had been to persuade them to be circumcised (v. 2-12,
vi. 12, 13, 15). They had, in fact, "perverted the Gospel
of Christ ' (i. 7). The Galatians had turned to a different
Gospel, which could not really be called a second Gospel
because it was not a Gospel at all (ib.). So that St Paul
is afraid that when he tells them the unpalatable truth,
it will make him their enemy (iv. 16). They had already
begun to observe Jewish festivals (iv. 9, 10), and some of
them wanted to be 'under the Law' altogether (iv. 21).
These two dangers roused St Paul to a white heat of
indignation and sorrow. He wished he could come to
them in person (iv. 20), but that being impossible he
wrote them a letter. The attacks on himself he meets in
i.-ii. 14, with a final vehement exclamation in vi. 17;
the false teaching by which they had been bewitched is
dealt with in ii. 15- v. 26.
3. Analysis. It is natural that a letter thus born of
indignation and sorrow should shew no deliberate articu
lation or arrangement. Their very absence contributes
to its force and fire. But it may be regarded as falling
into five parts, as follows:
A. i.-ii. 14. Self-defence.
B. ii. 15-iv. 7. Doctrinal Instruction.
C. iv. 8-v. 24. Appeal to the Galatians on the
basis of this instruction.

176 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
D. v. 25-vi. 10. Further pieces of advice.
E. vi. 11-18. Vehement Conclusion.
4. Contents.
A. i.-ii. I4„ Self-defence.
i. 1-5. Salutation, introducing at the outset the self-
defence (v. 1 a, His apostleship was given him neither
from a human origin nor by human agency, but through
Jesus Christ and God the Father), and the doctrinal
instruction (v. 1 b, Christ's Resurrection, v. 4, His aton
ing Death).
i. 6-10. He is amazed at their rapid abandonment of
the Gospel which he had preached to them (vv. 6, 7).
Cursed is anyone who preaches to them any other Gospel,
which in fact cannot be a Gospel at all (vv. 8, 9). He
asks if that sounds as though he wants to 'please men' !
(v. 10).
i. 11, 12. He received his Gospel not by any human
authorisation or teaching, but direct from Jesus Christ.
i. 13, 14. They know how he used, as a strict Jew, to
persecute Christians.
i. 15-17. But when God's revelation of His Son in
him, for which He had destined him from birth, came
to him, he sought no human authorisation, even from
the apostles, but went away into Arabia.
i. 18-20. Then three years after his conversion he
paid Kephas a fortnight's visit in Jerusalem, where he
saw also James the Lord's brother; but no other apostles
were there.
i. 21-24. Then he went to Syria and Cilicia. He was
still unknown to the Christians in Judaea; only they
heard of his conversion, and glorified God in him.

VI] GALATIANS 177
ii. i-io. Then fourteen years afterwards1 he went to
Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, and had a private
conversation with the leading Christians there, to see
whether they agreed with his work among Gentiles.
Even then he refused to allow Titus, although a Gentile,
to be circumcised 2. James, Kephas, and John, realising
that God had been working in him no less than in Peter,
pledged their agreement that he and Barnabas should
preach to Gentiles, and they to Jews, only asking him
to remember the needs of the poorer Christians, which,
of course, he was eager to do.
ii. 11-14. But Kephas, on a visit to Antioch, shewed
cowardice in the matter of Christian liberty, under the
influence of some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem, and
even Barnabas was carried away by them. When Kephas
made this mistake, he did not hesitate to rebuke him
publicly. B. ii. 15-iv. 7. Doctrinal Instruction.
ii. 15-21. St Paul and other Jews who had believed
in Jesus Christ, and had been crucified with Him, had
thereby acknowledged that they could not be saved by
obedience to Law. For them to turn back, therefore, to
the Law would be to nullify the death of Christ.
iii. 1-5 . The Galatians, to whom he had vividly taught
the meaning of Christ's crucifixion, were bewitched.
When they became Christians they received the Spirit
through faith, not through obedience to Law. Did they
now expect to be perfected through obedience to Law?
iii. 6-9. Even Abraham (the great representative
of all Jews) received righteousness through faith (not
works) ; and it is those who do that who are his true sons.
1 See p. xiv. 2 See p. 25 f .
M^N. 12

178 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
iii. 10-14. Scripture (Deut. xxvii. 26) proves that
those who are under the Law are subject to a curse,
since none can keep its requirements perfectly, and
(Habak. ii. 4) that it is faith that gives life. Christ re
deemed us from this curse by becoming a curse on our
behalf in that He hung on a tree, in order that Gentiles
and Jews alike might, as true sons of Abraham, receive
the blessing that comes from faith.
iii. 15-18. This was promised to Abraham in language
which by its wording pointed to Christ; and the promise
was not annulled by the Law which was not given till
430 years later.
iii. 19-24. What, then, was the Law for? It was a
temporary arrangement added on because of sins — not
opposed, but inferior, to the promise — an arrangement
by which Jews were guarded and kept under control as
children, until their time of tutelage was past.
iii. 25-29. This tutelage was to fit them for the free
dom of sonship, which every man and woman alike, of
all races and classes, can now receive by union with
Christ. iv. 1-3. The tutelage is like that of a child, who
possesses nothing until he comes of age.
iv. 4-7. But by the Incarnation are received all the
potentialities involved in sonship; and by the Holy
Spirit is received that which makes this sonship real
and actual.
C. iv. 8-v. 24. Appeal to the Galatians based on this
instruction. iv. 8-12. They used to be in bondage to gods which
were no gods, and yet now that they are free they want
to enslave themselves again, this time to the bondage

VI] GALATIANS 179
of Law! They had already begun to observe some of
its ordinances, so that the apostle is afraid that his work
among them was in vain. He had made himself virtu
ally a Gentile as they were, by giving up Judaism; and
he beseeches them to make themselves free as he is, by
doing the same.
iv. 13-20. They had received his preaching originally
with enthusiasm; but now they treat him as their enemy
because he tells them the truth. They have been cajoled
by the flatteries of false teachers. The pangs by which he
brought them to their spiritual birth need to be repeated,
and he is at a loss to know what to think about them.
iv. 21-28. But the ver}' Law, to which they want to
submit, proclaims its own inferiority by relating the
story of Isaac the son of the free woman and Ishmael
the son of the slave. Now Hagar with her son Ishmael,
Mt Sinai where the Law was given1, and the earthly
Jerusalem (i.e. the Jewish nation), which is bondage to
' the Law, all stand in the same category, and are opposed
to Sarah with her son Isaac, and the heavenly Jerusalem
(i.e. the Christian Church).
iv. 29-v. 1. But the former, in accordance with the
Scripture story, must give place to the latter. Christians,
therefore, are free; and the Galatians ought to stand
firm in their freedom, and refuse to be again enslaved.
v. 2-6. They will be throwing away that freedom, and
Christ's work will avail them nothing, if they submit to
circumcision. v. 7-12. It is not God (who called them to be Chris
tians) who had led them to this step, but they had been
1 The difficult clause ' For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia '
(as read by Lightfoot and in R.V. margin) is perhaps a mar
ginal gloss by a scribe. 12 — 2

180 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
persuaded by their false teachers. The apostle's perse
cutions shew that he does not preach the necessity of
circumcision; those that do, might just as well go the
whole length and mutilate themselves (as do heathen
devotees) !
v. 13-15. At the same time freedom is not selfish
licence. They are not free from the law of love to their
neighbour. v. 16-24. If they live in the Spirit, which frees them
from the Law, it will produce in them not the works of
the flesh but the fruits of the Spirit.
D. v. 25-vi. 10. Further pieces of advice.
v. 25-vi. 5. Life in the Spirit does not free them from
the necessity of humility and gentleness. They must
shew forbearance and sympathy to an erring brother,
bearing the burdens of others, remembering their own
worthlessness; for everyone shall be held individually
responsible for his own load of obligations.
vi. 6-10. One way of bearing the burden of others is
that the Galatians should supply liberally the earthly
needs of those who teach them. Since everyone shall
reap what he sows, whether fleshly corruption or eternal
spiritual life, let us do all the good we can to others,
especially to Christians, while we still have the oppor
tunity. E. vi. n-18. Vehement Conclusion.
vi. 11. He is writing1 to them with his own hand, to
press the importance of his words.
1 It is doubtful if the epistolary aorist eypa-fya refers to the
whole letter or only to the postscript. But the use of large
handwriting in an autograph conclusion finds analogies in
Egyptian papyri (see Kenyon, Handbook to the Textual Criti
cism of the N.T. p. 26; ed. 2, p. 30).

VI] GALATIANS 181
vi. 12, 13. Those who try to persuade them to be
circumcised are insincere in their attempts; they only
want to boast over them.
vi. 14-16. He will boast of nothing but the Cross of
Christ, through which the world is dead to him and he
to it; for nothing matters except to live the life of a
new creation. Peace be to all Gentiles and Jews alike
who follow this rule.
vi. 17. Let no-one henceforth cause trouble by oppos
ing his authority. The scars of persecution mark him as
the slave of Jesus.
vi. 18. The Grace. CHAPTER VII
ROMANS
1. Time and Place of Writing. The problems here
raised are different in kind from those which we have
studied in connexion with the preceding epistles. The
indications seem clear, at first sight, that the epistle was
written from Corinth, during the visit of Acts xx. 3, in
the third missionary tour, just before St Paul started
on his last fateful journey to Jerusalem. In xv. 25-27
he states that he is just starting for Jerusalem with the
contributions for the poor from the Christians of Mace
donia and Achaia. In xvi. 1 he commends to his readers
Phoebe the 'ministress' of the Church at Cenchreae,
the eastern harbour of Corinth. And some of the names
of those who join him in greetings are in harmony with
this : (1) Gaius (xvi. 23) ; St Paul had baptized a Gaius
at Corinth (1 Cor. i. 14). (2) Erastus the treasurer of
the city (xvi. 23) ; in 2 Tim. iv. 20 an Erastus is mentioned
as having stayed behind at Corinth, which he might

182 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
naturally do if it was his home. (3) Timothy and Sosi-
pater or Sopater (xvi. 21) ; in Acts xx. 4 they are named
among the apostle's companions on his departure from
Corinth. It must be noticed that all these indications occur in
chs. xv., xvi. But there are reasons for doubting whether
ch. xvi. was originally written to Rome at all; and there
is MS evidence, though much less convincing, which
has led some to think that ch. xv. as well as ch. xvi.
was absent from the original epistle (see next section).
The only safe conclusions, therefore, are: (a) Ch. xvi. was
written from Corinth at a time when Timothy and Sosi-
pater were with him, and when Prisca and Aquila (to
whom he sends greeting, v. 3) were not with him, i.e.
later than thevisit of Acts xviii., and probably during the
visit of Acts xx. 3, just before he started for Jerusalem.
(6) Ch. xv. (probably with chs. i.-xiv.) was written either
at Corinth just before he started for Jerusalem, or in the
course of the journey to Jerusalem.
2. Integrity, (a) Ch. xvi. Some think that this
chapter was originally addressed not to Rome but to
Ephesus, and that it was combined with Romans when
St Paul's letters were formed into a collection. The
principal reasons for this view are as follows:
(1) Seeing that St Paul had never visited Rome before
he wrote, it is unlikely that he knew personally so many
Christians there as the salutations would suggest, where
as he had stayed over two years at Ephesus. Moreover
in the letters which he afterwards wrote from Rome,
not one of these Christians who are saluted in Romans
is mentioned. (2) A salutation is sent to Prisca and Aquila (v. 3) .
They had come from Rome to Corinth, where St Paul

VII] ROMANS 183
joined them (Acts xviii. 1-3). They had accompanied
him thence to Ephesus, where they stayed (vv. 18, 19),
not only till Apollos went thither (v. 26), but till St Paul
paid his long visit there and wrote 1 Cor. xvi. 19 in
which he sent greeting from them 'with the Church
that is in their house.' But in Rom. xvi. 5 the greeting
to them is followed by a greeting to 'the Church that is
in their house.' If, then, ch. xvi. is really part of the
original letter to Rome, Prisca and Aquila, after making
their house a Christian centre at Ephesus, must have
left that city and returned to Rome, and so established
themselves there that their house became a Christian
centre, between the writing of 1 Corinthians and Romans,
i.e. within two years at the outside, very possibly within
twelve months (see pp. 135-7).
(3) Epaenetus is described (v. 5) as ' the firstfruits of
Asia unto Christ,' i.e. the first convert to Christianity
who had been won in the province of Asia. St Paul
would be more likely to mention this fact if Epaenetus
were then in Asia Minor than if he were at Rome.
(4) St Paul would be more likely to commend Phoebe
(vv. 1, 2) to a Church which he knew, and where his
commendation would have special weight, than to a
Church which he had never visited.
(5) The evils which he rebukes in vv. 17, 18 were rife
at Ephesus, but there is no evidence that they were to
be found, at that time, in Rome.
(6) xv. 33 sounds like the final conclusion of a
letter. None of these amounts to actual proof, but their com
bined force is strong, and gives to the conjecture a high
degree of probability. If it is correct, the letter may
be practically complete as it stands, its main purpose

184 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
being to commend Phoebe and to send greetings to
friends. The closing Grace or Benediction is probably
lost, for v. 241 is absent from the best MSS, and the
Doxology (vv. 25-27) does not seem originally to have
belonged to the chapter.
(b) Chs. xv., xvi. Difficult questions relating to the
last two chapters as a whole are occasioned by the
Doxology. The following are the principal elements in
the problem.
(1) In some MSS xvi. 25-27 is placed at the end of
ch. xiv. 2 The chapter headings in two of the most im
portant3, and in several other, MSS of the Vulgate seem
to imply that the epistle was sometimes found without
chs. xv„ xvi. Origen, in Rufinus' Latin translation, says
of the heretic Marcion that he omitted (abstulit) the
Doxology, and dissecuit chs. xv., xvi. ; but the meaning
of the latter verb is disputed4. And it is not improbable
1 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.' 2 In ALP, many minuscules, Syrhd, arm. codd. Chrys. Of
these AP 5 17 arm. codd. have it also at the end of the epistle.
It stands at the end of the epistle in NBCDE, a few minus
cules, codd. known to Origenlat, vulg. syr. memph. aeth.
Origlat, Ambst. It is omitted in FG, but the scribe of G
leaves a space at xiv. 23, shewing that he knew a MS or MSS
in which it stood there.
3 Amiatinus and Fuldensis. The Amiatine chapter head
ings were based on a Latin text earlier than Jerome.
4 The ordinary meaning 'cut up,' 'mutilated' (so Zahn)
can hardly be intended. It seems to mean either ' cut away,'
'removed,' being used for the sake of variety with the same
force as abstulit (Lake) , or ' separated off ' (Hort) . It probably
represents Siireptiv. The two chapters contain so much that
was opposed to Marcion's doctrine that Sanday and Head-
lam (Romans, p.xcvif.) and Corssen (ZNW. 1909, pp. i, 97)
think that he was first responsible for their omission. But
it is more probable that he adopted the shorter form of the
epistle which he already found to hand.

VII] ROMANS 185
that the early Latin writers Cyprian and Tertullian used
the shorter form of the epistle1.
(2) There is evidence that in a number of early MSS,
including those from which the text of Origen was de
rived, the words 'in Rome' in i. 7, and 'who are in
Rome2' in i. 15, were omitted. Without these words,
and without chs. xv., xvi., there would be nothing what
ever to shew that the epistle was addressed to Rome at all.
(3) Apart from the textual evidence, many have
doubted whether the Doxology was written by St Paul.
The style and language are unlike those of Romans, and
approximate to those of Ephesians and the Pastoral
Epistles. It is questioned whether St Paul would have
spoken of 'the mystery which hath been kept in silence
through times eternal' (R.V.) ; his usual thought is that
it was proclaimed in the Old Testament, but not under
stood till Christ's coming made it clear.
(4) A consideration to which too little weight is given
is that xv. 1-13 continues the thought of ch. xiv., so
that their separation is strange. It is also strange that
xiv. 23, with no Grace or Benediction, should have
formed the end of a letter.
The following are some of the suggestions which have
been made.
Lightfoot (Biblical Essays, pp. 287 ff.) thought that
the original epistle contained all that is in the present
one except the Doxology. At some later date St Paul
himself altered it into a circular letter for general use
by omitting chs. xv., xvi., which contain personal mat
ter, and the mention of Rome in i. 7, 15, and then wrote
1 The significance of their silence as to the last two chap
ters is pointed out by Lake, pp. 337-9.
2 rots iv 'Paprj.

186 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
the Doxology to form a fitting close to the shortened
letter. Editors afterwards transferred the Doxology to
the end of the original, longer, letter.
This is beset by two difficulties, apart from the style
and language of the Doxology. (i) It is not easy to see
why St Paul, in shortening the letter for general use,
omitted xv. 1-13, which, as said above, forms a con
tinuation of ch. xiv. The personal matter does not
begin till xv. 14, and v. 13 would have made an excellent
ending. (2) In omitting personal matter, why did he
not omit the personal references to his intended visit,
and his desire to see his readers, in i. 10-13?
Sanday and Headlam (Romans, p. xcvii f.) avoid the
difficulty of the separation of xv. 1-13 from ch. xiv. by
St Paul himself. They think that Marcion omitted xv.
1-13 for the same reason that made him omit the Doxo
logy, because it contained material at variance with his
heretical views, e.g. the Old Testament quotations, the
statement in v. 4 that the Old Testament was ' written
for our learning,' and in v. 8 that 'Christ hath been
made a minister of the circumcision on behalf of the
truth of God.' He also omitted the remainder of chs.
xv., xvi., because the personal matter was useless for the
definite dogmatic purposes which he had in view, and
therewith also the mention of Rome in i. 7, 15. This
shortened form became current, and was afterwards
adopted in the Church as useful for ecclesiastical pur
poses. But this explanation, though attractively simple, falls
to the ground if the evidence, as is probable, points to
the fact that Marcion did not shorten the epistle himself,
but found it already shortened, and merely perpetuated
that form of it because it suited his purpose.

VII] ROMANS 187
Kirsopp Lake (The Earlier Epistles of St Paul,p. 362)
proposes an inversion of Lightfoot's theory. The short
form of the letter was the original, ' written by St Paul
at the same time as Galatians, in connection with the
question of Jewish and Gentile Christians, for the gene
ral instruction of mixed Churches which he had not
visited.' 'Later on he sent a copy to Rome, with the
addition of the other chapters to serve, as we should
say, as a covering letter.' As it was originally a circular
letter, he left a blank space where the name 'Rome'
now stands in i. 7, as is done in the best MSS at Eph. i. 1.
Lake explains xv. 1-13 as an addition ' continuing the
thoughts of his original writing, probably because Aquila
had told him that this would be desirable.'
The date of Galatians does not affect the theory. But
there are difficulties. It is not easy to imagine why the
general remarks of xv. 1-13 (especially of vv. 1-7) were
desirable after the particular injunctions on the same
subject in ch. xiv. Details might have been desirable
after generalities, but not vice-versa. It is still harder to
explain i. 8-15. A blank space might be left in i. 7, in
the opening salutation, as some think was done in Ephe
sians, but it is much more awkward in i. 15, where the
theory also requires it, though Lake does not mention
it. And it is impossible to suppose that to each of the
Churches to which the circular letter was to be carried
St Paul wrote that he was always praying that he might
at last be able to come to them (v. 10), and that he had
frequently purposed to do so but had been prevented
(v. 13). The contents of vv. 8-15 as a whole seem to
point to a particular Church, and are out of place in a
circular letter.
Moffatt (Introd. to the Lit. of the N.T. p. 142) arrives

188 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [ch.
at the conclusion that the epistle originally consisted
of chs. i.-xv., to which xvi. 1-23, a letter to Ephesus,
was added when the Pauline epistles were collected. An
editor composed the Doxology and placed it in its pre
sent position at the end. But the desire arose to adapt
the epistle for general use to be read in Church; so chs.
xv., xvi. were omitted, together with the mention of
Rome in i. 7, 15, and the Doxology was transferred to
the end of the shortened epistle, i.e. to follow xiv. 23.
But the difficulty of the separation of xv. 1-13 from
ch. xiv. still remains. In those days the epistle was not
divided into chapters; and there is no discernible reason
why these verses should not have been included, to form
a natural ending to the epistle for general Church use.
None of these solutions, then, are free from objections;
and the tantalizing combination of difficulties invites
another attempt at explanation. The phenomena may
have arisen as follows. The epistle may originally have
contained chs. i.-xvi. without the Doxology, or more pro
bably chs. i.-xv., to which xvi. 1-23, a letter to Ephesus,
was added in a collection of Pauline epistles. Someone,
probably not St Paul, at an early date composed the
Doxology, placing it either after xv. 13 or somewhere
in connexion with xv. 8-12, as a comment upon the Old
Testament quotations about the Gentiles. But he placed
it in such a position in his manuscript (in the margin
or otherwise) as to lead to its accidental transference by
a copyist to the end of ch. xiv. Thus xv. 1-13 was sepa
rated from ch. xiv., and chs. xv., xvi. received the ap
pearance of being a separate whole, the bulk of which
was of a personal character, and was therefore omitted,
with the mention of Rome in i. 7, 15, in copies made
for general Church purposes. This shortened form was

VII] ROMANS 189
adopted by Marcion. If either he or St Paul himself had
been responsible for the shortening of the epistle, they
would not have scrupled to go further, and omit the
personal matter in i. 8-13, which ecclesiastical editors
did not venture to do. Finally, later editors of the epistle
in its longer form transferred the Doxology to the end.
3. Causes of Writing. St Paul must have received,
no doubt from Aquila and Priscilla, who had recently
left Rome, and had been with him at Corinth and Ephe
sus (Acts xviii. 2, 18 1, 26, xix. 1), a full account of the
Christian Church at Rome, its composition and condition,
and its spiritual and doctrinal needs. His evangelizing
work had hitherto prevented him from visiting Rome,
and even now, though he intended soon to do so if pos
sible, he did not know what might be the outcome of
his visit to Jerusalem, in view of the hostility of the
Jews (Rom. xv. 31). He must, therefore, have seized
the first opportunity that occurred of writing fully to
the Christians at the all-important centre of the Empire.
Since his practice was to refrain from evangelizing places
where Christianity was already established (xv. 20), he
would not go to Rome as a missionary, but intended
only to pay a passing visit. And meantime it would be
an advantage to have the Roman Christians in harmony
with his general doctrinal position before he extended
his missionary labours further westward, as he hoped
to do. He had learnt a good deal about them, but at
the same time few of them can have been personally
known to him. He could, therefore, write them a long
letter, much calmer and more deliberate in tone than
those which he had felt compelled to write to Corinth
or Galatia. But that does not mean that he composed
a general treatise on Christian doctrine. Some of the

10,0 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
fundamental things of Christianity, e.g. the Holy Com
munion, the Church, the nature of Christ, His Resurrec
tion, and His future Advent, receive no definite treat
ment. As in his other letters, it is of great interest to
note the truths which he takes for granted. The contents
of the letter were no doubt determined, as elsewhere, by
the immediate needs of his readers. They seem to indi
cate that the majority of the Roman Christians were
Gentile, and the minority Jewish. And the former
needed the guidance of a master mind, not so much in
meeting particular local difficulties as in framing a com
prehensive apologia for the principle of a universal reli
gion as set over against Jewish nationalism. He there
fore spends the greater part of the epistle on two sub
jects: (i) the contrast between the Jewish and the
Christian methods of obtaining " righteousness1 '; (2) the
problem of the failure of the Jews in view of their divine
election. It is not always easy to trace with exact precision his
line of thought from sentence to sentence. 'We must
try to comprehend the position of such a man when,
perhaps in the midst of his handicraft, he dictated on
difficult matters in which his thoughts pressed one upon
another, in order to judge truly to what degree he would
be likely to fail in good connexion and orderly progress
of thought2.' Nevertheless in general outline the course
of argument is clear and well maintained.
4. Analysis. i. 1-7. Salutation.
i. 8-15. Thanksgiving, and Personal matter.
1 On this fundamental conception see p. 293 . A study of it
is essential for an understanding of the epistle.
2 P. W. Schmiedel, Hibbert Journal, 1903, p. 549.

VII] ROMANS 191
A. i. 16-v. 21. Justification.
i. 16, 17. Thesis.
i. 18— iii. 20. Universal failure of Gentile and Jew
to attain to Righteousness.
(a) i. 18— ii. 29. Statement of their failure.
(b) iii. 1-8. Three objections answered1.
(c) iii. 9-20. The failure proved from Scrip
ture.
iii. 21-31. The New System of attaining to
Righteousness is explained.
iv. 1-25. The New System corroborated by the
case of Abraham.
v. 1-21. The glorious effects of the New System.
(a) vv. 1-4. The effects enumerated.
(6) tw.5-11. The consideration of God's love
gives confidence of final salvation.
(c) vv. 12-21. Adam and Christ, vv. 12-17,
Their similarities and difference, vv.
18-21, Summary.
B. vi.-viii. Sanctification.
vi., vii. Four objections answered.
(a) vi. 1-14. If more sin on man's part
means more grace on God's, why not
go on sinning?
(6) vi. 15-vii. 6. If we are released from
Law, are we not free to sin if we like?
(c) vii. 7-12. If release from Law means re
lease from sin, are not Law and sin
identical?
1 These and other objections in the epistle seem to be
merely rhetorical, introduced in order to lead up to the
answers; it is not probable that St Paul thought they would
actually be brought forward by any of the Roman Christians.

192 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
(d) vii. 13-25. Did the good Law, then, cause
death?
viii. The working out of the Christian's salvation
by the indwelling of the Spirit.
C. ix.-xi. The Rejection of Israel.
ix. 1-5. Introduction.
ix. 6-29. The Justice of the Rejection.
(a) vv. 6-13. It is not inconsistent with
God's promises.
(b) vv. 14-29. It is not inconsistent with
God's justice.
ix. 30-x. 13. Causes of the Rejection.
x. 14-21. The Jews had no excuse from want of
warning.
xi. Facts which lessen the difficulty.
(a) vv. 1-10. The rejection is not that of
all Israel.
(b) vv. 11-24. The rejection is not final.
(c) vv. 25-36. God's ultimate purpose is
mercy to all.
D. xii.-xv. 13. Practical Exhortations based on the
foregoing teaching.
xv. 14-33. Personal matter.
xvi. 1, 2. Commendation of Phoebe.
3-16. Salutations.
17-20. A warning against false teachers.
21-23. Greetings.
25-27. Doxology.
5. Contents.
i. 1-7. Salutation. St Paul says that he was set apart
to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who was foretold

VII] ROMANS 193
in the Old Testament, a descendant of David, marked
out as Son of God by the Resurrection. And his apostle
ship was in order to bring to the obedience of faith all
nations, among whom are his readers.
i. 8-15. He gives thanks for their widely known faith.
He constantly prays that he may be able to visit them,
that he and they may be mutually helped, but hitherto
he has been prevented. He owes much to Gentiles of
all sorts, and is therefore eager to preach in Rome also.
A. i. 16-v. 21. Justification, or the attaining to
' Righteousness.' i. 16, 17. Thesis. He is proud of the Gospel which he
preaches, for it consists of the saving truth that a new
kind of righteousness is revealed by God, attainable
by Jew and Gentile alike.
i. 18-iii. 20. Universal failure of Gentile and Jew alike
under the old system.
(a) i. 18— ii. 29. Statement of their failure. Gentile
(i. 18-32); Gentile and Jew (ii. 1-16); Jew (ii. 17-29).
(b) iii. 1-8. Three objections answered.
(1) vv. 1, 2. What advantage, then, have the Jews
from their privileged position? Answer. A great deal.
First of all they were entrusted with Messianic pro
phecies. [St Paul breaks off, and does not speak of
their other privileges till ix. 4, 5.]
(2) vv. 3, 4. If disobedience forfeits God's promises,
does it annul God's faithful adherence to His word?
Answer. Far from it. Let man be as bad as you like,
but at all costs maintain the character of God.
(3) vv- 5_8. If, then, our unrighteousness only
shews up God's righteousness in a clearer light, what
right has He to be angry with us? Answer. Because
m«n. 13

194 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
He must be Judge of the world; and because, if the
objection were sound, it would be right to do evil that
good may come (which some people falsely charged
St Paul with teaching), which is in fact utterly bad.
(c) iii. 9-20. The failure proved from Scripture1.
iii. 21-31. The New System is therefore explained.
vv. 21-25 a. Its nature is that of a free gift, a right
eousness to which the Old Testament witnesses, obtain
able by all alike through faith, and resulting from the
death of Christ.
vv. 25 b, 26. God formerly overlooked men's sins, but
it was with a view to vindicating His righteousness by
His new system.
vv. 27-30. Two corollaries : Personal merit is excluded
(vv. 27, 28); Jew and Gentile are on the same footing
vv. 29, 30).
v. 31. Objection: Does not this annul Law? Answer.
On the contrary, it brings to fulfilment the deepest prin
ciple of Law.
iv. 1-25. The New System corroborated by the case of
A braham. vv. 1-8. Abraham attained to righteousness, not by
works but by faith. Scripture itself says 'Abraham
believed God etc' (Gen. xv. 6). And a righteousness
apart from works is clearly implied in Ps. xxxii. 1 f.
vv. 9-12. Faith and Circumcision. Abraham's faith
1 St Paul gives a catena of passages from Ps. xiv. 1 ff.,
v. 9, cxl. 3, x. 7, Is. lix. 7 f., Ps. xxxvi. 1. All these, after
the first, were inserted by Christian scribes into MSS of
the LXX in Ps. xiv., and thus found their way through
the Vulgate, and the translations of it by Coverdale, Matthew,
and Cranmer, into the Prayer Book Psalter of the English
Church.

