of his writing. "See how anxious I am on your behalf: I have written with my own hand, as these ill-formed characters show, to prove my zeal and love." But the word "large" does not necessarily imply awkwardness. It is hardly likely that St. Paul, with his Greek culture, could not write a decent hand. The 2nd interpretation is Jerome's, and is probably right. The preceding portion of the Epistle has been written by an amanuensis, as was St. Paul's custom (cf. Rom. xvi. 22; 2 Thess. iii. 17). On arriving at this point, he takes the pen from the scribe's hand, and writes in a few emphatic sentences, and in large characters, a recapitulation of all that has gone before. "See now with what large letters I am going to write; let the boldness and size of the handwriting show the importance I attach to it." The past tense, "I have written," is to be explained thus,-St. Paul places himself in the position of the receiver; it was the Greek custom to do so. Just so we sometimes begin a letter with, "I have written to ask," &c. (cf. Acts xv. 27).

Then come the weighty words which the Apostle has written with his own hand.

First, he presents a new aspect of the party opposed to him; they are not only zealots for the Law, but they are in terror of others. Fear, vain glory, faction, were all influences at work with them. In the flesh, i. e. outwardly, in the eyes of men. They are afraid of persecution for (that is on account of) the Cross of Christ. This was the chief object of Jewish hostility (cf. v. 11).

They are time-servers. They are not even consistent; for whilst they keep some points of the Law, they neglect others. They are very zealous for their party, yet they would be ready to give it up for their interest. Our Lord brought the same accusation against the Jews of His day (Matt. xxiii. 4). They seek to glory in your flesh, not their own, by making you proselytes to Judaism. "I am not so," exclaims the Apostle: "my hope is in a dying Saviour. Instead of circumcision, I look to the Cross. I glory in that; and through it the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. I despise the world, and the world despises me. We have nothing in common." Of course by "the world,'

66

he means worldly things-all that is perishable (cf. 1 John ii. 15).

For in Christ Jesus, &c.] The opening words of this sentence are found twice elsewhere (ch. v. 6, and 1 Cor. vii. 19). But each time the sentence ends differently, though the meaning is practically the same. Not outward forms, but holiness of spirit, is true religion-this is the substance of each.

This rule, i. e. of the new creature. Those who walk by it are those who seek to give up the flesh with its affections and lusts, and to allow Christ to be formed in them, to be moulded daily after His blessed likeness (see 1 Cor. v. 17). The Israel of God, of course in contrast to the fleshly Israel. Those who walk according to the rule of the new creature are truly Abraham's children; they are the spiritual Israel.

From henceforth, &c.] The expression is apparently anger mingled with, and overcome by, sorrow. First, let us consider the meaning of the marks. The Greek word (" stigmata") signifies marks such as sailors are wont to imprint on their arms. Such were imprinted on slaves and on soldiers. Then the meaning will be, "Leave me alone: Jesus has made his marks upon mehas marked me for his soldier and servant. The traces of recent persecution are upon me; I see the marks of the wounds, and I know that in them I am

filling up the measure of Christ's sufferings. I feel that this should give me a sacredness in your eyes. I must not descend henceforth to such ignoble antagonists as these" (cf. 2 Cor. xi. 23–33).

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

Ephes. iii. 13-21.

DESIRE that ye faint not at my

saints, what is the breadth, and length,

I tribulations for you, which is your and depth, and height, and to know the

glory. For this cause I bow my knees
unto the Father [of our Lord Jesus
Christ,]2 of whom the whole family in
heaven and earth is named, that he would
grant you, according to the riches of his
glory, to be strengthened with might by
his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; that
ye being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all

love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

I desire, &c.] St. Paul has previously been speaking of his imprisonment. He says that this is not a thing to sorrow for, but to rejoice over, since He suffers for their sakes,- —“ Wherefore I desire you not to faint, not to be downhearted and miserable on account of it, inasmuch as it is your glory." That is, it shews God's great love towards you, that He has appointed me to suffer for your benefit.

This sentence is the conclusion of the whole preceding passage.

St. Paul now resumes the main thread of his subject, which has been broken by a long parenthesis of 12 verses. See note on the Epistle for Epiphany.