VII] ROMANS 195
was earlier than his circumcision ; the latter was added
afterwards as a seal, ratifying his possession of the
righteousness which he had already gained. And his
true descendants are all who imitate his faith, whether
they are circumcised or not.
vv. 13-17 a. Promise and Law. The promise to Abra
ham and his descendants was no more dependent upon
Law than it was on Circumcision. Law only makes sin
to be sinful, since transgression implies a Law to be
transgressed. God's New System, therefore, was made
to turn on faith, which is possible for all, whether they
are under the Law or not.
vv. 17 b-25. Abraham's faith that God could bring
Isaac to birth, as it were from the dead (Abraham and
his wife being both of great age), is a type of the Chris
tian's faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead.
v. 1— 21. The glorious effects of the New System.
(a) vv. 1-4. The effects enumerated : Peace with God,
access into our present state of grace, hope of the glory
of God; also boasting in our tribulations, since they
result in patience, approved worth, and hope.
(b) vv. 5-8. And we shall not be disappointed in this
hope, because God's love, poured into our hearts by the
Holy Spirit which was given to us when we became
Christians, makes us confident of final salvation, through
the death of Christ which He suffered for us when we
were yet sinners.
vv. 9-1 1. [The first step having been accomplished,
i.e. a potential righteousness having been provided for
all by Christ's death] a priori the second and easier step
will be accomplished, i.e. our actual salvation by appro
priating what He has done for us. 13—2

196 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
(c) vv. 12-21. Adam and Christ, v. 12. Adam is a
type of Christ1, in that the effects of his act were trans
mitted to his descendants, vv. 13, 14. That the effects
of Adam's sin were transmitted is clear from the fact
that, though sin is not reckoned as such when there is
no law to be transgressed, yet real sin was in the world
before the Mosaic Law was given, as is shewn by the
universal reign of death in the period between Adam
and Moses, even though men did not sin in the same
sense that Adam did, i.e. by transgressing a definite
command. But Adam and Christ are unlike in three ways: (1)
v. 15, In the quality of their act. Adam's fall brought
death to the many; God's action in Christ was free kind
ness to the many. (2) v. 16, In the order of working.
In Adam's case, one sin was followed by universal con
demnation; in Christ's case, the sins of many were fol
lowed by one act of acquittal for all. (3) v. 17, In the
consequences. In the one case, death reigned; in the
other, Christians shall reign in life.
to. 18-21. Summary. The Old and the New System,
then, present a series of opposites. On the one hand one
trespass bringing condemnation because it made men
sinners : on the other, one act of righteousness bringing
life because it constitutes men righteous. Law came in
later, to make sin more sinful, that God's free kind
ness might be enhanced; so that a contrast again offers
itself — sin reigning in the realm of death, free kind
ness reigning through righteousness resulting in eternal
life. 1 This is not stated till the last clause of v. 14, but St Paul
is about to lead up to it in v. 12 when he breaks off with the
parenthesis.

Vii] ROMANS 197
B. vi.-viii. Sanctification. (This is the making
actual, in the individual, of the righteousness which is
potentially his in Christ.)
vi., vii. Four objections answered.
(a) vi. 1-14. If more sin on man's part means more
grace on God's, why not go on sinning? Answer. It is
unthinkable. The baptized Christian, in his true ideal
nature, cannot sin, for he has been killed, buried, and
risen, with Christ. As having reached this condition he
must present himself to God, free from Law and there
fore from sin.
(b) vi. 15-vii. 6. If we are released from Law, are
we not free to sin if we like? Answer. Far from it. We
are released, only to belong to another Master, like a
transferred slave (vi. 15-23), or a re-married woman
(vii. 1-6).
(c) vii. 7-12. If release from Law means release from
sin, are not Law and sin identical? Answer. Far from
it. Law, by forbidding sin, stirs it to action so that it
leads to death.
(d) vii. 13-25. Did the good Law, then, cause death?
Answer. Far from it. It only shewed how terrible sin
was. My better self is powerless to prevent me from
doing wrong (vv. 14-17), and to make me do right (vv.
18-21) . Thus a conflict is always raging within me, from
which Christ alone can deliver me (vv. 22-25).
viii. The working out of the Christian's salvation by
the indwelling of the. Spirit.
vv. 1-4. The result of the Incarnation and Death of
Christ isa life according to the Spirit, in Him, which
gives freedom from condemnation because it gives
freedom from the law of sin and death.

198 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
vv. 5-11. The old and the new life, the fleshly and the
spiritual, compared.
vv. 12-17. Those who live the spiritual life are God's
sons, and the divine Spirit in union with theirs witnesses
to the certainty of it. And as sons, they are heirs, who
will obtain their inheritance with Christ if they are
united with Him by suffering.
vv. 18-22. For suffering is the path to glory, not only
in man but also in the whole of creation, which is waiting
in sorrow and pain like a woman in childbirth, till it
shares the glorious existence destined for the sons of
God. vv. 23-25. And Christians feel the same pain and
longing, though they already experience, in their partial
possession of the Spirit, a foretaste of that for which
they long; they yearn for the possession of full sonship
and the final deliverance of their bodies. Hope is the
Christian's necessary attitude while the things for which
he hopes are still out of sight.
vv. 26, 27. And when we try to express our hopes in
prayer we are capable only of inarticulate groanings,
but these are uttered by the divine Spirit within us
interceding for us with perfect success because God
knows that His intercessions are in complete accord with
His will.
vv. 28-30. Moreover the Christians' salvation pro
ceeds along the lines of God's eternal plan working for
their good; He planned that they should receive a share
in the life of his Son; for this purpose He planned their
call, then their acquittal, and finally their participation
in His glorious perfection.
vv. 31-34. From all this we can gain the confident
assurance that God who spared not His Son from death

VII] ROMANS 199
will give us all things necessary for our salvation. Since
He, the Judge, is on our side, none can prevent our
acquittal, and the ascended Christ intercedes for us.
vv- 35~39- Nothing — not persecution, nor anything
else in heaven or earth — can come between us and the
great love of God in Christ Jesus.
C. ix.-xi. The Rejection of Israel.
ix. 1-5. Introduction, emphasizing the difficulty of
the problem (which St Paul, as a Jew, feels intensely,
vv. 2, 3)1 by enlarging upon the privileges given to the
Jews. ix. 6-29. The Justice of the Rejection.
(a) vv. 6-13. The rejection is not inconsistent with
God's promises. The possibility of some Jews being
rejected is illustrated by the fact that the promises were
originally given not to all Abraham's descendants but
only to the line of Isaac.
(b) vv. 14-29. Nor is it inconsistent with God's justice.
vv. 14-18. Does this choice of Isaac's line to the ex
clusion of Esau's mean that God can commit injustice?
Answer. Far from it. Scripture shews that He has the
right to confer favours as He wills, both by His words
to Moses (Ex. xxxiii. 19) and by His treatment of
Pharaoh. vv. 19-29. If God has willed that some persons shall
be rejected because of their sins, why should they be
blamed if they fulfil His will by sinning? Answer. A
mere man has no more right to find fault with God than
1 'His rehgious philosophy of history is suddenly shot
across by a strong personal emotion . . . and this passage
shews how his rehgious patriotism flickered up inside his
Christian outlook, even in spite of the treatment which he
received from Jews and Gentiles alike' (Moffatt).

200 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
a vessel to find fault with the potter who made it. Still
less when he realises that God's ultimate purpose is to
shew mercy both to the Jewish nation is spite of their
sins, and also to all men, Jew and Gentile alike, whom
He has chosen for glory.
ix. 30-x. 13. Causes of the Rejection.
ix. 30-33. The solution must be that Israel was re
jected because they sought righteousness in their own
way, by works, and not in God's way, by faith. So that
when the Messiah came, they stumbled, as Scripture
foretold. x. 1-4. They refused to give up the Law, though the
Law had come to an end in Christ.
x. 5-13. And this although the old system of obtain
ing righteousness was impossible, while the new one was
easy, within reach of all (as Scripture indeed declared,
Deut. xxx. 12 ff.) because Christ is in the world avail
able for all, and universal in its scope.
x. 14-21. The Jews had no excuse from want of warning.
They would have had if the Gospel message had not
been proclaimed; but it was proclaimed as widely as the
stretch of the firmament of heaven. And Scripture1
shews that they had every opportunity of knowing about
it, and failed solely by their own fault.
xi. Facts which lessen the difficulty.
(a) vv. 1-10. The Rejection is not that of all Israel.
It is not true to say that God has entirely rejected
His people. (St Paul speaks feehngly, because he is a
devoted Jew himself, v. 2.) God's answer to Elijah's
complaint expresses the truth that a Remnant was
1 Ps. xix. 4, Deut. xxxii. 21, Is. lxv. 1, 2.

VII] ROMANS 201
preserved, not by works but by grace. The rest of
Israel, who sought salvation in the wrong way, were
punished with spiritual obtuseness and blindness.
(b) vv. 1 1-24. The Rejection is not final.
Its result having been the extension of God's blessings
to the Gentiles, the Jews in turn will be stirred to
jealousy (vv. n-15). The guarantee of this is that the
stock from which Israel sprang (i.e. the patriarchs) was
sacred (v. 16). If God, against the usual order of nature,
grafted the Gentiles into it, they must not be proud,
for sin will exclude them no less surely than it excluded
the Jews; and on the other hand, the Jews can much
more easily be re-grafted into their own stock (vv. 17-
24). (c) vv. 25-36. God's ultimate purpose is mercy to all.
The saving of Israel will take place when the saving
of the Gentiles is accomplished (vv. 25-27). They are at
present rejected for the sake of the Gentiles, but God's
promises to the patriarchs cannot fail (vv. 28, 29). The
conversion of Israel will be parallel with the conversion
of the Gentiles, that God's mercy may be extended to
all (vv. 28-32).
Conclusion: an exclamation of praise and wonder at
God's wisdom (vv. 33-36).
D. xii.-xv. 13. Practical Exhortations based on
the foregoing teaching.
xii. 1, 2. Therefore the readers must apply these
truths to their life by self-dedication to God.
xii. 3-21. Ways in which self -dedication will shew
itself in the behaviour of members of a Body to the other
members.

202 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [ch.
xiii. 1-7. It will shew itself in the behaviour of mem
bers of a civil state to its rulers.
xiii. 8-10. Love is to be the all-pervading principle
of action.
xiii. 11-14. The nearness of the Last Day supplies a
strong additional motive.
xiv. 1-23. A particular way in which Love must shew
itself, i.e. in regard to foods. Christian liberty must give
place to Christian charity towards the scruples of weak
consciences. xv. 1-7. The same thought in more general language.
vv. 8-13. The exhortation "receive one another etc'
[sc. in the matter of foods, and in other respects] is en
forced by reminding the Gentiles that Christ submitted
to circumcision in order to save them and to fulfil thereby
the promises made to the ancestors of the Jews, and by
reminding the Jews that those promises included the
saving of the Gentiles1 (vv. 8, 9 a). Four Old Testament
passages2 are quoted in support of this (vv. 9 b-12).
Concluding prayer for the readers (v. 13).
In the personal matter with which St Paul closes, he
refers (a) to his work in the past, (b) to his proposed
movements in the future.
(a) xv. 14-17. He writes this advice, not because he
has any doubt of the readers' goodness and knowledge,
but because he is the apostle of the Gentiles, offering
them to God as His priest, vv. 18-21. He makes bold
to do this, because God has so wonderfully used him in
his mission work to Gentiles over a wide sphere.
(b) xv. 22-33. His proposed visit to Rome, on the
way to Spain, after taking the alms to Jerusalem.
1 I.e. in the words 'all the families of the earth.'
2 Ps. xviii. 49, Deut. xxxii. 43, Ps. cxvii. 1, Is. xi. 10.

VII] ROMANS 203
Ch. xvi.
vv. 1, 2. The readers are asked to give a cordial Chris
tian reception to Phoebe, a ' ministress ' of the Church
at Cenchreae, and to afford her any help she needs.
vv. 3-16. Salutations to individuals and to groups of
Christians. vv. 17-20. A warning not to be led away into divisions
and mistakes by false teachers, who for purely selfish
ends delude the simple by their plausibility and flattery.
The obedience (to the faith) of the readers is widely
known, and St Paul rejoices at it, but he wants them to
be careful. The Last Day is near at hand, when God will
beat down Satan under their feet.
vv. 21-23. Greetings from eight Christians at Corinth.
vv. 25-27. Doxology.
EPISTLES WRITTEN IN CAPTIVITY
CHAPTER VIII
COLOSSIANS
1. Colossae. This epistle is like Romans in being
written to a church which St Paul had not founded, or
even visited (i. 4, 9, ii. 1). It had been founded, and
probably also Laodicea and Hierapolis, by Epaphras1
(i. 7, iv. 12 f.), who was himself a Colossian (iv. 12), and
a Gentile, as his name suggests, and as St Paul implies
by separating him from 'those who are of the cir
cumcision' (v. 11).
Colossae and Laodicea lay some 10 miles apart, on
1 A shorter form of Epaphroditus. But he must be dis
tinguished from the Christian of that name mentioned in
Phil. ii. 25, iv. 18. It was a common Greek name.

204 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
the high road from Ephesus to the East, in the valley
of the river Lycus, a southern tributary of the Maeander.
Hierapolis was about 6 miles north of Colossae, on high
ground on the other side of the river. St Paul on his
third tour would have passed through the first two
towns if he had kept to the main road; but he had
travelled by 'the higher parts' (Acts xix. i), i.e. probably
by a smaller road which ran further North than Hiera
polis (seep. 79). St Luke states that through St Paul's
long activity at Ephesus 'all they which dwelt in [the
Roman province of] Asia heard the word of the Lord1
(Acts xix. 10). This must have been through the agency
of St Paul's converts, of whom Epaphras was no doubt
one. St Paul speaks of him as 'a faithful minister of
Christ on our behalf (Col. i. 7), which probably means
that the apostle had sent him as his substitute to evan
gelize Colossae.
2. Time and Place of Writing. St Paul when he
wrote was a prisoner in bonds (iv. 3, 18). This must have
been the imprisonment related in Acts xxviii., since it is
fairly certain that Rome was the place of writing. The
epistle is connected by obvious links with Philemon,
which was written from Rome (see p. 211) : Onesimus
accompanies both epistles (iv. 9, Philem. 10-12), in both
Archippus is greeted (iv. 17, Ph. 2), Timotheus joins in
the opening salutation, and Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus,
Demas, and Luke are named (iv. 7-14, Ph. 23, 24). The
suggestion that the apostle wrote in prison at Caesarea
has nothing to recommend it. At Caesarea he had
recently stayed with Philip the evangelist (Acts xxi. 8),
and since his friends were allowed access to him in
prison (xxiv. 23), he would probably have mentioned
Philip had the epistle been written there.

VIII] COLOSSIANS 205
3. Cause of Writing. The cause which drew forth
the letter was a report, brought to the apostle by Epa
phras, of the spiritual condition of the Colossians. St
Paul tactfully speaks (i. 3-8) of this report as having
acquainted him with their 'faith in Christ Jesus,' and
the 'love which they have toward all the saints' (v. 4),
and their 'love in spirit ' (v. 8). They were still keen and
true-hearted. But the simple strength of their first faith,
as Epaphras must also have told him, was in danger of
being affected by the intellectual atmosphere of the dis
trict in which they lived. The Laodicean Church was
similarly affected, and St Paul's letter was intended for
both (iv. 16).
4. The Colossian Danger. There were many Jews
in the neighbourhood who had become Christians. But
they were different in character from the Judaizers who
had troubled the Gentile Christians in Galatia. The
Jews in and around the Lycus valley were affected by
the variety of foreign tendencies which went to form
the popular ideas of the surrounding Phrygian paganism,
including Greek philosophical speculations, and mysti
cal theosophy from the East. The Colossian heresy can
not be described as purely Jewish, though its authors
were Jews by race. There can hardly have been a single
Jew in the district whose religious and intellectual ideas
were unaffected by foreign influences. The Jewish false
teachers tried to persuade the Gentile Christians, not
that Judaism with its circumcision and other ordinances
was a necessary step towards Christianity, but that
Christianity, as Epaphras had taught it when he evan
gelized Colossae, was only a preliminary step towards a
deeper, vaster, and therefore humbler 'philosophy'
(ii. 8).

206 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
There appear to have been two main aspects in their
teaching, angel-worship and asceticism.
(a) It was not enough, they said, to be simple believers
in Christ; they ought to go further and be 'perfected'
(cf . i. 28, " perfect in Christ ') by being initiated into the
greater mystery that the Fulness of the Godhead (cf . ii. 9)
is brought into relationship with men by the agency of
Angels1 (ii. 18), who must therefore be worshipped with
a 'self-imposed service' and 'abasement' (vv. 18, 23).
(b) To reach this intenser, more exalted, religious con
dition, man must purge himself from the malign influence
exercised upon his soul by his material body. For this
purpose a rigid and ascetic rule of life was necessary, in
volving obedience to man-made ordinances, commands,
and teachings (ii. 21, 22), which include circumcision
(vv. 11-13), the observance of festivals, new moons, and
sabbaths, and restrictions in the matter of food and
drink (v. 16), and other things, which must not be
handled, tasted, or touched (v. 21).
These are the two foci round which their mistaken
ideas revolved — the ' treasures of wisdom and knowledge
hid ' (cf . ii. 3) in the mystery of an angelic theosophy, and
the asceticism, containing elements of the Jewish rules
of life, by which those who are initiated into the mystery
advance towards perfection. This was not the developed
Gnosticism which a little later ran riot in the Church;
but some of its theosophical and dualistic features are
beginning to appear.
St Paul, In opposing them, steadily refuses to admit
1 According to one interpretation of ii. 8, 20 the ' elements
(R.V. rudiments) of the world' are the Angels, i.e. personi
fications of cosmic powers (cf. i. 15, ii. 10, 15), especially of
the stars. Jewish thought bad begun to assimilate such ideas
from the East.

vni] COLOSSIANS 207
the two foci. He. points instead to the true mystery,
the Person of Christ Jesus, as the centre and the whole
of the circle of all things that are. Each several mistake
that the Colossians are in danger of making arises from the
loosening of their grip of the fundamental truth of Christ.
5- Analysis. i. 1, 2. Salutation.
i. 3-8. Thanksgiving for the readers.
i. 9-14. Prayer for the readers.
A. i. 15-20. The true Mystery: the Person of Christ.
i. 15 a. Christ in relation to God.
i. 15 b-17. Christ in relation to the Universe.
i. 18. Christ in relation to the Church.
i. 19, 20. The divine intention which necessitated
this three-fold relation.
B. i. 21-ii. 3. In this Mystery the Colossians have a
share.
i. 21-23. The Colossians were Gentile sinners
reconciled to God.
i. 24-29. The apostle is appointed to teach men
of the Mystery.
ii. 1-3. His eager desire that his readers may
learn it.
C. ii. 4-iii. 4. Warnings against those who would
initiate them into a false mystery.
D. iii. 5-iv. 6. Exhortations based on the above
teaching. '
iv. 7-9. Personal matter.
iv. 10-15. Salutations.
iv. 16, 17. Two injunctions.
iv. 18. Autographic conclusion.

208 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
6. Contents.
i. I, 2. Salutation from St Paul and Timotheus.
i. 3-8. Thanksgiving for the readers' faith in Christ
and love to other Christians. The Gospel which taught
them of their heavenly hope has borne fruit in them
through the preaching of Epaphras, who has brought
a report of them to the apostle.
i. 9-14. Prayer for the readers that they may go on
advancing in knowledge and wisdom, pleasing God in
their daily lives, divinely strengthened for joyful patience
and longsuffering, and giving thanks to the Father for
what He has done for men in Jesus Christ. [A transition
is thus made to the doctrinal portion of the epistle.]
A. i. 15-20. The true Mystery: the Person of Christ.
i. 15 a. Christ in relation to God. He is the Image, the
exact ' Replica,' of the invisible God.
i. 15 b-17. Christ in relation to the Universe. He is,
eternally, prior to and supreme over the Universe, as its
unifying Principle.
i. 18. Christ in relation to the Church. He is, in time,
prior to and supreme over the Church, as its Head, so
that He might become supreme over everything.
i. 19, 20. Christ has this three-fold relationship be
cause it was God's will
(a) that the divine Pleroma should dwell in Him
(v. 19).
(b) that by His death all things in the entire Uni
verse might be brought back into union with
God (v. 20).
B. i. 21-ii. 3. In this Mystery the Colossians have a
share. i. 21-23. They were once aliens and enemies, but were

VIII] COLOSSIANS 209
reconciled to God by Christ's death, that He may pre
sent them faultless before God, if they remain faithful
to the universal Gospel.
i. 24-29. Of this Gospel the apostle is a minister. By
sufferings he does his part to complete the work of
Christ's Passion; by preaching to fulfil the work of God's
word, striving hard to dispense to all men the knowledge
. of _the Mystery.
ii- 1~3- He strives in particular for the Colossians and
their neighbours, that they may be encouraged, and
in close Christian unity may learn the true and all-em
bracing Mystery of God, i.e. Christ.
C. ii. 4— iii. 4. Warnings against those who would
initiate them into a false mystery.
ii. 4-7. He says this to warn them against being
misled (v. 4), at the same time rejoicing in their spiritual
state (v. 5) ; and he exhorts them to go on to further
progress (vv. 6, 7).
ii. 8-10. They must let none mislead them to follow
anything lower than Christ, for it is He in whom the
divine ' Fulness ' dwells ' bodily- wise ' (i.e. in the Church,
His Body), and in Him they are 'fulfilled.'
ii. 11-15. It is not by Jewish circumcision that they
can be perfected, but by the spiritual circumcision, i.e.
union with Christ's death by baptism, the death by
which He did away with human ordinances, and tri
umphed over all angelic powers.
ii. 16-19. Therefore they must not be misled to trust
in human ordinances such as the Jewish rules of foods
or festivals, or in the self-imposed abasement in the wor
ship of angelic powers, instead of holding fast to Christ
the Head, from whom the whole Body receives its life.

210 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
ii. 20-23. If they died with Christ from their pagan life,
it is a relapse into their old condition to trust in human
ordinances of asceticism and voluntary abasement.
iii. 1-4. If they were raised with Christ, they must
set their minds on heavenly things in union with Him,
and then in union with Him they will be finally glorified.
D. iii. 5-iv. 6. Exhortations based on the above
teaching. iii. 5-11. Because by their death with Christ they
have potentially put off their old self and put on the
new self, they must make this actual in their lives by
killing all fleshly passions and putting off all sins of the
heart and tongue.
iii. 12-17. Conversely they must put on all Christian
graces both in their dealings with one another, and in
their attitude of mind towards God.
iii. 18-iv. 6. Particular graces:
iii. 18, 19. Of wives and husbands.
iii. 20, 21. Of children and parents.
iii. 22-iv. 1. Of slaves and masters.
iv. 2-4. Prayer and thanksgiving to God, includ
ing prayer for the apostle and his work.
iv. 5, 6. Right behaviour and language towards
non-Christians.
iv. 7-9. The apostle is sending Tychicus, and also
Onesimus a faithful and beloved fellow-Christian, to
bring news of himself.
iv. 10-15. Salutations from three Jews, Aristarchus,
Mark, and Jesus Justus, also from Epaphras who always
prays for them and has laboured hard in preaching
to them, Luke the beloved physician, and Demas. Salu
tations to the Laodicean Church, and to Nympha

VIII] COLOSSIANS 211
(? Nymphas) and the Christians who meet at her (v. I.
their) house.
iv. 16, 17. The Colossians and Laodiceans are to inter
change the letters that the apostle is sending to them.
Archippus is exhorted to fulfil his Christian ministry.
iv. 18. Final greeting in the apostle's own handwriting.

CHAPTER IX
PHILEMON
1. Introduction. This is the only complete letter
of St Paul that we possess written to an individual. It
must have owed its place in the Canon to the zealous
care with which the early Church collected all known
letters of the apostle. It is an affectionate note to a
Christian named Philemon about his runaway slave
Onesimus whom St Paul had converted, and was send
ing back to him. Philemon probably lived at Colossae,
since Onesimus is mentioned as accompanying Tychicus
thither, and is described as 'one of you,' i.e. a Colossian
(Col. iv. 9). On the points of connexion between this
letter and Colossians see p. 204.
St Paul wrote it in captivity (vv. 9, 13), at Rome.
That it was Rome, where the narrative of the Acts leaves
him, and not Caesarea (Acts xxiii. 33), is clear from the
fact that he hoped soon to be released and to visit
Colossae (v. 22). When he was imprisoned at Caesarea
he claimed and expected to be sent to Rome, and could
have had no thought of going to Colossae. Moreover
Onesimus the runaway slave would be likely to escape
to Rome, and very unlikely to escape to Caesarea. 14 — 2

212 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
The letter is important, partly as giving an insight
into St Paul's character, as revealed in his warmhearted
affection for the slave his convert, and delicate tact
towards Philemon, and partly as shewing his attitude
towards slavery. He did not attempt to raise his voice
against it. With all its unspeakable horrors it was a
universal practice deeply engrained in Greek and Roman
life, as it had been in the life of all ancient races. To
attempt to do away with it in that age would have pro
duced a revolution with horrors even worse than those
of the institution itself. The apostle took the same line
that our Lord had taken with regard to many points :
instead of laying down definite injunctions, he pene
trated to principles. He taught that in God's sight there
were no distinctions of master and slave (i Cor. xii. 13,
Gal. iii. 28, Eph. vi. 8, 9, Col. iii. 11); all alike were
'bought' by Christ for His service (1 Cor. vii. 22, 23).
Therefore Philemon must, not release Onesimus but,
love him1. This principle was in the long run bound to
put an end to slavery, and has in fact done so in all
modern communities influenced by Christian ideals.
2. Contents.
vv. 1-3. Salutation from Paul and Timothy to Phile
mon, Apphiahis sister, and Archippus and the Christians
who met at Philemon's house.
vv. 4-7. Thanksgiving for Philemon's spiritual con
dition and his loving helpfulness to other Christians.
1 Cf. Ignat. ad Polyc. 4, ' Despise not slaves, whether men
or women. But neither let them be puffed up, but let them
do their duty as slaves the more (diligently) to God's glory,
that they may obtain a better freedom from God. Let them
not desire to be redeemed (by money) from the pubhc fund
(of the Church), lest they be found slaves of lust.'

IX] PHILEMON 213
vv. 8-12. For this reason the apostle affectionately
pleads with him on behalf of the slave Onesimus whom
he had, while a prisoner, converted, and was now sending
back to him.
vv. 13, 14. He would have liked to keep him as his
attendant, but would not do so without Philemon's per
mission. vv. 15-17. He begs him to receive him back, no longer
as a mere slave, but as a Christian slave, 'a brother
beloved.' vv. 18, 19. Hepromises to make good anything in which
Onesimus has wronged him or any debt that he owes him.
At the same time he tenderly reminds Philemon that he
can claim from him a far greater debt, his own self.
vv. 20, 21. He pleads, but also expresses confidence,
that Philemon will do what he asks, and more.
v. 22. He asks him to prepare a lodging for him, as
he hopes to visit him shortly.
vv. 23-25 . Greetings from five1 Christians. The Grace.

CHAPTER X
EPHESIANS
1. Object of Writing. This epistle stands alone
among the Pauline writings in that it was not called
forth by the external circumstances or immediate needs
of any particular Church or person. It deals with the
theme treated in Colossians, ' Christ in relation to God,
the Universe, and the Church,' but not, however, in
opposition to false views, but as a means of defining
God's eternal purpose for the human race. Consequently
1 Or perhaps six ; see p. 254 n.

214 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
it presents close parallels of language with the non-
polemical portions of Colossians. But because the apostle
was not attacking opponents, he was free to work out
his great theme in the highest heights and deepest
depths of thought. Christian writers have vied with
one another in their praise of the sublimity and massive-
ness of his teaching.
2. Time and Place of Writing. The epistle was
written in captivity (iii. i, iv. i, vi. 20), at the same time,
as Colossians, and therefore at Rome. This is shewn by
the close similarity of the language, and by the mention
of Tychicus (vi. 21, 22) in words almost identical with
Col. iv. 7, 8. (Onesimus is not, as there, named as his
companion, because he was going straight back to Co
lossae to his master Philemon, and would not accompany
Tychicus when he went on to deliver this letter.) And
Rome, the head of the Empire, with its wonderful
organization by which it controlled its vast dominions,
probably helped the apostle, in both letters, in forming
his vivid conception of the one Body controlled by the
Head (i. 22, ii. 16, iii. 6, iv. 4, 12 f., 15 f., v. 23, 30).
Perhaps also the constant presence of the soldiers to
whom he was chained suggested to him the thought of
the Christian armour (vi. 10-17), though the wording
of the passage is borrowed from the Old Testament.
3. Destination. According to the Received Text of
i. 1 the salutation is addressed 'to the saints which are
in Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus.' But some
very ancient authorities omit in Ephesus1, as noted in
R.V. margin, i.e. the important uncials KB, a corrector
of 67 who often preserves ancient readings, 184 a late
1 Westcott and Hort mark the fact by printing the passage
thus: Ttiis dylois tois ovtriv [iv 'E^o-ip] Kit mtrrols iv Xpitrrti
'Irjtrov.

X] EPHESIANS 215
minuscule closely allied to the text of Origen's commen
taries, Origen himself who fancifully explains the words
'the saints which are' by referring to the divine title
I AM in Exodus, and by Marcion who styles the epistle
' to the Laodiceans.' Basil knew early MSS which omit
ted the words, and it is possible, though not certain,
that Jerome's remarks (Comm. in Eph.) imply that his
text omitted them.
If they are omitted, the only grammatical rendering
of the sentence is 'to the saints which are also faithful
in Christ Jesus.' But (1) this puts an impossible empha
sis on 'faithful,' as though the apostle meant that he
did not intend to write to those saints who were not
faithful. (2) It is forbidden by the parallel expressions
in other epistles: Rom. i. 7 'to all who are in Rome,
God's beloved, called as saints1,' 1 Cor. i. 2 'To the
Church of God which is in Corinth, sanctified in Christ
Jesus, called as saints.' 2 Cor. i. 1 'To the Church of
God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in
the whole of Achaia.' Phil. i. 1 'To all the saints in
Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.' And in Col. i. 2, to
which the present epistle is closely allied, the words are
' to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ in Colossae.'
The explanation now widely accepted is that St Paul
wished to write a circular letter to the series of Churches
which Tychicus would visit in turn, and that he left a
blank space which could be filled in with the name of the
Church in the copy intended for each. This would also
account for the absence of any greetings to individuals,
which would be very surprising if the epistle were
1 In the shorter form bf Romans (seep. 185) the omission
of 'in Rome' produced much the same phenomenon as in
Ephesians, though the omission there does not make the sen
tence grammatically quite so difficult as here.

2l6 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
addressed only to the Ephesian Church whose members
St Paul knew intimately.
Many writers also think it probable that when St Paul
bade the Colossians (iv. 16) read ' the letter [which will
reach you] from Laodicea,' he was referring to this cir
cular letter. As he was sending them a special letter of
their own, he would not be likely to send them also a
copy of the circular letter with ' in Colossae ' inserted in
the blank space, though he might think it would be
good for them to read it. This conjecture, however, does
not affect the main question of the circular letter, though
it depends upon it. If Ephesians was a circular letter,
it is not impossible that the words in Colossians referred
to it. But on the other hand St Paul may have written
a letter to Laodicea which is now lost.
But the theory of the circular letter is not free from
difficulty. If a place name was inserted in each copy
delivered by Tychicus as he travelled from town to town,
one must have been inserted in the archetype of X and
B. Why was it omitted by subsequent scribes between
the archetype and XB? It is difficult to suppose that
that archetype happened to be a spare copy that was
never delivered by Tychicus, and therefore contained
no place name. It is even more improbable that the
original place name to which St Paul addressed the letter
dropped out accidentally, and not only the place name
but also the preposition. If, however, it was a circular
letter, and if it was the letter that the Colossians were
to receive from Laodicea, we can only conjecture that
the Laodiceans, not liking to send away their own letter,
sent to Colossae a copy omitting the place name; and
that this was the copy used when the collection of
Pauline epistles was made. Some think that 'in Ephesus'

X] EPHESIANS 217
was inserted at that time, because the collection was
probably made at Ephesus, which was the chief city of
the district and the place where St Paul resided for the
longest period in his missionary work.
Another possibility must not be lost sight of, that the
epistle was originally written to a single Church, and
concluded with salutations to individuals, but that the
place name and the salutations were omitted when the
desire arose to adapt it for general Church use. The
case would then be parallel with that of Romans (see
pp. 185-9) '• an(i as the ecclesiastical editors did not go
so far as to omit the personal allusions in Rom. i. 8-15, so
here they refrained from omitting those in vi. 21, 22.
If the epistle was written to a single Church that was
not Ephesus, Marcion and other heretics1 may have
been right after all in calling it the Epistle to the Lao
diceans, and it may have been the letter which the
Colossians were to receive from Laodicea in return for
their own epistle which they were to send thither2.
If this theory is right, no MSS of the original epistle
were preserved. But the awkwardness of i. 1 without a
place name was felt, and when the Pauline collection
was made, ' in Ephesus ' may have been inserted.
4. Genuineness. Much more important than the
textual difficulty, which will perhaps never be solved,
is the contention of many writers that Ephesians is not
1 Tert. Adv. Marc. v. 11: 'Praetereo hie etde alia epistola,
quam nos "ad Ephesios" perscriptam habemus, haeretici
vero "ad Laodicenos." '
2 This reason for omitting the original iv AaoStWa is at
least as probable as that suggested by Harnack (Sitzungsber.
d. kon. preuss. Akad. d. Wiss. xxxvii.), that it was omitted
when Laodicea had become a name of ignominy as in Rev.
iii. 14-16. And see Bacon, Expos. March 1915, pp. 239-241.

2l8 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
a genuine letter of St Paul. This view is based upon its
language, style, and doctrine.
(a) Language. This differs in many words, phrases,
and constructions from the language of the epistles
which are certainly by St Paul. But difference in subject
matter involves some difference of language. And where
the subject matter is similar, as in the portions which
find parallels in Colossians, it is unsafe to suppose that
a mind such as St Paul's could not vary his forms of
expression. In particular, the expression 'His holy
apostles and prophets' (iii. 5; cf. ii. 20, iv. n) is thought
to be unsuitable from St Paul's pen, and to be the work
of one who could not claim to be either apostle or pro
phet. But apart from the fact that the author, if he was
not St Paul, was writing in his name, and did not con
sider it unsuitable to represent him as using the expres
sion, it must be remembered that St Paul speaks else
where of ' apostles and prophets ' in the Christian Church
(1 Cor. xii. 28, 29, a passage closely allied with Eph. iv.
11), and that the word rendered 'holy,' 'saints' is that
which he frequently employs in the sense of ' Christians.'
It represents the ideal for all, though none reach it.
(b) Style. This has undeniably a literary stamp of
its own. In other epistles St Paul frequently appears
as a spiritual father burning with eagerness for the cor
rection and building up of his converts by dealing with
their particular needs and failings; or as a combatant,
striving to ward off the attacks of opponents. And his
pen is a rapier, which with all its quickness is often too
slow for the rush of his thoughts. But here his pen and
his thoughts are at one, moving forward with the flow
of a deep river. But as in the case of the language the
difference can be accounted for by the difference of

X] EPHESIANS 219
subject matter. His style is the natural result of the
temper of mind in which his high themes were written, a
rapt contemplation of the cosmic mystery of Christianity.
(c) Doctrine. It is on this that the denial of the Pauline
authorship is chiefly based. The doctrine is said to re
present a more developed state of thought regarding
the nature of Christ and of the Church than St Paul is
likely to have reached. In some respects it approximates
to that in the Pastoral Epistles (the genuineness of
which is open to considerable doubt), 1 Peter (which the
author of Ephesians is thought to have used), Hebrews,
and the Gospel and First Epistle of St John. The
teaching of the epistle is described as 'a. set of varia
tions played by a master hand upon one or two themes
suggested by Colossians'; 'a catholicized version' of
Colossians written in Paul's name to Gentile Christen
dom (ii. 11, iii. 1); the solitary reference to concrete
conditions (vi. 21, 22) is adapted from Colossians in
order to lend vraisemblance1 to the writing, and the
general traits of the homily rank it among the catholic
epistles or pastorals of the early Church' (Moffatt). If
it was known to Clement of Rome (96 a.d.), who has
what appear to be echoes of its language in two or three
passages2, the unknown author must have written it
1 If so, i. 1 with its place name must have been written
with the same purpose. It is impossible to suppose that St
Paul or anyone else originally wrote that verse as it stands
in NB.
2 'Through Him the eyes of our hearts were opened;
through Him our foolish and darkened mind springeth up
unto the fight' (xxxvii.); cf.Eph.i. 18. ' Let the whole Body
be saved in Christ Jesus, and let each man be subject unto
his neighbour' (xxxviii.); cf. Eph. v. 23, 21. 'Havewenot
one God and one Christ and one Spirit of grace that was shed
upon us? And is there not one calling in Christ? ' (xlvi.); cf.
Eph. iv. 4-6.

220 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
some years before that date. Those who deny its
genuineness suggest 75-85 a.d. as the earliest date at
which it can have been written.
That the work is that of a master hand none has ever
denied. And that a great spiritual genius might write
in St Paul's name instead of his own is far from impos
sible. The practice of pseudonymity, i.e. of writing
under the name of some great teacher of the past,
was common enough in ancient literature. 2 Peter is a
well known instance, though it does not even distantly
approach the depth and spiritual power of Ephesians.
The fact must, indeed, be faced that the Christology
of the epistle does mark a stage of thought somewhat
more developed than that in earlier epistles. But de
velopment is to be expected in a genius, whether in the
spiritual or in other spheres of thought. It must not
be supposed that the epistle is lacking in numerous,
close points of contact with St Paul's epistles earlier
than Colossians. They are very numerous and close.
The author, if he was not St Paul, was fully steeped in his
spirit and language ; and if he was not St Paul the value
of his teaching is in no way lessened. The question that
has to be decided is whether the extent of the develop
ment in doctrine can be adequately accounted for by
the fact that the epistle was of the nature of a treatise
or meditation, the serene depths of which were not dis
turbed by controversy with opponents. It is not a mat
ter on which we can be entirely confident. The epistle
may be Pauline but not by St Paul ; but it is doubtful if
the reasons adduced are strong enough to force us to
abandon the traditional view that it contains the sub
lime outpouring of the maturest thoughts of the apostle
of the Gentiles.

X] EPHESIANS 221
5 Analysis. i. i, 2. Salutation.
A. i. 3— iii . 21. Doctrine.
1. 1. 3-14. The divine Aim, and the divine Medium.
i. 15-19. Prayer, leading to
2. i. 20-ii. 10. The divine Method.
(a) i. 20-23. The performance of a three-fold
act upon Christ.
(b) ii. 1-10. The potential performance of the
same upon Gentile and Jew alike.
3. ii. 11-22. The Effect: the Unity of Gentile and Jew.
4. iii. 1-13. St Paul's part in the divine plan.
iii. 14-19. Concluding Prayer.
iii. 20, 21. Doxology.
B. iv.-vi. 20. Exhortation based on the above teach
ing.
vi. 21, 22. Personal matter.
vi. 23, 24. Greeting to the brethren. Grace.
6. Contents.
i. 1, 2. Salutation from the apostle alone to the saints
which are [in Ephesus], and the faithful in Christ Jesus.
A. i. 3 — iii. 21. Doctrine.
1. i. 3-14. The divine Aim, and the divine Medium.
(a) i. 3-6. God chose us eternally to be holy, having
marked us out beforehand unto adoption as sons, to the
praise of the glory of His grace.
i. 11, 12. St Paul and his fellow Jews, who became
Christians first, were made God's heritage, having been
marked out beforehand in order to be to the praise of
His glory.

222 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
i. 13, 14. The Gentiles also, to whom he was writing,
were sealed with the Holy Spirit, the pledge of the
Christian inheritance, for the redemption of God's pos
session, to the praise of His glory.
(b) Inseparable from the divine Aim is the divine
Medium. [This is not a system of ethics, an institution,
a legal process, a philosophy, or even the entire hierarchy
of angelic powers.J The Medium is a Mediator1, the
Eternal Person, Christ Jesus, in whom God has eternally
purposed to sum up the universe (i. 7-10). The section,
vv. 3-14, is permeated with the thought : v. 3 ' in Christ ' ;
v. 4 'in Him'; v. 5 'through Jesus Christ'; v. 6 'in the
Beloved'; v. 7 'in whom'; v. 10 'in Him'; 'in Christ';
v. 11 'in Him, in whom"; v. 12 'in Christ'; v. 13 'in
whom'; 'in whom.' (It also appears in the rest of the
epistle, as shewn below by the italicised words.)
After a prayer (i. 15-19) that the readers may be
given the spirit of wisdom and enlightenment to com
prehend the vast truths, the apostle states
2. i. 20-ii. 10. The divine Method by which the Aim
is reached in Christ.
(a) i. 20-23. A three-fold act was performed upon
Christ :
He was raised from the dead (v. 20 a),
exalted to God's right hand (v. 20 b),
given supremacy over every conceivable
power in the universe, and thus made
the head of the Church, His Body (vv.
21-23).
(b) ii. 1-10. By that same three-fold act, Gentiles
1 Though St Paul does not in this epistle use the word
itself to describe Christ's work.

X] EPHESIANS 223
and Jews alike, when dead in sins (vv. 1-4), were
(potentially) given new life with Christ (v. 5),
lifted up with Him (v. 6 a),
made to sit [in royalty] with God in Christ Jesus
(v. 6 b),
in order that hereafter God's free kindness might be
shewn in our actual salvation in Christ Jesus (vv. 7-9),
since He has created us anew in Christ Jesus to do the
good works which He eternally prepared for us (v. 10).
3. ii. 11-22. The Effect.
vv. 11-13. The uncircumcised Gentiles who used to
live apart from God, and aliens from the divinely given
privileges of Israel, have in Christ been ' brought near '
in the Blood of Christ.
vv. 14-16. For He has broken down the impassable
barrier between Jew and Gentile, that He might create
in Himself one new man, one Body through the Cross.
vv. 17, 18. He proclaimed peace both to Jew and Gen
tile, for through Him both have access in one Spirit to
the Father.
vv. 19-22. So that Gentiles form part of one city, one
household, one building founded upon the apostles and
prophets, Christ being the Corner-stone, a building
which in Him grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in
whom the Gentiles are being builded together as God's
spiritual dwelling-place.
4. iii. 1-13. St Paul's part in the divine Plan.
(In the opening verse the apostle is about to say
that he prays for his readers; but he does not do so
till v. 14. After naming himself he throws in a fine
parenthesis.)

224 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
vv. 3-6. The apostle has been entrusted with the duty
of dispensing, teaching, this mystery of God's eternal
purpose, i.e. that Gentiles are joint heirs, joint members
of the Body, joint partakers of the promise in Christ
Jesus. vv. 7-10. The apostle, in spite of all his past sins, was
given this marvellous privilege of throwing light upon
the working out of the mystery hidden through all past
ages, that now through the Church the angelic powers
might learn God's wisdom, according to the eternal plan
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord — vv. 12, 13, in whom
we can approach God boldly with a confident faith. So
that the apostle's sufferings do not mean the failure of
his cause; they are the glory of his Gentile readers.
iii. 14-19. Therefore he prays that they may be
strengthened by the Spirit of the Father of all, that
Christ may dwell in their hearts, that firmly rooted in
love they may have strength to grasp the immeasurable,
and to know the unknowable love of Christ, which is
finally to result in the ' fulfilment ' of God Himself.
iii. 20, 21. Doxology.
B. iv.-vi. 20. Exhortation based on the above teach
ing. iv. 1-6. Therefore [because God's eternal purpose is
such as has been explained] the apostle beseeches his
readers to live as that purpose requires, i.e. in the cor
porate unity which God has given and done so much to
secure. iv. 7-16. It is a living and growing unity developing
into the perfect Man, just because of the wide diversity
of gifts and functions of individuals in the one Body,
which receives its vital force from Christ the Head.

X] EPHESIANS 225
iv. 17-v. 21.' Therefore they must put off their old
Gentile vices, and put on the New Man (iv. 17-24). They
must put off falsehood, anger, dishonesty, corrupt speech,
and everything unkind and unloving (iv. 25-32). They
must imitate God, and love others as Christ loved them,
and sacrificed Himself for them (v. 1, 2). They must
put off many grievous sins, which exclude from the
divine Kingdom and incur God's wrath (v. 3-6). They
used to live in Gentile darkness, but now that they ' are
light in the Lord ' they must " walk as children of light,'
refusing things of darkness (v. 7-14). They must be
careful, therefore, to live not as Gentiles but as Chris
tians (v. 15-21).
v. 22-vi. 9. Particular graces : Wives and Husbands
must in their union be a reproduction of the loving union
of Christ and His Church (v. 22-33). Children and Pa
rents (vi. 1-4). Slaves and Masters (vi. 5-9).
vi. 10-20. To live thus, they need the whole spiritual
armour of God (vi. 10-17), to which are added prayer,
and intercession for all Christians, including the apostle
himself, that he may teach the divine mystery boldly
(vi. 18-20).
vi. 21, 22. Tychicus would give them all news about
him. vi. 23, 24. Greeting to the brethren. Grace.
CHAPTER XI
PHILIPPIANS
1. Time and Place of Writing. St Paul when he
wrote was a prisoner (i. 7, 13, 17). This cannot have
been at Caesarea, since he hoped soon to visit his readers
(ii. 24; cf. i. 26). To Philemon he expressed the same

226 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
hope (see p. 211), and, as there, he could not have done
so at Caesarea after appealing to Caesar, and when he
was therefore expecting to be sent at once to Rome.
There are two possibilities as to the place of writing:
(1) Rome, either before or after the other epistles of
the captivity, Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians.
(2) Ephesus, during the apostle's long stay there in the
course of the third tour. The former has long been the
prevailing theory, and the discussion of the epistle is
therefore placed at this point. But, as will be seen, the
latter is far from being an improbable alternative.
(1) Rome. For this there are three arguments.
(a) In i. 13 St Paul says "my bonds have become
manifest in the whole praetorium.' It is generally agreed
that the praetorium is not a place, either the Emperor's
'palace' (A.V.), or the barracks attached to it, or the
military camp outside the walls, but a body of men,
either the 'praetorian guard' (R.V., so Lightfoot), or
possibly the imperial court, ' the whole body of persons
connected with the sitting in judgment' (Ramsay). That
the word is applied to a body of men is rendered probable
by St Paul's next words, " and to all the rest.' There is
no clear evidence for Ramsay's meaning of the word,
and yet Lightfoot's explanation is open to the difficulty
that the praetorian guard numbered some 9000 men.
But if the epistle was written in Rome Lightfoot's is
the best explanation.
(b) In iv. 22 'they that are of Caesar's household'
send greetings. Caesar's household included slaves of
every sort and rank, as well as courtiers. The enormous
number of slaves owned by wealthy Romans is noted
by Lightfoot (Philemon, p. 319) ; and the Emperor would
probably own a larger number than anyone else. Some

XI] PHILIPPIANS 227
of those of lower ranks were no doubt Christians. See
Sanday-Headlam on the ' household of Aristobulus ' and
"of Narcissus' (Rom. xvi. 10, 11).
(c) In i. 1 Timothy joins St Paul in the opening salu
tation, as in Colossians and Philemon.
Those who accept Rome as the place of writing differ
as to whether the epistle should be dated before or after
the other epistles of the captivity.
The Earlier Date. Lightfoot argues for the earlier date
on account of the close resemblance of language with
Romans. He gives the following parallels (Philippians,
pp. 43, 44).
Phil. Rom. Phil. Rom.
i. 3, 4, 7, 8 i. 8-11
i. 10 ii. 18
ii. 8, 9, 10, 11 xiv. 9, 11
ii. 2-4 xii. 16-19, 10
iii. 3 ii. 28, i. 9, v. 11
If the student will look these up in the New Testament
or in Lightfoot who quotes them he will see that they
contain several strikingly close parallels, while the lan
guage of Colossians and Ephesians is markedly different.
But this might be accounted for by the fact that the
Philippians and the Romans needed similar teaching,
while the Asiatic churches needed something different.
Lightfoot further writes that ' if these resemblances sug
gest as early a date for the Epistle to the Philippians as
circumstances will allow, there are yet more cogent
reasons for placing the others as late as possible. The
letters to the Colossians and Ephesians — the latter more
especially — exhibit an advanced stage in the develop
ment of the Church. The heresies, which the Apostle
here combats, are no longer the crude, materialistic
errors of the early childhood of Christianity, but the
15—2

111.

4.5

XI. 1

,iii.

9

x. 3, ix. 31, 32

iii.

10, 11,

21 vi. 5

iii.

19

vi. 21, xvi. 18

iv.

18

xii. 1

228 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
more subtle speculations of its maturer age.' This is,
of course, true. But it has very little bearing on the
order in which the four epistles of the captivity are to
b© placed; the 'early childhood' and the 'maturer age'
of the Church cannot both fall within the two years or
so of St Paul's imprisonment at Rome.
The Later Date. Those who place Philippians last of
the Roman epistles argue as follows:
(a) Time must be allowed for St Paul's bonds to be
come known in the whole praetorium (i. 13) if it means
the praetorian guard. If it means the Emperor's court,
St Paul's trial had actually begun.
(b) His 'defence (apologia) of the gospel' (i. 16) is
his self-defence at the trial against the charges brought
against him by the Jews ; and the ' salvation ' which he
expected to obtain through his readers' 'prayer, and
the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ ' (i. 19) was the
acquittal of which he felt confident (i. 25), though he
still recognises the possibility of being ' poured out as a
libation' (ii. 17; cf. 2 Tim. iv. 6), i.e. put to death.
(c) Some time is needed for the communications be
tween St Paul and Philippi. The Philippians had heard,
from some quarter, that he had arrived at Rome; they
collected money, and sent it by Epaphroditus; he fell
ill with strenuous service to St Paul ; news of his illness
reached the Philippians, and news that they had heard
of it reached him in turn. Lightfoot reckons that a
month would be a fair average time for the journey be
tween Rome and Philippi ; and he ingeniously minimises
the period required by the events to the length of two
journeys. But whether his suggestions are right or not,
the point is not important. If there were four journeys,
all that is required is four months plus the time for the

XI] PHILIPPIANS 229
Philippians to contribute money, and for Epaphroditus
at Rome to fall ill and to recover sufficiently to return
to Philippi with the letter.
The first of these three arguments is the strongest;
and if the epistle was written from Rome, it was pro
bably the latest of the four.
(2) Ephesus. The indications, however, adduced in
favour of Rome point with equal force to Ephesus.
(a) Even if the praetorium of which St Paul speaks
were a building, it could be explained as the official resi
dence in Ephesus of the Roman governor of Asia. But,
as we have seen, he probably refers to a body of soldiers ;
and an inscription found at Ephesus1 shews that there
were praetoriani there. Compared with those at Rome,
their number would be small, so that the apostle might
easily come into contact with all of them, making the
most of the opportunities afforded by his bonds.
(b) An inscription2 also shews that members of Caesar's
household were to be found in Ephesus, in numbers
large enough for them to form burial clubs.
(c) Timothy's name in conjunction with St Paul's
would be as natural at Ephesus as at Rome, since he
was there with the apostle until sent by him with Erastus
to Macedonia (Acts xix. 22). And therefore just before
Timothy went, it was natural that St Paul, in writing
to the Philippians, should tell them that he hoped to
send him to them 'shortly' (Phil. ii. 19), 'immediately'
(»• 23)-
1 J. T. Wood, Discoveries at Ephesus, Append. 7, p. 4:
'T. Valerio T. F. Secundo Militis Cohortis vn Praetoriae
Centuriae Severi.'
2 ib. Append. 7, p. 18: 'Quorum [a monument and sarco
phagus] Curam Agunt Collegia Libertorum Et Servorum
Domini Nostri Augusti.'

230 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
But further, (d) If the similarities between Philippians
and Romans are to have weight on the question of the
order of the epistles, they can be used in favour of Ephe
sus, for if the epistle was written there, it can be dated
shortly before St Paul went via Macedonia to Corinth
(Acts xix. 21, 22, xx. i, 2), where he wrote Romans.
(e) And since he would certainly visit Philippi when
he was in Macedonia, his words in Phil. ii. 24, 'I trust
in the Lord that I myself also shall come shortly,' are
explained. (/) In iv. 10 he tells the Philippians that he quite
understands how it was that they had not sent him a
contribution for so long; it was not want of thought for
him, but it was because they 'lacked opportunity.'
Now, if he wrote from Rome, he had been for three
months in Corinth after leaving Ephesus (Acts xx. 3) ;
and since they had sent him supplies to Corinth on his
second tour, they could have sent him supplies again
to the same town on his third tour; indeed they could
have given them to him in person when he was in Mace
donia on his way to Corinth. Consequently, if the epistle
was written at Rome, ' ye lacked opportunity ' must be
understood as a graceful way of giving a mild rebuke,
by assuming that they felt themselves too poor to give
him anything. But this is surprising after their previous
liberality, to which he bears grateful record in iv. 15, 16.
But all difficulty is removed if he wrote from Ephesus,
since in that case he had been, ever since he left Corinth
(Acts xviii. 18), far away in Palestine and Galatia, and
they really had 'lacked opportunity.'
Probably none would hesitate to accept these indi
cations as pointing to Ephesus rather than Rome, were
it not for the lack of definite evidence that St Paul was

XI] PHILIPPIANS 231
imprisoned at Ephesus. This is not related in the Acts;
but neither are many of the sufferings which he enumer
ates in 2 Cor. vi. 4, 5, xi. 23-27. In both passages he
speaks of 'imprisonments,' 'prisons,' in the plural, though
St Luke up to that point relates only the one imprison
ment at Philippi (Acts xvi. 23 ff.). Clement of Rome
(Cor. v.), on the other hand, speaks of the apostle as
having been in bonds seven times. It is not unnatural
to suppose that he may have been imprisoned, at any
rate for a time, in connexion with the riot at Ephesus.
He speaks himself of some definite trouble from which
he personally suffered: 'our affliction which befell in
Asia,' " we were excessively burdened beyond our power,
so that we despaired even of life' (2 Cor. i. 8). And in
1 Cor. iv. 9-13, 2 Cor. iv. 8-12 (the former written in
Ephesus, the latter shortly afterwards) he makes it clear
that he passed through a period of anguish both of mind
and body. Further, in 1 Cor. xv. 32 he writes ' If after
the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus etc'
He cannot actually have fought with beasts, if the autho
rities recognised his Roman citizenship, for no Roman
citizen could be condemned to the arena. If the words
are metaphorical, the arena supplied him with a vivid
metaphor for the wild unreasoning opposition of men that
he encountered1, which may have included imprisonment.
But the words can be rendered 'If . . .1 had fought with
beasts at Ephesus, what advantage would it have been
to me etc. ? ' In that case he may actually have been
1 Ignatius on his way to Rome, expecting to be martyred
in the arena, writes ' I fight with wild beasts ' metaphorically
of the soldiers who guarded him on the journey (Rom. v.).
He probably borrowed the word from St Paul, but that does
not make it certain that the latter used it in a metaphorical
sense.

232 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
condemned to the arena, but managed to escape by con
vincing them of his Roman citizenship. And if so, it is
very likely that he was for a short time in prison.
2. Causes of Writing. These were mainly two —
(a) to correct what was amiss in the Philippian Church,
and (b) to thank them for a contribution which they
had sent to him by Epaphroditus.
(a) St Paul is writing to his closest friends, who since
his first visit to them had preserved the warmest affec
tion for him, as he for them. And yet he hints that all
was not quite right with them. He prays that their love
may increasingly abound in knowledge and discernment,
to approve the things that really matter, that they may
be sincere and without offence (i. 9, 10). He had heard,
no doubt from Epaphroditus, that they were suffering
from a not uncommon complaint — squabbles between
Church workers. They were in danger of disunion, when
a united front was needed against their adversaries (i.
27, 28), of party spirit and vainglory (ii. 3), which were
the very reverse of the humility shewn by Christ, in His
Incarnation, life of obedience, and death (vv. 5-11), and
of murmurings and disputings which set a bad example
to the world (vv. 14-16). And after saying what he
wanted to say, he cannot refrain from bringing up the
matter once more, this time mentioning two Church
workers, certain ladies named Euodia and Syntyche,
who seem to have been chiefly responsible for the dis
agreements (iv. 2). And he goes on to exhort the readers
to let all men see their forbearance1, i.e. their readiness
not to assert their individual rights and wishes, because
the Lord is soon coming (v. 5). They must keep their
1 to imeiKis, a word for which there is no exact English
equivalent.

XI] PHILIPPIANS 233
thoughts on the highest plane (v. 8), and follow St Paul's
example, and the God of peace will be with them (v. 9).
These words of gently expressed advice and warning
do not point to serious religious factions such as had
been rife at Corinth, and there is no trace of heretical
beliefs or of heathen crimes by which some of the Gen
tile churches were endangered. But Lightfoot goes too
far when he says 'to them [the Philippians] alone he
writes in language unclouded by any shadow of dis
pleasure or disappointment. ' Though their mistake was
small in comparison with the blots to be found else
where, St Paul was not one to let it go unnoticed. He
felt it so much that he thought it necessary to deal
with it before turning to the happier duty of thanking
them for their contribution.
(b) A marked feature of their Christian character was
their liberality. They must have been one of the Mace
donian churches of whom St Paul says (2 Cor. viii. 2),
referring to the collection for the poor in Jerusalem, ' in
much testing of affliction the abundance of their joy and
their deep poverty abounded unto the wealth of their
liberality.' Not only so, but they also sent contribu
tions to St Paul for his personal use. When he was in
Thessalonica, immediately after his first visit to them,
they, and they only, sent him supplies more than once
(Phil. iv. 16), and when he went on to Corinth they, and
perhaps some other Macedonian churches, did so again
(v. 15, 2 Cor. xi. 8, 9). To the Corinthians (Z.c.)heexplains
why he had not accepted anything from them, i.e. be
cause he would not be burdensome to them. The Mace
donian churches were bound to him by so close a friend
ship that he felt sure that no-one there would charge him
with being burdensome, or preaching the Gospel for his

234 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
own profit. And now, when he was a prisoner, the
Philippians sent him supplies once more by Epaphro
ditus (Phil. ii. 25). They would doubtless, as St Paul
readily acknowledges (iv. 10, 11), not have waited so
long to do so if they had had the opportunity (see p. 230) .
Epaphroditus, since joining St Paul, had made up for
the deficiency of their service to him (i.e. probably the
smallness of their contribution, due to their poverty,
which they had very likely lamented in an accompany
ing letter, or a message by Epaphroditus) by a personal
devotion so strenuous that his health failed and he al
most died (ii. 27, 30). On recovery, he was anxious to
return to Philippi, because he feared that they would
be greatly distressed at the news which they had received
of his illness (v. 26). So St Paul let him go back,
sending by him the letter of affectionate advice, and
grateful thanks for their gift.
3. Unity of the Epistle. The first part of the
epistle deals with the disagreements within the circle of
the Philippian Christians, and, as has been said, the
apostle cannot refrain from bringing up the matter once
more, in iv. 2 ff . He also speaks of the relations of him
self and Epaphroditus with the Philippians (ii. 19-30 and
iv. 10-19). u' i- 1 is a new departure. But the passage
iii. 2-iv. 1 stands by itself. It breaks in unexpectedly,
deals with a danger much more serious than the dis
agreements between individual Christians, and is al
together different in tone. Instead of the quiet, tactful
language of friendly advice, the passage sounds the note
of battle against the Judaizers. St Paul is suddenly
the stern and fiery combatant, as in Galatians and
2 Corinthians. Lightfoot suggests that St Paul happened to be inter-

XI] PHILIPPIANS 235
rupted in his letter, and that before returning to it he
heard of some fresh activity against him of his Judaizing
opponents in Rome, which made him fear lest they
might try to tamper with the Philippians; this made
him write the warnings in iii. 2-iv. 1 before resuming
his subject. Some such artificial explanation is necessary
if the unity of the epistle is to be maintained. But it is
more probable that this is a portion of another letter,
which was combined with the present one when a col
lection of Pauline writings was made. This theory is
not impaired by the uncertainty that exists as to whether
iii. ib ('To write the same things1 etc.') belongs to the
interpolated passage or not. That St Paul wrote more
than one letter to his best-loved converts is itself pro
bable2. But the epistle of which the interpolated passage
was a fragment was not necessarily an epistle to the
Philippians. The warning against libertines (iii. 18, 19)
seems to point to some Church in which the Christians
were more in danger of pagan influence than the Philip
pians. Some interchange of letters between the several
Christian communities must have taken place when the
collection of Pauline writings was formed. And other
1 Lightfoot explains the words as meaning 'to bring up
the subject of your dissensions again,' which the apostle does
in iv. 2. Lipsius al. think that they referred to previous warn
ings against Judaizers, which do not occur in our epistle
before this point, but were contained in a lost portion of the
interpolated epistle.
2 It is unsafe to support this by Polycarp's words to the
Philippians (§ 3), 'the blessed and glorious Paul. . .who also
when absent wrote letters (imo-ToXas) unto you,' since in
stances are known of the use of the plural in classical and
later Greek for a single letter. See Lightfoot, Phil. pp. 140-2.
It should be noted, however, that Polycarp in § 13 expressly
distinguishes the plural and the singular. But on the other
hand the plural may refer to the Macedonian epistles, 1, 2
Thessalonians and Philippians.