For this cause, because you are God's children, and have been called to the knowledge of Him (see end of ch. ii.). I bow my knees, i. e. in prayer (note in these words the antiquity of kneeling in prayer, and its use by St. Paul) to the Father (the words "of our Lord Jesus Christ" are probably interpolated) of whom every family, &c. The words are not easy to translate into English in such a way as to give the sense of the Greek. The reader must understand that the word "family" is in Greek "patria," as "Father" is "Pater." So that if the two words are left untranslated, the sentence runs "I bow my knees to the Pater of whom every patria is named." (In the Vulgate the latter is rendered "paternitas," i. e. "fatherhood," if there were such a word in English). The idea is based on the great truth which is found especially in this Epistle, that all human love and human relationships are reflections of the Divine. Thus the love of parent and child for each other rests upon the love of the Father and the Son, man being made in the image of God. (See Introduction to the Epistle.*)

Then St. Paul's prayer follows. It seems as if the Apostle meant-" I would fain shew you the blessedness of the love of Christ. But I cannot do it, the task is too mighty for me. Instead of attempting it, I will hold my peace, and pray God to shew it you."

*See Alford's Sermons on the Love of God.' Serm. i.

M

That he would give you, according to the riches of His glory, i. e. of His glorious and wonderful goodness to mankind, to be strengthened with might, i. e., with His own might, with no lesser power than this, by His Spirit, whose office it is to give light and power to men, who is the Comforter, i. e. both the consoler and the strengthener (cf. Rom. xv. 13) in the inner man, in your spirits, that nobler part of you which distinguishes you from the brutes, the Spirit as opposed to the flesh. It is what is called elsewhere "the law of the mind" (Rom. vii. 23), and “the hidden man of the heart" (1 Pet. iii. 4).— Ellicott. (See note on Matt. vi. 22, 23.)

That Christ may dwell.] This may depend upon the previous words, "that He would grant you," or upon "that ye may be strengthened." If the latter, the meaning is that the result of the strengthening will be that Christ will dwell in them. But the former seems rather preferable-"I pray that the Holy Ghost may strengthen you; I pray that Christ may dwell in you" (see John xiv. 23; Rev. iii. 20). May dwell in your hearts. "It is not enough to have Christ on the tongue, nor yet in the brain, the seat of the intellect; but we must have Him in His proper place, where our love and affections are.”Calvin.

That ye being, &c.] This will be the result of Christ dwelling in our hearts. There are two ideas contained in the words-first that of living upon the love of God, as a tree lives by striking its roots into earth; and second, that of being built up in love, as a house.

That ye may be able to comprehend with all saints.] The nearer we approach the perfection of Christian holiness, the more' we shall be able to comprehend the love of Christ. The length and breadth, &c.] These words express the greatness in all directions; "that you may know the fulness of the love of Christ in all its bearings, that none of it may be lost to you." The words and to know are repeated, as if the Apostle would say, “that ye may be able to comprehend more and more, as you grow in holiness, the wonderful extent of Christ's love; in short, may be able to know that it has no bounds at all-that it is infinite,

That ye may be filled with all the fulness of God, i. e. may be filled to the utmost of your capacity, even as God is filled, with wisdom and love.

Then comes the doxology, the thanksgiving to God for all His mighty deeds for us, and the good things which He hath promised to us. Now unto Him. “I have prayed for you," says the Apostle; but let us not forget to worship God, to give Him thanks for His great glory. Above all that we can ask or think. Note the power of the expression. God can do for us more than we pray for, nay more than we can even imagine. The imagination can carry us further than we could venture to pray, but God's power and love can do more than even the imagination can picture. (Compare the last Collect but one in the Communion Service.) He will do it by means of the Holy Spirit, which is working in us. To Him (solemn repetition of the pronoun) be the glory, the whole glory (so in the Lord's Prayer) in the Church; because the Church was set up in the world to be the means of rendering glory to God, and showing it to men in Christ Jesus. Through Him is the glory manifested in the Church, because He is its life and power.

Hammond's paraphrase of the last words is very striking: "To Him be all honour ascribed by what is now done in the Church, even by the means of the

faith and doctrine of Christ which is now preached to the Gentile world. And may it be so, not only at this present time, but among all posterities through all parts of the world. Amen."

I

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

Eph. iv. 1-6.