236 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
instances have already been noted in which fragments of
letters have been incorporated in the same way1. The
complete incongruity of the position in which the pas
sage is inserted causes no difficulty, since it may well
have been due to purely mechanical reasons. If a sheet
of St Paul's manuscript ended at iii. 1, or iii. 1 a, a stray
sheet (or sheets) of Pauline material may have been
accidentally placed next to it, and a scribe might easily
copy it (or them) unthinkingly, and then proceed with
the sheet beginning at iv. 2.
4. Analysis. i. 1, 2. Salutation.
i. 3-1 1. Thanksgiving and Prayer.
(1) i. 12-26. St Paul's account of himself.
i. 12-18. The result of his imprisonment.
i. 19-26. His confidence for the future.
(2) i. 27— ii. 18. Exhortations relating to the dissen
sions at Philippi.
i. 27— ii. 4. Exhortations to unity and humility.
ii. 5-1 1. The example of Christ.
ii. 12-18. Further exhortations.
(3) ii. 19-30. Personal matters.
ii. 19-24. Timothy.
ii. 25-30. Epaphroditus.
iii. 1. Closing remarks begun but post
poned.
[(4) iii. 2-iv. 1. Warning against Judaizers and Li
bertines.
iii. 2, 3. Judaizers.
iii. 4-14. St Paul's example.
1 2 Cor. vi. 14-vii. 1 (see p. 137!) and Rom. xvi. 1-23 (see
p. 182!). Some would add 2 Cor. x.-xiii. (see pp. 144-9).

XI] PHILIPPIANS 237
iii. 15, 16. Exhortation.
iii. 17-21. Libertines.
iv. 1. Exhortation.]
(5) iv. 2-9. Continuation of (2).
(6) iv. 10-20. Thanks for the Philippians' contri
bution.
iv. 21-23. Salutations. Grace.
5. Contents.
i. 1, 2. Salutation, in which Timothy joins, to the
Philippian Christians with their 'bishops and deacons.'
i. 3-1 1. Thanksgiving for his readers, his confidence
in them and love for them, and a Prayer for their further
spiritual progress.
(1) i. 12-26. St Paul's account of himself.
i. 12-18. His imprisonment has helped forward the
cause of the Gospel, and so has the preaching of others,
even of those who preach in the spirit of envy and party
strife. i. 19-26. He is confident that the final result will be
his 'salvation,' and his earnest hope is that Christ may
be magnified whether he lives or dies. He would prefer
to die for his own sake, but to live for the sake of his
readers, and he feels sure that he will live, and visit
them again.
(2) i. 27— ii. 18. Exhortations relating to the dissen
sions at Philippi.
i. 27-30. He longs to hear that they are shewing a
united front in their fight on behalf of the Gospel, for
they have been granted the privilege of waging the con
flict not only by their faith in Christ, but also by their
sufferings for His sake.

238 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
ii. 1-4. Therefore they should be united, shewing not
vainglory but humility.
ii. 5-1 1. They should follow the example of Christ's
humility, who, though existing eternally in the essential
form of God, humbled Himself in His Incarnation by
an act of self-emptying, and in His human life humbly
rendered obedience to God to the full extent of dying
on the Cross. Wherefore God has exalted Hjm, and in
vested Him with the divine Name which is invoked in
worship by the whole universe, and confessed by every
tongue. ii. 12-18. Let them, then, work out their own salva
tion, for it is God that worketh in them. Let them avoid
murmurings and disputings, thus setting a good example
to the world around them, that the apostle may be able
to boast that his work among them was not in vain.
Nay, if his blood is to be a libation poured over the
sacrificial offering of their faith, he and they can mutu
ally rejoice.
(3) ii. 19-30. Personal matters.
ii. 19-24. He hopes soon to send Timothy to them,
for he has none at hand who will care for them with
the same natural devotion, inherited from the apostle
his spiritual father1- And they know how he has la
boured with him, as a son with a father, in the service
of the Gospel. He will send him as soon as he knows
how his own affairs will turn out, and he hopes soon to
come himself.
ii. 25-30. Meanwhile he is sending Epaphroditus to
them, whom they made the bearer of their gift. Epa-
1 Some such expansion is needed to represent the force of
yvrjtrias, 'truly' (R.V.), 'genuinely' (R.V. marg.), 'naturally'
(A.V.).

XI] PHILIPPIANS 239
phroditus was greatly troubled because they had heard
of his illness. He was, indeed, seriously ill, but God
mercifully restored him. They must receive him joy
fully, and hold him in high esteem, for he staked his
very life in his strenuous service to the apostle to supply
what they were unable to give.
iii. 1. Finally, he bids them rejoice in the Lord. —
But he cannot help, for their good, referring once more
to the subject of which he has already spoken.
[(4) iii. 2-iv. 1. Warning against Judaizers and
Libertines. iii. 2, 3. Judaizers. The readers are bidden to beware
of those who are themselves — though they apply the
words to the Gentiles — the 'dogs,' the 'evil workers,'
the 'mutilation1.' Christians have the true spiritual
circumcision. iii. 4-14. St Paul's example. As regards earthly con
siderations he can say at least as much for himself as
the Judaizers: he is a thorough Israelite of unmixed
descent, and was a zealous and blameless Pharisee. But
he willingly renounces it all that he may gain Christ,
and all that that means of union with His righteousness,
passion, death, and resurrection. He does not claim to
have fully gained it yet, but he follows after it as for a
heavenly prize.
iii. 15, 16. Let those, then, who are spiritually mature,
fully initiated into the Christian mystery2, be thus
minded. If anyone is not, God can reveal it to him;
1 KaTaTopfj. A play on nepiroprj, ' circumcision,' which
cannot be represented in English. He ironically describes
the physical circumcision as no better than pagan self-muti
lation. Cf. Gal. v. 12.
2 This is the force of riXtioi (see p. 305).

240 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
only the straight rule of life hitherto followed must not
be abandoned.
iii. 17-21. Libertines. The apostle begs them to imi
tate him, and those who follow his example. For many
do not; they repudiate the Cross to their ruin, make
bodily self-indulgence their God and glory in it. Chris
tians are citizens of heaven, from which Christ will
come to transform our earthly bodies into the glorious
condition of His own spiritual Body.
iv. 1. He exhorts them, therefore, to stand fast against
these dangers.]
(5) iv. 2-9. He exhorts Euodia and Syntyche to be
in Christian harmony ; and he asks hhn who is, in spiri
tual affinity1 with himself, his 'yokefellow,' to help them
and other women, together with Clement and other
Christians who laboured with him in the Gospel.
jv. 4. 'Rejoice in the Lord always!'; again he says
it, 'Rejoice!'
iv. 5-7. They must let their selfless yielding of their
own rights and wishes be known to all. Christ is soon
coming and will put everything right. There is, there
fore, no need to worry, but simply to pray and give
thanks ; and divine peace, which is beyond the grasp or
comprehension of mere human thought, will guard their
hearts and thoughts, as in a safe fortress, in Christ Jesus.
iv. 8, 9. Let them concentrate their thoughts on all
subjects that will keep them on a high plane; let them
follow the apostle's example, and the God of peace will
heal their dissensions and be with them.
(6) iv. 10-20. Thanks for their contribution. The
apostle expresses his gladness that they have again been
1 yvrpriti. Cf. ii. 20.

XJ] PHILIPPIANS 241
able to shew their care for him. He quite understands
that till now they have not had the opportunity. Not
that he speaks from a feeling of want; his experience
has taught him to be content in any condition; but
their kindness is in itself a good thing. They know that
when he left them after his visit to them, he accepted
gifts from them and from no other Church. What he
wants is not their gifts, but the proof that his work
among them is bearing fruit. And their gift, sent by
Epaphroditus, is like a sacrifice of sweet odour to God.
God will, in turn, supply every need of theirs.
iv. 21-23. Salutations. Grace.

CHAPTER XII
THE PASTORAL EPISTLES
1. Genuineness. The three epistles 1 Timothy, Titus,
and 2 Timothy are usually known as the Pastoral Epistles,
because in them advice is given to Timothy and Titus
on the pastoral care which they are to exercise in the
communities under their charge. In 2 Timothy, however,
this is not very prominent. They are so closely allied in
language and tone that they must be studied together.
As in all the epistles, the religious teaching is the matter
of primary importance, and can be studied indepen
dently of critical problems. But the latter, which arise
chiefly in connexion with the question whether or not
the three epistles are genuine writings of St Paul, are
interesting and complex. They are mainly of four kinds,
connected with (a) the personal allusions to people and
events, (b) the ecclesiastical organization presupposed,
(c) the style and language, (d) the doctrine.
MCN. 16

242 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
(a) Personal Allusions. Even if St Paul was not the
author of the three epistles, it is probable that the per
sonal allusions are based upon real traditions as to the
movements and plans of the apostle and others. A later
writer would be unlikely to invent them all; but if he
did, he would take care not to invent such as were diffi
cult to harmonize, as some of them are, with St Paul's
history as it was known in the Acts. He would be un
likely also to invent such trivial details as the apostle's
need of his cloak, and books, especially the parchments
(2 Tim. iv. 13). And he would hardly have dared to
invent weaknesses in the character of Timothy (1 Tim.
iv. 7, 12, 14, v. 21, 22, vi. 20, 2 Tim. i. 6-8, ii. 1-3, 16, 22),
a shrinking from opposition and hardship, a want of
strength in the exercise of his authority (cf. also Tit.
ii. 15), a need of warning against youthful lusts, and
perhaps a tendency to pay to erroneous doctrines and
ideas more attention than they deserved. Jiilicher
(Introd. to the New Test. p. 187) follows the line taken
by several modern writers in holding that it is not really
Timothy and Titus who are being blamed: 'the world
at large is being addressed, not the addressees'; 'the
unpleasing traits in the picture of Timothy and Titus
are demanded by the parts assigned to them'; 'the
untrustworthiness, the weakmindedness, the lack of
clearness of those who wished to be leaders and examples
appeared to him [the unknown author] as the canker
gnawing at the roots of the Christianity of his time.'
But an objection to this view is the difficulty of sup
posing that a 'pseudo-Paul' would venture to single
out as his lay figures two of the apostle's best loved
and most strenuous fellow-workers.
The place occupied by the personal allusions in

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 243
relation to the narrative in the Acts will be studied
later. (b) Ecclesiastical Organization. It is held that this is
more advanced than would be possible in St Paul's life
time. In earlier days, when the intense spiritual en
thusiasm of the Church shewed itself in the form of
charismata — gifts such as ecstasy, prophecy, and tongues
— the government and organization of the Church were,
of course, in the hands of the apostles or their delegates.
But from the first, for the oversight (iirio-ico'n-eiv) of
local matters they had appointed presbyters in each
local Church (Acts xi. 30, xiv. 23, xv. 2, 4, 6, 22 f., xvi. 4,
xx. 17 [cf. 28], xxi. 18, and see 1 Thes. v. 12 f.), selected,
no doubt, partly for preeminence in the possession of
charismata. As the Church rapidly grew, and the local
communities could not be so frequently visited by
apostles or their delegates, the range of functions in
cluded in the eiritTKoirri of the presbyters was necessarily
enlarged, and details of government and organization
began to play a larger part in men's thought. This
is the condition of things reflected in the Pastoral
Epistles. (i) Beside the primary office of 'oversight,' and the
ministry of ' deacons,' some sort of official status held by
women is perhaps implied in 1 Tim. iii. 11, analogous to
that which St Paul recognised as having been won
by Phoebe in Cenchreae (Rom. xvi. 1, 'deaconess').
'Widows' also, under certain conditions of age and
character, have definite functions (1 Tim. v. 3-16), and
their names are registered (v. 9), service to the Church
being probably expected from them in return for their
maintenance from the public funds, in cases where
their relatives were unable to help them. The passage,
16 — 2

244 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
however, does not make it quite clear that widows
formed a definite ecclesiastical order. But they must,
from early days, have busied themselves in charitable
works (cf. Acts ix. 39, 41), and the writer's intention
here seems to be to lay down new and fixed rules
regarding a loosely defined body which was already in
existence. (ii) The later idea, however, that the ' bishop ' is one
who holds monarchical authority in a town or district
has not yet appeared. It is unsafe to see in either
Timothy or Titus an instance of such a bishop; their
ministry in Ephesus and in Crete appears to have
been temporary, though of course during the period
of their charge they possessed apostolic authority of an
'episcopal' nature (e.g. compare Tit. i. 5 with Acts
xiv. 23). Moreover, although 'bishop' is always used
in the singular (contrast Phil. i. 1), while "deacons' are
always spoken of in the plural, and the 'presbytery'
is referred to as a body (1 Tim. iv. 14), the distinction
between 'bishop' and 'presbyter' is not yet quite
explicit1, as it became at the end of the ist century,
when, by a natural and universally accepted develop
ment, there was a shrinkage of the recently enlarged
eirio-Koirf) of the whole body of presbyters, each local
group recognising one of their number as the im-io-icoiro^
par excellence, who summed up in his own person, as the
apostles had done, the function of oversight possessed

t Nor is it in Clem. Rom. (c. 96 a.d.); Cor. §§ 21, 42, 44, 47,
54, 57 ; see, however, Archbp. Bernard, Studia Sacra, ch. xii.
But less than 20 years later, Ignatius with repeated
emphasis ascribes to the 'bishop' a supreme monarchical
position, with ' presbyters ' under him and ' deacons ' inferior
to them.

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 245
by them all, so that they now exercised it only as
delegated by him.
(iii) A regulation was still needed against public
speaking by women (1 Tim. ii. 11, 12), as it was when
St Paul wrote 1 Cor. xiv. 34, 35.
The ecclesiastical organization, then, does not neces
sarily 'carry us beyond the possible conditions of a
flourishing community in a large city which may have
been established at least ten years, at a time of quick
development such as is stamped on every page of the
New Testament' (Lock, in Hastings' DB. iv. 773 a).
(c) Style and Language, (i) Un-Pauline expressions. —
It is not denied that some Pauline traits have been
seized by the writer, but it is pointed out that he uses
many phrases and expressions not found in the other
Pauline epistles, some of which sound as though they
had already become technical and stereotyped. ' There
is an articulated fixity about them which seems to mark
a late date, and to be unlike the freshness of the earlier
style' (Lock). E.g. 'the healthy teaching' or 'words'
(1 Tim. i. 10, vi. 3, 2 Tim. i. 13, iv. 3, Tit. i. 9, ii. 1; cf.
i. 13, ii. 2, 'healthy in faith'); 'the teaching' (1 Tim.
iv. 13, 16, vi. 1; cf. iv. 6, vi. 3, 2 Tim. iii. 10, Tit. ii. 10);
'faithful is the saying,' perhaps referring to current
sayings in the Church at the time (1 Tim. i. 15, iii. 1,
iv. 9, 2 Tim. ii. 11, Tit. iii. 8), to which may be added
what appears to be a Christian hymn about Christ
(1 Tim. iii. 16); 'the Faith,' almost equivalent to the
body of truths which are, or ought to be, believed
(1 Tim. i. 19, iii. 9, iv. 1, 6, v. 8, vi. 10, 21, 2 Tim.
iii. 8, iv. 7); 'the commandment' (1 Tim. vi. 14);
'the charge' (1 Tim. i. 5); 'the (my) deposit' (1 Tim.
vi. 20, 2 Tim. i. 12, 14) ; ' the truth ' (1 Tim. iii. 15, iv. 3,

246 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
vi. 5, 2 Tim. ii. 15, 18, iii. 8, iv. 4, Tit. i. 14); 'knowledge
of (the) truth' (1 Tim. ii. 4, 2 Tim. ii. 25, iii. 7, Tit. i. 1);
' our Saviour,' applied to God or to Jesus Christ (1 Tim.
i. 1, ii. 3 (cf. iv. 10), 2 Tim. i. 10, Tit. i. 3, 4, ii. 10, 13,
iii. 4, 6) ; ' the present age1 ' (1 Tim. vi. 17, 2 Tim. iv. 10,
Tit. ii. 12).
The proportion of hapax legomena is much larger than
in any other Pauline epistle, one for every verse and a
half. Lock, however, notes that while the proportion is
1 for 1 -55 verses in the Pastoral Epistles, it is 1 for 3-66
verses in 2 Corinthians, and 1 for 5-53 in 1 Corinthians,
the difference between 2 and 1 Corinthians being thus
practically as great as between 2 Corinthians and the
Pastoral Epistles. Nevertheless the difference between
2 and 1 Corinthians is not of the same kind as between
the Pastoral and the other Epistles. ' The author has a
favourite vocabulary of his own, full of compounds and
Latinisms2, with new groups of words3, and an un
wonted predilection for others 4- As compared with Paul,
he employs the definite article more frequently  The
differences in the use of the particles5 is one of the most
decisive proofs of the difference between Paul and this
1 6 vvv altov. In other epistles St Paul always writes 'this
age' (eight times), except in Gal. i. 4 e« tov alavos tov
ivetrraiTOS novrjpov.
2 The latter is an overstatement. The only certain Latin
isms are cpeXovrj and pepftpdvai (2 Tim. iv. 13).
3 E.g. those in d privative, SiSao-K-. cvtrefi-. oiko-, tratpp-,
tpiXo-, etc.
4 E.g. those in xaXo-. 'KaXor, which Paul uses only as a
predicate or a neuter substantive, is employed repeatedly by
this author as an attribute. Aeo-noTrjs supplants the Pauline
Kvpios as a human term, and imtpaveia replaces the Pauline
napovtria.' 5 'Unlike the apostle, he uses prfnore and Si f/v alrlav
(thrice), and eschews dvri, apa, &XPl> ^'"> 8ion, ipnpotrBev, eneira,
in, iSov, napd (with accus.), trvv, and atrre.'

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 247
Paulinist ' (Moffatt, Introd. to the Lit. of the N.T. pp. 406,
407). And to this must be added the absence of many
of the most characteristic of St Paul's words and ex
pressions. (ii) Quality of the style. — As compared with St Paul's
impetuous fervour and eager home-thrusts the style is
correct and diffuse, somewhat lacking in warmth and
colour. 'The syntax is stiffer and more regular' (Light
foot, Biblical Essays, p. 402). ' The comparative absence
of rugged fervour, the smoother flow of words, and the
heaping up of epithets, all point to another sign-manual
than that of Paul' (Moffatt, I.e.).
It cannot be denied that this is a strong argument
against the Pauline authorship. If the historical allusions
clearly pictured St Paul as being in the first Roman
imprisonment, it would be practically impossible to
maintain that the three epistles as a whole came from
his pen. The difference of style and language from those
of Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians1 [and Philippians]
is too great. But if he wrote in a later imprisonment,
different readers will think differently about it. None
can decide with exactness the extent to which psycho
logical changes will affect a writer's tone and vocabulary
with the lapse of a few years, and in altered circum
stances. (d) Doctrine. A later writer could of course echo St
Paul's teaching; but if the three epistles shew a marked
advance, and still more any clear disagreement, then
the Pauline authorship of the doctrinal and didactic
portions cannot stand.
In Christian doctrine, as such, the Pastoral Epistles
1 Ephesians, however, stands in this respect nearer to the
Pastoral Epistles than to the others.

248 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
are in entire agreement with St Paul, — ' life eternal, won
by Christ's death, which has brought salvation to all
mankind; and this life must show itself by a high
Christian morality, and be ready to face the appearing
of Jesus Christ' (Lock). But some objections have
been raised:
(i) St Paul, who expected the Last Day to come in the
immediate future, would be unlikely, it is said, to take
so much care about the organization of Christian com
munities for an indefinite future. But he had, from
early days, ' appointed elders in every Church' (Acts xiv.
23), and had spent much trouble upon a host of practical
details in the conduct and arrangement of the Churches
which he had founded (2 Cor. xi. 28), notably Corinth.
And even in the Pastoral Epistles the references to
the Last Day (1 Tim. vi. 14, 2 Tim. i. 18, iv. 1, 8,
Tit. ii. 13) are expressed in language which at least does
not imply the giving up of all hope of its near approach.
He always felt that he was living in the dawn of the
last days, and he declares that the abuses belonging to
that period were already rife (1 Tim. iv. 1, 2 Tim. iii. 1),
or soon to appear (2 Tim. iv. 3).
(ii) In other Pauline epistles stress is not, as here,
laid on good [i.e. attractive] works (1 Tim. iii. 1, v. 10,
25, vi. 18, Tit. ii. 7, 14, iii. 8, 14), piety1 (1 Tim. [8 times],
2 Tim. iii. 5, Tit. i. 1 ; not elsewhere in Pauline writings),
and safe or sane mindedness2, or verb, adj., or adv.
(1 Tim. ii. 9, 15, iii. 2, 2 Tim. i. 7, Tit. i. 8, ii. 2, 4, 5,
6, 12).
1 fvo-i^eia. This and cognate words occur elsewhere only
in the Acts (4 times, but not of distinctively Christian piety),
and in the late writing 2 Peter (5 times).
2 tratppotrvvt]. Elsewhere only Acts xxvi. 25. The verb
-veiv is used twice by St Paul, Rom. xii. 3, 2 Cor. v. 13,

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 249
(iii) St Paul does not elsewhere urge, in the same way,
the importance of orthodoxy. He fights, indeed, vehe
mently in other epistles against false teachers, but here
'the Faith1' tends to be considered as a definite body
of beliefs, almost a creed. And when St Paul fights
against false teachers he does it by argument, by con
fronting error with truth, by demolishing with a master
hand his opponents' defences. But here there is little
more than authoritative denunciation.
(iv) This tendency to formularise beliefs has not
helped the writer to preserve in their depth and fulness
some of the greatest of St Paul's inspired conceptions.
'No possible change of circumstances or rise of fresh
problems could have made Paul thus indifferent to such
cardinal truths of his gospel as the fatherhood of God,
the believing man's union with Jesus Christ, the power
and witness of the Spirit, the spiritual resurrection from
the death of sin, the freedom from the law, and recon
ciliation' (Moffatt, Introd. p. 412).
(v) The false teaching dealt with in the Pastoral Epistles
is said to belong to a later date than St Paul. It is not
necessary to suppose that any individual false teacher
held all the mistaken ideas which are here attacked ; but
the same general tendency was observable both at
Ephesus and Crete. It is not impossible that it affected
even some who held office in the Church; hence the care
ful injunctions as to their character and behaviour
(1 Tim. iii. 1-13, v. 17-21, Tit. i. 5-9, iii. 1, 2), and the
discrimination needed in ordaining them (1 Tim. v. 22).
Some of the false teachers, but not all, were 'of the
circumcision,' i.e. Jewish Christians (Tit. i. 10). They
aspired to be 'law-teachers,' though they misunderstood
1 See p. 245.

250 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
the true purpose of the law (i Tim. i. 7-10). But their
false teaching was not the old Judaism against which
St Paul fought in 1, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans,
and Philippians.
A study of it, however, will shew that it contains no
features which are quite certainly later than St Paul.
The following points should be noticed :
(1) The writer's insistence that 'the law is good if
one treats it as law,' i.e. as a prohibition of grievous
sins (1 Tim. i. 8-10), and that every passage in the Old
Testament, given by inspiration of God, is intended to
be spiritually and morally profitable (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17),
suggests that some of the false teachers, or their dupes,
held Christians to be above law, and free to behave as
they liked. But the beginnings of such antinomian
tendencies can be seen already in Gal. v. 13, Rom.
vi. 15.
(2) Some, on the other hand, went to the opposite
extreme, and taught a rigid asceticism (1 Tim. iv. 8,
E.V. 'bodily exercise'), prohibiting marriage, and re
quiring abstention from certain foods (v. 3), apparently
holding that matter was in itself evil. This the writer
contradicts (vv. 4, 5; cf. v. 23). Perhaps the idea, not
mentioned as heretical elsewhere in the New Testament,
that 'the Resurrection is past already' (2 Tim. ii. 18)
was connected with the depreciation of matter : the truly
religious man, they thought, is living in the spiritual
sphere, independent of the body. Thus the Christian
ideal for the future is claimed as having been already
reached by the false teachers1. These ascetic and
1 A travesty of the thought expressed in John v. 21, 24,
1 John iii. 14; the former is safeguarded from misunder
standing by vv. 28, 29.

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 25 1
dualistic tendencies, however, had already formed an
element in the Colossian heresy (see p. 206).
(3) The false teachers laid claim to special 'know
ledge ' — 'falsely so called' as the writer says (1 Tim. vi.
20) — and complacently prided themselves on the 'op
positions ' (antitheses) between ordinary Christian teach
ing and their profounder esoteric doctrines. This is the
simplest explanation of the word; and if it is right the
claim is not different from that made by the Colossian
heretics. Or the word may have been used in the early
stages of Jewish Gnosticism in Asia with a somewhat
more technical force unknown to us. It is doubtful if
it should be explained, as a purely rabbinic product, of
'the endless contrasts of decisions founded on endless
distinctions which played so large a part in the casuistry
of the scribes as interpreters of the law ' (Hort, Judaistic
Christianity, pp. 138-140), for these were not a novelty
such as the passage seems to imply.
(4) The false teachers made use of 'myths [R.V.
'fables'] and endless genealogies' (1 Tim. i. 4), 'old-
womanish myths' (iv. 7), 'Jewish myths' (Tit. i. 14).
These are probably not specifically Gnostic speculations
about the aeons and emanations which were thought of
as intervening between the supreme God and created
matter. They may refer to myths and legends in
apocryphal works in which Jewish and other ele
ments were mingled, and which appeared in great
numbers in the ist century a.d. and later. Even if
some of the elements in the false teaching here attacked
were Gnostic1, it is not improbable that they had already
1 The combination of Jewish and Gnostic elements can
be seen, e.g., in the Naassenes, an early form of the Ophites
(see Lightfoot, Biblical Essays, p. 411 f. ; Legge, Forerunners
and Rivals of Christianity, ch. viii.).

252 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
begun to appear among Jewish Christians in Asia in
St Paul's day.
2. Conclusion as to Authorship. It will be seen
that the Pastoral Epistles present many and various
difficulties, some of which it has been necessary, in this
short sketch, to dismiss very ' briefly. But enough has
been said to enable the reader to arrive at a general
impression. The subject has been dealt with, as far as
possible, from the point of view of those who still up
hold the Pauline authorship, and in this way it has been
shewn possible to maintain, with regard to almost every
difficulty in turn, that it does not quite certainly require
an author later than St Paul. But when they are sur
veyed as a whole, it is difficult not to feel their cumu
lative force. If St Paul had really written the three
letters as they stand, would they have differed so widely
from his other letters as to present this array of varied
problems which need, one after the other, to be explained,
or explained away? Several different attempts have
been made to distinguish portions written by St Paul
from those by a later writer. The variety of these at
tempts shews how difficult the task is1. To some extent
it is a matter of personal feeling and impression. And
yet it is along those lines that the true explanation is
probably to be sought. Some portions, certainly most
of the personal allusions (i Tim. i. 3 a, 20, iii. 14, iv.
12 a, 2 Tim. i. 3-5, 15-18, iv. 7, 8, 9-22 a, Tit. i. 5 a, iii.
12, 13), shew every indication of being from the apostle's
pen; but the three epistles as wholes have probably
been built up as general treatises for the guidance of
the Church by some devoted disciple of his, who has
breathed in his spirit and teaches his Gospel. The voice
1 See Moffatt, op. cit. pp. 402-6.

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 253
is St Paul's voice, but the hand is the hand of a Christian
teacher in the generation which followed him1.
3. The Personal Allusions in Relation to the
Acts. According to 2 Tim. i. 8 St Paul was a prisoner,
and vv. 15, 16 shew that it was at Rome. In 1 Timothy
and Titus there is no indication of imprisonment, while
certain passages suggest the reverse: 1 Tim. iii. 14,
'. . .hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I delay
etc' iv. 13, 'Till I come, give heed to reading etc'
Tit. iii. 12, 'Give diligence to come unto me to Nicopolis2,
for there I have decided to winter.' The words 'if I
delay' do not naturally suggest the meaning 'if I am
kept a prisoner longer th an I expect ' ; and ' there I have
decided to winter ' is hardly the language of a prisoner,
even if he felt considerable confidence of release. If
these passages imply that St Paul was at liberty, they
must refer to a time earlier than that of 2 Tim. iv. 6-8
in which his expectation of imminent death is expressed,
and of i. 8, 15, 16 in which his imprisonment is spoken
of. And this must have been either the imprisonment
recorded in Acts xxviii., or a later one.
Many of those who maintain that the three Pastoral
Epistles as wholes are the work of St Paul find a solution
of the problems presented by the personal allusions in
1 If so, the order in which the epistles were written was
probably not that suggested by the personal allusions taken
alone. If 1 Timothy was already in circulation as a general
treatise, the same writer is unlikely to have written Titus at
all. 1 Timothy is the most, and 2 Timothy the least, advanced
in its teaching on ecclesiastical and doctrinal matters. The
order, therefore, is probably 2 Timothy, Titus, 1 Timothy.
Some writers would even accept the genuineness of the first
or of the greater part of it and not of the others, but the
three epistles are so closely akin that as wholes they must
stand or fall together.
2 Of the various cities of that name this was probably the .
Nicopolis near Actium in Epirus.

254 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
the theory that the apostle was released from the im
prisonment of Acts xxviii., and that after visiting Ephe
sus and Macedonia (i Tim. i. 3), Troas (2 Tim. iv. 13),
Crete (Tit. i. 5), perhaps Nicopolis (Tit. iii. 12), and
possibly Spain (see below), he was again imprisoned,
this time being condemned and executed. In this case,
1 Timothy and Titus will have been written in the period
of release, and 2 Timothy in the second imprisonment,
the first trial and the release being referred to in the
words 'my first defence' (2 Tim. iv. 16), and 'I was
delivered out of the mouth of the lion' (v. 17).
If the three epistles are single wholes from St Paul's
pen, this is the only theory that will cover the various
allusions. If, for example, 2 Tim. iv. 9-21 was written
in the imprisonment of Acts xxviii., the following diffi
culties are raised:
(a) St Paul begs Timothy ' to come shortly ' (v. 9), ' to
come before winter' (v. 21), although earlier in the same
imprisonment Timothy was with him at Rome when
he wrote Colossians (i. 1), Philemon (v. 1), and (perhaps)
Philippians (i. 1).
(b) He says that Titus has gone to Dalmatia (v. 10),
and yet he has recently written to him in Crete, where
at an earlier date he left him in charge (Tit. i. 5).
(c) He explains the fact that only Luke is with him
by saying that Demas, Crescens, and Titus have gone
elsewhere (v. 10) ; and yet in the same imprisonment he
sends greetings to the Colossians (Col. iv. 10-14) n°t
only from Luke and Demas, but from four other Chris
tians, and to Philemon (vv. 23, 24) from three of these1,
who are here ignored.
1 Possibly from the four. In Philemon the name Jesus Jus
tus is omitted, but it is a possible emendation to read the
nominative 'lyo-ovs for 'Itjo-ov, or to add it after the latter.

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 255
(d) He asks Timothy to bring Mark with him (v. 11) ;
and yet earlier in the same imprisonment Mark is with
St Paul when he writes to the Colossians (iv. 10) and to
Philemon (v. 24). He hints, indeed, to the Colossians
that Mark may be going to them; but the words to
Timothy 'bring him with thee for he is useful to me
for service' hardly suggest that he had only just, left
the apostle, and that he wanted him back at once.
Two further details can be explained if they refer to
a period of release :
(e) In 1 Tim. i. 3 St Paul refers to an occasion when,
on going from Ephesus to Macedonia, he left Timothy
at Ephesus. This cannot be the journey mentioned in
Acts xx. 1, for St Paul had previously sent him to
Macedonia from Ephesus (Acts xix. 22). It is unsafe
to assume that he returned to Ephesus before St Paul
left that city (see p. 139 f .) ; but if he did, it is strange that
he did not fulfil the charge laid upon him, but for some
unknown reason hurried back to Macedonia in time to
join in the writing of 2 Corinthians (2 Cor. i. 1).
(/) Similarly in Tit. i. 5 St Paul refers to an occasion
on which he left Titus in Crete, to supply the spiritual
needs of the Christians on the island, and to appoint
elders in every Church. If this implies that St Paul had
just been carrying on successful missionary work in many
parts of theisland.it can hardly have been during the time
that he spent at Crete as a prisoner on his way from Jeru
salem to Rome (Acts xxvii. 8, 9), which is the only occa
sion on which St Luke relates that he visited the island.
The last two points, however, would not be enough
alone to require the theory of a second imprisonment.
They might easily be explained if we knew more about
St Paul's life. St Luke has pressed fourteen years of

256 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
strenuous activity into as many chapters. From 2 Cor.
xi. 23-26 it is clear that St Paul made journeys by land
and by sea of which Acts contains no record, and which
may easily have included a journey from Ephesus to
Macedonia, when Timothy was left behind for a time,
and a voyage to Crete with Titus.
Further support for the theory of a period of release
is found by Lightfoot and others in a supposed journey
of St Paul to Spain. Clement of Rome (Cor. v., vi.) says :
'Let us set before our eyes the good apostles; Peter who
. . . having borne witness went to his due place of glory
. . . Paul. . . having been a preacher both in the East and
in the West, received the noble renown (which was the
reward) of his faith, having taught the whole world
righteousness, and having come to the boundary of the
West1, and having borne witness before the rulers, so he
was released from the world and went to the holy place.
To these men of holy life there was gathered a great
multitude of elect persons etc' This passage speaks of
the martyrdom of the two apostles as occurring im
mediately before that of a great multitude of Christians,
presumably in the Neronian persecution. Clement's
somewhat rhetorical statement need not in itself imply
a second imprisonment (see below). 'The boundary of
the West' is an expression which might be applied to
Spain, in which case a period of release is absolutely
required, and the apostle's hope expressed in Rom. xv.
24, 28 was at last fulfilled, after the first imprisonment.
But in a letter to eastern readers the expression might
be applied not to Spain but to Rome2, the word 'having
I inl to rippa ttjs bvcreais.
2 Thus Ignat. Rom. 2 uses bitris 'West,' and dvaroXn
'East,' for Rome and Syria.

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 257
borne witness' being joined with 'having come.' And
it is to be noticed in any case that Clement does not
speak of St Paul as bearing witness more than once.
The words in the Muratorian Canon, ' sed et prof ectionem
Pauli ab urbe ad Spaniam profieiscentis,' need not be
more than a deduction from Rom. I.e. Further, if St
Paul was the apostle of Spain, it is surprising that no
trace should have survived of Spanish traditions to that
effect. The evidence, therefore, for a journey to Spain
is far too slender to be of use.
The only evidence of any weight is that derived from
2 Tim. iv. 9-22 a. But if, as will be shewn below, that
is very possibly a fragment of an earlier letter, the theory
of a release and a second imprisonment falls to pieces.
Apart from deductions from the Pastoral Epistles, and
St Paul's hope to go to Spain, there is not the slightest
reason for thinking that the imprisonment of Acts xxviii.
did not end with the apostle's death. St Luke does not
mention it, but neither does he mention a release; either
would fall outside the plan of his work (seep. 119!). His
words, however, seem to imply that after the ' two years '
some change was made in the prisoner's condition.
Clement, as said above, does not speak of St Paul as
bearing witness more than once. He naturally estimates
his death, and St Peter's, as a martyrdom, in which " a
great multitude of elect persons' was associated with
them. But this would not exclude the possibility that
St Paul was beheaded before the actual persecution
began to rage1 (in the midst of the persecution he would
1 It is quite unnecessary to suppose that he died in the
later years of Nero's reign, or even under Vespasian (Sanday
and Headlam). The tradition that he was beheaded is found
in Tert. Depraescr. 36 and Scorp. 15, Euseb. Hist. Eccl. ii- 25,
Lactant. De morte persec. 2, Jerome, De vir. illustr. 5.
mcn. 17

258 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
probably have received less humane treatment), and
that he was put to death as a Roman citizen, after a
formal trial, on the charge, which the Jews had previ
ously brought against him before Felix, of being 'a
pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all
the Jews throughout the world' (Acts xxiv. 5). They
would have no difficulty in collecting a series of facts
(cf. Acts xiii. 50, xiv. 2, 5, 19, xvi. 19-24, xvii. 5-9, 13,
xviii. 5, 6, 12-17, xix. 9, 23-41, xxi. 28, xxiii. io, 2 Cor.xi.
24, 25), and stating them in such a way as to convince
any judge that the prisoner had created disturbance
wherever he went. During the good years of Nero's
reign such a charge would be sure to meet with condign
punishment. For the Emperor to keep a prisoner waiting
for two, or even four, years before he took the trouble
to give him a trial, was not an uncommon occurrence.
One detail may be added. The narrative in Acts xx.
36-38 does not entirely exclude the possibility that St
Paul was mistaken in his foreboding1, and did, after all,
return to Ephesus after the first Roman imprisonment;
nevertheless it is difficult to think that St Luke would
have written his account of this solemn and affecting
farewell, and the grief caused by St Paul's words, unless
he had known for a fact that the apostle had never re
visited Ephesus.
There remain the allusions in 2 Tim. iv. 9-22 a. If
2 Timothy need not be considered as a single whole from
St Paul's pen, this passage may be a genuine fragment.
And it will be seen that its details, almost without
exception, find explanation if it was written to Timothy
1 If the imprisonment of Acts xxviii, ended with his death,
his hope of release expressed in Philem. 22 [and ?Phil. ii. 24]
was not fulfilled.

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 259
when St Paul was a prisoner at Caesarea before being
sent by Festus to Rome.
Whatever be the place of writing, v. 22 suggests that
the passage did not originally stand in its present position.
Notice the unusual combination, ' The Lord be with thy
spirit. Grace be with you (plural).' The latter phrase
occurs alone as the conclusion of 1 Timothy, and [you
all] of Titus. The former phrase is a natural conclusion
to a private letter to an individual.
The contents of the passage can be explained as fol
lows1: St Paul's 'first defence' (v. 16), when all the friends
who had accompanied him from Europe forsook him,
was his trial before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem (Acts
xxiii. 1-10). And his words in v. 17 ' But the Lord stood
by me and strengthened me. . .and I was delivered out
of the mouth of the lion ' — i.e. from a violent death at
the hand of persecutors — are parallel with St Luke's
narrative, 'And the night following the Lord stood by
him and said, Be of good cheer etc' (v. 11), after which
he was delivered from the imminent danger of assassi
nation (vv. 12-24).
If Ramsay's suggestion about 'Alexander the copper
smith '(see p. 84, n. 1) is right, the " much evil' which he
' displayed' to St Paul (v. 14) may be a reference to the
riot at Ephesus.
The cloak (or possibly the cover or case for books),
the papyri volumes, and the parchment rolls (of Scrip
ture), which were left at Troas (v. 13), were probably
left when the apostle was on his way to Jerusalem (Acts
1 In substantial agreement with Bacon, The Story of St
Paul, p. 198 f ., and Erbes who elaborates the theory in ZNW.
1909, pp. I95-218- 17— s

260 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
xx. 13). He decided to walk from Troas to Assos alone,
while the others went by boat; and these impedimenta,
which he could not carry with him on his walk, were
either left behind purposely, or by some accident were
not put on the boat in charge of the others. St Paul
may now have been anxious for the cloak because winter
was approaching (v. 21).
The group of travellers who accompanied the apostle
from Europe comprised Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus,
Gaius, also Timothy, Tychicus, Trophimus, and the
writer of the narrative, presumably Luke (Acts xx. 4, 5).
The first four are not named by St Paul in the present
passage, and may have been among those who forsook
him at his ' first defence ' ; or they may have been men
tioned in the lost part of the fragment1 Of the other
four, Luke accompanied him to Jerusalem, was with
him (as v. 11 here shews) at Caesarea, and travelled with
him to Rome, where he sent greetings to the Colossians
(iv. 14) and Philemon (v. 24). Timothy cannot have
travelled as far as Palestine with him, but must have
broken his journey somewhere, since St Paul here tells
him2 what happened at Jerusalem, and begs him to
come to him. He no doubt obeyed the apostle's sum
mons, and came to Caesarea as quickly as possible,
bringing Mark with him3. Tychicus and Trophimus also
1 A Macedonian named Aristarchus accompanied him on
the voyage from Caesarea (Acts xxvii. 2), and was with him
in Rome (Col. iv. 10, Philem. v. 24).
2 Bacon thinks that the fragment may not have been ad
dressed to Timothy. But in that case the absence of his
name would be surprising. The apostle, however, need not
necessarily have mentioned every one of his fellow travellers
from Europe.
3 If so, they may have made the voyage with him to
Rome, or travelled independently. They were with him in

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 261
broke their journey the former because St Paul sent
him to Ephesus (v. 12), the latter because he fell ill at
Miletus (v. 20); Trophimus, however, must have re
covered in time to be with the apostle in Jerusalem
(Acts xxi. 29)1. Four other names are mentioned in the
fragment, Crescens, Titus, Demas and Erastus. The first
two must have joined the apostle at Caesarea, and then,
probably commissioned by him, went to Galatia and
Dalmatia respectively (v. 10). The last two are the only
ones which cause difficulty. Demas, after having 'loved
this present world and departed to Thessalonica' (v. 10),
is found with St Paul in Rome as one of his 'fellow-
workers' (Philem. 24, Col. iv. 14). But that is a diffi
culty only if we assume that his repentance was impos
sible. Erastus, as St Paul tells Timothy, stayed behind
at Corinth (v. 20). But since Timothy travelled with
the group from Corinth (Acts xx. 4), it is not easy to
see why he needed this information, if it was he to
whom the apostle was writing.
None of the difficulties in the theory is such that it
might not be removed if we knew more of the facts
between the departure from Corinth and the end of the
Caesarean imprisonment. They are certainly not greater
than those attaching to any of the rival theories with
regard to the composition of the Pastoral Epistles.
Rome, for Timothy joins in the writing of Colossians, Phile
mon [and Philippians], and Mark sends greeting in the first
two of those epistles.
1 Erbes suggests that he did not, and that 'the city' in
Acts xxi. 29 means Ephesus, whence 'the Jews from Asia'
(v. 27) had just come. "They 'supposed' that St Paul had
brought into the temple his former companion, whereas
Trophimus was in reality not in Jerusalem at all. At
least they did not arrest Trophimus as they should have
done.

262 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH.
4. Contents. The discursiveness of the Pastoral
Epistles makes an exact analysis impossible. Sometimes
a connexion of thought is barely discernible: but the
general outline is as follows.
1 TIMOTHY.
i. 1, 2. Salutation.
i. 3-20. Introduction.
i. 3-17. The 'sound teaching' of St Paul's Gospel —
of which he was made a minister, having obtained mercy
because his former sinful, persecuting life was lived in
ignorant unbelief — is contrasted with the teaching of
certain Jewish Christians with antinomian leanings, who
do not accept the Law as a useful, moral corrective.
i. 18-20. Timothy, his spiritual child, is charged to
preserve the true Gospel, which some have repudiated.
ii., iii. Church Organization and Worship.
ii. 1, 2. Prayer is to be made for all men, because
ii. 3-6. God wills all men to be saved through the
one Mediator Jesus Christ.
ii. 7. Of this universal Gospel the apostle was ap
pointed the preacher.
ii. 8. Prayer, therefore, must be made universally.
ii. 9-15. Women must wear modest apparel in keeping
with their subordination to men, and (v. 12) must not
speak in public assemblies.
iii. 1-13. Church Officers: iii. 1-7. The qualifications
of a 'bishop.' iii. 8-13. The qualifications of deacons,
including (v. 11) their wives.
iii. 14-16. Transition to the next section. The Church
must be so ordered because it is the pillar and prop of
the Christian truth, of which a formula is quoted.

XII] THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 263
iv.-vi. 2. Timothy's attitudeto various classes of persons.
iv. False Teachers, v. 1, 2. Individual Christians.
v. 3-16. Widows, v. 17-25. Presbyters, vi. 1,2. Slaves.
vi. 3-10. Condemnation of false teachers, who make
profit out of their religion.
vi. 11-16. Solemn charge to Timothy as to his own
manner of life.
vi. 17-21. Postscript:
vi. 17-19. Charge to rich Christians.
vi. 20, 21. Warning to Timothy to avoid the false
'knowledge.' Grace.
2 TIMOTHY.
i. 1, 2. Salutation.
i. 3-5. Thanksgiving for Timothy's spiritual state.
i. 6— ii. 13. The Gospel, and the sufferings which it involves.
i. 6-11. Timothy is exhorted not to be ashamed of
the apostle and of his Gospel.
i. 12-14. He is to follow the apostle's example of
endurance. i. 15-18. The example of Onesiphorus.
ii. 1-3. Timothy is to entrust this Gospel to men who
can teach others; and he must shew endurance himself.
ii. 4-13. The certainty of reward for faithful endur
ance. ii. I4~iv.5. Warnings against err or sand contentiousness.
ii. 14-23. Charge to shun empty and pernicious con
troversy. ii. 24-26. The Lord's servant must not be contentious,
but tactful in order to win over opponents.
iii. 1-9. A stern rebuke of those who are immoral and
unscrupulous.

264 THE EPISTLES OF ST PAUL [CH. XII
iii. 10-12. Timothy is exhorted to follow the apostle's
example of endurance,
iii. 13-17. And in the face of deceivers to abide by
the teaching of Scripture.
iv. 1-8. A solemn charge to him to preach the truth
fearlessly, because the apostle himself expects death in
the near future.
iv. 9-22. Personal details. Salutations and Grace.
TITUS.
i. 1-4. Salutation.
i. 5-9. The qualifications of a presbyter or 'bishop.'
i. 10-16. This is in view of local vices and false teaching,
especially of Jewish Christians.
ii. 1-10. Sound teaching to be given to: ii. 1, 2. Older
men. ii. 3-5. Women, ii. 6-8. Younger men. ii. 9, 10.
Slaves. ii. 11-15. This is because of the divine purposes for
which God's saving grace was revealed.
iii. 1-8. And the same divine purposes require Chris
tians to preserve a blameless life in their dealings with
all men.
iii. 9-1 1. Titus is to avoid the folly of the false
teachers, and have nothing to do with those who persist
in error.
iii. 12-15. Personal details. Salutations and Grace.

PART III
THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF
ST PAUL
INTRODUCTION
Our Lord was the Founder of Christianity; but He
founded it less by His teaching than by being Himself
the Foundation, other than which no man can lay (i Cor.
iii. n). He taught the Fatherhood of God, and the
brotherhood of men, and, on that basis, the character
necessary for those who will inherit the divine Kingdom,
which is soon to arrive, and of which He claimed to be
the coming Messianic King, an office to which He would
pass by death on behalf of His nation, and by resurrec
tion. This teaching in its main elements must have been
known to St Paul, not, of course, through the Gospels,
which were not written till after his death, but through
intercourse with the first Christians. All its chief truths
appear in his epistles. The Fatherhood of God is not
stated as a doctrine, but assumed as a fact in every
reference which he makes to it. And, as in our Lord's
teaching, a sharp distinction is implied between God's
relation as Father to us and to His Son Jesus Christ
(see 2 Cor. i. 2, 3, Eph. i. 2, 3, Col. i. 2, 3). Though St
Paul says more about the spiritual brotherhood of
Christians than the natural brotherhood of all human
beings, the latter is implied in many of his practical

266 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
injunctions on conduct. His eschatological teaching will
be dealt with below.
But he did much more than echo the truths declared
by our Lord. It is a mistake to suppose that St Paul
could not have contributed to Christianity anything
that is not found in the teaching of Jesus during His
earthly life. What he contributed was a system of
thought, not constructed out of our Lord's words but,
built upon the foundation of His risen and glorified
Person. It must be remembered, however, firstly that
a system of thought crystallized in the mind of one man,
however fertile in imagination and vehement in zeal,
within 30 years of our Lord's death, cannot shew a
rounded completeness like that of modern systems which
have been shaped as the result of previous generations
or centuries of thought ; and secondly that the apostle's
thoughts have been preserved for us only in letters,
written for the needs of particular persons or Churches
at the moment. It may be taken for granted that we do
not know the whole of his Christian teaching. And yet
what we do know is marvellous in its range and depth,
and on the whole wonderfully harmonious and coherent.
His religious beliefs, like those of every other man,
were determined by two main factors, (1) instruction
by others, training, tradition, environment, (2) immedi
ate personal spiritual experience. But more clearly than
most men he was able to distinguish the latter from the
former (cf. Gal. i. 1, 12). The crisis on the road to
Damascus did not blot out all that was Jewish and
Greek in him, but transfigured it. His early beliefs and
tendencies, and his personal spiritual experience, formed
the two forces which resulted in the direction taken by
his Christian thought, driving him to the conclusions

INTRODUCTION 267
which, with the help of his great mental powers and
intuitive perception, he was enabled in God's providence
to reach, and bequeath to the Church.
He does not, like the writer of the Fourth Gospel and
1 John, lay the weight of his argument on the Incar
nation of the eternal Son. He speaks of Him, indeed,
frequently, as the Son of God, and in the four passages
where he mentions His human birth (Rom. i. 3, viii. 3,
Gal. iv. 4, Phil. ii. 6-8) he implies that He was the Son
of God — and in the last passage states that He was ' on
an equality with God' — before His Incarnation. His
pre-existence is recognised also in Eph. i. 4, Col. i. 15, 161.
But the system of doctrine which is characteristically
Pauline, while wholly dependent upon His Divinity, lays
the chief stress on His Death and Resurrection in their
spiritual relation to His Second Coming and the con
summation of all things, as the working out of God's
eternal plan of salvation for mankind.
It can best be understood by approaching it from the
End, and tracing the apostle's thoughts backwards to
the Cross. Not that he definitely followed this, or any
exact, order in working out his conclusions; in a mind
such as his, great truths probably presented themselves
as independent certainties, and his reasoning powers
were occupied in defining their relative position and
bearing upon one another. It is impossible to follow
the process of his mind chronologically, the more so
1 In the Pastoral Epistles His human life is the manifest
ing or appearing of the pre-existent Christ: 1 Tim. iii. 16,
2 Tim. i. 9, 10; cf. 1 Tim. i. 15. And the truth of the Incar
nation is expressed in the term 'Mediator' (1 Tim. ii. 5),
which is elsewhere applied to Christ in Heb. viii. 6, ix. 15,
xii. 24 only, as the counterpart of Moses, the mediator of the
Old Covenant (contrast Gal. iii. 19, 20).

268 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
since the order of the epistles is far from certain. De
velopment of thought there doubtless was; the last
stages of it are seen with some clearness in Colossians
and Ephesians; but some writers have greatly exag
gerated it. It is chiefly important to see that the several
parts of his ' gospel ' are links in one chain, in whatever
order they may have been forged.
i. ESCHATOLOGY
The prophets of the Old Testament had expected a
final age of bliss to be ushered in by the 'day of Yahweh,'
the day of Judgment. Their conceptions of this age,
and day, were taken over by the apocalyptic writers,
but to a large extent developed and altered, especially
by those who attained to a belief in a new heaven and
a new earth, a spiritual transformation, a ' regeneration '
of all things. And prophets and apocalyptists alike ex
pected that the great consummation for which they
severally hoped was to occur in the near future. Jewish
thought had reached also the conception that the intro
duction of the new age would be the work of a God-sent
Agent, either of earthly or of heavenly origin. Writers
differed widely in their descriptions of his nature and
functions, but the hopes of an Individual, whom some
called 'Messiah,' i.e. Xptcrrd?, "Anointed,' and some
'the Son of Man,' 'the Beloved,' 'the Elect' and other
titles, tended gradually to become more distinct.
Then our Lord claimed to be the fulfilment of these
hopes. And Saul of Tarsus, who inherited them with
his Jewish blood, learnt from the Christians whom he
persecuted that they were convinced that the claims of
Jesus had been proved true by His Resurrection from

ESCHATOLOGY 269
the dead. The Galilean who had lived and moved with
them had become the heavenly Man who would soon
arrive in glory at the Last Day to inaugurate the King
dom of God on earth.
And then came the crisis. Jesus the heavenly Man,
crucified and risen, revealed Himself to Saul, and at one
stroke the eschatology of the despised Christians became
the eschatology of St Paul the apostle. The parousia
of the Messiah would be the parousia of the risen Jesus.
Inherited Jewish hopes were transfigured in the dazzling
light of personal experience. In his epistles, however,
he nowhere spends a sentence on proving that Jesus
is the Messiah of Jewish expectations1. The identity of
Jesus and the Christ had been the subject of early
apostolic teaching (Acts ii. 36, iii. 18, 20, 26, iv. 11, 27,
v. 30, 31, 42, vii. 52, 56, viii. 5, 35, x. 38, 42, 43, xviii.
28), and St Paul taught the same (ix. 20, 22, xiii. 23-33,
xvii. 3 (cf. v. 7), xviii. 5, xxvi. 23, xxviii. 23). But in
writing his epistles to meet the immediate needs of
those who were already Christians, he assumes their
acceptance of this fundamental truth which he had
taught them byword of mouth when he converted them.
We enter, then, upon the study of his teaching in the
epistles by noting his expectations of the events to take
place at what is popularly called ' the end of the world.'
1. The tinie of the End is expressed in an Old Testa
ment phrase, or varieties of it: 'the Day of the Lord
(Jesus) ' (1 Cor. v. 5, 1 Thes. v. 2, 2 Thes. ii. 2), of our
Lord Jesus (Christ) (1 Cor. i. 8, 2 Cor. i. 14), of Jesus
Christ (Phil. i. 6), of Christ (ii. 16); 'that Day' (2 Thes.
1 Rom. ix. 5 contains a passing allusion to the Israelite
descent of the Messiah, and i. 3 to His Davidic descent;
cf. 2 Tim. ii. 8.

270 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
i. 10 ; cf. 2 Tim. i. 12, 18, iv. 8); 'the Day' (Rom. xiii.
12, 1 Cor. iii. 13, 1 Thes. v. 4; cf. Rom. ii. 5, 16).
2. It will be a time when all will be judged by God
(Rom. ii. 3, 5, 12, 16, xiv. 10, 2 Thes. ii. 12), or by Jesus
Christ1 (Rom. ii. 16, 1 Cor. iv. 5, 2 Cor. v. 10; cf. 2 Tim.
iv. 1, 8). And good and bad will receive the due reward
of their deeds (Rom. ii. 6, 2 Cor. v. 10). The good will
obtain salvation (Rom. v. 9, 10, 1 Cor. iii. 15, v. 5,
1 Thes. v. 9), life with Christ (Phil. i. 23, 1 Thes. iv. 17),
praise from God (1 Cor. iv. 5), rest (2 Thes. i. 7), eternal
life (Rom. ii. 7). The wicked will suffer wrath (Rom. v. 9,
xii. 19, xiii. 5, 1 Thes. i. 10, ii. 16, v. 92; Rom. i. 18,
ii. 5, 8, iii. 5, Col. iii. 6, Eph. v. 6), destruction (1 Thes.
v. 3, 2 Thes. i. 9), affliction (2 Thes. i. 6), wrath and in
dignation, affliction and distress (Rom. ii. 8), vengeance
(2 Thes. i. 8).
3. The Advent of Jesus Christ is variously spoken of:
' The Parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ ' (with all His holy
ones3) (1 Thes. iii. 13, v. 23; cf.ii. 19). 'The manifestation
of His Parousia' (2 Thes. ii. 9). 'They that are Christ's
[will rise] at His Parousia' (1 Cor. xv. 23). 'To await
His Son from heaven' (1 Thes. i. 10). 'The Lord Him
self with a shout of command, with the voice of an arch
angel, and with the trump of God4, shall descend from
heaven' (1 Thes. iv. 16). 'The revealing of our Lord
Jesus Christ from heaven with the angels of His power
in a flame of fire ' (2 Thes. i. 7). ' . . . heaven, whence we
1 In the Jewish Apocalypses and in the Synoptic Gospels
a similar variety of expectation is seen; God judges either
in His own Person or through the agency of the Messiah.
2 In these first six passages the eschatological term ' the
wrath' is used.
3 Saints, or angels, or possibly both.
4 Cf. 'the last trump' (1 Cor. xv. 52).

ESCHATOLOGY 271
eagerly expect as a Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ ' (Phil.
iii. 20). 'Until the Lord come' (1 Cor. iv. 5). 'When
He comes in order to be glorified in His holy ones and
to be marvelled at in all them that have become believers'
(2 Thes. i. 10). 'When Christ is manifested' (Col. iii. 4).
See also 1 Tim. vi. 14, 15, 2 Tim. iv. 1, Tit. ii. 13.
These passages for the most part picture the Advent
of Christ as a visible event, much as it was pictured in
Jewish Apocalypses. And two further features of Jewish
expectation are preserved:
4. It will be in the near future1. St Paul expects that
he and some, at least, of his readers will still be alive
when it occurs (1 Cor. xv. 51, 1 Thes. iv. 15, 17). He
and his contemporaries are they 'upon whom the ends
of the ages are come' (1 Cor. x. 11). He advises the
Corinthians not to marry, because the time is short, the
world is passing away, and the tribulation of the End is
imminent (1 Cor. vii. 28-31). 'The night is far spent,
the day is at hand' (Rom. xiii. 12). 'The God of peace
shall bruise Satan under your feet .shortly ' (Rom. xvi.
20). 'Behold now is the acceptable time, behold now is
the day of salvation' (2 Cor. vi. 2).
5. It will be sudden. ' The day of the Lord as a thief
in the night so it cometh. . . . Sudden destruction cometh
upon them as pangs upon a woman with child ' (1 Thes.
v. 2, 3).
Two passages may here be studied which are unique
in St Paul's writings, dealing respectively with events
before and at the Advent.
1 At the end of his ministry this thought may perhaps
have faded away. It finds no expression in Colossians and
Ephesians. It is not, however, denied in Eph. ii. 7, iii. 21,
where the ages and generations of the future perfected life
are spoken of.