THEREFORE, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of

the spirit in the bond of peace. [There
is]1 one body, and one Spirit, even as ye 1 Omit.
are called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one
God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in [you]2 all.

THE passage before us immediately follows that which we considered last Sunday, and is closely connected with it, being the practical exhortation founded upon it. It is, in fact, the beginning of the hortatory part of the Epistle. It answers precisely to the beginning of Romans xii. (see Introduction, p. 15). Here, however, as the subject of this Epistle is the Communion of Saints, the exhortation lays more emphasis on Unity than that to the Romans.

I therefore, i. e. because God has done all this for you, has given these exceeding great and precious promises, and because He has united you together in one communion and fellowship.

The prisoner of the Lord, i. e. in the cause of the Lord, for His sake. The Apostle regards them as called to the knowledge of God, "predestined" to it, as he elsewhere expresses it (see ch. i. 5, 9, 11). He here beseeches them not to reject their calling, not to throw it away, but to walk worthy of it, with all lowliness and meekness. The first word expresses humility towards men, the latter towards God. The great obstacle to unity and love is pride. Compare Rom. xii. 3, 4, where exactly the same thought is contained, namely, “Be humble-minded, remembering the unity of the Church."

It will be noticed here that the qualities inculcated are negative rather than positive: You are called into a state of salvation; do not frustrate it by pride, anger, revenge." It will be seen throughout the Epistle that St. Paul has in his mind the thought of the separation of the Jew and Gentile (see ch. ii. 12-16), which is now done away by the death of Christ. And to this he is evidently referring now. "You have been hostile outwardly and in spirit. Be so no longer. The enmity is destroyed. There is now but one body, one faith.".

But it is evident that the words are for all time. The feud of Jew and Gen. tile has passed away, and other feuds have, one after another, taken their place. The remedy lies in each man walking worthy of the vocation wherewith he is called-the call to unity and love in Christ, in whom all men are brethren, children of one Father; in walking with longsuffering and meekness towards all, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The word endeavouring has changed its meaning since the translation was made. The idea which the sentence conveys to the ordinary reader is something like

2 Omit.

this-"You will not be able to preserve it, but do the best you can." But the original is much stronger than this. To "endeavour" means to put forth all one's energy, to leave no means untried in the matter. It might be translated "being zealous to keep," &c. We have the same idea in Rom. xii. 18, where the emphasis is on "you" (see note on it, page 70).

The expression, "the unity of the Spirit," is evidently connected with the idea in the Apostle's mind of the unity of the body (cf. Rom. xii. 4, 5). As the natural body is one, while the members of it are many; so the Church, which is the body of Christ, is comprised of many members. These are to be united by having one Spirit, one aim, one object (cf. Phil. i. 27). This union of Spirit is to be preserved by each member seeking after peace, that is the bond of union.

Then comes the reason on which the exhortation is grounded. There is one Body, the Church, the body of baptized Christians; and these all draw their life from one Spirit, the Holy Ghost, Christ's gift to His Church. Even as, &c. This unity of Body and Spirit is evident; it follows from the very fact that you were all called to the same hope, namely eternal life. There is one common Lord whose servants we all are, one faith in Him and His promises (this is not to be taken as the body of Christian doctrine, for such meaning of the word is not found in the New Testament, but faith in the Deliverer); one baptism, the outward seal of the inward faith, and the outward instrument of union. He does not mention the "one bread;" probably for this reason, that what He does mention are things which we have already found, we have faith in a Lord who has come, and we have been baptized into Him. But the Lord's Supper yet remains to us to partake of, as a means of preserving our unity.

Then comes the climax, One God and Father of all, Who is above all, the Sovereign Lord, and through all, pervading the hearts of men by His Holy Spirit, and in all, resting in them, taking up His abode in them continually. The "through" denotes the Holy Spirit in operative motion, the "in,” in operative rest. (Ellicott.) This is better than Hammond's "Who pierceth through all secrets, and powerfully worketh inwardly by His gifts and graces." Some commentators suppose a reference to the Trinity in the three propositions. Thus Waterland, Bengel, Alford. The latter explains thus, "over all in His Sovereignty, through all in the co-extensiveness of Redemption by the Son with the whole nature of man, and in all, by the indwelling of the Spirit."