272 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
6. 2 Thes. ii. 3-12. The apostle warns his readers not
to think that 'the day of the Lord has (actually) set
in,' or 'is present.' 'Because (it will not occur) except
the apostasy come first, and the man of lawlessness be
revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalt-
eth himself against everyone called God or an object of
reverence, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, giving
himself out to be God. . . . And now ye know the re
straining force, that he [i.e. the man of lawlessness]
may be revealed (only) in his proper time. Only the
restrainer is now (present) until he be taken out of the
way. And then shall the lawless one be revealed, whom
the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of His
mouth, and bring to nought by the splendour of His
Parousia, him whose parousia is according to the work
ing of Satan in all power1, and signs, and false portents,
and in all deception of unrighteousness to those who
are being lost etc'
This appears to be based partly on the language of
Dan. xi. 36, and to refer to the mysterious conception
held by many Jews of a supremely malignant power,
who may be described almost as the devil in human
shape. Immediately before the Last Day he would exer
cise his terrible power, but would then be destroyed by
God. Such a Figure is probably referred to in Mk xiii.
14, ' the abomination of desolation standing where he2
ought not.' St Paul declares that the Lord Jesus will
destroy him. The man of lawlessness sets himself up
as a counterpart of Christ8; his arrival is a parousia,
1 I.e. " displayed in sheer force.'
2 Notice the masculine pronoun.
3 In 1 John ii. 18, iv. 3 the word Antichrist is used; the
spirit of error is the spirit of Antichrist, ' and even now there
are many Antichrists.'

ESCHATOLOGY 273
accompanied by signs and portents. But, says the apostle,
the great moral apostasy from God which comes with
the man of lawlessness will not occur quite immediately.
The restraining power of the Roman empire with its
genius for law and order, represented by the Emperor,
'the restrainer,' for the moment keeps the awful cata
strophe in check. This is the most generally accepted
explanation of the passage, the details of which must
be studied in commentaries1.
7. 1 Cor. xv. 24-28. St Paul here deals with the rela
tion of Christ to God the Father at the end of time.
After speaking of the Resurrection of Christ the First-
fruits and afterwards of those who are Christ's at His
Parousia, he proceeds: 'then (cometh) the end, when
He delivereth up the Kingdom to God even the Father,
when He hath annulled every rulership and every au
thority and power. For He must reign until He hath
placed all His enemies under His feet. The final enemy
that shall be annulled is death, for He hath subjected
all things under His feet. But when it says "all things
have been subjected" it is clearly exclusive of Him who
subjected all things to Him. But when He hath sub
jected all things to Him, then shall the Son also Himself
be subjected to Him who subjected all things to Him,
that God may be all in all.'
This might at first sight seem to teach that Christ's
Messianic reign, beginning at the Parousia, would con
tinue until He had subdued all opposing powers, in
cluding the last of them, death. This Messianic reign
would thus be analogous to the millennium of Rev. xx.
1 See also Bousset, The Antichrist Legend, and H. A. A.
Kennedy, St Paul's Conceptions of the Last Things, pp. 207-
221. M«N. 18

274 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
But this expectation is not found in the Gospels, and can
not with probability be seen here1. We must suppose that
St Paul thought of death as destroyed when Christians
rise at the Parousia. His conceptions need not involve
the lapse of time. At the Parousia Christ is King, He
puts down all opposing powers by His coming, and in
the same timeless act delivers up the Kingdom to God
the Father. His final and eternal 'subordination' to
the Father does not imply an essential inequality of
nature2, for the apostle shews on every page that he
believes Christ to be fully and utterly Divine. But the
thought of subordination is bound up with the closing
words of the passage, 'that God may be all in all,' and
finds an echo in i Cor. xi. 3, ' the Head of every man is
Christ, and the Head of Christ is God.' In the sphere of
time, Christ is the supreme divine Head in relation to
created things and beings; in eternity, God the Father
is the supreme Head of all.
2. THE HOLY SPIRIT
But if St Paul's thought had not advanced beyond
the expectation that Jesus was soon to return as the
Messiah of the best Jewish hopes, he would have done
no great work for Christianity. As far as he was con
cerned Christians would have continued to be what he
in his persecuting days had thought them — a mere
Jewish sect, holding notions about the Messiah that
were condemned as pernicious and blasphemous.
i See Charles, Eschatology, pp. 349 f., 389 f.
2 It was owing to the undue stress laid on this passage by
Marcellus of Ancyra that the clause 'whose kingdom shall
have no end' was inserted in the orthodox creed of the
Church.

THE HOLY SPIRIT 275
A fresh thought regarding the Last Day comes before
us, not in the apocalypses but in the later prophets of
the Old Testament, i.e. that the perfecting of God's
people, to fit them for the ideal conditions of the divine
sovereignty, would be wrought by the outpouring of
God's Spirit; see Is. xliv. 3, Ezek. xxxvi. 27, xxxvii.
1-14, xxxix. 29, Joel ii. 28 f. This thought entered into
the prediction uttered by John the Baptist, ' He that is
mightier than I cometh after me. ... He shall baptize
you with the Holy Spirit ' (Mk i. 7, 8). St Paul nowhere
speaks explicitly of the outpouring of the Spirit as an
event which will accompany the Messiah's Advent; and
yet it was more effectual in the building up of his system
of doctrine than any other eschatological idea. As in
the case of the Messiahship of Jesus, the Jewish hope of
the gift of the Spirit was transfigured by personal ex
perience. Simon Peter and the rest of the earliest dis
ciples underwent their experience on the day of Pente
cost, the repentant Saul a little later. That they were in
very truth endued with the Holy Spirit of God they all
knew with the unshakeable conviction that the deepest
experience can bring. In Acts ii. 17-21 the prophecy of
Joel is recognised as finding fulfilment at Pentecost.
But St Paul went much further, and worked out all the
far-reaching consequences involved.
He thought of it in this way.: the greatest of all the
conditions accompanying the Messiah's Advent, the full
and complete outpouring of the Spirit, had already begun
to make itself felt. Christians had already received ' the
firstfruits of the Spirit' (Rom, viii. 23), 'the pledge, or
first instalment, of the Spirit' (2 Cor. i. 22, v. 5), which
like a seal ensured to them the promise of the coming
inheritance (Eph. i. 13, 14, iv. 30). 18—2

276 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
3. THE CHRISTIAN'S TRANSFERENCE INTO
THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM
This thought is immeasurably important in St Paul's
Christianity, and the student cannot be too careful to
grasp it clearly. The gift of the Spirit, and therefore
every blessing which is in store for God's elect in the
ideal future, is theirs partially, potentially, proleptically,
now. ' We know in part, and we prophesy in part; but
when that which is perfect is come, then that which
is in part shall be done away' (1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10). The
present condition is to the future perfected condition as
childhood to manhood (v. 11), or as a blurred vision in
a mirror to a vision face to face (v. 12). Mostly, how
ever, St Paul does not express in words the partialness
or potentiality of what has been granted; he assumes
that his readers will understand him, and uses exactly
similar language for the present condition of Christians
and their destined perfected condition. The latter was
to be the final end of a process already begun.
The perfected condition is expressed, for example, in
the words ' the kingdom of God ' (1 Cor. xv. 50, 2 Thes.
i. 5; cf. 2 Tim. iv. 1, 18); 'salvation,' or 'be saved'
(Rom. v. 9, xiii. 11, 1 Cor. iii. 15, v. 5, 1 Thes. v.
8, 9; cf. 2 Tim. ii. 10); 'redemption' (Rom. viii.
23, Eph. i. 14, iv. 30); 'life,' or 'eternal life' (Rom.
ii. 7, vi. 22, 2 Cor. v. 4); 'sonship1' (Rom. viii. 23);
1 vioBeo-la, 'a making or constituting sons.' If it is trans
lated ' adoption ' it must be remembered that the word meant
in Roman law a much more complete and irrevocable mem
bership of the family than it means with us. But even
so, it can in human life be only a legal fiction, whereas St
Paul is thinking of a spiritual sonship which is real, produced
by a real, living union with the Father. In the ideal future
this union will be revealed in its perfection.

THE CHRISTIAN AND THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM 277
'inheritance1' (Eph. i. 14, Col. iii. 24); 'glory' (Rom.
v. 2, viii. 18, 21, 1 Cor. xv. 43, 2 Cor. iv. 17, Phil. iii. 21,
Col. i. 27, iii. 4; cf. 2 Tim. ii. 10) ; 'that which is perfect'
(1 Cor. xiii. 10).
But the present condition is expressed in precisely
parallel terms. In some passages the fact that that con
dition is a process tending towards the perfected con
dition makes it impossible to distinguish between present
and future. Compare the future tense in the statement
that the wicked " shall not inherit the kingdom of God2 '
(1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, Gal. v. 21) with the present tense in
the parallel statement that 'no fornicator. . .hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God' (Eph*.
v. 5). 'The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness, and peace, and joy, in the Holy
Spirit' (Rom. xiv. 17); it is not 'in word but in power'
(1 Cor. iv. 20) ; God has ' translated us into the kingdom
of the Son of His love ' (Col. i. 13) ; He ' calleth [v. I. called]
you into (or unto) His kingdom and glory ' (1 Thes. ii.
12; cf. 1 Tim. vi. 12, 2 Tim. i. 9). Salvation is a process
to be worked out fully (Phil. ii. 12 ; cf . 1 Tim. ii. 4, 2 Tim.
iii. 15); Christians are 'being saved' (1 Cor. i. 18, xv. 2,
2 Cor. ii. 15), and they " were, or have been, saved ' (Rom.
viii. 24, Eph. ii. 5, 8; cf. 2 Tim. i. 9), and 'bought'
1 In English law a person is not legally ' heir ' till the death
of the testator who has made him so. In Roman law his
legal position during the testator's life was much more secure.
This made it possible for St Paul to use the word to describe
the relationship of Christians to God who does not die. He
was also accustomed to it from its use in the Old Testament
for the possession of the promised land by Israel; see West-
cott, Hebrews, pp. 167-9.
2 This, and the passages which follow, shew that it is in
accurate to say that the kingdom of God is the Church. The
members of the Church possess all the privileges involved
in being under God's sovereignty.

278 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
(1 Cor. vi. 20, vii. 23, Gal. iii. 13). 'Life,' 'eternal life'
is God's present gift to those who are in Christ (Rom.
vi. 4, 23, viii. 2, 10, 2 Cor. iv. 10, 11, Col. iii. 3; cf.
1 Tim. i. 16, vi. 12, 2 Tim. i. 1). 'Perfect' is applied to
Christians now (1 Cor. ii. 6, xiv. 20, Phil. iii. 15, Col. iv.
12), although St Paul elsewhere denies that he is already
'perfected' (Phil. iii. 12; cf. 1 Cor. xiii. 10). Christians
are 'saints' now (Rom. i. 7, viii. 27 and frequently),
though sanctification is a life-long action of the Holy
Spirit and of the indwelling Christ (Rom. vi. 19, 22,
Eph. v. 26, 1 Thes. iv.3, v. 23, 2 Thes. ii. 13). To attain
to ' glory ' is likewise a process (2 Cor. iii. 18) . And see the
use of the terms ' redemption ' (Rom. iii. 24, 1 Cor. i. 30,
Eph. i. 7, Col. i. 14; cf. 1 Tim. ii. 6, Tit. ii. 14), "sonship'
(Rom. viii. 15, Gal. iv. 5, Eph.i. 5) and ' sons ' (Rom. viii.
14, Gal. iii. 26, iv. 7); 'heirs,' 'inheritance' (Rom. viii.
17, Gal. iii. 29, iv. 7, Eph. i. 18, v. 5; cf. Tit. iii. 7).
A study of these passages will shew what St Paul
meant by the 'pledge, or firstfruits, of the Spirit,' and
the 'translation into the kingdom of the Son of God's
love.' Christians are already transferred from the old
into the new, and are already (potentially) in possession
of the blessings of the Messianic age.
The condition out of which they are transferred St
Paul calls, in echoes of Jewish language, 'this age'
(R.V. ' world ') (Rom. xii. 2, 1 Cor. i. 20, ii. 6-8, iii. 18,
2 Cor. iv. 4), 'the age of this world' (Eph. ii. 2), 'the
age of the present evil' (Gal. i. 4), which is under the
domination of 'the god of this age' (2 Cor. iv. 4), 'the
prince of the authority of the air' (Eph. ii. 2), 'the
world-rulers of this darkness' (Eph. vi. 12), 'the autho
rity of darkness' (Col. i. 13) ; and the terms 'rulerships'
(apXat), 'authorities' (it-ovo-lat), 'powers' (Svvafiek),

THE CHRISTIAN AND THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM 279
'lordship' (/cvpiornt;) (Rom. viii. 38, 1 Cor. xv. 24,
Eph. i. 21, ii. 2, iii. 10, vi. 12, Col. i. 13, ii. 10, 15) and
'elements' (arroixeia) (Gal. iv. 3, 9, Col. ii. 8, 20) con
tain, more or less explicitly, the same thought of quasi-
personal forces opposed to the sovereignty of God.

4. THE NATURE OF MAN
This conviction of the transference of Christians from
the old condition to the new profoundly influenced St
Paul's ideas as to the nature of man. Every man born
into the world consists of yjrvxv (psyche, 'soul'), and
a&fia (' body ') . The former is the natural life, the non-
corporeal element in human nature. 'The first man
Adam became a living psyche' (1 Cor. xv. 45). This
included vovs, 'mind,' 'intellectual faculty' (Rom. vii.
25, 1 Cor. xiv. 14, 15), and /cap8ia, 'heart,' a wider term
covering the ideas of mind, emotion, and will. Psyche
is in itself a word implying neither blame nor praise; it
is neutral and colourless. And the same is true of ' body.'
St Paul was quite untouched by the tendency to think
of the body as something evil because it is material.
But when the ordinary, natural man becomes a Chris
tian, translated (potentially) into the Messianic king
dom, he is at once (potentially) immersed in, filled,
permeated, with the divine Spirit. He is not a being
composed of body, soul, and spirit1, but of body and
soul plunged into a new world of being, a spiritual
atmosphere, a spiritual ocean ; he is in possession of an
1 In a single passage, 1 Thes. v. 23, they are mentioned
in a way that might suggest that. And this has led some
writers to use the word 'trichotomy ' in dealing with St Paul's
ideas on psychology.

280 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
all-pervading divine force. See Rom. viii., i Cor. ii., xii.
The Christian is thus a different being from the ordinary,
natural man. And this contrast is expressed by the ad
jectives ¦n-veu/jiaTt.icos, ' spiritual,' and y]rvxiic6<;, ' psychic,'
'natural.' See i Cor. ii. 14, 15 and xv. 44, 46, in the
former of which the adjectives are applied to the mind,
in the latter to the body. Occasionally St Paul uses
pneuma, ' spirit,' loosely of the mind and feelings, much
in the sense of 'heart' (e.g. 1 Cor. ii. 11, v. 3, xvi. 18,
2 Cor. ii. 13, vii. 13, Col. ii. 5) ; but in the great mass of
passages the Christian's 'spirit' is that which he possesses,
or in which he lives, in virtue of his having been trans
ferred into the new condition of existence in the Spirit
of God. Thus there are passages in which the Christian's
spirit and God's Spirit are not strictly distinguishable
(see next section).
That which at present prevents man from hving in
the full and actual condition of 'spirit' is Sin. And the
element in him which affords sin its handle and instru
ment is not the psyche but the body. When considered
from the spiritual point of view the body holds a noble
place in man's life. The sinful heathen ' dishonour their
bodies ' (Rom. i. 24) ; a fornicator sins against his body
(1 Cor. vi. 18) . The body supplies St Paul with one of
his greatest metaphors for the unity of Christians in
Christ (1 Cor. xii.). The bodies of Christians can be
'presented as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God'
(Rom. xii. 1); they are 'limbs of Christ' (1 Cor. vi. 15),
and 'the temple of the Holy Spirit' (v. 19). Christians
can 'glorify God in their body' (v. 20), and 'be holy in
body and in spirit' (vii. 34). The life of Jesus can be
manifested in their body (2 Cor. iv. 10), and Christ be
magnified in it (Phil. i. 20). All this is in the present.

THE NATURE OF MAN 28 1
But finally, when that which is perfect is come, their
bodies when raised will be perfectly ' spiritual ' (1 Cor.
xv. 44). The Holy Spirit that dwells in Christians will
'quicken their mortal bodies' (Rom. viii. 11), and those
bodies will be 'redeemed' (v. 23), and 'conformed to
the body of Christ's glory ' (Phil. iii. 21). St Paul expects
to be, not divested of the material body — 'unclothed,'
' naked ' — but ' clothed upon ' with the ' habitation which
is from heaven,' i.e. the heavenly body, 'that what is
mortal may be swallowed up by life.' That was God's
purpose, and He pledged it by the 'first instalment of
the Spirit ' (2 Cor. v. 1-5). ' This corruptible thing must
put on incorruption, and this mortal thing must put
on immortality. And when this mortal thing shall have
put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying
that is written, Death is swallowed up into victory1'
(1 Cor. xv. 53, 54).
On the other hand, when considered as the handle
and instrument of sin it is described as 'the body of
sin' (Rom. vi. 6), 'the body of this death' (vii. 24),
'dead because of sin' (viii. 10); it is 'the body of our
humiliation' (Phil. iii. 21), and must be kept in control
by the sternest discipline (1 Cor. ix. 27).
But more often St Paul expresses this by employing
the word flesh. In Old Testament language 'flesh ' stood
for the material in man, as distinct from the non-material,
the "spirit' (cf. Rom. i. 3, ii. 28, iv. 1, ix. 3, 5, 8 and
elsewhere). But when the meaning of 'spirit' is raised
by St Paul to a higher plane, that of 'flesh' is thrust to
a lower one. His own bitter experience of the internal
war involved in living the spiritual life, owing to the
1 els v'ikos, the LXX equivalent in Is. xxv. 8 for a Hebrew
word meaning 'for ever.'

282 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
fact that the hostile force of sin employed as its handle
and instrument the body which is made of flesh, led
him for the most part to prefer 'flesh' to 'body' as the
right word with which to express a moral contrast with
' spirit ' (Rom. vii. 5, 18, 25, viii. 3-13, xiii. 14, 1 Cor. v. 5,
Gal. v. 16, 17, 19, 24, vi. 8). And as he used ifrityiicos,
'psychic,' so he could use trap/a/eos, 'fleshly,' and o-ap-
Kivot, 'made of flesh,' in the sense of non-spiritual
(Rom. vii. 14, xv. 27, 1 Cor. iii. 1, 3, ix. 11, 2 Cor. i. 12,
x. 4), which sometimes, from the nature of the case,
verges on ' unspiritual ' or "sinful.'

5. THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IN THE
CHRISTIAN
1. The ultimate aim of the Spirit's work is to bring
to completion 'the age-long purpose' of God (Eph. iii.
11; cf. 2 Tim. i. 9, Tit. i. 2). This purpose was shewn in
the ' calling ' of Christians (Rom. viii. 28), their " election'
(ix. 11), and their 'foreordaining' (Eph. i. 11), in ac
cordance with God's good pleasure which was purposed
in Christ for a working out of His plan in the fulness of
the times, i.e. to sum up all things in Christ (v. 10).
This includes the blessings enumerated above, which
comprise the perfected condition of Christians, all of
which are potentially won already.
2. The present nature of the Spirit's work.
(a) It is an atmosphere in which Christians 'walk
about' (Gal. v. 16), 'live, and walk straight' (v. 25),
and with which they are filled (Eph. v. 18). He dwells
in them (Rom. viii. 11, 1 Cor. iii. 16, vi. 19; cf. 2 Tim. i.
14), and if He dwells in them, they are 'in [the condition

THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IN THE CHRISTIAN 283
or atmosphere of] spirit' (Rom. viii. 9); in [the] Spirit
they are fervent (xii. n), and have joy (xiv. 17, 1 Thes.
i. 6), and freedom (2 Cor. iii. 17) ; they have a 'common
share in the Holy Spirit' (xiii. 13), and hence a 'unity
of the Spirit* (Eph. iv. 3).
(6) It is a power working in their moral life. In it
they abound in hope (Rom. xv. 13 ; cf . Gal. v. 5) ; their
character is an epistle of Christ written by the Spirit of
the Lord (2 Cor. iii. 3), and it exhibits 'the fruit of the
Spirit' (Gal. v. 22; cf. vi. 8).
(c) It is the Source of spiritual blessings : the love of
God (Rom. v. 5) ; life and peace (viii. 6) ; leading (viii.
14; cf. Gal. v. 18); assurance of recognition as God's
sons (viii. 15, 16; cf. Gal. iv. 6); help and intercession
(viii. 26) ; manifold charismata (1 Cor. xii.) ; revelation of
the inconceivable blessings prepared for the spiritual
man, i.e. the Christian (ii. 10-16).

6. THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST
A further truth essential to St Paul's teaching emerged
from his personal experience, and from that of the first
Christians. When he was endued with the Holy Spirit
of God, he knew it to be the Spirit of the crucified and
risen Christ. Whether any reasoning helped him to
form this conclusion we cannot tell. It is not impossible
that such passages as Is. xi. 2, xiii. 1, which speak of the
divine inspiration of the Messianic prophet1, may have
done something to define and strengthen his intuitive
certainty. We can see only the results in his teaching.
He is so unutterably sure that he is filled with the Spirit
of the risen Lord that the language which he uses about
1 Cf. Acts x. 38.

284 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
Christ and about the Holy Spirit is sometimes hardly
distinguishable. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of
Christ are one and the same (Rom. viii. 9). Christ and
the Holy Spirit are spoken of in parallelism (ix. 1).
'He that is joined to the Lord [i.e. Christ] is one spirit'
(1 Cor. vi. 17). 'The Spirit of His Son1' (Gal. iv. 6). His
Spirit in the inner man is equated with Christ dwelling
in your hearts by faith (Eph. iii. 16, 17). 'The supply
of the Spirit of Christ Jesus' (Phil. i. 19). And most
explicitly 'The Lord is the Spirit' (2 Cor. iii. 17), 'the
Lord Spirit2' (v. 18). 'The last Adam became a life-
giving Spirit' (1 Cor. xv. 45).
7. 'IN CHRIST'
Thus if the Holy Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ,
it is equally true to say either that the Holy Spirit or
Christ is in Christians, and they in Him. No thought
is more characteristic of St Paul than that which he
expresses by 'in Christ,' 'in the Lord,' and the like.
1. The heavenly calling of Christians is 'in Christ
Jesus' (Phil. iii. 14; cf. 2 Tim. i. 9), and their election
(Eph. i. 4). 'In Christ' is performed the saving act
which places them (potentially) in the perfect condition
which they are finally to reach: Forgiveness (Eph. i. 7,
iv. 32, Col. i. 14), Redemption (Rom. iii. 24, Eph. i. 7,
Col. i. 14), Freedom from condemnation (Rom. viii. 1),
and from law (Gal. ii. 4), Justification (v. 17), Life
(Rom. vi. 11, 23, viii. 2). In Christ Jesus they derive
their spiritual being from God (r Cor. i. 30), they
become a new creation (2 Cor. v. 17; cf. Eph. ii. 10,
1 Cf. St Luke's language, 'He hath poured forth this'
(Acts ii. 33), 'the Spirit of Jesus allowed them not' (xvi. 7).
2 ano Kvpiov nvevparos. See /. Th. S. Oct. 1915, pp. 60— 65.

'IN CHRIST' 285
Col. ii. n, 12), and are 'filled' by union with the whole
' Fulness ' of the Godhead which dwelleth in Him bodily
(Col. ii. 10) ; and thus they have 'a share, or fellowship,
in Christ' as they have in the Spirit (1 Cor. i. 9); God
gave them grace and kindness 'in the Beloved,' 'in
Christ Jesus ' (Eph. i. 6, ii. 7) ; ' in Him ' they were ' made
His lot' (i. n); 'in Christ' He blessed them with every
spiritual blessing in the sphere of heavenly things (i. 3),
and raised them together and made them sit together
in the sphere of heavenly things (ii. 6).
The process, also, by which this potential perfection
is made real and actual is ' in Christ ' : they are sanctified
(1 Cor. i. 2), rooted and built up (Col. ii. 7), and taught
(Eph. iv. 21); their hearts and thoughts are guarded
(Phil. iv. 7) ; God always leads them in triumph (2 Cor.
ii. 14). 'In Christ' they are one body (Rom. xii. 5; cf.
Gal. iii. 28, v. 6) ; in particular Jews and Gentiles are
made one (Eph. ii. 13, 15, 22. iii. 6), the whole building
'grows into a holy temple in the Lord' (ii. 21), and in
Him they have boldness, and access to God (iii. 12).
And the ultimate end of this process is also ' in Christ ' :
salvation (Rom. v. 10, 'in His life'), and life (1 Cor.
xv. 22).
2. St Paul is also led to employ the expression in a
large number of passages with less doctrinal precision,
but in a free and incidental manner which implies the
doctrine quite as forcibly as it is taught in definite state
ments. ' In Christ ' he speaks (Rom. ix. 1, 2 Cor. ii. 17,
xii. 19), testifies (Eph. iv. 17), is persuaded (Rom. xiv.
14), boasts (xv. 17, 1 Cor. xv. 31, Phil. i. 26), is confident
(Gal. v. 10, Phil. ii. 24, 2 Thes. iii. 4), hopes (Phil. ii.
19) ; he salutes his readers (Rom. xvi. 22, 1 Cor. xvi. 24 ;
cf. v. 19, Phil. iv. 21), and exhorts them (1 Thes. iv. 1) ;

286 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
he asks for a reception of Phoebe (Rom. xvi. 2) and
Epaphroditus (Phil. ii. 29); he has an 'open door'
(2 Cor. ii. 12); he is a prisoner (Eph. iv. 1), and his
bonds are manifest (Phil. i. 13). 'In Christ' Christians
can have encouragement (ii. 1), and power (Eph.
vi. 10); they can rejoice (Phil. iii. 1, iv. 4, 10), stand
fast (iv. 1, 1 Thes. iii. 8), and be of one mind (Phil. iv. 2) ;
their labour is not in vain (1 Cor. xv. 58), children are
to obey their parents (Eph. vi. 1), in the Lord.
In several other passages 'in Christ,' 'in the Lord,'
and the like, are simply equivalent to 'Christian,' a
word which St Paul never uses1 because in his day it
was still a nickname employed by opponents. See Rom.
xvi. 3, 7-13, 1 Cor. iii. 1, iv. 10, 15, 17, vii. 22, 39, ix. 1, 2,
xv. 18, 2 Cor. xii. 2, Gal. i. 22, Eph. i. 1, Phil. i. 1, 14,
Col. i. 2, 1 Thes. i. 1, ii. 14, iv. 16, v. 12, 2 Thes. i. 1.
3. The same great truth is stated also, though less
frequently in explicit language, from the converse point
of view. Christ is in Christians; see 2 Cor. xiii. 5, Col. i.
27. Ideally, potentially, He takes the place of man's
Self, so that as a Christian it is not he that lives his life
but Christ (Gal. ii. 20); and St Paul describes God's
purpose in converting him in the words 'it pleased
God. . .to reveal His Son in me' (i. 15, 16). But this is,
in fact, a gradual process, so that he prays for his readers
that 'Christ may be formed in you' (iv. 19), and that
'Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith' (Eph. iii. 17).
8. CHRISTIANS
1. Those who are in Christ, and Christ in them, live
one Life, like the limbs of a body, or the parts of a
1 It occurs only in Acts xi. 26, xxvi. 28, 1 Pet. iv. 16.

CHRISTIANS 287
building. For the latter see 1 Cor. iii. 9, 16, 17, 2 Cor.
vi. 16, Eph. ii. 21. The former is St Paul's favourite
simile; see Rom. xii. 4, 5, 1 Cor. vi. 15, x. 17, xii. 12-27,
Eph. i. 23, ii. 16, iv. 4, 12, 13, 15, 16, v. 30, Col. i. 18,
24, ii. 19, iii. 15. In some of these passages it is not a
mere simile, but a vivid and significant metaphor for
the real oneness of Christians in Christ. (1) He is the
Whole Body of which they are the members1 (r Cor. xii.
12, 27, Eph. iv. 12, 13, v. 30, Col. i. 24), so that St Paul
can say that 'in Him dwelleth all the Pleroma of the
Godhead bodily-wise, o-w/iartitw? (Col. ii. 9). (2) He is
the chiefest member, the Head, by which the whole
body derives its nourishment and cohesion2 (Eph. iv.
15, 16, Col. i. 18, ii. 19).
2. And the body is the Church, the Ecclesia, a word
derived from the LXX (where it represents the Hebrew
kahal,- the assembly of Israel). It occurs frequently in
St Paul's epistles, sometimes for the whole body of
Christ, sometimes for the Christian community in a
particular town, so that it can be used in the plural; in
three passages (Rom. xvi. 5, 1 Cor. xvi. 19, Philem. 2)
it is even a group of Christians meeting in a particular
house. 3. A further line of thought, which St Paul inherited
from his Jewish faith, and applied to Christians, is that
God made them the objects of His knowledge and deter
mination from the beginning. (1) He "called' them,
'according to purpose' (Rom. viii. 28), to receive the
blessings won for them by Christ. This thought occurs
passim. (2) Before calling them, He had 'set them
1 Cf. John xv. 1.
2 That a modern physiologist would demur to this does
riot lessen the value of the metaphor as St Paul employedit .

288 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
apart' (Rom. i. i, Gal. i. 15, Eph. i. 5, 11). (3) And had
'foreknown' them, as He had foreknown Israel (Rom.
xi. 2). These three stages (with the subsequent stages
'justified' and 'glorified') are enumerated in Rom. viii.
29, 30.
And Christians are divinely 'elected' or 'selected'
from the mass of mankind (Rom. viii. 33, xi. 5, 7, 28,
xvi. 13, Eph. i. 4, Col. iii. 12, 1 Thes. i. 4; cf. 2 Tim. ii.
10, Tit. i. 1) ; God's ' purpose was according to the prin
ciple of selection' (Rom. ix. 11). The incidental way in
which St Paul speaks of it as a recognised truth as early
as 1 Thessalonians shews that it must have formed part
of his preaching from the first1.
4. Thus non-Christians, i.e. 'psychic,' non-spiritual
men, and Christians, i.e. spiritual men, stand over against
each other as two distinct creations, or families. The
former are sons, children, of the flesh (Rom. ix. 8), of
wrath (Eph. ii. 3), of disobedience (ii. 2, v. 6), the
latter of God (Rom. viii. 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, ix. 8, Gal.
iii. 26, iv. 6, 7, Phil. ii. 15). And these families are de
scended from, and represented by, two distinct founders
or heads, the former being 'the first Adam,' the latter
' the last Adam ' (Rom. v. 12-19, 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, 45,
47). The change, the 'translation,' from the former to
the latter condition is described metaphorically as the
"putting off the old man,' i.e. the old self derived from
the first Adam, and the 'putting on the new man'
1 Foreknowledge, determination, selection, and calling,
considered in the abstract would logically exclude man's re
sponsibility, and power of choice and voluntary action. But
St Paul shews in many passages a clear recognition that in
practice the latter are not excluded. He does not attempt
any formal synthesis, he simply asserts both sides of the
paradox. Hence Pelagians and Arminians, and their oppo
nents, could alike claim the support of his words.

CHRISTIANS 289
derived from, and existing in, Christ (Eph. iv. 22, 24,
Col. iii. 9, 10; cf. Rom. xiii. 14), or the crucifying of the
old self (Rom. vi. 6).
5. And from this point St Paul was able to look for
ward to the final consummation, when all mankind, with
the redemption of their bodies, would be fully revealed
as sons of the new spiritual family, or sons of God; and
with them, and dependent upon them, the whole crea
tion which at present groans and travails in the paini of
bringing to birth a perfected world (Rom. viii. 22, 23).
Then all will come, i.e. all as one body, 'unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ' (Eph. iv. 13), and God's age-long purpose will be
accomplished of ' summing up all things in Christ, the
things in heaven and the things on earth' (i. 10).
In a word, that which is now potential will then be
actual.
9. DELIVERANCE FROM SIN AND LAW
We have now traced St Paul's two-fold thought:
(1) of the Last Day, when Christ shall appear in person,
and Christians will reach the consummation of the
spiritual life in accordance with God's age-long plan;
(2) of the present life of Christians, which is ideally and
potentially the perfected life, into which they have been
'translated' from the old non-spiritual condition, but
which is in fact a process of sanctification which is being
worked by the power of the Holy Spirit and of the
indwelling Christ.
We have next to consider what this translation, or
transference, from the old to the new involved. St Paul's
thought at this point was influenced neither by Jewish
MCN. 19

290 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
nor Greek thought, but solely by his own spiritual ex
perience. He was profoundly conscious that the change
which had been wrought in himself was a deliverance
from the power of sin. The principal passage is Rom.
vii. 14-25, where he describes the internal warfare that
raged in him between his flesh with its inclination to
sin, and his mind which wanted to serve God. Deliver
ance comes from God alone through Jesus Christ our
Lord. But if Christians are thus delivered through Jesus
Christ, what is the condition of non-Christians? Non-
Christians were either Jews or Gentiles. Jews had been
given a divinely appointed law which was intended to
deliver from sin, and lead to life (Rom. vii. 10 a). In
its true nature it was 'holy and righteous and good1'
(v. 12), and spiritual (v. 14). In his true inner self St
Paul consents to the law that it is good (v. 16), and
delights in it (v. 22). And Gentiles, though they did not
possess a law of the same explicit kind as that of the
Jews, nevertheless possessed the divine law of conscience
written in their hearts (Rom. ii. 14, 15), given them with
the same purpose.
But the law failed in its object; it failed in the case
of Jew and Gentile alike (Rom. i., ii.). It could make a
man ' righteous ' before God only if he kept all its re
quirements perfectly (Gal. v. 3); "not the hearers of
law are righteous before God, but the doers of law shall
be constituted righteous' (Rom. ii. 13); 'Moses writes
that the man that doeth the righteousness which comes
from law shall live by it ' (x. 5). But there is something
in the nature of man which prevents him from keeping
1 In 1 Tim. i. 8-10 the statement that 'the law is good'
is made from a different point of view.

DELIVERANCE FROM SIN AND LAW 291
the law perfectly, i.e. the tendency of his fleshly nature
to sin. To make righteous was something which the
law was unable to do; it was weak through man's flesh
(viii. 3).
This tendency to sin is found in every human being
born of Adam. It is as inevitable and 'natural' as the
downward drag of gravitation; and the responsibility
of man's will in the effort to climb upwards is as little
annulled in the one case as in the other1. Augustine's
expression peccatum originis, 'original sin,' is not found
in the Bible, but is capable of conveying a real truth if
St Paul is rightly understood. If the consequence of
the transference of the Christian into the new family in
Christ is potential righteousness, the consequence of the
birth of the human race in Adam is potential sin. It is
a mistake to draw a distinction between original sin
and original guilt ; if they are potential, they are identi
cal. It is in this potential sense of original sin that St
Paul says 'As through one man's disobedience the many
were constituted sinners, even so through the obedience
of the one shall the many be constituted righteous'
(Rom. v. 19) ; and it is potential guilt that is implied in
the words 'we were by nature children of wrath even
as the rest [of mankind]' (Eph. ii. 3)2. But it is a
mournful fact that this potentiality of sin has in every
human being, except Jesus, become actual, and there
fore 'death passed unto all men, because all sinned'
(Rom. v. 12).
This tendency to sin is the burden of St Paul's cry
1 See Sanday and Headlam, Romans, pp. 136-8.
2 In this sense Article ix in the English Prayer Book must
be understood. It should be noted that its expression 'ori
ginal righteousness ' is without warrant in the Bible; ' original
innocence ' would be a much better term. 19 — 2

292 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
in Rom. vii. 14-25. It is such that a law commanding
him not to sin has precisely the opposite effect to that
which was intended. It makes him sin. He says he
would not, for example, have known covetous desire
had it not been for the tenth commandment (vii. 7);
'through law comes knowledge of sin' (iii. 20); 'the
power of sin is the law ' (1 Cor. xv. 56). Sin simply made
use of the law as an occasion or handle (Rom. vii. 8);
innocence was life, but when the law came, sin sprang
into life and brought with it spiritual death (v. 9)1.
This spiritual death, of which physical death is the out
ward expression, is 'the curse of the law' (Gal. iii. 13),
i.e. the curse attached to the non-observance of any
single one of all its commands (v. 10). Man's tendency
to sin, then, produced the terrible anomaly that the
commandment which was intended to lead to life, did
in fact lead to death (Rom. vii. 10) and became a curse;
and no law was, in fact, given which could make alive
(Gal. iii. 21). Therefore, man being what he is, righteous
ness cannot be gained by obedience to law (Rom. iii. 20,
Gal. ii. 16, iii. 11).
St Paul, however, does not let go the thought that
the law had a real, though temporary, place in God's
plan. By exciting to action man's sinful tendency, it
shewed up the true sinfulness of sin (Rom. v. 20 2, vii.
13, Gal. iii. 19), and thus, by its very inability to justify
and save, pointed on to something better. 'Through
law I died to law ' (Gal. ii. 19) ; it was ' our iraih'a.'yayos
unto Christ' (iii. 24), i.e. the guardian and attendant of
1 For the connexion between sin and death see also Rom.
v. 12, 14, 17, 21, vi. 16, 21, 23, vii. 5, 13, 24, viii. 2, 6, 1 Cor.
xv. 21, 56.
2 In this passage Iva virtually expresses a result, not strictly
a purpose; cf. i. 20 ils to flvai kt\.

DELIVERANCE FROM SIN AND LAW 293
our childhood to make us fit for the privilege of adult
life as sons. Thus 'Christ is the end of law unto [i.e.
leading to and resulting in] righteousness to everyone
that believeth' (Rom. x. 4).
10. RIGHTEOUSNESS, GRACE, AND FAITH
1. But what did St Paul mean by "righteousness'?
Jewish ethical ideas were largely dominated by forensic,
legal notions. Social duties were " owed ' by man to man.
If this debt was not paid, it was as though there were a
lawsuit between them, in which the debtor were proved
to be in the wrong, i.e. guilty, and the injured person
in the right, i.e. 'righteous.' Similarly in the case of
moral duties towards God, all sins were "debts' (cf.
Mat. vi. 12), and God could always shew Himself to be
in the right or 'righteous' (Rom. iii. 26), and the sinner
in the wrong (cf. Exod. ix. 27, Ps. Ii. 4). Since, then,
no man could keep all the requirements of the law, no
man could be ' righteous ' before God.
But St Paul teaches that in the Gospel of Christianity
a new method of obtaining righteousness is revealed
(Rom. iii. 21). God does not merely acquit, or impute
righteousness to, a man though he is guilty; that is not
even human justice, much less divine. The Christian, as
we have seen, is ' translated ' from the old condition in
which righteousness was impossible into the new condi
tion of oneness with Christ. Christ is perfectly righteous,
and in Him the Christian is potentially, proleptically,
righteous; ideally sin is now for him impossible (Rom.
vi. 1-1 1, 15-23, vii. 1-6). God treats us, as Augustine
says, ' non quales sumus sed quales f uturi sumus ' — ' not
as we are, but as we are going to be.' "It is, in fact,

294 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
one of the many aspects of the final consummation in
the divine Kingdom, which is (potentially) ours now;
'having been justified now in His blood' (Rom. v. 9);
'that we might become the righteousness of God in
Him' (2 Cor. v. 21).
2. Obviously this is not what we deserve; it is sheer
kindness on God's part, 'which He freely bestowed upon
us in the Beloved' (Eph. i. 6). This St Paul calls %a/9t?,
Grace, and his pages are full of the thought.
3. But on the other hand grace is not bestowed
' automatically,' indiscriminately on everyone. We are
not translated from the old condition into the new
against our will. Our whole being must co-operate by
desiring and accepting the transference, thus being
united with Christ and obtaining all the blessings which
that involves. This desire and acceptance with the
whole being St Paul calls -n-io-Tt?, Faith. It is far from
being a mere intellectual acceptance of facts about
Christ. It is that condition or attitude of our being
which performs our necessary part in making real the
transference already ideally enacted. It includes a trust
in God, a self-delivery, a self-abandonment to God for
Him to do what we cannot do for ourselves. It is a
living, experimental acceptance of oneness with Christ,
which, from the nature of the case, springs from repent
ance (Rom. ii. 41), and issues in a life of sanctification
1 Only here, and in 2 Cor. vii. 9, 10, does St Paul use the
word 'repentance.' But that does not imply that he thinks
little of its necessity. The longing desire for righteousness,
and the intense conviction that nothing but the transference
in Christ from the old to the new can give it, so obviously
involve sorrow for sin, and 'change of mind' (which is the
meaning of purdvoia) that he does not dwell upon it in writing
to Christians, all of whom he regards as having experienced it.
In Rom. ii. 4 he addresses non-Christians, who need it, and

RIGHTEOUSNESS, GRACE, AND FAITH 295
by which the potential becomes actual. A man who
does not live the life of sanctification allows his trans
ference into the new order to remain nominal, and there
fore null and void. He must ' work out his own salvation
with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in
him both to will and to work for His good pleasure'
(Phil. ii. 12, 13). St Paul in no sense teaches that faith
is opposed to works, but only that faith must, in the
order of effectiveness for obtaining righteousness, precede
works1- For a Christian to move the works of the law,
for example circumcision, into the primary place is to
be ' nullified from Christ,' and to 'fall from grace' (Gal.
v. 4).
This teaching on faith, like that of grace, is paramount
in St Paul's system. 'By grace ye have been saved
through faith' (Eph. ii. 8) ; both are the gift of God (ib.),
and the two are mutually necessary and complementary,
not only for the act of transference into the new con
dition but also for the process of sanctification which
must follow.
11. JEW AND GENTILE
The deduction from this is inevitable. If Christians
are delivered from the law, and from the sin which it
excited, if they are translated into the kingdom of
Christ by God's sheer kindness, appropriated by them
through faith, all distinction of Jew and Gentile in
God's sight necessarily vanishes. Jews as such, and
in 2 Cor. vii. 9, 10 he is not writing doctrinally, but very
practically to Christians guilty of a particular sin.
1 In Jam. ii. 14-26 is taught the complementary truth,
which St Paul would have been the last to deny, that ' faith
apart from works is dead.'

296 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
Gentiles as such, belong to the old condition. Once
translated into the new they become united as one body
in Christ, one Spirit. This was not a truth which St Paul
could have learnt from any earlier Jewish writings. The
universalism to be found in several of them after the
exile was a readiness to receive Gentiles into the Jewish
Church with all its privileges. Some Jews went further,
and were willing to admit Gentiles to a partial share of
Jewish privileges on condition of a partial acceptance
of Jewish rules of life. But St Paul was the apostle of
the Gentiles because he taught — not a universalistic
Judaism, but — a universal Christ in whom all distinc
tions are transcended. See the following passages : Rom.
i. 16, ii. 9-11, iii. 22, 29, 30, ix. 24-26, x. 4, 11, 12, xi. 32,
1 Cor. i. 24, xii. 13, Gal. iii. 7-9, 14, 28, v. 6, vi. 15,
Eph. ii. 11-18, iii. 6, Col. iii. 11. His universal Gospel
was thus the only possible conclusion from the whole
course of his argument that we have hitherto traced.
It was in no sense derived from his Hellenism, though
the line along which his thoughts moved may perhaps
have been rendered easier by his upbringing as a Jew
of the Dispersion, which would give him a natural sym
pathy towards the better class of Gentiles, such as were
attracted by Jewish monotheism.
On the other hand the rejection of the Jews as Jews
from their privileged position before God caused him
acute grief. But he thought the matter out, and wrote
his conclusions in Rom. ix.-xi. (see pp. 199 ff.).
The apostle illustrates his teaching in this and the tw:>
foregoing sections by means of Old Testament exegesis of
a kind which would appeal to his Jewish contemporaries,
• Rom. iv., ix. 7-9, Gal. iii., iv. 21-v.i. At Sinai God made
a 'covenant' with Israel, i.e. a promise of blessing on

JEW AND GENTILE 297
con dition that they observed the Mosaic Law. Bu t centu
ries earlier than this (Gal. iii. 17), God made a covenant
with Abraham in which no conditions of obedience to
law were laid down, and no human mediator, or angelic
agents, were needed (v. 19). He did this because Abra
ham had obtained the righteousness which comes from
faith (Rom. iv. 13-25). It was also earlier than his
circumcision, which was only a seal of the righteousness
which he had previously won through faith (Rom. iv.
1-12), but which became, in Israelite thought, one of
the principal 'works of the law.' This covenant was
therefore a ' promise,' independent of works, and arising
out of God's sheer kindness.
But this covenant or promise had reference to a ' seed '
(Rom. iv. 13, 16, Gal. iii. 16), which has proved to con
sist not of Abraham's physical, but his spiritual de
scendants in Christ, i.e. those who share his faith and
obtain his righteousness promised to them, and won for
them by Christ (Rom. iv. 11, 12, 16, 17, 23-25, Gal.
iii. 6-9, 14). Thus Jews on the one hand, and all who
have faith on the other, are represented allegorically
in Abraham's son by Hagar a slave-woman, and in his
son by Sarah a free woman. The slavery of the La!w
and the freedom of the Gospel thus stand in two cate
gories (Gal. iv. 21-v. r J :
Hagar Sarah
Ishinael born after the flesh Isaac born after the Spirit
The Old Covenant at Sinai The New Covenant1
The Law The Promise
The earthly Jerusalem Jerusalem that is above
Slavery Freedom
Those who belong to the former are ' children of the
flesh,' to the latter ' children of the promise' (Rom. ix. 8,
1 Cf. 1 Cor. xi. 25, 2 Cor. iii. 6, 14.

298 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
Gal. iv. 28, 29). And it is a 'promise of the Spirit'
(Gal. iii. 14, Eph. i. 13; cf. iii. 6). Elsewhere St Paul
regards all the pre-Mosaic covenants in the same light,
as promises (cf. Rom. ix. 4) of which Christians are the
true heirs (Rom. xv. 8, Eph. ii. 12).
12. THE CROSS
1. It will be clear from all that has been said up to
this point how vital to St Paul's Christianity is the truth
of the transference of Christians from the old condition
into the new, i.e. into the kingdom of Christ, the life of
the Spirit. But one further step backward must be
taken. How was this transference made possible? St
Paul's answer is that Christ who died and rose, Christ
in whom we live and who lives in us, Himself passed
from the old condition to the new. He became the
Founder, Head, Representative, of the new spiritual
family by doing so (Col. i. 18; cf. Rom. viii. 29). The
old condition meant sin, and therefore involved death.
Christ's death was due to sin; not His own sin; but
God in His love for men made His sinless Son 'to be
sin on our behalf ' (2 Cor. v. 21). Nowhere in the Pauline
epistles is death actually described as the ' punishment '
for sin, nor is God ever said to have punished His Son.
But spiritual death is, in fact, the inevitable result of
sin (Rom. vi. 23), and physical death its necessary out
ward expression. St Paul calls them both ' death ' with
out distinction. In the case of Christ the outward
expression took the form of the most shameful death
that could be inflicted (Phil. ii. 8), corresponding with
the curse laid by the law upon the world's sin which
He took upon Himself (Gal. iii. io, 13). If He had died

THE CROSS 299
and remained dead — in other words, if His continued
existence after death had not differed in kind from that
of all human beings who had died before Him — death
would have been the result of sin (' punishment ' as we
say) pure and simple. But this was not the purpose that
the love of God had in view. His design was that death
should lead to life, so that death should not merely be
the result of the sin with which Christ identified Himself,
but should also be a death unto sin, the climax and
consummation of that spiritual death unto sin which
He exhibited throughout His earthly life by perfect
humility and obedience (Phil. ii. 8). His death — con
tinually during His life, and finally upon the Cross —
freed Him from the world's sin, and He was carried
over, 'translated,' into the new condition of the Resur
rection life.
His life out of death was then available for all men;
and Christians are those in whom He lives. Hence not
only is His life theirs, but His method of gaining life is
also theirs; 'One died on behalf of all; then all died;
and He died on behalf of all that they who live might no
longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who on their
behalf died and was raised' (2 Cor. v. 14, 15 ; Rom. v. 8,
vi. 2, 8, 11, vii. 4, x. 9, Gal. ii. 20, vi. 14, Col. ii. 20, iii. 3;
cf. 2 Tim. ii. 11).
It is inaccurate and misleading to say simply that
the Cross is the centre of St Paul's religion. Its centre
is the transference from death to life, from the old to
the new. 'It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen
again' (Rom. viii. 34). Sometimes he refers to the for
mer (Rom. iii. 25, v. 6-8, viii. 3, 32, xiv. 15, 1 Cor. i.
13, 17, 18, 23, 24, ii. 2, 8, v. 7, vi. 20, vii. 23, viii. 11,
xi. 26, Gal. i. 4, ii. 21, iii. 1, 13, v. 11, vi. 12, 14, Eph. i. 7

300 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
ii. 13-16, v. 2, 25, Phil. iii. 18, Col. i. 20, 22, ii. 14,
1 Thes. ii. 15), or to the latter (Rom. i. 4, viii. 11, x. 9,
1 Cor. vi. 14, xv. 12-21, Gal. i. 1, Eph. i. 20, ii. 5, 6,
Col. i. 18, 1 Thes. i. 10 ; cf . 2 Tim. i. 10, ii. 8) ; but he also
coordinates them (Rom. iv. 24, 25, vi. 3-1 1, vii. 4, viii.
34, xiv. 9, 1 Cor. xv. 3, 4, 2 Cor. iv. 10-14, v. 14, 15,
xiii. 4, Gal. ii. 20, Phil. ii. 8, 9, iii. 10, Col. ii. 12, 20
with iii. 1, 1 Thes. iv. 14, v. 10), and each without the
other is to him unthinkable1.
And the recognition that his doctrine rests not upon
something static but upon a movement, a transference,
meets the criticism of some writers that his system is
not coherent, and therefore not a system. On the one
hand is the immanent Christ, the motive power — by
His Spirit — of man's ethical life. On the other is the
human Christ who died as an offering for sin for man's
salvation, which is a 'legal' transaction. And it is
thought that the two conceptions, mystical and legal,
are taught by St Paul separate and unrelated. But this
would be surprising in a teacher of his mental ability,
and the more so when it is remembered that both are
clearly represented within the limits of one and the
same epistle, that to the Romans. The mystical con
ception — rendered easier to him by his upbringing among
Greeks — was an expression of his daily spiritual experi
ence ; and the legal conception — rendered easier to him
by his upbringing in the Jewish sacrificial system — was
the satisfaction of his dire spiritual need. And so far
from these being in his mind unrelated, his doctrinal
1 'There can be no salvation from sin unless there is a liv
ing Saviour: this explains the emphasis laid by the apostle
on the resurrection. But the Living One can only be a
Saviour because He has died: this explains the emphasis
laid on the Cross.' Denney, The Death of Christ, p. 88 f .

THE CROSS 30i
centre of gravity consisted precisely in the relation be
tween them.
2. But beside shewing what the Cross meant to man,
St Paul also made rt clear what it meant to God. First
and foremost it was the action of God's love, and —
which is one and the same — of Christ's love (Rom. v. 8,
viii. 37, 2 Cor. v. 14, Gal. ii. 20, Eph. ii. 4, v. 2, 25,
1 Thes. ii. 16; cf. Tit. iii. 4). What was true of the Gen
tiles was true of all men : they were ' dead in trespasses
and sins ' (Eph. ii. 1, 5), ' alienated from the life of God'
(iv. 18), ' alienated and enemies ' (Col. i. 21). Their state
of mind in the old condition of 'flesh' was "enmity
against God' (Rom. viii. 7). And God reconciled them
to Himself (Rom. v. 10, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, Eph. ii. 16,
Col. i. 20, 22). No New Testament writer says that God
was reconciled to man; God is always Love, and it is
man that needs to be brought back to Him, that His
love may be satisfied. God's attitude to sin, which is
the very negation of His Life, is described by St Paul
and other Biblical writers as 'wrath' (see p. 270). This
is a word derived from human nature; but it can be
employed as expressing a real truth provided it is kept
free from the thought of vindictiveness and all the other
wrong motives by which, in man's frailty, the purity
and righteousness of human anger are sullied. God's
necessary, inevitable, attitude to sin is entirely compatible
with His love for sinners. Sin is so hateful that His
love wants to save us from it. And when St Paul, using
the language of Old Testament sacrifice, speaks of
Christ as 'propitiatory' (Rom. iii. 25), he does not say
that God is propitiated; the sin is done away, and the
sinner forgiven, i.e. brought back into the union with
Him that sin had broken. Though it is true that the

302 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
thought of sacrifice may, in St Paul's mind, underlie all
his references to Christ's death, yet it is not often that
he actually speaks of it as sacrificial : ' Christ our Paschal
Victim has been sacrificed for us' (i Cor. v. 7). 'This
cup is the new covenant in My blood' (xi. 25), a variant
form of our Lord's words as given in Mk xiv. 24, referring
to the covenant ceremony in Exod. xxiv. 3-8. 'Christ
. . . gave Himself up on your behalf an offering and a
sacrifice to God for an odour of sweet scent ' (Eph. v. 2).
And the thought is probably to be found in the expres
sion -Kepi afiapTtas, ' for sin ' (Rom. viii. 3 ; cf . the var.
led. in Gal. i. 4, irepl tcov d/j.apTi&v fj/icov), which is
used in the LXX as equivalent to a substantive, 'sin-
offering'; see the quotation in Heb. x. 5. The large
place which the thought holds in our mind — and rightly
holds if rightiy understood — is probably due more to the
Epistle to the Hebrews than to St Paul. But he shews
the way in which it can be rightly understood. He is far
more ready to regard Christ's death, the means of our
salvation from sin, as partof a plan conceived and carried
out by the will of God (cf. Gal. i. 4) for the satisfaction
of His love than an appeasement offered by His Son and
evermore put forward by us, as a satisfaction of His
justice1. Man's salvation was (potentially) secured ' at a
price' (1 Cor. vi. 20, vii. 23), i.e. at great cost; but the
apostle says nothing to exclude the idea that the cost was
paid, or felt, by God the Father as really as by His Son.
1 The corresponding sacrifice, well pleasing to God, which
is to be offered by Christians is the presentation of their
bodies to do His will (Rom. xii. 1). The moment God is
forgotten as the ground of sacrifice, the moment sacrifice is
regarded, not as an act of obedience to the divine will, but
as a means of changing the divine will, there is the germ of
every dark superstition.' F. D. Maurice, Letter to R. H.
Hutton on Tracts for Priests and People, no. xiv.

THE SACRAMENTS 3°3
13. THE SACRAMENTS
St Paul's Gospel, then, is life gained through death,
granted in Christ by God's grace, or free kindness, and
appropriated by man's faith. And because man is pos
sessed of a body, spiritual death unto sin finds its neces
sary outward expression in physical death. But for the
same reason sacraments find a place in the divine plan,
which in its various aspects is described as a " mystery1 ' ;
see [Rom. xvi. 25], 1 Cor. ii. 1, 7, iv. 1 (plur.), xv. 51,
Eph. i. 9, iii. 3, 4, v. 32, vi. 19, Col. i. 26, 27, ii. 2, iv. 3.
1. Baptism. Grace on God's part and faith on man's
are the spiritual means, and Baptism the sacramental
means, whereby the blessings are obtained which result
from union with Christ (Gal. iii. 27). The whole Church
has 'one faith, one baptism' (Eph. iv. 5). In Baptism
God gives outward expression to His grace, and man to
•his faith. Hereby a man (potentially) dies to sin in
union with Christ's death to sin, and rises to new life in
union with Christ's Resurrection life; and the act of
plunging beneath the water suggests to St Paul burial
with Christ, an ocular demonstration of death (Rom.
vi.3, 4, Col. ii. 12, 20, iii. 1-3; cf. Tit. iii. 5). This (poten
tial) transference of the baptized person, in union with
Christ, from the old condition to the new, constitutes
him a member of the one Body filled with the one Spirit
(1 Cor. xii. 13). It is analogous with the passage of
Israel from Egyptian slavery to freedom and life effected
by their baptism 'unto Moses in the cloud and in the
sea' (x. 1, 2).
1 Patristic writers, e.g. Chrysostom and Gregory of Nazi-
anzus applied the term to the Holy Communion; and later
it was used more generally, as equivalent to 'sacrament.'

304 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
2. Holy Communion. Koivavla, 'communion,' is a
common share or participation in something, and the
consequent unity or fellowship. As in the case of bap
tism the spiritual finds its outward expression in the
sacramental. Christians were ' called into the communion
of His Son ' (i Cor. i. 9) ; and the apostle speaks of 'the
communion of the Holy Spirit' (2 Cor. xiii. 13), and of
"communion of Spirit' (Phil. ii. 1). This is a continual
share in the life of the risen Christ, granted by God's
grace, and appropriated by man's faith. Sacramentally
this is expressed in ' communion of the blood of Christ '
and 'communion of the body of Christ' (1 Cor. x. 16),
by continually partaking of which 'ye proclaim the
Lord's death till He come ' (xi. 26). When the Israelites
passed from the death of slavery to the life of freedom
they needed continual divine nourishment by manna
and water ; and for that purpose ' they did all eat the
same spiritual food [as we], and did all drink the same
spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock
that followed them, and the rock was Christ' (x. 3, 4).
And this share in the ' cup of the Lord ' and ' the table
of the Lord' (v. 21) perpetuates the membership of
Christians in the one Body of Christ: 'we, the many,
are one bread [or loaf], one body, for we all share in the
one bread' (v. 17). St Paul could have said that it is
the sacramental means whereby 'Christ is formed in'
us (cf. Gal. iv. 19).
3. Similarities can be pointed out between the phrase
ology and ideas in St Paul's teaching and those con
nected with the mystery religions of his day1
1 This is done, perhaps with some exaggeration, by Reit-
zenstein, Die Hellenistischen Mysterienreligionen, pp. 160-
204.

THE SACRAMENTS 305
(a) Phraseology. Some examples are fiva-Tijpiov
'mystery,' p,veio-0ai 'be initiated' (Phil. iv. 12), fiera-
fjioptbovo-dai 'be transformed' (Rom. xii. 2, 2 Cor. iii. 18),
fieraaxrifiaTL^eiv 'change the appearance of (Phil. iii.
21), Xoyi/crj Xarpeia 'service offered by the reason'
(Rom. xii. 1), cba)TiZ;eo-0at, 'be illuminated' (Eph. i. 18),
re\6io<i "perfect' (1 Cor. ii. 6, xiv. 20 [R.V. 'men'],
Phil. iii. 15, Col. iv. 12), reXeiovo-Bai 'be perfected'
(Phil. iii. 12).
(b) Ideas. Words might be adopted for literary effect,
but with quite altered significance. Ideas are more im
portant. St Paul's religion and that of the mysteries
can alike be described as 'mystical.' Far removed from
mere individual ethics, they are intended to satisfy the
desire of the human soul to be delivered from evil by
union with the Divine. The mystery religions were
very various. Some lifted their devotees to a consider
able degree of spirituality, others were crude and bar
barous in the extreme. But the underlying desire was
the same. Their mystical enthusiasts, like St Paul,
would contrast ' spirit ' with psyche, and with the body
or the flesh, the heavenly with the earthly body; and
they would long to put on the heavenly. They were
initiated by a cleansing bath, which resulted in a spiri
tual illumination ; they emerged new men, re-made, re
born. And having been initiated, they were united
sacramentally, by the partaking of blood, or by a sacred
feast, with the death and new life of a god, and became
thereby perfected. It is true that ceremonial washings
and sacrificial feasts were to be found in Judaism, but
there is no evidence that Jews untouched with foreign
thought regarded them as producing the mystical results
claimed both in the mysteries and in Christianity.
M°N. 20

306 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF ST PAUL
If, then, the mystery religions supplied St Paul with
some of his vocabulary, and moulded the shape of some
of his ideas, it is not more than we should expect in one
who was a Jew of the Dispersion, however zealously he
followed Hebrew law and Pharisaic traditions, and who,
after his conversion, dedicated every power of mind and
sensitive understanding to his apostleship of the Gentiles.
He might well feel that if Christ was 'the end of the
law,' He was also the end of the mysteries, being Himself
the Mystery.
His probable attitude is well described by a modern
Jewish writer1, whose words are worth quoting at some
length. 'May he not have cast a wistful eye over the
border [from his own religion to that of the Hellenists
among whom he lived], where the votaries of the Hellen
istic mystery religions were claiming that they could
conquer sinfulness at a bound? Those who with humble
faith passed through the rites of initiation were mysteri
ously re-born; they died to live again; they were en
dowed with a fresh and supernatural strength; they
were invested with a new personality, which enabled
them to conquer, and rise superior to, the solicitations
of sin. The god had entered into them, and under the
appearance of the old body there now dwelt a divine
spirit, the source of a new and a higher life. It is ad
mitted on all hands, though by some reluctantly, that
the terminology of Paul shews the influence of the
theology of the "mysteries." But did he use the termi
nology without knowing something of the ideas which
underlay them2? Doubtless he thought the whole
i C. G. Montefiore, Judaism and St Paul, pp. 116-119.
2 In a footnote Reitzenstein's view is referred to with ap
proval, that ' it is not a question of borrowing. It is a ques
tion of the subtlest form of unconscious influence.'

THE SACRAMENTS 307
business false and blasphemous and unclean, but for all
that he may have felt some secret allurement, some
half -conscious interest, some hidden feeling, "how grand
it would be if there were a means of becoming really
and truly a new creature, of triumphing over sin and the
Yetzer ha-Ra1 and the evil heart once and for all ! "
Then one would have received that new heart and that
new spirit which the Prophets had declared was to be
the gift of God to Israel in the Messianic age. . . . Then
to this mobile, eager, yearning soul, with his gloomy
and pessimistic religion2, comes the great illumination.
Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, the Son of God 
The votaries of the mysteries are trying to get from
idols and false gods what can only be got from the One
True God, the God of Israel, who is also the God of the
spirits of all flesh. In the death and in the resurrection
of His divine Son . . . lies the only efficacious mystery.
With him all men must die, in order that with him all
may live. Here is the true dying to live. Here are the
true I in Thee and Thou in Me.'
i A Jewish expression for man's tendency to sin.
2 Such is Mr Montefiore's idea of St Paul's religion before
his conversion, in contrast with the orthodox Rabbinic reli
gion, which he assumes to have been similar to that which
appears four centuries later.

LITERATURE
The literature on St Paul is very large. The following
list contains only a selection of works in English ex
hibiting widely different ideas and points of view.
Commentaries on the Epistles
Cambridge Greek Testament: Romans, R. St J. Parry, 1912.
2 Corinthians, A. Plummer, 1903. Ephesians, J. O. F.
Murray, 1914. Colossians and Philemon, A. Lukyn
Williams, 1907. 1, 2 Thessalonians, G. G. Findlay, 1904.
1, 2 Timothy, Titus, J. H. Bernard, 1899.
Macmillan's Commentaries: Galatians, Philippians, Colos
sians and Philemon, J. B. Lightfoot. Ephesians,
J. Armitage Robinson. 1, 2 Thessalonians, G. Milligan.
International Critical Commentary: Romans, W. Sanday
and W. Headlam, 5th ed. 1902. 1 Corinthians, Bp.
Robertson and A. Plummer, 1911. 2 Corinthians,
A. Plummer, 1915. Ephesians and Colossians, T. K.
Abbott, 1897. Philippians 3.nd Philemon, M. R. Vincent,
1897.
Century Bible: Romans, A. G. Garvie. 1, 2 Corinthians,
J. Massie. 1, 2 Thessalonians and Galatians, W. F.
Adeney. Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians,
G. Currie Martin. 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, R. F. Horton.
Separate commentaries : Romans, Bp. Gore, London, 1899.
2 Corinthians, A. Menzies, London, 1912. Galatians
(' Historical Commentary on '), W. M. Ramsay, London,
1899. C. W. Emmet, London, 1912. Ephesians, Bp. Gore,
London, 1900. Colossians, Bp. H. J. C. Knight 1 Thes
salonians, A. Plummer, London, 1918.
Other works on the Epistles
F. J. A. Hort. Prolegomena to the Epp. to the Romans
and Ephesians. London. 1895.
E. H. Askwith. The Destination of the Ep. to the Gala
tians. London. 1899.

LITERATURE 3°9
E. H. Askwith. An Introduction to the Thessalonian
Epistles. London. 1902.
J. H. Kennedy. The Second and Third Epistles to the
Corinthians. London. 1900.
H. St J. Thackeray. The Relation of St Paul to contempo
rary Jewish Thought. London. 1900.
Kirsopp Lake. The Earlier Epistles of St Paul. London.
1911.
J. Moffatt. An Introduction to the Literature of the New
Testament. (2nd ed.) Edinburgh. 1912.
G. A. Deissmann. St Paul (transl. L. R. M. Strachan).
London. 1912.
W. S. Muntz. Rome, St Paul, and the early Church.
London. 1913.
A Companion to Biblical Studies. Ed. W. E. Barnes.
Cambridge. 1916.
St Paul's Life and Times
Jas. Smith. The Voyage and Shipwreck of St Paul. London.
1848. 4th ed. 1880.
W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson. The Life and Epistles
of St Paul. 2nded. London. 1856. People's edition.
London. 1862.
F. W. Farrar. The Life and Work of St Paul. London.
1879. Illustr. ed. 1904.
J. S. Howson. The Companions of St Paul. London. 1883.
J. Iverach. St Paul : his Life and Times. London. 1890.
F. J. A. Hort. Judaistic Christianity. London. 1894.
A. C. McGiffert. History of Christianity in the Apostolic
Age. Edinburgh. 1897.
W. M. Ramsay. The Church in the Roman Empire. Lon
don. 1893.
 St Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen. 3rd
ed. London. 1897.
 Pauline and other Studies. London. 1906.
 The Cities of St Paul. London. 1907.

310 LITERATURE
G. H. Gilbert. The Student's Life of St Paul. New York.
1899.
J. V. Bartlet. The Apostolic Age. Edinburgh. 1900.
B. W. Bacon. The Story of St Paul. London. 1905.
H. Weinel. St Paul, the Man, and his Work (transl.
Bienemann). London. 1906.
E. von Dobschiitz. The Apostolic Age (transl. Pogson).
London. 1909.
P. Gardner. St Paul's Speeches in the Acts (in Camb.
Biblical Essays). London. 1909.
R. W. Pounder. St Paul and his Cities. London. 1913.
E. B. Redlich. St Paul and his Companions. London.
C. H. Watkins. St Paul's Fight for Galatia. London. 1914.
J. Paterson Smyth. The Story of St Paul's Life and Letters.
London. 191 7. St Paul's Teaching
O. Pfleiderer. Paulinism (transl. Peters). London. 1877.
 The Influence of the Apostle Paul on the Develop
ment of Christianity. London. 1885.
G. Matheson. The Spiritual Development of St Paul.
Edinburgh. 1890.
A. Sabatier. The Apostle Paul (transl. Findlay). London.
1891.
A. B. Bruce. St Paul's Conception of Christianity. Edin
burgh. 1894.
S. Baring Gould. A Study of St Paul. London. 1897.
D. Somerville. St Paul's Conception of Christianity.
Edinburgh. 1897.
O. Cone. Paul, the Man, the Missionary, and the Teacher.
London. 1898.
W. Lock. Paul the Master Builder. London. 1899.
R. J. Knowling. The Testimony of St Paul to Christianity.
London. 1903.
H. A. A. Kennedy. St Paul's Conception of the Last
Things. London. 1904.

LITERATURE 311
H. A. A. Kennedy. St Paul and the Mystery Religions.
London. 1913.
J. M. Campbell. Paul the Mystic. London. 1907.
W. P. Du Bose. The Gospel according to St Paul. London.
1907.
J. Weiss. Paul and Jesus (transl. Chaytor). London. 1909.
R. J. Fletcher. A Study of the Conversion of St Paul.
London. 1910.
J.R. Cohu. St Paul and Modern Research. London. 191 1.
J. Denney. The Death of Christ. 2nded. London. 1911.
P. Gardner. The Religious Experience of St Paul. London.
1911.
E. H. Gifford. The Incarnation: A Study of Phil. ii. 5-1 1.
2nd ed. London. 1911.
H. L. Goudge. The Mind of St Paul, as illustrated by his
Second Epistle to the Corinthians. London. 1911.
S. N. Rostron. The Christology of St Paul. London. 1912.
A. Schweitzer. Paul and his Interpreters (transl. Mont
gomery). London. 1912.
C. G. Montefiore. Judaism and St Paul. London. 1914.
R. H. Strachan. The Individuality of St Paul. London.
1916.

INDEX

Abraham, 4, 35, 177 f., 191,
194 i-. 199, 297
Achaia, xv, 30, 67 n., 72, 79,
82, 162, 169, 181, 215
Achaicus, 149
Adam, 161, igi, 196, 288, 291;
the Second, Last, 162,284,288
Adramyttium, 109
Adria, 112
Advent, the, 78, 124, 127 f.,
132-5. 155, 159, 190, 240,
267, 268-75, and see 'escha
tology'
Agabus, 23, 25, 94
ager Romanus, 116 n.
Agrippa I, 27, 97 n., 105, 106 n.
Agrippa II, 5, 16, 106-8, 119
Alexander, 84, 98, 259
Alexandria, -drian, 6, 7, 9, 78
amanuensis, 2, 122
Amphipolis, 57 n., 62
Ananias, 15 f . ; the high priest,
100, 104
Anastasis, 65, 67
Ancyra, 52
angels, 126 n., 206 n., 209, 224,
270 n., 297; worship of, 7, 206
Antichrist, 132, 134, 272 n.
Antioch, Pisidian, 33-6, 38, 39,
51, 52, 54, 66, 72, 76 n., 77 n.,
78. 79. 95
Antioch in Syria, xvn., 21,
22 f., 25, 28 f., 30, 39, 41, 42,
44 f -. 74. 7° *-. 169, 171
Antipatris, 103
antitheses, 250
Antonia, castle of, 99
Apameia, 54, 79
Aphrodite, 70, 83
Apollonia, 62, 86
Apollos, 78 ff., 137 n., 150-2,
162, 183
Apphia, 212
Appius, Forum of, 117

Aquila, xviii, 70 f ., 72 n., 74 f .,
78, 135, 182, 183, 187-9
Arabia, 17 i, 27, 169, 176, 179 n.
Aratus, 68
Archippus, 204, 211, 212
Areopagus, 65
Aretas, xiiif., 18
Aristarchus, 83, 85, 87, 109,
113 n., 204, 210, 260
Aristobulus, the household of,
227
Artemis, 82-5
asceticism, 7, 206, 250
Asia, 51, 54, 55, 76 n., 79 n.,
83 n., 87 n., 89, 92 n., 98,
135. 136, 169, 183, 204
Asiarchs, 83
Assos, 90, 260
Athens, 6, 64-9
Atonement, Day of, no
Attalia, 33, 39, 54
Augustan cohort, 109
Baptism, 40, 78, 79, 151, 157,
161, 197, 303
Barjesus, 31 f.
Barnabas, n, 19, 22, 23-5, 27,
28 f„ 30-4, 36-9, 41-5, 50,
52, 169, 171 n., 177
Bernice, Berenice, 16, 106,
107 n.
Beroea, 63 i, 86, 95
bishop, 237, 243 f., 262, 264
Bithynia, 55
'blood,' 46-8
Caesar, see 'Emperor'
Caesar's household, 226, 229
Caesarea, x, 19, 21, 75 f., gin.,
92 n., 93 i, 102-8, 204, 211,
225 1, 259-61'
Caligula, 12 n.
Carpus, 90 n.
'carriages,' 94

314

INDEX

Castor and Pollux, 115 n.
casira peregrinorum, 117 n.
Cauda, in
Cenchreae, 70, 74, 181, 203, 244
charisma, 159 f., 243, 283
chiliarch, 6, 7, 99 1, 102, 105
Chios, 90
Chloe, 138, 149
chronology, xiii-xix
Church, St Paul's conception of
the, 8, 179, 207-9, 214, 219,
222, 223, 224, 285, 287, 303
Cilicia, 4, 6, 21, 71, 99, and see
'Syria and Cilicia'
Cilician Gates, 39, 51
circumcision, 9, 10, 24 n., 26,
28, 40-4, 49, 53 f., 155, 175,
177, 181, 194!, 202, 206,
209, 239, 295
Claudius, xiii, xv-xviii, 23, 59,
71, 105 n.
Claudius Lysias, see 'Lysias'
Clement, 240
Clement of Rome, 137 n., 219,
231, 244 n., 256 f.
Cnidus, no
collection, the, 52, 63, 87 f., 96,
104 n., 136 1, 140, 146, 1 go f.,
162, 163, 166, 181, 202, 233
Colossae, 7, 79, 203 f., 214-6
Colossians, Epistle to the, xix,
203-11
Communion, see 'Eucharist'
conversion of St Paul, xiii,
xviii f., 11-17, 20, 100, 107,
176
coppersmith, 84 n.
Corinth, xviif., 36, 64, 69,
70-3, 78 f., 82, 87, 95, 123,
129. 135-68, 169, 172, 173,
181 f., 189, 230, 233, 248, 261
Corinthians, Epistles to the,
xix, 135-68
Cornelius, 22, 26, 28, 40, 43
Cos, 93
Council of Jerusalem, xiiif.,
xix, 26 f., 30, 40-50, 96 n.,
170-3
Crescens, 254, 261
Crete, no, 112, 244, 249, 254-6
Crispus, 72 f.

Cross, the, see ' death of Christ '
cutting of hair, 74 f .
Cyprus, n, 22, 30, 50, 93, 109
Dalmatia, 254, 261
Damaris, 67
Damascus, xiiif., 13-16, 17, 18,
19. 29, 95, 100, 107
deacons, 11 n., 237, 243 f., 262
death of Christ, 10, 78, 125,
134. 153. 165, i76> z77. 181,
194, 197, 198, 208, 209, 223,
232, 238, 239, 248, 265, 267,
298-302, 303, 304, 307
Demas, 204, 210, 254, 261
Demetrius, 83, 84 n.
demon, 49, 58 1, 68, 81, 159
Derbe, 37-9, 51, 52, 77 m, 78
Diana, 82
Dionysius, 67
Dorylaion, 55
doxology in Romans, 184-9,
192
Drusilla, xiii, 105, 106 n.
elders, see 'presbyters'
election, 282, 284, 288
Elijah, 200
Elymas, 31 f.
Emperor, the, 8, 106 fi., 118,
132, 226, 258, 273
Epaenetus, 183
Epaphras, -roditus, of Colos
sae, 203-5, 208, 210; of Phi
lippi, 228 f., 232, 234, 236,
238, 241, 286
'Ephesian writings,' 82
Ephesians, Epistle to the, xix,
213-25
Ephesus, xiii, xviu f., 36, 74 n.,
75, 76-86, 88, 91, 92, 98,
135 ff., I39-41. 143. 162, 173,
182 f., 188, 189, 226, 229-31,
244, 249, 254-6, 258, 259, 260
Epicureans, 65
Erastus, 82, 86,139, 181, 229, 261
Esau, igg
eschatology, 10, 67, 78, 124,
128, 131-3, 155 1, 161, 165,
202, 203, 232, 240, 248,
265, 268-75

INDEX

315

ethnarch, 18
Eucharist, 11, 49, 89, 113 n.,
150 1, 157, 159, 190, 304
Eunike, 53
Euodia, 232, 240
Euraquilo, Euroclydon, in
Eutychus, 89
exorcism, 59, 81
Fair Havens, no
famine, xiv, 23-6
Fatherhood of God, 265
Felix, xiii, 88, 102-7, 25&
Festus, xiii, 16, 101 n., 106-8,
117. 259
flesh, fleshly, 161, 180, 198,
281 f., 290, 301
foods, idolatrous and other for
bidden, 41 f., 46-9, 150 1,
156-8, 202, 206, 209, 250
fornication, -tors, 46-50, 137 f.,
142, 150, 153 f., 280
Fortunatus, 149
Forum of Appius, 117
frumentarius, 109, 117 n.
Gaius, 52, 83, 85, 87, 88 n., 181,
260
Galatae, the, 52
Galatia, 1, 27 n., 33, 34 n., 37,
45 n., 51 f., 7.7 n., 87, 168-70,
173, 205, 230, 261
Galatians, Epistle to the, xix,
168-81
Gauio, xv-xvii, 72 f :
Gamaliel, 4, 100, 102 n.
Gnosticism, 206, 251
God-fearers, 10, 35, 40, 62 n.
'Golden Rule,' the, 47 n.
Hagar, 179, 297
haggada, 5
Hellenist, 6, 9, n, 22, 40, 306
Hermes, 38, 169 n.
Hierapolis, 54, 203 f .
Iconium, 36, 38 f., 51, 52, 77 n.,
78,95
idolatry, idols, 7, 41, 46-50,
62 n., 150 f., 156-8, 159, 165
Illyricum, 63, 86

Incarnation, the, 178, 197, 232,
238, 267
Isaac, 179, 195, 199, 297
Ishmael, 179, 297
Isthmian games, 70
James, ii, 19 f:, 24, 26,
28, 41-5, 49 n., 91 n., 96,
176 f.
Jason, 63 f.
Jerusalem, 5, 9, 10, 11, 17, 33,
103, 106, 107, 119, 174, 177,
255; ist visit, xiii, xviii,
19-21, 22, 29, 176; 2nd visit,
xiii, xiv, xviii, 23-8, 177; 3rd
visit, xiii, xix, 30, 40-50; 4th
visit, xiii, xix, 76; 5th visit, x,
xiv, xix, 75, 82, 88, 91-4, 95-
102, 104, 181 f., 202, 259-61;
collection for the poor of,
87 f ., 140, 146, 202 ; theearthly
and the heavenly, 179, 297
Jesus Justus, 210, 254 n.
John the Apostle, 24, 26, 28,
176
John the Baptist, 35, 78-80,
275
John Mark, see Mark
Judaism, -izers, 4, 10, 25, 31,
42-6, 53 n., 95, 96, 170-2,
174, 179, 205, 234-6, 239,
250, 296, 305
Judas Barsabbas, 44 f .
Julius, 109, 114, 116 n., 117 n.
Jupiter, 38 n.
jus Italicum, 56
justification, see ' righteous
ness'
Kephas, see 'Peter'
Kotiaion, 55 n.
Laodicea, 54, 79, 211, 216
Laodiceans, Epistle to the,
215-7
Lasea, no
Last Day, the, see 'Advent,'
'eschatology'
Lechaeon, 70
lex Valeria, 59
libertines, 235, 237, 239 f

3i6

INDEX

Hberty, 48, 126, 153, 156-8,
177, 180, 202
lictors, 36 n., 59-61
litigation in heathen courts,
150, 152
Lois, 53
Lord's Supper, see 'Eucharist'
Lucius the Cyrenaean, 29
Luke, 1, 88, 120, 204, 210, 254,
260
Lutro, non.
Lycaonia, 37, 51, 53
Lycus, 204 f.
Lydda, 103
Lydia (district), 58, 79 n.
Lydia (woman), 58, 61
Lysias, 99 f., 102, 105, 107 n.
Lystra, 37, 39, 51-3, 66, 77 n.,
78, 87, 95
Macedonia, 3, 30, 55-7, 63, 69,
71, 82, 86 f., 90, 119, 123,
135. 136 f., 139, 140, 143,
147, 164, 166, 167, 169, 173,
181, 229, 230, 254, 255 f.
Man of Sin, Lawlessness, 131,
272 f.
Manaen, 29
Marcellus, 12 n.
Marcion, 184, 186, 189, 215, 217
Mark, 30, 33, 50, 53, 204, 210,
255, 260
marriage, 49, 126, 150, 154-6,
271
Matala, Cape, in
Mediator, 222, 262, 267 n.
Melita, 112 n., 114 f.
Mercurius, 38 n.
Messiah, -anic, 10, 16, 40,
101 n., 107, 118, 127 1, 199,
265, 268-74, 275: and see
'Advent,' 'eschatology'
Messina, 116
Miletus, x, 90, 91 n., 92, 261
millennium, 273
Mitylene, 90
Mnason, 94 f.
Myra, 75, 93 n., 109
Mysia, 55
mysteries, mystery religions, 7,
3<>4-7

mystery, 161, 207-9, 224, 239,
303
Narcissus, the household of,
227
Nazarene, 103, 108
Nazirite, 74, 96-8
Neapolis, 56 f., 82, 86
neokoros, 83
Nero, 106, 120, 132, 257 n., 258
Neronian persecution, the, xv,
256 f.
Nicomedia, 55
Nicopolis, 253 f.
Nympha, 211
Onesimus, 204, 210, 211— 3, 214
Onesiphorus, 263
original sin, 291
Pamphylia, 33, 39, 54
Paphos, 31, 33
Parousia, see 'Advent'
parties at Corinth, 137 n.,
138!, 142, 144, 150-2, 159,
233
Passover, xviii, 75, 153
Pastoral Epistles, the, 241-64
Patara, 75, 91 n., 93
Pentecost, xiv, xix, 75, 82, 91,
96, 104, 135, 137, 140, 275
Perga, 33, 39
Pessinus, 52
Peter, ix, xivf., 19 f., 22, 24,
26, 28, 40 n., 41-3, 49, 67,
137 n., 172, 176?., 256 f.,
275
Pharaoh, 199
Pharisee, -aism, 4, 8, 9, 12, 43,
101, 107, 239
Philadelphia, 54
Philemon, 211-3, 214, 225, 254,
260
Philip, 11, 22, 93, 204
Philippi, x, 56-61, 63, 86, 88,
gin., 136, 215, 228 f., 230
231. 234
Philippians, Epistle to the, xix,
225-41
Phoebe, 181, 183, 184, 192,
. 203, 244, 286

INDEX

317

Phoenix, no
Phrygia, 33, 34 n. 37, 38 n.,
5L 77 n-
Piiate. 12 n., 35
politarchs, 63
Pollux, see 'Castor'
Pontus, 71
praetor, 59-61
praetorian guard, praetorium.
117 n., 226, 228 f.
presbyters, elders, 25, 27, 51 c.
243 f., 263, 264
Primus, 115
Prisca, Priscilla, xviii, 70 f..
74 f., 78, 135, 182 1, 189
proconsul, xv-xvii, 31 f., 72
procurator, 102 f ., 105 n., 108
prophecy, 3, 80, 129, 160 f., 243
prophets. 28 f., 94, 218, 223,
243
proselyte, 10, 1 1, 24 n., 28, 35, 40
proseuche, 58
psyche, psychic, 162, 279-81,
288, 305
Ptolemais, 93
public worship, regulations for,
150 f., 158-60, 245, 262
Pubiius, 115
purification, days of, 97
Puteoli, 116, 117 n.
Python, 58
repentance, 294
Resurrection, 10, 65, 78, 101,
104, 107, 119, 128, 134, 150 f.,
154, 161 f., 176, 190, 193,
195, 204, 222, 239, 250, 265,
267, 268, 273, 298-300, 303
Rhegium, 116
Rhodes, 93
righteousness, 12, 35, 190 f..
193-6, 200, 284, 290, 293-5,
297
Romans, Epistle to the, xix,
182-203
Rome, ix, x, xv, xvii, xix, 3, 7,
82, 102, 107, 118-20, 211,
214, 215, 226-30, 235, 253,
254, 255, 260, 261; banish
ment of Jews from, xiii,
xviii, 71

Sadducees, 101
Salamis, 30
Salmone, Cape, no
Samaria, 26, 43
Samos, 90
Samothrace, 56
sanctification, 197, 294 f.
Sanhedrin, 2, 5, 13, 100-2,
107 n., 118 n., 259
Sarah, 179, 297
Satan, 1, 49, 64, 142, 167, 203,
271, 272
Sceva, 81
Second Coming, see 'Advent'
Secundus, 87, 260
Seleucia, 30
Seleucids, 5. 6, 7
Seneca, 73
Sergius Paulus, 31 f.
shipwreck, 76, 11 2-4
shorthand, 122
sicarii, gg
Sicily, 112, 116
Sidon, 109, 116 n.
Silas, Silvanus, 30, 44 f., 51, 5g,
61, 63 1, 65, 68 f., 71, 74, 78,
123, i2g, 174
silversmith, 83
Sinai, 18, i7g, 2g6
slave, slavery, 155, 210, 211-3,
225, 226, 263, 264
Soloi, 31 n.
sonship, 221, 276, 278
Sopater, Sosipater, 87, 182,
260
Sosthenes, 73, 151
Spain, 202, 254, 256 f.
Spirit-filled persons, 150 1, i5g
-61
stake in the flesh, 1, 3, 168
Stephanas, 67 n., I4g, 162
Stephen, 11-13, 21, 34, 67 n.
Stoics, 65
St Paul's Bay, 113, 115
strangled, things, 46-8
strategoi, $9
stratopedarch, 117
sufferings, St Paul's, 77, 85 f.,
165, 168, 180, 181, 224, 231
Symeon Niger, 2g
synagogue, 5 n„ 13, 22, 31, 34,

3i8

INDEX

36, 44. 57. °2. 63. 65, 71, 75,
80, 8g, 104, 118
Syntyche, 232, 240
Syracuse, 116
Syria, 74-6, 87, 88; Syria and
Cilicia, 21, 30, 45, 49, 51,
169, 176
tabernacularii, 71 n.
Tarsus, xvn., 4-6, 19, 21, 22,
29, 30, 39
Taurus, 33, 39, 51
Tavium, 52
temple, the, 97, 98, gg, 101 n.,
103, 104, 106, 272
tent-makers, 71
Tertullus, 103
theosophy, 205 f .
Thessalonians, Epistles to the,
123-35
Thessalonica, 57 n., 62-4, 69,
86, 87, 95, 123, 125, 128,
134 f., 233, 261
Three Taverns, the, 117
Tiberius, 12 n.
Timotheus, Timothy, 30, 52,
53, 64 f., 68 f., 71, 74, 82, 86,
87, 123, 125 n., 126, 129,
138-40., 152, 162, 164, 182,
204, 208, 212, 229, 236, 237,
238, 241-4, 254, 255, 256,
260 f.

Titius Justus, 72
Titus, 23, 25 f., 90, 136, 142-5,
147, 163, 164, 166, 168, 177,
241 f., 244, 254, 255, 256, 261
tongues, 3, 80, 160 f., 243
trance, see 'vision'
Troas, x, 55, 82, 86, 88 f., 91,
136, 143, 164, 254, 259 f.
Trogyllium, 90
Trophimus, 87 f ., 98, 260 f.
Tychicus, 87 f., 210, 214, 215 f.,
225, 260
Tyrannus, 80
Tyre, 91 n., 92 n., 93
'Unknown God, an,' 66
Unleavened Bread, 88, 136
veil, 158
virgins, 150 1, 155 f.
vision, xviii, 3, 17, 20 n., 72, 89,
102, 112, 167
Vitellius, 12 n.
vow, 74, 97 f.
'Way,' the, 13, 78, 104 f.
' We '-sections, x-xii, 56, 61, 77,
86, 88
widows, 243 f., 263
Zeus, 38, 84

Old Testament references

Gen.

xv. 6

194

Exod,

. ix. 27

293

XX. II

38, 66

xxiv. 3-8

302

xxxiii. 19

199

Num.

vi. 2, 5, 13-20

97

vi. 18
74
Deut.
i- 3i
34 °-
xxvii. 26
178
xxx. 12 ff.
200
xxxii. 8
66
xxxii. 21
200 n.
xxxii. 43
202 n.
Ps.
v. 9
194 u.
x. 7
i94n.
Ps.
Isai.
xiv. 1 ff.
194 n
xviii. 49
202 n.
xix. 4
200 n.
xxxvi. 1
194 n.
li.4
293
cxvii. 1
202 n,
cxl. 3
194 °,
i. 2
34U.
vi. 9, 10
119
xi. 2
283
xi. 10
202 n.
xxv. 8
2S1 n.
xxxii. 1 f.
194
xiii. 1
283
xiii. 5
66
INDEX 319
Old Testament references (continued)
Isai. xliv. 3 275 Joel ii. 28 f. 275
fix. 7I 194 n. Amos ix. n, 12 44
lxv. 1, 2 200 n. Hab. i. 5 35
Ezek. xxxvi. 27 275 ii. 4 178
xxxvii. 1-14 275 Zech. xiv. 5 126 n.
xxxix. 2g 275
Readings of cod. Bezae (D) in the Acts, given
in the footnotes

xi. 20

22

xvii. 4

62

25

22

15

64

28

23

xviii. 3

71

xiii. 7

32

7

72

8

3i

16

73

14

34

25

78

20

34

27

79

xiv. 2

36

xix. 1

76,79

7

37

9

80

13

38

21

75

XV. 2

43

34

84

12

43

xx. 3

87

20, 2g

47

15

go

34

45

18

92

41

51

xxi. 1

93

xvi. 10

55

16

94

12

57

25 a

96

13

57

25 b

47

16

58

xxii. 28

100

39

60

CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY J. B. PEACE, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Map 1

Map II

Map III

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SRnme
Forum Appti £_

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A Map to illustrate >St Paul's- Third Missionary Tour
and the Journey to Rome